The Voice & Faith of A Believer

 The Aura Of A Papal Visit

Americans were mesmerized by Pope Francis’ U.S. visit because their respect for him as a holy man who leads the Roman Catholic Church, his political influence addressing the Halls of the U.S. Congress, where nothing is revered anymore, and speaking to the nations at the United Nations in New York, as well as hugging, kissing, and blessing babies and children. He spoke to the issues of climate change, poverty, and family issues. The Press, Catholic and secular, focused on his image, persona, symbolic actions, and Catholic doctrine.

Two vivid images are implanted in my mind: At the Philadelphia Airport, the Pope paused to “bless” a quadriplegic that brought his family to tears; and a local reporter interviewed a local man who froze when the Pope came by, never taking pictures on his phone because he was too spellbound when being in his presence.

The Pope was seen hugging, kissing, laying hands on and blessing hundreds of people, but what were the “results” of those actions? Were any healed, delivered, or saved? Tangibly, how were lives changed? To become a Saint in the Catholic Church, you have had to perform at least two documented “miracles”. For a man who touched hundreds, the odds for at least two healings or miracles seem like good odds to qualify him for sainthood just on this one trip. Unfortunately, neither the Catholic Cable Channel nor the secular networks reported any miraculous healings during his visit.

Jesus too was mobbed by the multitudes in his time. When the woman with an issue of bad blood touched him, nobody knew who had done it until she confessed because of the throngs of people. Acts 5:15 records, “They even carried the sick out into the streets and laid them on cots and pallets, so that when Peter came by at least his shadow might fall on any of one of them.” People today fought to catch a glimpse of or be touched by or receive a “blessing” from their 21^st Century Peter, Pope Francis. Are they getting the same results?

I would love to hear actual, personal testimonies from those touched, transformed, or changed in tangible, documented ways because of the Pope’s visit, not just testimonies of how they were awed or inspired by his image, his presence. I want to hear how “Christ” changed personal lives because of his faith and his actions. There is a part of me that still wants to see the supernatural through the most adored figure in the Roman Catholic Church.

I am not critical of the man, for like each one of use in the Priesthood of Believers, I know he too struggles with his faith. “Pray for me,” is Pope Francis’ continual request to his followers. I have no doubt that he is a very humble, pious, sincere man of faith, a holy man, but Jesus, Peter, Paul, and all the original apostles saw, felt, and released the supernatural.

Jesus usually instructed a person who had just been healed to keep it quiet, but they couldn’t; they had to tell others of the good news. When supernaturally touched by Jesus, one is not the same and wants to proclaim His wondrous “Acts” that he has performed.

If you, as a common believer, a member of the Priesthood of believers, is touched personally by Jesus, tell others! Your voice is as valid as the pope’s. Your testimony, your story, your experience is special and unique and needs to be told.

The voice and faith of a believer in Jesus is a powerful voice.

The Five Fold Spirit Cries Out

 Why Should/Shouldn’t My Church Embrace Change? Part XXXXI

I am convinced that God wants a metamorphosis, a total transformational reconstruction of his Church through the leading of the Holy Spirit. When facing the unknown, particularly the supernatural, man gets nervous. God does not need man’s approval, for He is in total control. Man’s natural tendency is to hold on to control and to familiarity. Historically, the Sanhedrin functioned this way against the prophets of old, against Jesus, and against the new Church. Throughout history, religious officials have often opposed movements of God.

Can we trust what visibly we cannot see and is not tangible, which defies logic and reason, the supernatural, the Holy Spirit? In times of uncertainty, in whom do we place our trust?  ”Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen, for by it the men of old gained approval. By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things which are visible,” (Hebrews 11:1-3) so any movement of God has to come out of the “word of God” by “faith” because ”what is seen was not made out of things which are visible.”

Trusting the invisible Holy Spirit and the Word of God is how men of old gained God’s approval. There is no other option but to trust the invisible, the Rhema Word, the Holy Spirit.

“But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers. God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” (John 4:23,24)

That is why the five fold is so relevant.

The apostolic cries out, “When He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come.” (John 16:13)

The evangelistic spirit announces, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not be amazed that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going; so is everyone who is born of the Spirit.” (John 3:5-8)

The teaching spirit cries for the Logos Word, ”For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.”(Hebrews 4:12)

The prophetic spirit proclaims a living Word, ”For you have been born again not of seed which is perishable but imperishable, that is, through the living and enduring word of God.” (I Peter 1:23)

The Teacher, Prophet, Apostle Connections

Why Should/Shouldn’t My Church Embrace Change? Part XXVIII

Let’s examine how the teacher, prophet, and apostle can relate to the five fold to bring maturity to individual Christian growth and unity to the Body of Christ. Strong relationships are reciprocal, so lets see what the teacher, prophet, and apostle can give to the others and receive from them and why they need each other.

Teacher/Prophet: If there was ever two giftings that augment each other it is the teacher and the prophet because they both major in the Word of God, Jesus! The teacher’s passion is to study the written Word, the Logos Word, the Bible, which is foundational to everything he does. The prophet’s passion is to live out this written Word through the Rhema Word, the living word. Jesus, God in human flesh, “lived out the Word” because he was the Word. The question for the ages is how do we, as believers in Jesus, live out the Word? The living out the Word is central to the Jewish faith, but it has become legalistic. Man has failed to live out the Logos Word on his own; he needs the living Rhema Word and the Holy Spirit in order to live it out. The teacher and prophet working together is a powerful tool to help believers in Jesus to grow into a “mature” man in the image of Jesus.

Teacher/Apostle: The teacher and apostle can be a great duo as the teacher grounds the Church in foundational truths and the apostle sees the overall picture. The apostle must prevent the teacher from being legalistic or over zealous in his desire to live out the Word. Ask Saul of Tarsus, a Pharisee of Pharisee, taught under leading rabbis of his day, a zealous defender of his Jewish faith and the Torah. Only when he embraced both the written Word, the Torah, and experienced the living Word, Jesus, did he qualify to become an apostle for this new Church. Every teacher develops his own personal theology and methodology, but he needs an apostle to bring simplicity to the gospel. The restoration of the Apostle’s Teaching is mandatory to prevent doctrinal sectarianism that divided the church for so long.

Prophet/Apostle: You are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God’s household, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the corner stone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, is growing into a holy temple in the Lord.” (Ephesians 2:19-21) The believer who sees the Big Picture of the Church as a whole is apostolic, while the believer who yearns to draw nearer to God, who seeks to commune with his God, who listens to the voice of the Holy Spirit is prophetic. What better foundation upon which to build the Church but on the vision of an apostle, the guidance of the Spirit, and Jesus as the cornerstone! The apostolic sees the strength of individual pieces and how they fit together in support and encourage one another. The prophetic hears the voice of God, senses his heart, and always leads himself and others toward Jesus. The two together become foundational.

The Shepherd Connection

Why Should/Shouldn’t My Church Embrace Change? Part XXVII

Let’s examine how the shepherd can relate to the evangelist, teacher, prophet, and apostle to bring maturity to individual Christian growth and unity to the Body of Christ. Strong relationships are reciprocal, so lets see what the shepherd can give to the others and receive from them and why they need each other.

Shepherd/Teacher: The shepherd and teacher can work hand in hand because their focus is on “maturing” the saint into the image of being a  godly, Christ-like person. This faith journey must be grounded in the Logos Word, the Bible, yet lived out in practical everyday life as a living Rhema Word. Who better to walk out this new life with a shepherd than a teacher? Since “all things are new” when being born again, a teacher is necessary to instill Biblical principals as a foundation. A convert who has a shepherd on one side and a teacher on the other walking with him is a fortunate person. The five fold can offer that!

Shepherd/Prophet: When facing the challenges of everyday life, one can lose focus and be distracted. The shepherd works daily with a a new convert’s spiritual walk, but the prophet keeps one’s focus on God, his Son, Jesus, and through the Holy Spirit. The shepherd teaches one to walk with God; the prophet teaches one to hear from God through the voice of the Holy Spirit. The more righteous the walk, the more obedience to the voice is required, the more mature a Christian becomes into the image of Jesus. The shepherd and prophet need one another in their own practical daily walks and spiritual journeys.

Shepherd/Apostle: Even with all the nurturing that you have received, did you ever ask how you “fit” into the picture of your local church or the Church as a whole? As the shepherd works with your development toward becoming a “mature” believer in Jesus, the apostle specializes in networking the pieces together, seeing over what the Holy Spirit is doing in each believer’s personal life and the life of the Church as a whole. As the convert grows, the apostle “sees over” the walk he had with his shepherd and networks him with other teachers and prophets. The apostle doesn’t control the sheep nor tells the shepherd what to do, but he “serves” them to assure the growth of the sheep and the spiritual health of the shepherd.

The Evangelist Connection

Why Should/Shouldn’t My Church Embrace Change? Part XXVI

Let’s examine how the evangelist can relate to the shepherd, teacher, prophet, and apostle to bring maturity to individual Christian growth and unity to the Body of Christ. Strong relationships are reciprocal, so lets see what the evangelist can give to the others and receive from them and why they need each other.

Evangelist/Shepherd: An evangelist’s strength is in birthing. His passion is for the lost to find their way into the kingdom of God. Nurturing and caring for new converts is his weakness because his passion drives him toward winning the lost. Every evangelist needs a shepherd beside him whose strength is to nurture, guide, care, and “parent” these new converts in their faith journey. Since the sheep may get sick, wonder off, or even die, it is mandatory for the shepherd to be available 24/7 for his sheep. Personally, an evangelist needs a shepherd to speak advice into their own personal life to temper their zeal. The shepherd, on the other hand, needs the evangelist’s zeal to motivate his own life.

Evangelist/Teacher: An evangelist needs a teacher to ground his personal ministry in the Logos Word, the Bible. If it isn’t scriptural, it’s questionable. Also the teacher can make the Logos Word real by making it a Rhema living Word, applicable to everyday life, not just theological. This is to prevent new believers from becoming Pharisees, followers of institutionalized, structural, lifeless religion. Jesus was severely critical of Pharisees. A teacher needs an evangelist to keep his faith fresh, active, and alive. An evangelist needs a teacher to walk with him through his daily faith journey. Their passions are necessary to keep a believer in Jesus a living organism.

Evangelist/Prophet: To prevent legalism, the evangelist needs a prophet whose passion is to draw near to God. Rather than relying on programs and events, the evangelist needs to rely on the Holy Spirit to produce creative, relevant ways to share the gospel to win the lost. Personal prophecy can be an effective evangelistic tool as Jesus demonstrated with the Samaritan woman at the well. Words of wisdom and knowledge can be beneficial to winning the lost.  Since the evangelist majors in birthing, who better to work with than a prophet who majors in the spiritual. Prophetic evangelism could revolutionize the way the Church does ministry.

Evangelist/Apostle: An evangelist has a narrow view of seeing only a lost and dying world that need Jesus. An apostle sees the big picture, the Church as a whole. The apostle sees birthing as only the beginning of a process towards maturity in Jesus, so he directs new converts to the right brothers or sisters to be nurtured, cared, taught, and spiritually guided. An apostle needs an evangelist to birth vision and projects the group as a whole will develop.

How The Five Fold Works Relationally

Why Should/Shouldn’t My Church Embrace Change? Part XXIII 

If the five fold is to be a viable option for church structure, the Church will have to be a fluid, living organism for the Priesthood of Believers. The five fold must be viewed as passions, desires, and points of view by common believers in Jesus. Formal structures are not important; the building up and maintaining of peer relationships in Jesus is. If you pattern building a church solely on the blueprint of a five fold structure, it will fail, but if it is built upon the strength of five fold’s diverse passions who support, encourage, and stand by each other by willing laying down their lives for one another, the five fold will be an effective, powerful force of transformation unlike the Church has seen since the first century. Let’s examine each of the five passions, desires, and points of view.

Evangelist: An evangelist, who carries the weight of a sin depraved, dying world who needs Jesus, majors in “birthing”. They seek and serve to save anyone who doesn’t have a personal relationship with Jesus. Often new converts exhibit evangelistic zeal because of their newly found joy and peace in Jesus and want others to experience it.

Pastoral/Shepherd: The shepherd, who majors in nurturing and care, loves to do what Jesus told Peter to do, “Feed my sheep!” (John 21:17) Just like an evangelist wants to hang out with the lost, shepherds love to hang out with the sheep. They eat, sleep, walk, and talk to their sheep giving them guidance, directions, and keep them spiritually healthy to grow. They are people persons who think of others before themselves. There is no formula to be a good shepherd; all one needs is to care, love the unloved, hug the unhugable, accept the rejected, and invite the outcast.

Teacher: When we think of a Christian teacher, we think of a Bible scholar, but that is our Western mindset. The Jewish mindset is the Lamad method of “experiencing” what you learn from the heart, not the mind. Jesus taught the Lamad by walking with his twelve disciples teaching them how to “experience” the kingdom of God. That is why he taught in parables. Five fold teacher use both the academic and experiential approaches.

Prophet: A prophet’s desire is draw near to God, so listening to and being obedient to the voice of the Holy Spirit is central. He longs to be in the flow of the Holy Spirit in whom he has put his trust. He cherishes making the Logos, written, Word the Rhema, living, Word. The Word without spiritual life becomes legalistic, bringing bondage. Jesus gave his “life” in order to release the “spirit life” in man from any bondage.

Apostle:  An apostle majors in networking believers and “seeing over” what the Holy Spirit is already doing. Unlike hierarchal leadership, a believer with an apostolic passion is never “above” those he “serves”, but next to them as equal peers in Jesus. He is to never “lord over them,” but kneel in service by washing their feet. Jesus did this as an example for us. A believer with an apostolic point of view never controls anyone because he is never ‘in control”, the Holy Spirit is! He just “serves” as a shepherd to the Church!

In all five of these giftings, the Holy Spirit must be in control, for He does the work through us; that is what is unique about the five-fold.

Prophets and Apostles: Five Fold As Passions, Desires, & Points of View

Why Should/Shouldn’t My Church Embrace Change? Part XIX

What is a prophetic passion and point of view? Prophets desire to draw near to God! Old Testament priests were created so man could draw near to God. Today, because the Temple’s veil being rent at Jesus’ death, any member of the Priesthood of believers may draw near to God at any time at any place!

A prophet also desires to hear the voice of the Spirit. Since every believer in Jesus has that capability, the challenge lies in being obedient to what one hears. The Holy Spirit constantly spoke in the book of Acts when the Church was an organism, but obedience is required. Ananias and Sapphira sold a parcel of land but fell dead after lying to an apostle. Their offense? “Why is it that you have agreed together to put the Spirit of the Lord to the test? (Acts 5:9) The five fold prophet knows not to toy with the Holy Spirit, but be obedient.

The desire to draw all men to God can be a bond between a prophet and an evangelist. Jesus used the prophetic to draw the Samaritan woman to the living water he offers. People have criticized the prophet for being too heavenly minded to be any earthly good. Being heavenly minded is their passion; the no earthly good may be their weakness, so they need a shepherd or teacher by their side.

What is the apostle’s passion? Seeing the big picture of the Church as a whole. He loves networking the other four passions to bring unity and Christian maturity. Being an apostle has nothing to do with administration or governing people. It has to do with serving people through relationships with one another; it is the ebb and flow of the Holy Spirit.

Even an ordinary mother can qualify as an apostle if she sees the big picture and experiences all five passions and point of view in her life. She has experienced birthing, has nurtured and cared for her family, has taught her children, wants every family member to draw nearer to God, and often sees the big picture of the family as a whole while networking family members to serve each other rather than bickering and fighting. What my mom? Yes!

The institutional church has apposed women in leadership over men because they look at it hierarchally, as a question of authority. The five fold is not about position or structure; its about relationship. “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s descendants, heirs according to promise. (Galatians 3:28-29)” Relationally, all are members of the Priesthood of Believers, equal peers. If a mother has experienced making her family a living organism, why wouldn’t she be able to do that with her Church family?

A five fold apostle can relate to his peers since he/she has also experienced the five passions in his/her past. He/She understands the different points of view through the lens of their passions, and can network the five together. He/she allows one to lead while the other four passions support and encourage that leader by serving through their own personal passion while laying down their life for one another. The apostle knows about networking because it is all about relationships.

Instead of isolation among the five diverse passions in the church which brought division, destruction, and devastation, the apostolic believer can bring his diverse brothers/sisters together to function in unity as a body, as a Bride, as a Priesthood, as a Church. It is all about relationships; all about trusting one another; all about trusting the Holy Spirit; and all about laying down your life relationally for each other. 

Structure: Control of the Five Fold

Why Should/Shouldn’t My Church Embrace Change? Part XV

Dr. Bill Hamon in his book Prophets and the Prophetic Movement: God’s Prophetic Move Today (Shippensburg, PA: Destiny Image, 1990, p.24) teaches that in each of the last five decades of the twentieth century, one of the five fold ministries has been reemphasized or restored:

Decade                 Five Fold Ministry         Movement/Revival

1950’s                     Evangelist                               Deliverance, Evangelism

1960’s                     Pastor/Shepherd                     Charismatic Renewal

1970’s                     Teacher                                   Faith Teaching Movement

1980’s                     Prophet                                   Prophetic Movement

1990’s                     Apostle                                    Apostolic Movement

 Each movement brought a spark of life back into the organism as believers flowed in the newness of the Holy Spirit. Mistakes were made during the learning process, so the organized church tried to bring correction and maintain control.  To stifled any movement of God through the laity, organized leadership gave themselves titles, created offices, and minimized the influence of the common believer.

Evangelist: Billy Graham brought accountability and respectability to the office of the evangelist in the 1950’s. Prior to Graham, large evangelistic crusades with huge staffs, large budgets, and gigantic tents bled local church funding who supported them. The Billy Graham Association brought stability and introduced the world to the “televangelist”, bringing world wide exposure into everyday homes through television. The Church was experiencing the gift of evangelism in new ways.

Pastoral/Shepherding: The Jesus and Charismatic Movements of the ‘60’s and ‘70’s were faced with an explosion of unchurched conversions as well as the rise of cult activity and chaos. The Fort Lauderdale Five, five respected pastors, formed a “shepherding” movement to maintain control. Unfortunately they later had to repent of leadership abuse in spite of their good intentions as the Church worked through the gift of shepherding.

Teacher: Every pastor, speaker, or teacher had their sermons “taped” on cassettes or “burned” onto CD’s during the ‘70’s Word and Faith Movement. Jesus Festivals and Full Gospel Businessmen’s Association meetings were famous for taping speakers. The Word Movement forced the church to adopt new technology as satalite dishes brought live “feeds” of teaching seminars to local churches, as the church embraced the five fold gift of teaching.

Prophet: Small schools of the prophets released the “gift of prophecy” through the Charismatic Movement in the ‘60’s and ‘70’s. Mark Virkler and Bishop Bill Hamon taught the laity how to listen to the voice of the Holy Spirit and flow prophetically. When abuse arose, the organized church stepped in to monitor and correct any “weirdness”. In the twenty-first century, only mega-prophets with big ministries exist, as the church is still working through the prophetic gifting to the church.

Apostolic:  With the release of four of the five fold giftings who were dominant when released and with the misuses in figuring out how they worked, the organized church took control of each movement in an tempt to bring stability and order. The church has realized that the apostle, one who sees the church as a whole, was vastly needed. Unfortunately the “office” of the “apostle” has been institutionalized even before it could be released on its Priesthood of Believers. The Church is in the midst of working through the gifting of apostleship.

Diverse Plurality Brings Activity

Why I Would Want The Five Fold In My Church – Part V

….. because it prepares the body, a priesthood of believers, the Church, to serve.

The purpose of the five fold is to equip the saints for works of service. The saints have not been called to be passive, pew sitters, stand byers, non-participants. They are suppose to be doing the work of the gospel through service! What a revolutionary mindset. Are they suppose to pay someone else to do it for them!

If we look at the above statement, we see “body” is a group of people. “Priesthood” is also a group of believer(s)! It is the plurality of believers together that serve! You never see “priest” mentioned in the New Testament, only the “priesthood”, the functioning body of Christ, the Church. The many individual peer believers working through service together brings individual growth and unity among the believers as stated in Ephesians 4.

That is why Jesus Christ gave himself, the Church, apostle(s), prophet(s), evangelist(s), pastor(s), and teacher(s). He gave plurality, diversity, creativity, the “supporting ligaments” that “grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.” Each believer, each peer in Jesus Christ does it part so the corporate whole, the body of Christ, the Priesthood of Believers, the Church, serves!

The Church can serve through “birth” because He gave it evangelists. The Church can nurture growth through living care through shepherds/pastors. The Church can teach truth, the Logos Word, not legalistically, but through experiencing it, the Rhema Word, that gives life by allowing the Holy Spirit to teach through his believers. The Church can encourage man to “draw near” the Spirit of the Living God through the service of its prophets. The Church as a whole can function in unity as a whole through the diverse passions and spiritual giftings through service through the networking of its apostles. It is not about only one person, Jesus, yet not about the individuals who make up that person through the Church, the Body of Christ, but through many individuals, peers in Jesus, the Priesthood of Believers.

When individual believers in Jesus Christ, the Priesthood, is released to manifest their passions as evangelists, shepherds, teachers, prophets, and apostles, and free to flow in the spiritual giftings God has given them, corporately they are an empowered, movable force called the Church! Satan and his kingdom of darkness cannot withstand the power, dominion, and authority of an united Church that is lead by the Holy Spirit of Jesus Christ who serves!

The Church will not remain in its caterpillar stage of a two tiered system of clergy and laity, but after being in a cocoon of revival and reconstruction, it will come out as a Royal Priesthood, empowered to soar. Every believer, every peer in Jesus Christ, every priest in this priesthood will follow the orders of their High Priest, Jesus Christ, through the leading of His Spirit. The Church will be known for its activity, not it passivity, its ability to move forward, not it being lethargic. It will move with authority and power because of these five fold passions, spiritual gifts, and the ability to hear the voice of the Lord through the Holy Spirit.

The passive nature of the 21^st Century Church will be looked upon as another chapter in the History of the Church. The Dark Ages led to the Reformation and Age of Reason and Enlightenment. This passive age is leading the Church to an Age of Preparation for the Bride, the Church, to meet its Groom, Jesus, at the Great Banquet Wedding Feast.

The church has to first pass through the cocoon stage from being a historic, lumbering structure to be retooled, remodeled, and “reformed” into a Butterfly.

The Drive For Exclusive Biblically Correct Doctrine Divides

Why I Wouldn’t Want The Five Fold In My Church – Part II

….. because my institutional church values their traditions, their view of Biblically correct doctrine, and their desire for a professional hierarchal view of leadership over change, challenges to one’s theology, and having to give up control.

                  In John 17 Jesus prays that the Church will be one, but over two thousand years that prayer seems to not be answered yet. Sectarianism has brought division in the Body of Christ, the Church, as there are hundreds of different splintered groups; all claiming to have the correct Biblical perspective and correct doctrine.

                  The Gospel was a simple message at the beginning of the first century, as the twelve apostles taught the same principles with simplistic clarity. The gospels also warned of false teachers, and since that time every sectarian group thinks they teach the truth while the others are in doctrinal error somehow, being the false teachers.

                  If there is ever a time the Apostles’ teaching is needed to restore doctrinal unity, it is today, but that teaching, although simplistic, would challenge the majority of the theology of most church sects today. They wouldn’t want their theology challenged, would be offended that others have challenged their theology, and would immediately become defensive.

                  The church has been deeply entrenched in a hierarchal form of professional leadership since Rome made it their official religion. What started as leadership based on relationships turned into a hierarchal structure lead by bishops and eventually a pope. A professional priesthood/ clergy would be formed separating it from the laity, an unbreached chasm that still remains.

                  The five fold would equip, train, birth, nurture, and release common believers in their evangelistic, shepherding, teaching, prophetic, and apostolic passions that would empower the laity for service rather than the professional clergy, thus threatening the control currently held by the clergy over the laity.

                  If my church did not want its doctrines, creeds, tenants of faith, and theology challenged and wanted to maintain its control through a professional hierarchal leadership structure, it probably would not embrace the five fold mentality of equipping and empowering the saints for the works of service. It would not be open to relinquish the offices and positions it has established to maintain control. It would accuse this five fold paradigm that I propose as heretical. They’ve done it throughout history. Unless the Holy Spirit is allowed to work among them to nurture a culture of unity, they will do it again.

An Apostle, A Woman, In A Five Fold Peer2Peer Relationship?

 The Five Fold = Peer2Peer Relationships – Part VI

Romans 8:7 - Greet Andronicus and Junias, my kinsmen and my fellow prisoners, who are outstanding among the apostles, who also were in Christ before me.

Titus 1:1- Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ to further the faith of God’s elect and their knowledge of the truth that leads to godliness—

2 Peter 1:1 - Simon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who through the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ have received a faith as precious as ours:

 I truly believe the best qualified person to be a five fold Peer2Peer apostle would be a common, everyday Christian mother! A female? You have got to be kidding! Didn’t Paul say I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man, but to be in silence?  - Timothy 2:12 Institutionally, under a male dominated hierarch that is probably true, but relationally that is a lie. Relationally, under the “authority” of Christ Jesus there is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. – Galatians 3:27-28 Either we are all one in Christ Jesus or we are not! What is it? This fruit of this debate has always brought division in the body of Christ, so Paul would again ask, ”Are you not carnal?” – 1 Corinthians 3:4  The five passions of Ephesians 4 are not given to believers because of their race, sex, nationality, gender, or profession. They are given to all who seek them in Christ.

Religious critics refute, “Why did Jesus only pick males to be His disciples and later His apostles? In Romans 8:7 Paul writes Greet Andronicus and Junias, my kinsmen and my fellow prisoners, who are outstanding among the apostles, who also were in Christ before me.  Junias is a woman, and an “outstanding apostle in Christ before me.” Before Paul was even an apostle there was a woman apostle. Female apostles did exist in the first century Church because of the driving force of what they did. It was how they functioned that mattered, not establishing a political position in a religious church hierarchy.

The question remains: Do women have the drive, the passion, the fortitude to see the big picture of the Church as a body, the ability to equip that body for “works of service”, and the ability to network others in body ministry, all qualifications to be an apostle? Do they have a godly character? God believes women can be godly; read Proverbs 31:10-31.  Jesus surrounded himself with godly women because women know how to serve, have faith to believe, and to be faithful even when standing before the Cross. The men? Well… their track record is not as pristine!

A Peer2Peer five fold apostle must see the big picture of the Church while understanding the other four passions in order to network them toward unity. Women understand evangelism because both experience “birth”. Both have felt the labor pains. Women are nurturers, for they care for their families (See Proverbs 31) as shepherds. Women teach their children from potty training through dating how to “grow up”.  Prophetic? Ask any teenager about the power of a praying mother, who knows the promises of the Logos Word, the Bible, and her attempts to apply it to the members of her family and her own life. Her desire is to have every family member “draw near” to God. Last, but not least, apostles network with others. Mothers are great networkers within her family, networking schedules, plans, goals, dreams, etc. of the other family members. The big family picture? She gets it! Who better to be an excellent candidate to be a five fold Peer2Peer apostle than a mother because she knows all about relationships?

Critics argue that men should be apostles and women servants because they function differently. For example, women give birth to children; men don’t!  With this kind of logic, why aren’t all evangelists females? Women have experienced the pains of “birthing”; men haven’t. If parenting is pastoring or shepherding your children, done by both men and women, they shouldn’t women also then be allowed to be pastors in the Church? The church looks at teaching as purely academic. Aren’t women intellectually capable too? As the myriad of female valedictorians! Intelligence doesn’t discriminate because of sex and gender. Why shouldn’t women be teachers? Prophets? Mothers’ prayers do more damage to the kingdom of darkness than we can imagine. Women usually have a more sensitive side towards spiritual matters and a more open willingness to receive faith without questioning and doubting than men do. And if she can oversee her family for the good of the gospel, why couldn’t she oversee the family of God for the good of the Church?

Some believe that the criteria for being an apostle is that you had to see Jesus while he was alive, thus the twelve immediately qualified. How about Paul? He never saw Jesus while He was on earth physically. Acts records that on the road to Damascus Paul hears God’s voice questioning him. He never physically sees Jesus.

Think about it. If Jesus is currently at the right hand of the Father in heaven, where would you “see” him today? You would “see” him through His Body, His Church. An apostle must be able to see Jesus through seeing the big picture of His Body, the Church here on earth. Through three missionary journeys, Paul sees the birthing, the nurturing, the teaching, the prophetic fulfillment, and the apostolic gathering of the Church right before him. That is why in I Corinthians 9:1 he defends his rights as an apostle when he says, Am I not free? Am I not an apostle? Have I not seen Jesus our Lord? Are you not the result of my work in the Lord? There is the qualification of being an apostle. Can a woman also see the big picture of the Church, the Body of Christ, Jesus? Women hung around Jesus in biblical days, why wouldn’t do the same today?

Being an apostle is all about relationships: birthing spiritual babes into the kingdom of God, nurturing those babes toward maturity in Jesus, helping them “grow up” spiritually, teaching them kingdom of God principles by making them not just Logos principles, but Rhema principles, drawing men toward God and teaching them how to hear the voice of God for themselves and being obedient to the Word, written and living, and networking all these people with all these passions to bring unity in the Body of Christ, the Church, and maturity, being Christ-like, in every believer.  It’s all about people2people, Peer2peer!

Five-Fold Prophetic Word Continued

 Part III: The Prophetic Five-Fold Word of 1993:

     On the evening of April 15, 1993, while sitting quietly in my living room, I asked the Lord a question, “What is the five fold ministry all about.  How is it to work? “

     Here is what I wrote down that night: (Continuation of the last two days blogs)

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     In Acts 2 apostle Peter sees a glimpse of the whole Body as people begin speaking in the native tongues of many languages of nations of their known world.  Little did Peter know that he had much to learn about vision of apostleship (House of Cornelius, acceptance of Gentiles, etc.), but the apostolic vision came upon Him (vs. 5-13)

     When questioned, Peter kicked into the prophetic (vs. 14-21) as he quoted Joel 2:28-32  and shows its fulfillment.

      (Versus 22-36) Peter flows as a teacher, explaining the prophecies of Joel using Psalms 16:8-11 as a teaching text, and explains the purpose of Jesus and the Holy Spirit. When he proclaims Jesus as the Messiah, it “pierced their hearts”.

     (Versus 37-41)  Peter, the evangelist, manifests himself as he leads 3,000 to the Lord’s gracious salvation.

     (Versus 42-45) illustrates the pastoring that took place in those early days to the 120, then 3,000, then 3,000 plus as they grew.

     The results was the birthing of the five fold ministry and its fruits:

          1)  Unity in faith - continuing with one mind (Acts 2:46);

          2)  Knowledge of the Son of God - Peters sermon of Acts 2:14-42;

          3)  Maturity - fellowshiping with gladness and sincerity of heart (Acts 2:26);

          4)  Measure of Stature - having favor with all the people (Acts 2:46);

     Acts 2 is only a measure compared to what we are about to see:

          Pastoring:  Who would have ever dreamed of Pastor Cho’s church reaching the 3/4 million mark?

          Evangelist:  If Peter could have seen into the future at how Billy Graham has been used with massive meetings and satellite TV international hookups, he would have said, “What is only 3,000”!

          Prophecy:  As we are currently witnessing this movement, the Lord is exhorting, encouraging, edifying, purifying, and challenging His Body as the Church is again “hearing from the Lord”

          Apostolic:  The Holy Spirit is birthing vision of Jesus and His Church in men and women who will “see over” the work of the Holy Spirit who is doing the work, not try to “oversee” the work of the Holy Spirit and interfering with it, and will have their spiritual eyes open to the revelation of Jesus Christ as He prepares to return for His Bride.

     We are truly living in an exciting time:

          The Evangelist will need the prophet to give him/her direction and spiritual insight to break down the darkness of a city and bring revival.  Old evangelistic modes will be replaced with new strategies planned and implemented by the Holy Spirit.  The evangelist needs the pastor to nurture the new converts, and the teacher to teach them while the apostle watched over them to “guard this new body” and develop it toward maturity”.

          The Pastor needs the evangelist to birth his flock; the teacher and/or the prophet to nurture and verify the flock, and the apostle to help it mature into the “fullness of Christ”.

          The Teacher needs to hear the apostle’s vision, and the prophet’s fresh word, then dig into the Word, the Bible, to verify it and teach its principles.  He/She needs the evangelist and pastor to prepare the ground and planting of the seed for his watering through the Word.

          The Prophet needs the pastor to balance his/her assertiveness; the teacher to authenticate the Word; the evangelist to initiate the word, and the apostle to verify the fresh word.

          The Apostle needs the prophet to give a fresh Word to verify his vision or revelation of Jesus; the teacher to check it out through the word; the pastor to see if his “heart” lines up with the Word as a shepherd, and the evangelist to birth the Word.

          Together they function 1) in unity 2) in revealing the knowledge of the Son of God; 3) maturing or preparing the church, the Bride, for her Groom, and 4) measuring the stature or having the church as the Revelation of Jesus Christ shining, bringing respectability.

Five-Fold Prophetic Word Continued

 Part II: The Prophetic Five-Fold Word of 1993:

           On the evening of April 15, 1993, while sitting quietly in my living room, I asked the Lord a question, “What is the five fold ministry all about.  How is it to work? “

           Here is what I wrote down that night: (Continuation of yesterday’s blog entry)

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

          There will be NO TOP DOG in this church structure.  The apostle is not the top dog, neither is the prophet, evangelist, pastor, or teacher.  The day of the super pastor, super evangelist, super teacher, and super prophet are gone.  Instead we will be in a new day, a day of the supernatural pastor, the supernatural evangelist, the supernatural teacher, the supernatural prophet, and the supernatural apostle.  No office will be greater or lesser than another.  In the past we have been fed teaching emphasizing the greater spiritual gifts by the way that they are listed in the Bible, and blew it, for that is not true.  Beware we do not do the same thing to the five fold offices.

          Only as the members of the five fold ministry allow their star to rotate, will they see “the light of Jesus” radiating from them.  That rotating (Circle on the diagram) is the life flow of the Church!

            I see in the spirit, like on a clear night the sky being full of stars displaying the splendor of the heavens, so the earth will become like the heavens, each Spirit lead, five (fold ministry) pointed star local body, glimmering, making up county, state, and national galaxies of stars.  When the Lord returns all these star galaxies around the world will come together to shine in the Second Coming or the Feast of Lights in its “fullness”, Jesus Christ.

          The Lord showed me how these offices worked in Acts 2 when on Pentecost a “measure of His Spirit” birthed His Church, and those same offices brought “unity”, gave “knowledge of the Son of God”, began to “mature the saints”, and gave “stature or form”.  (Ephesians 4: 13) The Body of Christ will mature into His “fullness” as His Second Coming approaches.

          An apostle had to be an eye witness of Jesus Christ in the First Century, and Paul defended His apostleship by having his road to Damascus experience.  An apostle in the end times church too will have a revelation of Jesus Christ, not in a vision of His earthly or His resurrected body, but as a revelation of His Body, His Church, seeing the big picture, the reason for all five points of the star.

          The apostle will see the book of Revelation, the last book of the Bible, becoming fulfilled.  Instead of the book being viewed as eschatology, as a book of end times tragedies and joys (Biblical scholars were blinded in their charts and theories of Jesus’ First Coming, why would they not be any different in His Second Coming?), the apostle will see it as it’s subtitle reads, The Revelation of Jesus Christ.  The Holy Spirit will open his eyes to reveal Jesus’ Church, His end time’s body to the apostle.

           The Old Testament priesthood is archaic: the New Testament priesthood is going from its birthing in Acts 2 to its fulfillment in the “fullness of Christ”.  The Church is about to experience a newness, another drastic change in its preparation for the communion of the Bride.  It will learn how to “sing a new song” not only individually, but corporately.  It will learn worship that they thought only could happen in the heavenlies as depicted in the book of Revelations, but that worship will be activated in the earth.

          The Church will experience a “communion” of worship with the heavenlies and the Church on the earth.  The heavenlies too sense His soon return, and will join in with the saints on earth, so when the trumpet sounds the groom's coming, His Bride will be ready and waiting because she will be in the act of worshiping, adoring, exalting, lifting up her coming Groom.  The Church, the Bride, is about to experience a “true romance” as it anticipates its coming Groom.  This will take place in her worship and in the relationship of her members to the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit, and to each other in a depth that she has never yet experienced.

          So the apostle will “see over” the local star, or national, or international galaxy, not “oversee” it as church leaders have done in the past.  The apostle can not do this without the other four points or offices of the five fold ministry, or they can not see the whole picture.  Rejecting one of the other offices by not communicating, serving, receiving, being accountable to, or accepting them will cause spiritual blindness and cause the apostle to see “only dimly” or “in part” when the Holy Spirit wants to show the apostle the “fullness of Christ” for his local body and clarity.

                                    (Continues in next blog…..)

Five-Fold Prophetic Word

Part I: The Prophetic Five-Fold Word of 1993:

     On the evening of April 15, 1993, while sitting quietly in my living room, I asked the Lord a question, “What is the five fold ministry all about.  How is it to work? “

             Here is what I wrote down that night:

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  The Lord began to show me how He wants His Church, His Body, to represent Him ruling and reigning in this time.  Jesus is currently reigning in the heavenlies on the right hand of His Father interceding for His Church, His Body, or the remnants of his earthly body, His true (Spirit and Truth worshipers) believers.  His glorified body is sitting by the Father.  The Holy Spirit has been activated to get his Bride, the Church, ready to be in a position, condition, or place to be prepared for His Second Coming, so they too can be glorified with Him.

     As a child I used to put my hands together, interlocking fingers, and begin to recite, “Here’s the church; there’s the steeple” while raising my two pointing fingers up.  Then I opened my thumbs while saying, “Open the door”  as I unfolded my hands showing my interlocking fingers, “and there’s the people”!  God’s Church is still His people. It never was meant to be a building, and never will be.  But the Lord is calling His people to the Five Fold Ministry in these end times.  He gave me a diagram to illustrate this point.  We think of a church building to be in this shape.  We put a cross at the top of it to distinguish it from any other building. The Lord is building a building, not in the natural, but in the supernatural. The building has five points.  Each point is a member of Ephesians 4:11’s Five Fold Ministry. (There is no set position for each office on the diagram.  They can be rotated.)

Each house or building or local (national or international) church of believers needs in it at least one apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor, and teacher to:

     1)  Equip the saints (vs. 12);  

     2)  Build up the body (vs. 12); until we all attain to: (vs. 13)

          a)  Unity of faith;

          b)  Knowledge of the Son of God;

          c)  Maturity;

          d)  Measure of Stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ.

Currently we only have a “measure”, but the Holy Spirit wants to lead us towards the “fullness” as He prepares the Bride who will be ‘without spot or wrinkle’, the glorified Body of the Church in the ‘fullness of Christ’ for the coming groom at Christ’s Second Coming!”

The Lord has assured me that men will make mistakes as the Holy Spirit leads them through this end times process of preparation, for one way man learns is through error.  Repentance can only come after a fall or mistake, so He will develop a repentant heart, a repentant Church.

The Lord has shown me how in my life time that He has raised up evangelists, pastors, teachers, prophets, and soon apostles not only locally but of international proportions.

In the 1970’s when the charismatic gifts were being poured out, in man’s lack of Godly wisdom and understanding, many were seeking “their gift” not knowing that the Lord’s desire is for us individually and the Church corporately to grow into the “fullness of Christ”, not in meager mustard seed measures.  We are, as a Church, to blossom into His fullness, the Bride ready for the groom.  In the ‘90’s many will scramble to find “their office”, again showing their lack of maturity in Christ.  If people scramble to do this, we will only have the shell (see diagram) of another Church structure with no life in it, and legalism will set in, and self appointed “offices” will fight and bicker with each other, and like other empty structures the Church has built in history, it too will crumble.

The Lord showed me that the star stood over where the Christ child lay during his First Coming, and a star will also mark His Second Coming.  This star will not be in the heavens above the earth, but inside the framework of the Church.  (See diagram)  That star, that light, will be the Holy Spirit manifesting Jesus Christ in His  Church through the five fold ministry.  Each “office” of the five fold ministry can not stand alone, just like a Lone Ranger Christian can not stand alone, but they need to be:

          1) Communicating with each other;

          2) Accountable to each other (Each office is a point of the star and will keep its point sharpened by the other four!)

          3) Serve each other, never Lord over each other.  There is no jockeying for positions, for you can rotate a five pointed star and no one is ever always on top.  They must give to each other!

          4) We will have to learn to receive from each other too!

          5) We will have to accept one another as peers, equals, not a hierarchy positioning.

                                    (Continues in next blog…..)

The Five Fold Option?

Part IV: Possible Linear Pattern To Evaluate!

If we are demolishing old structures and looking for new, what possibilities are there? One may be the five fold model under the following pretenses:

• The five fold is not offices or positions but passions, desires, and points of view that drive a believer in a certain direction.      
• The five fold is not part of a hierarchal system of professionals with titles over nonprofessional believers.
• The five fold is evidenced by what one does, what motivates that person, what drives them, not who they are or what position they hold.      
• The five fold is a linear process of believers walking beside other believers in their Emmaus walk of faith together, not hovering “over” someone.
• Since each of the five fold separately has divided the Church so far in history, each must learn to serve each other and submit to one another, being willing to “lay down their lives for their brethren” in order for it to work.

Each of the five fold:

• Is a peer to the others, an equal in the faith, that is driven by a passion, desire and point of view.     
• Needs the other four, for one’s gifting, or strength, augments the other’s weaknesses.
• Needs the other four to become balanced in ministry and approach.     
• Walks beside one another serving, not ruling. (Jesus modeled this when on earth as a man.)     
• Is relational to the others either birthing, nurturing, teaching, developing, or networking through service     

Every local church, body of believers:

• Needs an evangelist to birth new converts, birth new projects, be the midwife to what the Holy Spirit is doing    
• Needs an shepherd to nurture, care and develop the sheep in practical day to day faith.      
• Needs an prophet to bring spiritual life to a church, draw others into worship, and listen to the voice of the Holy Spirit through obedience.       
• Needs a teacher to keep everyone grounded in the Word, the Bible through apostolic teaching rather than religious dogma      
• Needs an apostle to network people serving people from their strengths and callings      
• Needs the five fold to bring birth, develop maturity, and cultivate unity.     

The five fold is a linear model worth evaluating to see if the Holy Spirit can be released among God’s people in the spirit of service.

America & The Church: Why We Need The 5 Fold More Now Than Ever?

Only Unity In Vision Through Diversity Can The Church Meet Today’s Challenges!

With all the negative adds during an election year, all the faults and weakness of America is exposed to the world.  The United States has its challenges, many that are huge in nature and scope, but the candidates all promise change if elected, stability if they become Commander in Chief, learning from the past, and prophetically looking to hope for the future, while promising oversight to the ideals of the Constitution.  Sounds like the Five Fold to me: birth (evangelist), maintenance & growth (shepherd), learning from the past and teaching of our founding principles (teacher), hope for the future (prophet), and oversight for the good of America (apostle).  Even secular government understands the power of the five fold in creating a well-balanced effective form of government to serve its people!  Why doesn’t the Church recognize that same power and practice it?

Four years ago, Obama ran on the motto of “change”; this year Romney ran on the motto of “real change”.  Change is the promise to kick off both campaigns. Evangelists thrive on change, on birth, and on rebirth!  “You must be born again”; you must be willing to change. The politician knows you can’t move forward unless there is change. The demographics of the country change, and so must the way the country is to be govern.  The Church also knows it cannot move forward unless there is also change.  Societal demographics change, yet for centuries that Roman Catholic Church maintained only Latin for their Masses, the format for Protestant services are still basically the same since the Protestant Reformation under Martin Luther.  The evangelists majors in birth and rebirth. Who better to move the Church forward than the evangelist if we want revival.  Every Revival Movement in Church history is birthed in the evangelistic spirit.  The Church needs to equip, develop, and release those Christian brothers and sisters whose passion is for birth, rebirth, the evangelistic spirit.

Who is going to take care of the elderly, the severely ill, the poor, the homeless, the rejected and dejected members of our society?  Because we have Social Security, Medicare, and Public Welfare in place, we “expect” those services and rely on the government to “maintain” them and “take care” of those in need!  If you want to lose an election attack those institutions where people have become dependent on their services for basic survival. Government understands the importance of taking care of its people; the Church needs to also understand that principle.  Those in most churches “depend” on the “pastor” and his staff to take care of those in need in their congregation, so they can avoid direct contact with those in need amongst their brethren.  Every church, without exception, needs the pastoral/shepherding element if it wishes to keep and maintain its sheep. The evangelist may birth, but if what was birthed is not maintained and experience growth, death will occur! The church needs to equip, develop, and release those Christian brothers and sisters whose passion is to help their fellow brethren and those in need to grow in Jesus Christ through practical daily applications.

Knowing ones history, ones strengths, and ones principles that is the backbone of its existence and applying those truths to move forward is the strength of a teacher.  Educations is always at the core of national political election, because education is always the investment in one’s future, its strengthening of its presence, and the power of unleashing future potential.  The Roman Catholics understand this principle establishing a parochial school system in American to instill Roman Catholic ideals in its youth.  The Church as a whole must embrace this truth, realizing that through education the Church will maintain, develop, and strengthen itself for the present as well as the future.  The teaching gift of the five fold is so desperately needed to implant, develop, grow, and strengthen, equip, and release those brothers and sisters in the Lord in their calling, their destiny, maturing them toward the image of Jesus Christ while developing Church unity.

Hope is essential for a country to continue to develop, and government has learned that role; ask F.D.R. & Churchill in the leadership roles they played in their countries during World War II. In times of darkness, the prophetic voice is needed not only for correction, but to resound the “Word” of “Hope”.  The Constitution of the United States is a written document outlining the ideals of America, but if the people do not make the Constitution a “living document” which is applied in everyday life, it is useless and legalistic.  The same is with the Church, for if it takes the Law, the Bible, the Logos Word, the written Word, and is not willing to make it a Rhema Word, a living Word, then their religion is legalistic and worthless.  The Church needs the prophetic life to continue to make relevant one’s faith.

No country is strong unless its leadership is strong and has the capability of “see over” what is happening to its people in good times and in bad, then release those forces, those people, those services, those government programs needed to keep their nation strong and solvent.  The same is with the Church, but unlike the C.E.O. mentality of leadership that the American business model has projected: a leader who is in control, is dictatorial, who believes the buck stops with him and his ego.  The Church needs leadership that is humble, based on service and selflessness, who is willing to release others rather than doing it himself, who is willing to see what the Holy Spirit is doing in the Church’s midst and hear the voice of the Holy Spirit to be subservient to that voice in obedience, recognizing the Holy Spirit’s control, not their own.

Again, government recognizes the power of the five fold: birth, maintenance & growth, education, hopeful application, and proper oversight. Ephesians 4 outlines the same principles for the Church to follow in “equipping”, or preparing, its members, the priesthood of believers in Jesus Christ, through service to develop individual maturity into the image of Jesus Christ, and corporate maturity through unity to usher in the return of Jesus, the groom, for His Bride, the Church.  Church, let’s not only recognize the need for the five fold, but begin to utilize the truth Ephesians 4 has to offer.

The Five Fold Is Already In Your Church; I Sincerely Hope So!

Ways The Church Might Change: Point 10

[In a previous blog I have outlined 10 possible changes the Church may face in the future. This is point 10 in the series: God has been reestablishing the evangelist, pastor, teacher, prophet, and apostle back into the Church. They are in the Church now!  This generation has to be open to allowing the Holy Spirit to bring them together through submission and releasing one another to operate in their passions, callings, and voices to bring unity to the body of Christ and being effective.]

As you have seen throughout this series, I believe revival in the Church will come through relationships vertically with the Godhead and horizontally among believers while demanding total trust in the Spirit of Jesus Christ to lead the way.   If you have read my series on metamorphosis, you would also know that I believe that the Church is in a time of transformation, a cocoon stage, where the current slow cumbersome caterpillar structure of the Church is being transformed into a complete different structure, a hard shelled resilient structure of a butterfly that will allow it to fly.  The Church is in a period of change, but as members of the Church, the Priesthood of Believers, the Bride of Christ, are we willing to embrace these changes?

One of the changes that is occurring is the reestablishment of the five fold of Ephesians 4 back into the church as passions, gifts, points of view, and voices in individual believers to make them more Christ-like and bring unity within the Church that has not existed for the last 20 centuries.

Every local Christian church needs an evangelistic passion to win the lost and proclaim the message, “You must be born again” of “the water and the spirit”.  With revival is always a powerful movement of new believers in Jesus Christ.  The evangelistic spirit is the spirit of birthing, and every local church needs that spirit in order to grow in number.

Every local Christian church needs a pastoral, shepherding spirit that nurtures, cares, develops, equips, trains, and releases their believers towards ministry, “works of service”.  The evangelist births, but the pastoral/shepherd nurtures these newborns through their spiritual childhood and adolescence to prepare, equip, and train them in Christ-like character development to release them to be able to stand and advance the kingdom of God as mature believers. The pastoral/shepherding spirit is the spirit of development, and every local church needs that spirit in order to grow in character in Christ-likeness.

Every local Christian church needs the teaching spirit. The Word of God, the Bible, is the foundation of all that happens in the Church. Every Christian, without exception, needs someone to help them understand the Word of God for themselves through the tutorage of the Holy Spirit.  Every Christian needs to memorize scripture, exercise the knowledge of knowing or recalling scripture, and bases everything they do upon the Word of God. The teaching spirit sets the foundation for the Church, so every local church needs that spirit in order to stand firm.

Every local Christian church needs the prophetic spirit, the capability to hear the still small voice of the Holy Spirit for themselves, as well as being able to take the Logos Word, the written Word, the Bible, and make it the Rhema Word, the living Word.  The 1^st Century Church took the Logos Word, what today is known as the Old Testament, and made it the Rehma Word, the living word, as they lived out their new faith and recorded it, thus the New Testament.  The prophetic spirit activates life into the Church, so every local church needs the prophetic spirit to move forward in living out their faith.

Every local Christian church needs the apostolic spirit, the ability to “see” what the Holy Spirit is doing and saying and be obedient to it, the ability to identify giftings in other believers and equip and train them in their Christian development, and the ability to release other believers in their gifting, their calling, their destiny in Jesus Christ.  Instead of administrators in a business sense, the Church needs developers and investors in other Christian believers, people with spiritual parenting skills. The apostolic spirit brings unity, direction, harmony, and stability to the Church, so every local church needs the apostolic spirit for direction and over sight.

Now for the shocking conclusion: I believe all these spirits are already in people in your local congregation. The five fold is already present, seeking to be manifested right among yourself.  All we must do is embrace the Holy Spirit to birth, develop, and release these passions, visions, and points of view among us, the believers in Jesus Christ, the Priesthood of Believers.  They need to be “activated” among the laity in order to be effective. Clergy/laity labels must cease, so all believers in Jesus Christ can be empowered, developed, equipped, and released into their destiny in the kingdom of God.  The key to the next revival is that it will touch “all” believers in Jesus Christ, not just the professionals, nor the old establish believers, nor the chosen few.  It will be a massive world wide movement to remove the “spot and wrinkles” of the Bride, the Church, in preparation for the Groom, Jesus’ return.  It will impact Church structure like no movement in history has, not even the Great Reformation.  I prophesy that the way my great-grandchildren do Church as adults will look nothing like the pew sitting, hymn singing, pulpit preaching church services of my great-grandparents.  Church, if we want REVIVAL, we must be prepared for change, and be open to what the Holy Spirit desires to lift the name of Jesus and establish the Kingdom of God over the entire earth! Revival, come!

The Need For The Apostolic To Provide True Revival!

10 Ways The Church Might Change:

Point 4 – Part 2

[In previous blogs I have outlined 10 possible changes the Church may face in the future. This is point 4 in the series: Relationships will replace religion. Religious programs, westernized theology, and methodology will be challenged, torn down and replaced by the global movement of the Holy Spirit bringing unity, not division. Denominations and religious sects will vanish, being replaced through relationships with the Holy Spirit and between brothers and sisters in the Lord. The Apostolic will return ushering unity in theology, purpose, direction, and doctrine.  Truly there has been and is only ONE Church, the body of Christ, the priesthood of believers in Jesus Christ.]

I believe that the “apostolic” is the ability to “see over what the Holy Spirit is already doing!”  It is seeing “the big picture” of the Church as a whole.  It is not the apostle that is bringing the “big picture” together, for he does not “oversee” by controlling it; he just has the privilege of “seeing over” what is already happening by the Leading of the Holy Spirit before his eyes and helping to facilitate that picture through releasing others in the Body of Christ towards its fulfillment.  Any believer in Jesus Christ can be apostolic in vision, passion, and point of view if their heart’s cry is the Church as a whole, as a body, as a total functioning entity. 

The 21^st Century Christian with an apostolic leaning will have to be above the fray of sectarian divisions within the body of Christ over doctrine, theology, and traditions.  Saul, later named Paul, who was a Pharisee of Pharisees, a member of the Sanhedrin, the Jewish Religion’s governing body, who debated against the Sadducees, another Jewish sect, had to be reprogrammed, rewired, re-theologized by the Holy Spirit upon his conversion to Christianity in order to have the proper apostolic vision that he would need to take the gospel to the gentiles. Those 21^st Century Christians with an apostolic view, passion, and point of view are currently under the same scrutiny that Saul/Paul faced in his time.

Although this infant first century Church looked upon itself almost as another Jewish sect with Jesus not only as its leading rabbi but Messiah, it took Paul challenging them with apostolic insight at the Council in Jerusalem (Acts 15) for them to recognize the error in their theology toward gentiles, repenting, and not only accepting gentiles but writing letters of encouragement towards their progress.  “Circumcision” was the issue debated in the first century Church, not just tolerance, but “acceptance” of gentiles (people unlike themselves) was the key to the Church’s massive growth after their decision.  The Church has gone from a Jewish sect to basically a major gentile religion.  Today the church must not be just tolerant of other Christian sects, but “accepting” of them as brethren if the 21^st Century Church is to move forward in unity, power, and purpose.  That message of “unconditional acceptance” among brethren is an apostolic theme for today! In fact the 21^st Century apostle takes it further: I John 3:16: You know love by this that you lay down your life for your brethren.  The 21^st Century apostolic teaching will be about “laying down your life for your brethren” just as Jesus did for us on the Cross.

So part of the World-Wide-Revival of the Church in the 21^st Century will be the restoration of the apostolic passion, vision, and point of view, re-establishing apostolic doctrine to bring unity in the Body of Christ, the Church, to fulfill Jesus’ own Priestly Prayer of John 16 before he was to return to his Father in heaven.  “Seeing” the workings of the Holy Spirit toward that fulfillment will be the joy of the 21^st Century Christians with an apostolic calling on his/her lives.

“YEAST” INFECTIONS ARE NO FUN, SO MY WIFE TELLS ME!

How To Rid The Church Of “Yeast Infections”!

In my previous blog I talked about how the church has no time for “yeast” during revivals, when God is on the move.  “Yeast”, properly “kneaded” takes time to rise before being baked by the heat which produces a loaf of bread with a “protective crust”.  The fleeting movement of Passover did not allow time for the “kneaded” process. The Israelites “needed” to get moving because it was time for freedom, time to display God’s power, time to move through the Red Sea on a quest to the Promise Land.  Even in the dessert there was no time to “knead” bread, thus no “need” for “yeast”, for God was still on the move leading His people by a cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night.  In the dessert he produced “yeast”-less bread called manna, collected daily or it would rot.  Manna has not use to “stay around”, for God was on the move.

Today, I am embarking on a topic my Christian sisters can blog about better than I can, for I, personally, thank heavens, have never experienced: “yeast infections.”  Being married, I have seen the pain, discomfort, and irritability caused by them through my wife, but just seeing the “fruit of discomfort” caused by them, I, in the imbecilic lack of knowledge on the subject, can only write about the second hand results.  I can safely draw the inclusion that “yeast infections” are not nice, not wanted, and should be banned!

Spiritually, the Bride of Christ, body of Christ, the Church, is experiencing “yeast infections,” and it ain’t pretty!  “Yeast infections” never are!  Jesus warned about the “yeast”, the teachings of the Pharisees and Sadducees of his and our day.  It still scares me that Jesus forgave sinners, the unclean, the down and out of his society, for forbidden ones, yet he severely criticizes the religious leaders of his day: “Woe to you scribes and Pharisees.” Although we Christians will never admit it, there are Pharisees and Sadducees in our midst.  We definitely will not admit it, but defend it, if we are actually ones ourselves! It is painful when one makes that discovery, I know from personal experience, for I am a “recovering Pharisee” in my own right.  “Yeast” naturally rises over time, and being a Christian for 50 years has given it plenty of time to rise in my Christian walk, but when there is revival, there is no time for it to rise.  If I want to see revival, I must clean the “yeast” out of my own life?  How about you? Where do you stand on the “Pharisee” meter if you have been a Christian for any length of time?

“Yeast” is the “teaching” of traditional, structural “truth” over time.  That definition, I am sure, could be highly debated by the Pharisees of our time, but this “yeast’s” fruit has been division in the body of Christ, not unity. I personally believe it is time to 1) recognize the five fold as being the “norm” in a God moving revival and 2) the Church needs to reinstate the apostolic and revive the “apostolic teaching” recorded in the book of Acts.

Why do we need the five fold? To prevent and cure “yeast infections” in the Bride of Christ, the Church.  The fruit of the five fold, as outlined in Ephesians 4:14-16 is “Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming. Instead speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament grows and builds itself in love, as each part does its work.”  Through “serving” one another, laying down one life for one another through submission and accountability and following the Holy Spirit, “sectarian teaching” through the teaching gifting in the five fold should be checked by the other four passions and points of view. As the teacher continues to study the Logos Word, the Bible, unity, balance, and truth will prevail through the Rhema revelations through the prophet, the birthing of those revelations through the evangelist, the daily working out of those revelations in practical life experiences through the pastor/shepherd, with correct oversight, the seeing over what the Holy Spirit is doing and teaching while releasing the other giftings to fulfill the big picture by the apostle, all prepares the ground work for the “apostolic teaching” as found in the book of Acts.

The restoration of the “apostolic” passion and point of view into the body of Christ, the priesthood of believers, will usher in the restoration of “apostolic teaching”, a teaching that will bring unity not division, simplicity not complexity, power and life not stagnation, and clarity instead of cloudiness. The tossing “back and forth by the waves”, and the blowing “here and there by every wind of teaching” will be diminished if not eliminated by the apostolic speaking “the truth in love” causing individual Christians and the Church as a whole “in all things” to “grow up into him who is the Head, that is Christ.”  Results: “Every supporting ligament” of the body of Christ “grows and builds itself in love, as each part does its work.”  Unity not sectarianism; One Body of Christ not multiple sects, denominations, groups, mega-churches, etc. all under different banners; and one Head speaking for there will be only one “mouth” to this Head, speaking the same message of truth throughout the “whole” body of Christ.

The gospel is simple, yet we, the Church, have made it complicated over the centuries. The gospel is unifying, yet we, the Church, have brought only division among ourselves. The gospel is truth, yet we, the Church, prorogate the lie that only our sect has the “true” insight into “all things”, not the rest of the body of Christ.  The way to fight the “yeast infection” in the Church today is to embrace the five different passions and points of view as found in Ephesians 4:11, allow the Holy Spirit to design them according to God’s plan for the purpose of unity in the body of Christ and the “growing up”, the maturity, of individual believers as well as the corporate Church into the fullness and image of Jesus Christ through the true restoration of the apostolic and the apostolic teaching to the Church.  The cure to “yeast” infection is Jesus Christ and responding to the constant “moving” of the Holy Spirit. 

Who Is To Teach The Apostolic Teaching!

Probably A Person With An Apostolic Point Of View

So who is called to “teach” this apostolic teaching today?  Self proclaimed apostles who use to be bishops, or prophets who now claimed a “higher calling”, or senior pastors of huge megachurches or networks of independent churches? I am leery of titles in the hierarchal structure in today’s church.  I cringed when on web site there was Apostle Dr. So-in-so and his wife Prophetess Dr. So-in-so.  At the top of their hierarchal local church structure they both boasted higher educational degrees and titles to validate their superiority among their peers. They appeared to be super Christians.

The five fold is for every believer to believe in the supernatural invading and dissecting their natural world.  It is not for super Christians seeking labels and positions.  Even the disciples fought among themselves at who would sit on Jesus left and right in the kingdom, totally missing the whole kingdom of god principles Jesus was teaching them.  When the Holy Spirit came, and they allowed the Holy Spirit to be their teacher, they began to understand and live these principals as apostles, becoming the foundation of the Church.  This foundational teaching is called the “apostles’ teaching.”

An apostle sees “the big picture”, loves to put things in order, and loves to “release” people and their giftings to further the kingdom of god.  His teaching must reflect the big picture, a message that is universal to “the whole body” not just for sects within the body like is in Christianity today.  His teaching must reflect the divine order set forth by Jesus in all its simplicity, his mission in life recorded in the Old and New Testaments, his death, burial, resurrection, ascension, and ruling at the right hand of the Father. His teachings must also reflect a goal of “equipping the saints for works of service” but then “releasing them in their gifting” to further the kingdom. 

I personally do not believe an apostle has to be a paid clergy. An “apostle” is not a profession with a hierarchal job description. It is not a person with the most “seniority” in a local or regional body of believers.  It is a person, a common believer in Jesus Christ, who has the point of view of seeing the whole Church, the body of Christ, and a passion to release people already in that body to further the kingdom of god and set things in order for the return of Jesus Christ to a bride that is without spot or wrinkle.  The five fold are “spot” and “wrinkle” removers under the watchful eye of the apostle who “sees over” what the Holy Spirit is doing and follows that leading. 

So who is called to “teach” this apostolic teaching today? Like the gospel, the answer is simple: the apostle!  An apostle sees the universality of the Church, the power and influence of the Church working out its salvation corporately, being the Bride, preparing itself for its Groom, the return of the Lord Jesus Christ, while “seeing over” what the Holy Spirit is doing individually in the passions of the evangelist, pastor/shepherd, teacher, and prophet to bring corporate unity through the Holy Spirit and the Cross of Jesus Christ.

If there is ever a day the Church needs apostles, it is today, for only through them and their teaching  will we no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is Christ. Eph. 4:14-15