Apostolic Alignment
ApostolicAlignment (Five fold ministry)
By Dr. Dan Cheatham
Table of Contents
Chapter Title Page
1 My Father, My Father 1
2 Growing a Great People 7
3 Servant Apostles 12
4 Founders & Grounders 15
5 Named Apostles inthe New Testament 19
6 Examples of Modern Day Apostles 20
7 Dr. C. Peter Wagner Notes 22
8 Dr. John Eckhardt Notes 26
Chapter 1:
My Father, My Father
Ephesians 4
Ephesians 4:7-16NLT – 7 However, he has given each one of us a special gift[a] through the generosity of Christ. 8 That is why the Scriptures say,
"When he ascended to the heights, he led a crowd of captives and gave gifts to his people."[]
9 Notice that it says "he ascended." This clearly means that Christ also descended to our lowly world.[c] 10 And the same one who descended is the one who ascended higher than all the heavens, so that he might fill the entire universe with himself.
11 Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. 12 Their responsibility is to equip God's people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ. 13 This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith [My note:Proof that the apostles Jesus gave are still here with us today is the fact that the body ofChrist has not yet come into complete unity. These five gifts are given “UNTIL”… “TILL” we come into unity. This does not diminish the importance or unique place that the original “12 apostles of the Lamb” held. No one could ever replace the 12 that walked with Jesus and those that were the original founders of the church.] and knowledge of God's Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ.
14 Then we will no longer be immature like children. We won't be tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching. We will not be influenced when people try to trick us with lies so clever they sound like the truth. 15 Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church.16 He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love.
1 Corinthians 4:14 NLT14 I am not writing these things to shame you, but to warn you as my beloved children. 15 For even if you had ten thousand others to teach you about Christ, you have only one spiritual father. For I became your father in Christ Jesus when I preached the Good News to you. 16 So I urge you to imitate me.
17 That's why I have sent Timothy, my beloved and faithful child in the Lord. He will remind you of how I follow Christ Jesus, just as I teach in all the churches wherever I go.
18 Some of you have become arrogant, thinking I will not visit you again. 19 But I will come-and soon-if the Lord lets me, and then I'll find out whether these arrogant people just give pretentious speeches or whether they really have God's power. 20 For the Kingdom of God is not just a lot of talk; it is living by God's power. 21 Which do you choose? Should I come with a rod to punish you, or should I come with love and a gentle spirit?
Note the reference to CHILDREN (SONS) and FATHER. Paul was a FATHER to the church at Corinth, not just aninstructor. You may read many great Christian books… you may benefit from many Christianteachers… you may enjoy many ministries and conferences, but WHO IS YOUR SPIRITUALFATHER?
Defining the Modern Day Apostle
An apostle is a FOUNDER. Many ministers are grounders, but not all are founders. We will discussmore on this distinction in a later chapter. An apostle mayFound a churchFound a revelational truthFound a unique ministryFound a new group of ChristiansFound a ministerial fellowship or Foundmany other things.
Evangelists, Pastors and Teachers are GROUNDERS.
Apostles and Prophets, however, are FOUNDERS.
An apostle births things.
An apostle may birth other leaders.
An apostle sets things in order. (Titus 1:5)
An apostle is a SPIRITUAL FATHER. (1 Corinthians 4:14-21)
An apostle moves in signs and wonders. (2 Corinthians 12:12)
Most apostles in the Bible have SEEN THE LORD, at least in the form of a vision. (1 Corinthianschapter 15)
An apostle is a minister to ministers and a leader to leaders.
An apostle's mantle is "governmental" by nature.
Note Elijah and the Widow Woman. The widow woman DISCERNED that Elijah was her spiritualfather and, as a result, enjoyed a lifetime of miracles because of her spiritual perception.
Note Elisha and the Wealthy Woman with her husband: This woman DISCERNED that Elisha washer and her husband’s divine connection to God and, as a result, enjoyed harvest after harvest ofmiracles.
This woman did three things:
She PERCEIVED the prophet through spiritual recognition.
She RECEIVED the prophet by meeting his material needs.
She CONCEIVED the Prophet's Reward by receiving her miracle!
Elisha did three things:
He discerned her NEED.
He accepted her SEED.
He performed the DEED!
Note the relationship between Elijah and Elisha. Elisha would not let Elijah “shake him off” and wasdetermined to serve him until the end. As a result, Elisha received a double portion of Elijah’sanointing. When Elijah was taken from Elisha in a whirlwind and with chariots of fire, Elisha cried,“My father, my father…” as the mantle dropped from heaven. Elisha KNEW that he was Elijah’s sonin the Lord. Elijah KNEW that he was Elisha’s father in the Lord. It was a Holy Ghost thing… a divineconnection… a kingdom relationship birthed by Almighty God himself in both their hearts. “My spiritualfather, my spiritual father…”
In this relationship, the father passed his mantle to the son. And in the passing, the mantle alsodoubled! It is always the Mantle, NOT the Minister that gets the job done! The Mantle makes ithappen!
Look at Paul & Timothy. Timothy was Paul’s project… his spiritual son. Timothy served Paulfaithfully, and Paul covered and nourished Timothy spiritually.
Timothy came into the fullness ofChrist like character and into the fullness of his ministry because of this father-son relationship. Paulwas Timothy’s spiritual mentor and father. Timothy was Paul's protÔö£┬«gÔö£┬«.
Moses and Joshua are another shining example. Joshua became Moses’ successor because of hisfaithfulness to serve under Moses for many years. He obeyed his orders and associated with theanointing on Moses’ life… so much so that the anointing on Moses actually TRANSFERRED ontoJoshua over time.
Traditional Church versus Fathers & Sons
Perhaps we are asking the wrong questions!
"What church should I join?"
"Which is the friendliest church?"
"Where do my friends go to church?"
"Where does my family go to church?"
"Who is the best preacher?"
"Which church has the best Praise music?"
"Where should I become a member?”
"Who has the best children's program?”
"Who has the best Teen Ministry?”
"Where will my gifts most be needed?”
"Which church has room for my talents?"
Perhaps there are better questions to ask:
WHO is my spiritual father?
WHAT pastor or leader is God knitting my heart to?
WHO is my spiritual mentor?
WHAT Man of God am I assigned to?
WHO is my Elijah?
WHO is my Elisha?
WHO am I a Timothy to?
WHO is a Paul to me?
WHAT spiritual father am I to serve and sow my life into?
WHICH Pastor is it the will of God for me to sit under?
TO WHOM am I yoked?
WITH WHOM am I aligned by God in the Kingdom?
WHO am I to be a son to?
WHERE is my spiritual father?
These kinds of questions take church out of the realm of BUSINESS AS USUAL, and impart truepurpose, power, and destiny. A revelation of spiritual fatherhood and spiritual son ship will take us outof CHURCH AS USUAL.
The answers to these kinds of questions will take the church out of the realm of competition, out ofthe realm of politics, out of the realm of frustration, out of the realm of power struggles, and out of therealm of comparing ourselves to one another.
I Have Three Fathers
My Heavenly Father
My Natural Father, and
My Spiritual Father.
My natural destiny is directly tied to who my natural father is.
“WHEN I came into the world” I was determined by my natural father, not by me. “WHERE I came intothe world” I was determined by my natural father, not by me.
“WHAT kind of family I was born into”was determined by my father, not by me.
I wanted to be just like my father. So I went to the same college my father did:
I was inthe Corps of Cadets and served on Regimental Staff my senior year… just like my father.
I chose thesame college major: Engineering.
I became a United States Air Force Officer just like my father andaspired to be a fighter pilot just like my father. Even today I have many of my father's values, hispreferences, and many of his character attributes. Many of my personality traits and mannerisms,even my personality flaws are similar to his.
Likewise, my spiritual destiny is also directly tied to who my spiritual father is.A spiritual father cancarry you into your divine destiny WITH HIM. Your destiny is connected to his destiny.
Henry Hinn, Benny Hinn’s brother says, “Bastards are always looking for a new spiritual father.” SonsKNOW who their spiritual father is.
A spiritual father is seldom your PAL, your BUD, or you're FISHING PARTNER.
A spiritual father is the spiritual leader to whom you are assigned by God to:
1) GROW with,
2)FLOW with, and
3) GO with.
If you are OUT OF ALIGNMENT you cannot come into the fullness of your spiritual growth or the fullfruitfulness of your ministry.
If you are not a spiritual son to someone you are OUT of kingdom alignment. You need a Holy Ghostchiropractic adjustment… and badly!
If you are not connected to your spiritual father, your success in the Kingdom of God is limited, atbest.
If you are sitting in a church just ENDURING your “preacher”, you are just playing church. Such anattitude is an affront to Almighty God who gave the five-fold ministry to his church. When Jesusascended after His resurrection, He presented Himself to the Father, divided up his own anointing'sand abilities, and then placed them in individual men and women.
The five-fold ministry of apostles,prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers is one of God's most awesome gifts to mankind.
If you are not genuinely CONNECTED in your heart to a man of God, you are floating around in deepspace weightlessness.
If you feel connected to your friends at church but don’t feel connected in your heart to your pastor,you’re in the wrong church, the wrong place!
You're just following religious traditions.
If you have ever said, “I LIKE our new preacher,” you are already out of alignment. If all he is to youis a “PREACHER” or a “MINISTER”, you got it upside down. If he is not a true FATHER FIGURE toyou, you are not really his son in the Lord. He cannot take you along into your divine destiny if you do
not feel truly yoked to him by the Spirit of God. Either God will have to change your heart so that youcan relate to the man of God correctly, or you need to pray and find the spiritual father to whom Godis truly connecting you.
Your apostle, your spiritual father, will always be a step or two ahead of you spiritually. Don’t followthe ministry of someone that is behind you.
Follow the ministry of someone who the Lord keeps justahead of you… close enough to relate, but ahead enough to motivate. (On a humorous note,
someone has said: “If you are a step ahead of the people, you are a LEADER. If you are two stepsahead of them, you're a PIONEER. But if you are three steps ahead, you're a MARTYR.”)
If you are not serving and sowing into a man of God whom you feel in your heart is a divine gift fromGod, you are stifling your own spiritual growth. You are also stagnating the spiritual growth of thosearound you too your family and your friends.
If you cannot see yourself as a spiritual son to someone, you need to find your father. Something iswrong. Why? Because God has given the five-fold ministry as a gift to you.
If you are a preacher or pastor and you don’t really have anyone whom you can call your spiritualfather, YOU TOO ARE OUT OF APOSTOLIC ALIGNMENT, and you need to pray and take steps toallow God to connect you.
If you have offended a spiritual father or a spiritual father has offended you, go HONOR him at anycost to your pride, and ask forgiveness! Get the air cleared NOW. Do it quick! Don’t delay. Don’thesitate. ALWAYS HONOR A SPIRITUAL FATHER. If you want things to go well for you and youwish to live long on the earth, go quickly and at least restore the HONOR of the former relationship.
WE HAVE TO ADMIT WE ARE SEEING A WHOLE LOT OF SPIRITUAL ABORTIONS IN THEKINGDOM OF GOD TODAY:
Churches that come and go. Stars that shoot across the Christianmedia sky of popularity, but quickly flame out. Ministries that try to DUPLICATE what someone elseis doing. People that start things, only to never finish them.
A lot of fluff. A lot of SHAKY things. A lotof FLAKY things. Even with a church I recently pastored, if all the people that had ever attended for amonth or more were still there, we would have had a church of one thousand or more. (I'm not talkingabout just visitors here, but those who came and stayed for a season.) The body of Christ is in astate of disarray because there are no spiritual fathers and because when there are, sons arebetraying or dishonoring their spiritual fathers, or disconnecting from them altogether. BUT YOUCANNOT SUCCESSFULLY DISCONNECT FROM A SPIRITUAL FATHER ANY MORE THAN YOUCAN SUCCESSFULLY DISCONNECT FROM YOUR NATURAL FATHER. All DISHONORING of afather is penalized… God’s Word says so!
In the American church, we have a SHOPPERS MENTALITY. We treat church and the things of Godlike the Shoppers TV Network.
"Honor thy father and mother, for this is the first commandment with promise"
ALWAYS HONOR A SPIRITUAL FATHER.
HONOR IS THE FOUNDATION OF ANY LASTING RELATIONSHIP.
HONOR!… even if you disagree on some points!
A Spirit-filled believer CANNOT grow under a non-Spirit-filled leader. God WOULD NEVER place acharismatic believer under a non-charismatic father figure. It never ceases to amaze me howthousands of Spirit-filled believers decide to attend non-Spirit filled churches and sit under a non-Spirit baptized minister who will be gone in a few years or less. BUT THEN AGAIN THE MINISTRYHAS NOT UNDERSTOOD THE APOSTOLIC THEMSELVES AND THE MINISTRY IS NOT
ALIGNED WITH ONE ANOTHER PROPERLY EITHER. MOST MINISTERS DON’T KNOW WHOTHEIR OWN SPIRITUAL FATHER IS, MUCH LESS HOW TO BE ONE THEMSELVES.SO HOW CAN ONE EXPECT THE PEW TO GET IN ALIGNMENT IF THE PULPIT HASN'TALIGNED THEMSELVES FIRST.
THERE HAS BEEN A DEATH IN THE LAND OF SPIRITUAL FATHERS. WHERE ARE THEFATHERS? WHERE ARE THE APOSTLES?
Will the true apostles please step forward!
We have accidentally substituted many things for apostolic alignment: denominations, administrativeboards, procedures, rules, just to name a few. But NOTHING can substitute for a FATHER-SON
RELATIONSHIP. God aligns his kingdom through apostolic relationships, heartfelt connections andsupernatural networking.
God’s way of growing His kingdom is by creating father-son relationships that will outlast, outlive, andoutwit the devil’s schemes. When we get aligned in these father-son relationships and becomepassionate about HONORING and serving our fathers, our success in the kingdom is INEVITABLE!
This is end-time revelation. This is last days divine order. Glory!!!
Chapter 2:
Growing A Great People
This chapter will not make much sense to you until you have read Chapter 1, so if you haven’t alreadydone so, please read Chapter 1 first.
Proven Sons
Philippians 2:22 KJV – But ye know the proof of him, that, as a son with the father, he hath servedwith me in the gospel.
From the above verse, we can see that God’s way of PROVING, TESTING, and PREPARING a manof God is to have him serve another man of God.
Jesus even said in Luke 16:12, “And if ye have notbeen faithful in that which is another man's, who shall give you that which is your own?”
1 Corinthians 4:17 KJV – For this cause have I sent unto you Timotheus, who is my beloved son, andfaithful in the Lord, who shall bring you into remembrance of my ways which be in Christ, as I teachevery where in every church.
Here again, in the above verse, we see that there should exist in the body of Christ father and sonsrelationships.
Note also that Paul authenticates and validates Timothy’s qualifications by noting
Timothy’s demonstrated FAITHFULNESS.
This is a problem today. Too many self-appointed people try to become leaders. And too many God appointedleaders have not submitted themselves to a period of proving and serving another man ofGod.
Because of this, many ministries have no seasoning, little experience, little salt, and have notdeveloped lines of accountability.
Then these ministers try to lead God’s sheep and they have had noproving ground first.
EVERY MINISTER needs to serve in a proving ground first, yoked to another
more seasoned man of God, BEFORE he leads God’s people on his own. This is God’s SAFETYNET, both for the sheep and for his ministers. I am so sick of hearing about people who have goneout and gotten mail-order ordinations. Also, many ministries today try to join a ministerial associationthat they have no natural connection with, in order to accomplish their self-serving motives.
Butneither of these strategies can take the place of a true FATHER-SON RELATIONSHIP.
Those that prove themselves are then authenticated, validated, vindicated, and have passed the testsof character and faithfulness that automatically qualify them for further promotion and responsibility inGod’s kingdom.
How To Grow A Great Church
Psalm 127:1-5 KJV – Except the LORD build the house, they labour in vain that build it: except theLORD keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain. 2 It is vain for you to rise up early, to sit uplate, to eat the bread of sorrows: for so he giveth his beloved sleep. 3 Lo, children are an heritage ofthe LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward. 4 As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man; so
are children of the youth. 5 Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them: they shall not beashamed, but they shall speak with the enemies in the gate.
In late 2005, God made Psalm 127 my theme scripture for 2006. God opened my eyes and showedme that he was changing the nature of my ministry into more of a “fathering” role, than a “doing” role.
He showed me many things from this awesome Psalm.
EXCEPT THE LORD BUILD THE HOUSE: Unless it was God growing my ministry and church, allmy own efforts would be futile and I would wear myself out. That truth is rather obvious in this Psalm.
But then God opened my eyes to even more truth from this Psalm. Realizing that the epitome ofHebrew literature and poetry is PARALLELISM1, I suddenly saw that verses 1-2 EQUAL verses 3-5.
In other words, I saw that the way that THE LORD BUILDS THE HOUSE, is NOT directly by thespiritual father of the house, but INDIRECTLY by the SONS.
This Psalm says that the leader that has a quiver full of sons is a happy man.
It's not just that he hasmany sons; here it is both quantitative AND qualitative. This Psalm says that it is THEY that shallspeak with the enemies at the gate, NOT the father.
And Jesus said, “I will build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” Jesuspromised to build the church… but how? In Psalm 127, we have the Master Blueprint.
The way togrow a GREAT CHURCH is to grow GREAT SONS, and then in turn, to let the SONS THEMSELVESgrow the church.
I was then reminded that, in Eastern cultures, how shameful it was for a father tohave no sons, and how shameful women feel who cannot bear their husbands sons. It is a dynastyissue. It is an HONOR issue to Easterners, and wewesterners have no clue. So a spiritual father isto INVEST HIMSELF into his spiritual sons and, in turn, his spiritual sons will build the spiritualbastion God so yearns for.
In other words, the way to grow a GREAT CHURCH is to mentor, empower, and groom GREATSONS. A wise spiritual father will concentrate more on developing his spiritual sons than on his ownministry activity and “busy-ness.” The wise spiritual father knows that if he invests in those that Godshows him to be spiritual sons, THEY THEMSELVES will get the job done of growing a GREAT
CHURCH.
Sadly, in America, we often sacrifice the longevity of ministry and the permanence of churches forimmediate gratification of vision. We often get caught up trying to speed the vision’s fulfillment, ratherthan investing in our sons for the long term.
So here I have made some suggestions for spiritual sons and spiritual fathers in the Lord.
1 Parallelism in Hebrew Literature: In English, the epitome of poetry and prose is Rhyme and Meter. However, in many cultures, poetry has zero rhymeand meter and is all about some other dynamic. Hebrew poetry is all about PARALLELISM. The epitome of Hebrew literature is the ability to drawparallels between verses and/or sections of verses: The more parallelism, the greater the poetic value and the more skilled the art of communication!
To the sight and ear of a Hebrew, parallelism is just as beautiful and easy to remember as rhyme and meter in our own culture. A masterfully craftedHebrew song is full of parallelism as opposed to rhyme and meter.
There are three kinds of parallelism: SYNTHETIC, ANTI-THETIC, andSYNONOMOUS.
A synonymous parallel is when the following thought basically says the same thing as the preceding thought, but says it in a slightlydifferent way.
A synthetic parallel is when the second thought or second section of thought amplifies and builds upon the previous, bringing more clarityand truth to the subject matter at hand. An anti-thetic parallel is when the second thought or section of thought contrasts the opposite of the previousthought or section of thought. For practice, see if you can identify where and which kinds of parallelism are used in Psalm 1. Remember, parallelismmay be found between consecutive verses, but also may be found between different sections of thought as well.
Suggestions For Spiritual Sons
1. Never steal a spiritual father’s glory. Don’t allow a competitive spirit to grow within you. Don’t stealTIME before the people that belongs to him. Don’t steal CREDIT that belongs to him. Even if youthink you are the one that should be receiving most the credit for something, DON’T CHERISH YOUROWN PRAISE. Always endeavor to point the people to their leader (your spiritual father). Alwayshonor him in their presence. And don’t allow people to unwittingly play you against your spiritualfather.
2. Never steal a spiritual father’s sheep, purposely or by default.
Obviously, a church split is stealingsheep. But also be careful not to accept a leadership position in a nearby church or ministry withoutthe full participation and blessing of your spiritual father. By default, automatically, whether you try to
prevent it or not, some from your spiritual father’s flock have already bonded with you, and they willinevitably want to leave with you or follow you later. And this is not healthy for them, you, yourspiritual father, or his flock (which is your previous church family too). If it is too late, and this hasalready occurred, refer to “8” below.
3. Never refer to your spiritual father by first name alone in the presence of others. At least call him,“Pastor Bob” or “Bishop” or “Brother Thompson” or “Dr. Smith.” UPHOLD GOD’S AUTHORITY THATHE HAS DELEGATED INTO MEN. UPHOLD SPIRITUAL AUTHORITY because one day your ownauthority in the Lord will need to be upheld. See yourself as a pillar upholding the authority and
anointing of God in the midst of His church.
4. Sow money, time, and assistance into your spiritual father’s life, family, and ministry. Put hisneeds BEFORE your own. Elijah asked the widow woman to give him what was left of the cake andoil first, BEFORE she prepared the last cake and oil for her and her son. As a result, the jar of flourand the jar of oil were supernaturally multiplied for several years, even though there was a totalfamine in the land. Because she put the material needs of the man of God BEFORE her own needs,God blessed her, her family, and her future. “The man of God BEFORE myself!”
5. Become part of your spiritual father’s vision. Lay your own vision and agenda down at God’s altar.
Adopt your spiritual father’s vision and help speed it’s fulfillment. Do this, knowing that God sees yourseeds of faithfulness and that He may one day let you run with your own vision. Also fold parts ofyour own vision into the greater vision of your spiritual father, as long as he is a participant and placeshis blessing on these.
6. When in his presence, always submit and defer to your spiritual father. There may be somecontexts of your serving where you alone are in charge. However, when together with your spiritualfather, ALWAYS defer to him.
7. Never really disconnect from a spiritual father. Even if you and your spiritual father agree at somepoint to transplant you elsewhere or in your own ministry, NEVER REALLY DISCONNECT WITHHIM.
Allow God to enrich your life by regularly touching base with him and allowing him to speak intoyour life.
NEVER DISCONNECT: You may desperately need him somewhere in your future.
8. Keep the air clear between you and your spiritual father AT ANY COST to your flesh. If you haveever offended a spiritual father or feel that a spiritual father has offended you, QUICK, RIGHT NOW,go fix it! Swallow your pride, eat some crow, initiate contact, and ask forgiveness for any way youmay have handled things amiss (even if you think it was mostly he that handled things amiss). I havebeen on both ends of this phenomenon, and I can tell you that CLEARING THE AIR is worthANYTHING. TRUST ME… knowing that there is hurt between you and a spiritual father is one of theworst feelings in the whole world. (It can kill you!) Knowing that there is strain between you and aGod-anointed authority figure is very, very painful, and can result in many adverse side-effects.
QUICK! Restore the relationship even if both your circumstances have changed. YOU NEED YOURSPIRITUAL FATHER’S BLESSING! A father’s blessing is a LAW OF SUCCESSION. Even Jesushad to be blessed by John the Baptist for him to succeed in his ministry.
Joshua had to have thehands of Moses laid upon him and the blessing of leadership pronounced over him, before he couldbe fruitful in his own ministry. Even the Apostle Paul submitted to the BLESSING of the presbytery offive-fold ministers that was at Antioch.
There is no price tag imaginable that can be placed on theenormous value of a spiritual father’s BLESSING… even if it is a BLESSING after a storm.
YOUNEED THE BLESSING. It is God’s order and way of doing things… the LAW OF PROGRESSION….the LAW OF SUCCESSION… comes by the BLESSING of a spiritual father.
Suggestions For Spiritual Fathers
1. Invest TIME and TEACHING (not just time, and not just teaching, but both) into your spiritual sons.
Assign them books to read that you have read. Involve them in some kind of leadership roundtablediscussions form time to time. Empower them. Take the risk of investing yourself into your sons. Nodoubt, some may one day betray you in the future… this is just a risk you will have to take. But manymore of your sons will bring you deep satisfaction and pleasure as you watch God raise them up andrealize that you have been a part of their spiritual progression.
2. Never shame a spiritual son publicly or in front of his peers. Nothing will so tempt a son todisconnect with his father than this. As the old saying goes, Praise Publicly – Correct Privately.
3. DISCERN the season IF & WHEN a spiritual son is to be transplanted elsewhere. When fruitripens on a tree, one can either pick it, preserve it, and transplant it elsewhere or… one can let it over ripen,fall off the branches, and rot under his nose. Include your spiritual son in this process ofdiscernment and change.
4. If a spiritual son betrays you to some degree or another, stay poised and ready to graciouslyreceive him again. Sometimes a spiritual son may go sour and not pass God’s tests of his characterto some degree or another. But as the prodigal’s father stayed ready to receive his son back again,you should open your arms in graciousness to receive him back in your heart, should the opportunityarise. I use the word RECEIVE rather than REINSTATE, because circumstances may have changedin your life or his life that would preclude a full REINSTATEMENT. Yes, a REINSTATEMENT in yourheart is appropriate, but a REINSTATEMENT of previous responsibilities, etc. is often impossible orwould not even be the will of God at the time. If the son acknowledges your importance in his life,you can still speak into his life from a distance, or indirectly, and both of you can still enjoy sweetfellowship from time to time.
Chapter 3:
Servant Apostles
The Heartbeat Of A Spiritual Father
Certain Bible verses written by the Apostle Paul begin to make more sense after understanding thetruth of Apostolic Alignment and spiritual fathers and sons. One can hear the heartbeat of a spiritualfather as Paul declares:
1 Thessalonians 2:8 KJV – So being affectionately desirous of you, we were willing to have imparted
unto you, not the gospel of God only, but also our own souls, because ye were dear unto us.
Philippians 4:9 KJV – Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seenin me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you.
2 Timothy 2:2 KJV – And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the samecommit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also.
1 Corinthians 4:16 KJV – Wherefore I beseech you, be ye followers of me.
1 Corinthians 11:1 KJV – Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ.
Philippians 3:17 KJV – Brethren, be followers together of me, and mark them which walk so as yehave us for an ensample.
1 Thessalonians 1:6 KJV – And ye became followers of us, and of the Lord, having received the wordin much affliction, with joy of the Holy Ghost.
It is quite clear from the above passages that a spiritual father is to INVEST HIMSELF, not just theGospel, into his or her spiritual sons.
What Apostolic Alignment Is Not
This truth of spiritual fathers and sons does NOT mean that the spiritual father takes the place of theLord Jesus in a spiritual son’s life. It does NOT mean that a spiritual father is to rule over or dominatea spiritual son in a fleshy way. It does NOT mean that a spiritual son is dependent on his spiritualfather in a strange sort of way. On the contrary, a spiritual father helps a son grow in dependence onthe Lord, and to grow in his or her own leadership skills. The goal is not some kind of weird loyalty orstrange control. Far from it! The goal is to grow new fathers who can, in turn, grow new sons fromgeneration to generation.
The goal of Apostolic Alignment is to INVEST in sons, and by so doing,leave a legacy of spiritual leadership on the planet.
The goal is reproduction of mighty men andwomen of God who will themselves, by their own anointing, and in their own right, change the worldfor the Lord Jesus Christ.
One cannot take this truth of Apostolic Alignment out of context or out of alance with other Bibletruths. The truth of spiritual fathers and sons is just ONE TRUTH. It would be dangerous to misapplyit by emphasizing it to the exclusion of other truths ion the Bible.
Error happens in the body of Christ,not so much as by ignorance or even by bad intent, but usually by an overemphasis of a single truth.
Then over time, that overemphasis actually grows into an error or abuse, rather than being a blessingas originally intended.
Some, I am sure, have and will take Apostolic Alignment to an extreme and use the truth for their ownpurposes.
BUT THE SPIRIT OF A TRUE APOSTOLIC LEADER IS THAT OF A SERVANT.
Paulsays apostles are the LAST, not the greatest:
1 Corinthians 4:8 KJV – Now ye are full, now ye are rich, ye have reigned as kings without us: and Iwould to God ye did reign, that we also might reign with you. 9 For I think that God hath set forth usthe apostles last, as it were appointed to death: for we are made a spectacle unto the world, and toangels, and to men. 10 We are fools for Christ's sake, but ye are wise in Christ; we are weak, but yeare strong; ye are honourable, but we are despised. 11 Even unto this present hour we both hunger,and thirst, and are naked, and are buffeted, and have no certain dwelling place; 12 And labour,working with our own hands: being reviled, we bless; being persecuted, we suffer it: 13 Beingdefamed, we intreat: we are made as the filth of the world, and are the offscouring of all things untothis day. 14 Ôö¼├é I write not these things to shame you, but as my beloved sons I warn you. 15 Forthough ye have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet have ye not many fathers: for in Christ Jesus Ihave begotten you through the gospel. 16 Wherefore I beseech you, be ye followers of me. 17 Ôö¼├é
For this cause have I sent unto you Timotheus, who is my beloved son, and faithful in the Lord, whoshall bring you into remembrance of my ways which be in Christ, as I teach every where in everychurch. 18 Now some are puffed up, as though I would not come to you. 19 But I will come to youshortly, if the Lord will, and will know, not the speech of them which are puffed up, but the power. 20 \For the kingdom of God is not in word, but in power. 21 What will ye? shall I come unto you with arod, or in love, and in the spirit of meekness?
And then, of course, there is this keystone teaching of Jesus:
Mark 9:35 KJV – And he sat down, and called the twelve, and saith unto them, If any man desire tobe first, the same shall be last of all, and servant of all.
Keep in mind that as Jesus sat down to INVEST HIMSELF into these men, he was functioning as aspiritual father Himself. He was “apostling” these men. And also keep in mind that these men weredestined to be the first twelve apostles themselves. Jesus makes it very clear that only bypossessing the attitude of being last of all and servant of all can one be a first class leader.
Greatness is not measured by one’s power over another. Greatness is measured by how low onecan stoop to serve.
The way up in the Kingdom of God is down! Down, down, down! Lower, lower,and yet lower still!
In these last days, God is looking for SERVANTS, not STARS.
Twice in Isaiah, Jesus is prophetically spoken of as
“Behold my servant!” Not, “Behold my star” -but-“Behold my servant.”
As we lose ourselves in serving, only then may we discover ourselves leading.
Ephesians 2 Apostles versus
Ephesians 4 Apostles.
Ephesians 2:20 KJV – And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christhimself being the chief corner stone.
It seems clear to me that the list of Five-Fold Ministers in Ephesians chapter 4 is referring to theascension gifts given by Jesus in each generation until He comes back to receive the church. But Ibelieve that, kept in context, the Ephesians 2:20 apostles being discussed are the “12 Apostles ofThe Lamb,” because the church is built upon their original writings. I believe the FOUNDATION Paul
is referring to here is the FOUNDATION of the New Testament Apostles’ writings, and the OldTestament Prophets writings. I do NOT believe it would be wise to say that the church is built uponthe foundation of modern day apostles and prophets, although I do concede that the passage heredoes give us a clue as to the foundational nature of apostles as compared to some of the other fivefold
offices.
However, I do NOT think Paul would tell us to build our lives upon the foundation ofmodern apostles and prophets, which in my mind would be akin to replacing, or at least competingwith, the final authority of the scriptures written by OT prophets and NT apostles.
Chapter 4:
Founders & Grounders
I will never forget in 1989 when I was minding my own business while driving the car, and the Spiritsuddenly asked me a question: “Are you a Founder or are you a Grounder?” I have to admit that Iwas a bit surprised at the question, and a bit clueless about how to answer too. But because it wasthe Lord asking me the question I felt obligated to answer it. My reply was a bit wishy-washy, but thewhole concept was brand new to me. I said, “Well, Lord, I guess I am a founder more than agrounder.” He seemed to reply, “OK, good, now you know.”
That one little nugget from the Lord has been somewhat of a lifelong progressive revelation for me.
Over the years I have come to realize that there are two divisions to the five-fold ministry.
There arethe Founders and there are the Grounders.
The founding ministries are Apostle and Prophet. The grounding ministries are Evangelist, Pastorand Teacher.
FOUNDING is a SUDDENLY THING.
Grounding is a LONG TERM THING.
Founders thrive onpioneering and establishing things and grounders thrive on maintaining and improving things.
Founders are like sprinters.
Grounders are like long distance runners.
Evangelists GROUND sinners into Christ.
Pastors and Teachers GROUND saints in God’s Word and
Christian maturity.
The worst thing that can happen is for a FOUNDER not to know he is a FOUNDER, and to try fithimself into the mold of a GROUNDER. The second worst thing is for THE PEOPLE not tounderstand that their leader is a FOUNDER, and by default, try to fit their leader into the more familiarexpectations of a GROUNDER.
FOUNDERS tend to be more unpredictable than GROUNDERS. But we need both divisions ofleaders in the body of Christ. Both divisions are of equal value to the Lord, but not necessarily ofequal authority in the Lord. John The Baptist taught that “a man can do nothing of himself, but onlywhat is given to Him by God.”
Understanding Levels Of Anointing & Authority
In the past we have not understood the functions of each of the five-fold offices. We assumed thatAPOSTLES apostle (whatever that means?). We assumed that PROPHETS prophesy. We also saidthat EVANGELISTS evangelize, PASTORS shepherd, and TEACHERS teach. And that was aboutall we understood. We had each office neatly defined and tightly wrapped.
But I believe that the Lord has shown me how the five-fold ministry really works both by observationof men of God over the years, and also by revelation.
Note the listed order of the five-fold ministry in Ephesians 4:11.
First – apostles. Second – prophets.Third – evangelists. Fourth – Pastors. Fifth – teachers.
There are some leaders in the body of Christ who are called to JUST TEACH. That is their passion;that is where their anointing is. But they may not be called to pastor or to shepherd a flock. Oftenthese TEACHERS become associate pastors, elders or another under-leader in a local churchsetting.
But unless God has anointed a person to be a PASTOR, he doesn’t yet have or may neverhave the authority from God to become a Senior Pastor. (This is one of the reasons we see so manychurches flop:
Many who are not really called to pastor try to do so, and God has not anointed themto do it. But many today are immature and insecure. They cannot feel good about themselves unlessthey are recognized as first. They have issues concerning power and money.)
But then God anoints some TEACHERS to become LEADERS of a flock… A PASTOR. ThatPASTOR is anointed to TEACH as well.
Furthermore God anoints some to be EVANGELISTS. Now an EVANGELIST has the anointing toPREACH and win people to Christ on a larger scale than the pastor or teacher. But since theevangelist is of a higher level of authority than the pastor or teacher, the evangelist is not onlyanointed to win the lost, but can also pastor and teach.
Perhaps you're beginning to get the picture here. With each level of authority God gives a person,there exists not only that specific anointing, but it also includes all the anointing below that level.
In other words, a PROPHET is anointed with four anointings: Prophet, Evangelist, Pastor andTeacher. An Evangelist is anointed with three: Evangelist, Pastor, and Teacher. A Pastor isanointed with two: Pastor and Teacher. A Teacher with one: Teacher. An Apostle is anointed withall five levels of authority. That is why you will rarely see a young apostle. On the other hand, justbecause a man of God is older doesn’t make him a prophet or apostle either.
Many think that if a person is really an evangelist that the person should be on the road all the timepreaching to the lost and conducting crusades and revivals in churches. But that is a TRADITIONALview of evangelists, not a BIBLE view. It’s amazing to me how we have defined things over the yearsby our own traditions and upbringing, instead of by revelation from the Bible. I remember when Ithought an evangelist was anyone who travels to different churches and conducts revival services.
How did I get that thought? Someone else defined it for me! I had no concept of who GODconsidered to be an evangelist. Duhhh!
Many also think that a Prophet or Evangelist should NOT pastor a church. But this view is bogussince a true God-anointed evangelist also carries the anointing and authority of a Pastor and Teacheras well.
Many men and women of God are even confused about their own five-fold office because they oftenfind themselves anointed to operate in more than one anointing. So then they begin to question theirplace in the body of Christ when pressure comes, wondering if they are really doing what God hasinstructed. But if one understands that each level of five-fold ministry includes all the anointing
below it, they will not question their office in the body, and it will bring peace and confidence.
My Own Journey
My own ministry journey of almost 30 years has been a strange one.
First I was the teacher and cofounderof a small group of people who had formed a 1970’s style Teaching Center (not exactly achurch, although it later became one). Then I was a full time Jail and Prison Evangelist, thinking that
this was definitely my ultimate calling. Later the Lord stopped me cold in my tracks and told me tobecome a Children's Pastor under a more seasoned man of God who was a true senior pastor. Afterthat, God had me become a worship leader under another pastor when my original pastor moved.
The next season was founding and pastoring a new church in another city for the next five years.
Then God moved me back under the pastor for whom I used to lead worship and I became a worshipleader again and a dean of a seminary and Bible college. I did this for 14 years and wrote manyonline books during this time.
Then after being an associate pastor for 14 years, God told me to plantanother church in another city, so I founded the one I am presently pastoring and hope never toleave. (By the way, notice I said above that God called me on both occassions to plant a new churchin ANOTHER CITY. God would never call an associate under another man of God who had bondedto some of his sheep to plant a new church in the SAME CITY. I believe that’s properly calledDIVISION, NOT church planting.) Next, to my surprise, God began to have me launch a large weeklyemail devotional to missionaries, pastors, leaders, and believers all over the world. Before I realizedit, God had me ministering to thousands on a weekly basis and the requests to be added to theweekly email came inconstantly and continue to do so.
Also to my surprise, the Lord SUDDENLYled me to launch an apostolic network of five-fold ministers under the leadership of my former pastorwho by this time was obviously anointed and called to be an apostle, having had international impacton the subject of Christianity & Racism, and who himself had also accidentally discovered that Godwas making him a spiritual father too. Myself, my former apostle-pastor and another one of hisspiritual sons who had grown a thousand member church himself (both who were now ordainedbishops by other prominent leaders) began to realize that God had called us to father other ministers,not in a bureaucratic way (which is the old school and becomes an abusive paradigm, by the way),but to simply be there for these leaders and to offer them resources for growth and the warmth ofrelationships.
I only share the above progression of my own ministry, not to bore you, but to hopefully help youunderstand your own ministry progression, and to illustrate several things.
First, God often ADDS anointings and authority and greater spheres of influence as you continue tobe faithful to your call.
1 Corinthians 4:2 KJV – Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful.
Jesus also spoke of faithfulness.
Luke 16:12 KJV – And if ye have not been faithful in that which is another man's, who shall give you
that which is your own?
Secondly, your ultimate ascension gift may be hidden from you until a time that God sees that you are
ready to enter into it. He may give you sneak previews and hints along the way, but often He cannot
unveil everything lest you mess it up before its appointed season.
Thirdly, you are not a weirdo for God using you in multiple ways and under various anointings.
Fourth, God may have to beat you up a little to get you where He wants. (Please understand that Iam not saying that God sends “bad things” into your life, but as John Osteen used to say, “He suredoesn’t waste them either!” Ha!)
And fifth, sometimes discovering who you are in the body of Christ also includes trial and error,process and elimination. Contrary to the view of many self-appointed “supersaints“, everything thathappens in your life and ministry is not a “STUPENDOUS FABULOUS EXCITING REVELATION.”
Much in ministry is the day in and day out routine of serving others and staying in prayer and TheWord.
So after founding three successful churches, helping another apostle-pastor grow a church to 800,founding and building the popular website www.Devotional.Net that includes almost 200 books anddownloadable posters, and faithfully pastoring over 2500 email subscribers, and now entering a
phase of spiritual fathering, I am more than ever convinced that I am a FOUNDER, and not aGROUNDER. And ya know… "It’s good to know what you’re good for!" When you know who you are,it’s easier to be yourself.
And when you function like God truly made you, it brings tremendous peace
and clarity to your soul.
Your Journey
My prayer is that this short teaching and my own testimony will shed even further light onto your own
identity and function in the body of Christ. YOUR OWN JOURNEY IS IMPORTANT TO ME ANDIMPORTANT TO THE FATHER. Jesus has gifted and anointed you to make a difference for such atime as this in the Kingdom.
Chapter 5
Named New TestamentApostles
At least 20 men are named and titled as apostles in the New Testament. And Timothy and Silvanus
are implied to be apostles as well, making the total no less than 22.
LEXICON DEFINITION: 652 apostolov, apostolos, ap-os'-tol–os,from 649; TDNT-1:407,67; n m AV-apostle 78, messenger 2, he that is sent 1; 81
1) a delegate, messenger, one sent forth with orders, 1a) specifically applied to the twelve apostles ofChrist , 1b) in a broader sense applied to other eminent Christian teachers , 1b1) of Barnabas, 1b2) of
Timothy and Silvanus
The Original Twelve – Revelation 21:14 KJV – And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and inthem the names of the twelve apostles <652> of the Lamb.
Matthias ├ö├ç├┤ Acts 1:25 KJV – That he may take part of this ministry and apostleship, from which Judasby transgression fell, that he might go to his own place. 26 And they gave forth their lots; and the lotfell upon Matthias; and he was numbered with the eleven apostles <652>.
Paul and Barnabas ├ö├ç├┤ Acts14:14 KJV – Which when the apostles <652>, Barnabas and Paul, heardof, they rent their clothes, and ran in among the people, crying out.
Adronicus and Junia├ö├ç├┤ Romans 16:7 KJV – Salute Andronicus and Junia, my kinsmen, and myfellowprisoners, who are of note among the apostles <652>, who also were in Christ before me.
James ├ö├ç├┤ 1 Corinthians 15:7 KJV – After that, he was seen of James; then of all the apostles <652>.Galatians 1:19 But other of the apostles <652> saw I none, save James the Lord's brother.
Titus ├ö├ç├┤ 2 Corinthians 8:23KJV – Whether any do enquire of Titus, he is my partner and fellowhelperconcerning you: or our brethren be enquired of, they are the messengers <652> of the churches, andthe glory of Christ.
Epaphroditus– Philippians 2:25 KJV – Yet I supposed it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus, mybrother, and companion in labour, and fellowsoldier, but your messenger <652>, and he thatministered to my wants.
Of particular note in the above verse is the term, "your messenger" which is more literally translated"your apostle." This seems to indicate that apostles may be assigned to certain groups of people,and that an apostle's realm of influence may be limited to those to whom he has been assigned byGod. An apostle is not necessarily an apostle to everyone. This truth is further confirmed by
1Corinthians 9:2 where Paul says, "If I be not an apostle unto others, yet doubtless I am to you: for theseal of mine apostleship are ye in the Lord." This also indicates that a person may be assigned to acertain "apostle" or "spiritual father."
Chapter 6
Examples OfModern Apostles
Apostles have really been among us for quite some time; we just haven’t called them apostles out offear of comparing someone with a writer of the New Testament (the original "12 Apostles of theLamb"). But it is time for the body of Christ to let God-called men move fearlessly into their offices.
Global harvest awaits men of God flowing in their gifts and knowing who they really are in the Lord.
Below are a few kinds of apostles I have recognized in the body of Christ:
Apostle Of A Church (Founder, Planter).
Apostle Of Multiple Churches (Overseer)
Apostle Of A City.
Apostle Of A Region.
Apostle Of A State.
Apostle Of A Nation.
Apostle Of A Bible Truth that God wants restored to the church at large.
Apostle Of Apostles.
Apostle Of Pastors.
Apostle Of Evangelists
Apostle To A Certain Sub-Culture
Apostle To A Segment Of Society
Apostle Of The Internet
Apostle Of A Realm of the Media
ApsotleOf A Sphere Of The Arts
Apostle Of A Groundbreaking Paradigm
Apostle Of ….the list goes on!
Below are some Bible, history, and modern day examples:
Peter – The Apostle To The Jews. (Galatians 2:8)
Paul – The Apostle To The Gentiles. (Ro 11:13, Galatians 2:8)
James – The Apostle Of The Church At Jerusalem. (Acts 15:13)
John – The Apostle Of The 7 Churches In Revelation. (Rev 1:4)
Martin Luther – The Apostle Of The Protestant Reformation.
EM Bounds ÔÇôAn Apostle Of Personal Prayer.
John Wesley – The Apostle Of The Holiness Movement.
Charles Wesley – An Apostle Of Hymn Worship.
William Seymour – An Apostle Of The Pentecostal Movement.
Watchman Nee – An Apostle Of Brokenness.
Dwight Moody – An Apostle Of Evangelism.
Dake – An Apostle Of Bible Study.
Smith Wigglesworth – An Apostle Of The Gift Of Faith.
Kathryn Kuhlman – An Apostle Of The Working Of Miracles.
Kenneth Hagin – An Apostle Of Faith & Healing.
Derek Prince – An Apostle Of The Charismatic Movement.
Lester Sumrall – An Apostle Of The Charismatic Movement.
John Osteen – An Apostle Of The Charismatic Movement.
Bill Bright – An Apostle Of College Campus Evangelism.
Jack Hayford – An Apostle Of Worship & the Foursquare Church.
Oral Roberts – An Apostle Of Divine Healing.
Billy Graham – An Apostle Of Mainstream Evangelism.
James Kennedy – An Apostle Of One-On-One Evangelism.
TL Osborn – An Apostle Of Signs & Wonders Mass Evangelism.
Joyce Meyers – An Apostle To Spirit-Filled Women.
TD Jakes – An Apostle Of Manhood & Womanhood.
Kenneth Copeland – An Apostle Of Love & Prosperity.
Paul Yongghi Cho – An Apostle Of Church Growth & Prayer.
Richard Roberts – An Apostle Of Healing & Higher Education.
Benny Hinn – An Apostle Of Healing & The Holy Spirit
Mike Murdock – An Apostle Of Wisdom & Prosperity.
John Avanzini – An Apostle Of Prosperity.
Frederick K. C. Price – An Apostle Of Faith & The Word
Dutch Sheets – An Apostle Of Prayer.
Rick Joyner – An Apostle Of Apostles & Prophets.
Bill Hamon – An Apostle Of Apostles & Prophets.
C. Peter Wagner – An Apostle Of Apostles & Prophets
Kay Arthur – An Apostle Of Bible Study.
Pat Robertson – An Apostle Of Christian TV.
Jerry Falwell – An Apostle Of Higher Education & Activism.
Cal Thomas – An Apostle Of Christian Commentary Radio.
Donald Wildmon – An Apostle Of Christian Activism.
James Dobson – An Apostle Of The Family Unit & Activism.
John Maxwell – An Apostle To Leaders.
Paula Price – An Apostle Of Prophets & Church Order.
Coy Barker – An Apostle Of Evangelism and Church Growth.
Bob Hellmann – An Apostle Of Racial Reconciliation.
Tommy Ray O’Dell – An Apostle Of Mass Miracle Evangelism.
Kent Henry – An Apostle Of Praise & Worship.
Lamar Boschman – An Apostle Of Praise & Worship.
James Robison – An Apostle Of World Missions.
Rodney Howard Browne – An Apostle Of Revival.
Steven Strang – An Apostle Of Spirit-Filled Publishing.
Houston Miles – An Apostle Of Pastors.
Freda Lindsay – An Apostle Of World Missions Higher Education.
Creflo Dollar – An Apostle Of The Southeast USA.
Joel Osteen – An Apostle Of A Megachurch & TV Evangelism.
Charles Capps – An Apostle Of Faith & Scripture Confession.
Myles Munroe – An Apostle Of The Kingdom Message.
Tommy Tenney – An Apostle Of Prayer.
Ken Sumrall – An Apostle Of The Charismatic Movement.
23
David Wilkerson – An Apostle Of Urban Evangelism.
Tommy Barnett – An Apostle Of Mega Church Growth.
Marilyn Hickey – An Apostle Of Women In The Ministry.
Gloria Copeland – An Apostle Of The Word.
Charles Capps – An Apostle Of Faith Confession.
Cindy Jacobs – An Apostle Of Intercessory Prayer.
Larry Stockstill – An Apostle Of World Missions.
Arthur Paul – An Apostle of Bangalore, India.
Judah Flourish ÔÇô An Apostle to Liberia.
Many, many more!
Annex 1 Dr. C. Peter Wagner Notes
(Revised March 16, 2001) I. Foundational or governmental gifts. The basic text is Ephesians 4:11: "And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers." I like to call these foundational or governmental gifts or offices. Others call them "fivefold ministry" or "ascension gifts." Now that these offices are being recognized, it is important to develop agreed-upon protocol as to how they should relate to each other positively. I have worked on apostles/prophets in Apostles and Prophets: The Foundation of the Church (Regal Books) and pastors/prophets in Pastors & Prophets: Protocol for Healthy Churches. I now see that some work needs to be done on apostles/apostles because it is becoming clear that there are many different kinds of apostles who minister in many different spheres. II. Definition of apostle: An apostle is a Christian leader gifted, taught, commissioned, and sent by God with the authority to establish the foundational government of the church within an assigned sphere of ministry by hearing what the Spirit is saying to the churches and by setting things in order accordingly for the growth and maturity of the church. What I have excluded in this definition: There are three biblical characteristics of apostles which some include in their definition of apostle, but which I have chosen not to include: (1) signs and wonders (2 Cor. 12:12), (2) seeing Jesus personally (1 Cor. 9:1), and (3) planting churches (1 Cor. 3:10).
My reason for this is that I do not understand these three qualities to be non-negotiables. They characterize many, perhaps most, apostles. But if a given individual lacks the anointing for one or more of them, this, in my opinion, would not exclude that individual from being a legitimate apostle.
III. Hyphenated apostles:
Before considering the different ways that apostles minister in different spheres, it is important to recognize that many apostles are "hyphenated apostles." They are frequently hyphenated with other government offices, such as Apostle-Prophet or Pastor-Apostle or Apostle-Evangelist, etc. They can also be hyphenated within the different ministry categories pertaining to apostles, such as horizontal apostle-vertical apostle or convening apostle-mobilizing apostle, etc.
IV. The title "Apostle" : There continues to be discussion as to the necessity of actually applying the title "apostle" to individuals in the church today. Some argue that functioning as an apostle is enough without needing to use the title. My conclusion is the contrary. While I concede that the function is the most essential consideration, I also believe that there is increased power in the use of the title "apostle." The function, in my opinion, will be more anointed and more of a service to the church if the title is used. Jesus Himself was the one who coined the new term "apostle," (Luke 6:13) (It does not appear in the Old Testament.), and I suspect that He had a distinct purpose for doing it. Later on, both Paul and Peter introduced themselves in their epistles with the title "apostle." Today we freely use the titles "pastor" or "reverend" or "bishop" or "evangelist" or "doctor" (i.e., teacher), and there seems to be little reason, other than a possible fear of change, to exclude the title "apostle" as a designation for contemporary church leaders. It is also important to recognize that "apostle" occurs in one of the lists of spiritual gifts in 1 Corinthians 12 (see 1 Cor. 12:28). The gift and its accompanying office are significant enough to be declared, along with prophets, as the foundation of the church (see Eph. 2:20).
V. The adjective alone is not enough. Some advocates of the apostolic movement have chosen to use the adjective "apostolic" in their writings to the exclusion of the noun "apostle." They speak of "apostolic leadership" or "apostolic churches" or "apostolic ministry" with the implication that by doing so they are describing apostles. There are at least two reasons for this. (1) Some use the adjective and not the noun because they do not believe that the gift and office of apostle are operative in the church today. A case in point is the American Assemblies of God. An official public denominational position statement was issued by the General Presbytery of the General Council of the Assemblies of God on August 11, 2000 under the title, "Endtime Revival-Spirit-Led and Spirit-Controlled: A Response Paper to Resolution 16." Under a subsection, "Deviant Teachings Disapproved," one of what is referred to as a departure from scripture which threatens the life and stability of local churches is "The problematic teaching that present-day offices of apostles and prophets should govern church ministries at all levels." This teaching is attributed to "persons with an independent spirit and an exaggerated estimate of their importance to the kingdom of God." Such persons are "wrongly interpreting 1 Corinthians 12:28 and Ephesians 2:20 and 4:11." This paper argues that "The leadership of the local church, according to the Pastoral Epistles, is in the hands of elders/presbyters and deacons. There is no indication in these last writings of continuing offices of apostles and prophets, though the ministry functions still continue." The section ends by arguing for the adjective, not the noun: "We affirm that there are, and ought to be, apostolic- and prophetic-type ministries in the Church, without individuals being identified as filling such an office." Just as a footnote, David Cartledge of the Australian Assemblies of God, in his book Apostolic Revolution (Paraclete Institute), attributes this position of the American Assemblies of God to "Pentecostal Cessationists!" (p. 236). 26 (2) Another reason given for this by those who do believe that the office of apostle is operational today is that the adjective could provide more of an entry level approach for others who might not yet be ready to recognize the office implied by the noun "apostle." This was the case with the first book on the apostolic movement published in Australia, Out There! The Church of the 21st Century, edited by Ben Gray. However, as John Eckhardt points out in his book Leadershift, every church should be an apostolic church, every believer should be apostolic, every teacher should be apostolic, every evangelist should be apostolic, and so on. If this is the case, which I agree with, then the adjective "apostolic" is not specific enough to substitute for "apostle" as a noun. VI. Apostolic Spheres. Among practicing apostles, I have found a relatively low level of practical understanding of apostolic spheres. All apostles recognize that they have divine authority, but not all are aware that this authority is only activated within a divinely-appointed sphere. Once apostles get outside of their sphere, they have no more authority than any other member of the body of Christ. Paul relates spheres to authority in 2 Cor. 10. In verse 8 he "boasts" of his authority, leading to verses 13-16 in which he deals with spheres. He says, for example, "We, however, will not boast beyond measure, but within the limits of the sphere which God appointed us-a sphere which especially includes you" (2 Cor. 10:13). This reflects Paul's remarkable statement in 1 Cor. 9:2: "If I am not an apostle to others, yet doubtless I am to you." VII. Toward a useful terminology.The current apostolic movement is so new, and it is developing at such a dizzying speed, that a considerable amount of confusion has arisen. Who is an apostle? Are all apostles the same? How do bona fide apostles minister? I believe that the answers to these and other similar questions will emerge through a phenomenological approach. This is the methodology that I have used to arrive at a continually-developing set of conclusions. Terminology that accurately describes current apostolic phenomena will greatly help dispel the confusion. Here is a terminology that seems to me to be helpful, at least at this moment: Vertical ApostlesÔÇó Ecclesiastical apostles. Apostles who are given authority over a sphere which includes a number of churches, presumably in an apostolic network headed up by the apostle. ÔÇó Functional apostles. Apostles who are given authority over those who have an ongoing ministry in a certain specific sphere of service which has defined boundaries of participation. ÔÇó Apostolic Team Members. Apostles whose apostolic ministry functions in conjunction with an apostle who is seen as the leader of a team of one or more other peer-level vertical apostles. They may be assigned specific spheres by the leading apostle. These are more than administrators or assistants or armor-bearers. ÔÇó Congregational apostles. Apostles functioning as senior pastors of dynamic, growing churches of more than 700-800.
Horizontal Apostles├ö├ç├│ Convening apostles. Apostles who have authority to call together on a regular basis peer-level leaders who minister in a defined field. ├ö├ç├│ Ambassadorial apostles. Apostles who have itinerant, frequently international, ministries of catalyzing and nurturing apostolic movements on a broad scale. ├ö├ç├│ Mobilizing apostles. Apostles who have the authority to take leadership in bringing together qualified leaders in the body of Christ for a specific cause or project. ├ö├ç├│ Territorial apostles. Apostles who have been given authority for leading a certain segment of the body of Christ in a given territorial sphere such as a city or state. Marketplace ApostlesIt seems clear that some marketplace apostles would be vertical (perhaps within a large company) while others would be horizontal (bringing together peer-level marketplace apostles). The more we work with marketplace apostles, the more clarity will come in due time. Some Quotes About Apostolic Reformation From An Interview With Dr. C. Peter Wagner…”Some of these changes are being seen within denominations themselves, but for the most part they are taking the form of loosely structured apostolic networks. In virtually every region of the world, these new apostolic churches constitute the fastest growing segment of Christianity.” Within this reformation, Wagner sees a growing recognition of present-day apostolic ministries who are giving birth to their own family of leaders and churches to whom they have a relational, fatherly or motherly commitment to. “The biggest difference between New Apostolic Christianity and traditional Christianity is the amount of spiritual authority delegated by the Holy Spirit to individuals,” Wagner emphasizes. “In tradition Christianity, authority resided in groups such as church councils, sessions, congregations, and general assemblies. New Apostolic Christianity sees God entrusting the government of the church to individuals.” Within New Apostolic Christianity, Wagner sees this governmental authority being exercised in the local church by the pastor and on a translocal level by apostles who operate with a relational authority rather than a hierarchical, bureaucratic one that had typically been exercised through denominational structures. “The other important thing with regards to this authority is that allegiance or relationship with the apostle is voluntary,” adds Wagner. “There is nothing that holds the pastor or the church related to the apostle in the apostolic network except the perception that the apostle is adding value to their life and ministry.” Apart from authority structures, Wagner cites a number of other characteristics which are common among new apostolic churches around the world. Perhaps the one that has permeated the rest of Christianity the most is the contemporary worship style which was pioneered within these churches and is now seen among congregations in virtually every denomination. “Whether the other aspects of the New Apostolic Reformation will have the same type of influence, I don’t know. But worship already has,” Wagner says.
Annex 2: Dr. John Eckhardt NotesQuotes From Apostle Dr. John Eckhardt’s 2005 book titled, “A Shift In Leadership- From Pastoral To Apostolic” Highlights: “Once apostles are released, we will see the release of thousands of pastors within the local church to help shepherd the flock.”
“Some would say, “It is not important to be called an apostle, just do the work.” I agree that it is better to have the work without the title, than the title without the work. There are many that would claim apostleship without having the signs of a proven apostolic ministry. It is, however, important for people to know their gifting and calling in order to be able to walk in it confidently and boldly. When people do not know their identity, they will often miss their purpose.”
"There are many leaders who are even afraid of the term “apostle.” They are comfortable with “pastor” because it is accepted and respected by most of the church and the community. We cannot be afraid of the terms God has given us in His word." JOHN ECKHARDT WRITES:
1. This book is designed to help leaders shift into the prevailing position that God is establishing upon the earth. This prevailing position is apostolic. Not only must leaders shift, but entire congregations must also shift. If leaders shift without their congregations shifting, they will leave the membership behind and the result will be a gap between the leaders and the members.
2. When the leadership of the church shifts, the entire church will shift as well. Our desire should be to raise up an apostolic company of believers who have a sense of being “sent.” The entire Church needs to shift into this dimension. The church in the Book of Acts was first and foremost an apostolic church. They ministered in apostolic power and turned the known world upside down. The book is, after all, called The Acts of the Apostles.
3. You cannot fulfill an apostolic calling with a pastoral mind-set. A pastoral mind-set will limit the leader and confine him to the local church. Many leaders are beginning to realize that what they have been doing is apostolic, yet they have been limited by a pastoral mentality.
4. If leaders do not move into new positions, they will die spiritually within the four walls of the church. They will experience dryness, and their ministries will become routine. They will be unhappy and unsatisfied, even though it may look successful on the outside. On the inside these ministers will feel empty. Many are afraid to transition because they think the church is dependent on them.
5. If churches do not release their leaders to move into a higher level of ministry, they will frustrate the leaders and grieve the Holy Spirit. Churches must be set free from what they think their leaders 30 should be and do. We will see more leaders raised up that will not fit the traditional concept of “pastor.” They cannot be locked into a position and place because of the expectations and demands of the people. Both leaders and churches must be free to operate in the higher callings and gifts of God.
6. Leaders cannot be afraid to make this shift. Fear will paralyze you and prevent you from possessing your inheritance. There are many leaders who are even afraid of the term “apostle.” They are comfortable with “pastor” because it is accepted and respected by most of the church and the community. We cannot be afraid of the terms God has given us in His word. We have received Holy Ghost inspired words to understand spiritual things (1 Co 2:13)
7. Even the world knows the importance of shifting. Economies must shift to continue to grow. We have shifted from the industrial age to the communication age. Nations and economies that do not shift are left behind and become obsolete. Obsolescence is a terrible price to pay for not being willing to change. Obsolete means to be of a discarded or an outmoded type. It means to be out-of-date.
8. Methods can become obsolete. Models and structures can become obsolete. Organizations can become obsolete. When something becomes obsolete, it is no longer relevant. God will upgrade our methods, structure, and models to be able to impact our world.
9. This change for many may seem like a quantum jump. The shift from a pastoral to an apostolic role is a significant jump. However, by the grace of God we can make the transition. Quantum jumps have happened throughout church history. God often moves us into greater levels suddenly.
10. We have seen many leaders identified as “pastors” who have planted and built strong churches, which are apostolic functions. We have locked many of them into a pastoral role and not allowed them to function in the calling of an apostle. The church has been pastoral for so long until we have not known any other way. But God is challenging the church to change and come in line with His purpose. Once apostles are released, we will see the release of thousands of pastors within the local church to help shepherd the flock.
11. Many pastors will be afraid to recognize and release other pastoral gifts for fear of them gathering small flocks around them. They have inherited a system that creates suspicion and distrust. This is why leaders must develop an apostolic mindset. Apostles are also shepherds. WHEN JESUS SAW THE MULTITUDES, HE SENT OUT TWELVE APOSTLES, NOT TWELVE PASTORS (Matthew 9:36;10:42)
12. The apostolic anointing must become the dominant anointing.
13. The pastor thinks in terms of safety and protection. The apostle thinks in terms of expansion and progression. This does not make one better than the other. They are both needed in the church. The problem occurs when the pastoral anointing becomes the dominant anointing of the local church. The church then thinks only in terms of safety and protection, and often eliminates the other gifts that may be more radical and progressive. The result is the church becoming too pastoral at the expense of not being apostolic and prophetic. On the other hand, churches that are apostolic can be so without the expense of losing the pastoral. The apostolic ministry has the capacity to embrace the other gifts. The apostolic mentality is anointed to think largely and to incorporate all the gifts of God. The pastoral mind is not anointed in the same way.
14. The word "first" in reference to apostles in 1 Corinthians 12:28 is the Greek word "proton", meaning first in time, order, or rank. First also means principle or primary. The apostolic anointing should be the primary, foundational anointing of the Church. We are first and foremeostsent by the risen Lord. The commission Jesus gave the church is an apostolic commission. This is why the apostolic anointing should be the dominant anointing in the church.
15. The word “proton” is also the root of the word "prototype". We need to see PROTOTYPE CHURCHES built that will be models for the 21st century. These churches will have strong apostolic leadership.
16. Let us begin with the teaching element. If a church is to transition into an apostolic position, the minds of the people must be renewed. People must receive the revelation. This is called "re-laying apostolic foundations." The previous foundation of the church will not be sufficient to build and expand upon.
17. One reason teaching is so important is that people will not be able to make the shift unless they shift in their minds. Most people have been trained to think pastorally. They have a parish mentality. They join a church and spend all their time and energy maintaining the church and getting their needs met. All the resources for most local churches, both natural and spiritual, go into maintaining the local church and meeting the needs of the members.
18. The apostolic mentality is quite different. The leader is released by the people into an apostolic function to the larger body of Christ.
19. The leader must spend time teaching and training the people in new truth so that the entire congregation can transition into a new position. Once people are convinced that what we are doing is scriptural, they can confidently embrace what we are building. Once people know that what they are walking in is truth, they will not compromise because of persecution. The people must see the benefits of change. People must develop an appetite for new wine. The diet of the church must change.
20. Why did Jesus choose the twelve apostles? Why didn’t he choose twelve prophets or priests? The ministry of apostle is a New Testament ministry.
21. Some would say, “It is not important to be called an apostle, just do the work.” I agree that it is better to have the work without the title, than the title without the work. There are many that would claim apostleship without having the signs of a proven apostolic ministry. It is, however, important for people to know their gifting and calling in order to be able to walk in it confidently and boldly.” When people do not know their identity, they will often miss their purpose.”
22. Apostles must be free from all of the normal administrative duties placed on most church leaders.
23. Apostolic churches are called to pull down strongholds in regions over which they have jurisdiction.
24. An apostolic presbytery is able to prophesy and impart. (1 Timothy 4:14) They have an apostolic mentality because they have apostolic leadership within the presbytery. The order and ranking of ministry is respected within the presbytery. The Antioch church becomes our model church. The 32 church begins to migrate from a pastoral position to an apostolic one without losing the pastoral dimension. The members will still be cared for because of the release of pastors.
25. A team is stronger than one man.
26. Many apostolic and prophetic ministries have been killed by administrators. When the administrative anointing supersedes the apostolic anointing, the church will not be able to progress into new things. Apostles need organization, but they cannot be hindered or controlled by it. THE ORGANIZATION IS MADE FOR THE APOSTLE, NOT THE APOSTLE FOR THE ORGANIZATION.
27. Senior leaders cannot become bogged down with too much administration. Some leaders wear themselves down with administration. They experience burnout because they do not recognize others with the administrative gifting, and they do not know how to delegate. Some churches expect pastors to be administrators. They expect the leaders to "be" and to "do" everything.
28. The church for years has been taught that the Great Commission is an evangelistic commission. It is, however, an apostolic commission. The commission was given to apostles, and it will take an apostolic anointing and strategy to fulfill it.
29. Most ministers live and die without entering into all the phases of their ministry