What explains the present lack of an ecclesial equipping or building emphasis in missional literature and many missional expressions? The answer might lie amidst the confusion over the evangelist (often confused with the apostolic) currently dominating missional conversation. In addition, this might also explain the absence of understanding and REGARD for the profound design and extraordinary provision in His church gathered...the unsearchable riches of Christ activated in earthen vessels as they gather...the supply of God to His church and to the world...put in motion, in the gathering. And while I believe everything comes out of Christ, the mystery of it is that His church gathered, His body, is the MEANS of that outflow, the increase of God in the earth...the church scattered. So, in essence, everything comes out of His church. "At the center of all this, Christ rules the church. The church, you see, is not peripheral to the world; the world is peripheral to the church. The church is Christ's body, in which He speaks and acts, by which He fills everything with His presence." (Eph.1:22,23 MSG).

This is not necessarily the message of the evangelist. But it IS the emphasis of Eph.4 foundational ministries. When I think of the apostolic and prophetic I think of a solid foundation built to support a structure, built to establish, strengthen and vitalize His church (Eph.2:20-22, Mt.16:18). I think of the Head, Christ, reigning over His body assembling it together into that "new man"..."BUILT together into a dwelling place of God by the Spirit".

It is clear in Scripture that the apostolic and prophetic are concerned with much more than simply "going out and planting churches", in fact it's quite evident in the New Testament that not all apostles and prophets founded churches. The scattering of the people of God never supplanted the gathering and its order of importance. There was no hopscotching over "the equipping of the saints". (see a previous post, "The church at Antioch, culture of commitment"). But in a lot of missional circles those with primary gifting as evangelists (often, I believe, mistaken for apostolic gifting, i.e. Michael Frost, Hugh Halter, Shane Claiborne etc) are the primary source of direction; the gift that pushes for GOING, for the scattering...but not the gathering, the CORPORATE equipping and building. Here you often witness the "de-ecclesiologizing" of the church. And yet the apostle Paul sought to prevent this...he brought another emphasis to insure the sustainability and ongoing presence of the people of God in the earth...he said that in the face of impending opposition to the church's very existence, “I laid a FOUNDATION as an expert BUILDER, and someone else is building on it…” (1Cor.3:10). And this verse does not imply that apostles and prophets lay foundations as in the concept of church planting which is held by many in missiological circles (by the way, I am not adverse to church planting, been there).

Years ago we confronted another similar issue about a lack of balance in the church, there were those that realized there was too much "Pastor" and found that in God's Kingdom economy there is a divine “order of gifting”, the pastor doesn't rule nor does the evangelist, in His church there is an ordere...not by status but by function, "first apostles, secondarily prophets thirdly teachers and after that..." In this sequence the gathering does not become a docile or irrelevant meeting. It's alive with the equipping and building up of the saints...the manifestation of the presence of God through His people; this is emphasized (not diminished) in importance. But the key here is that all five Ephesians 4 equipping gifts are to establish a representative authority, not just one expression, all of them reflecting Christ to the church in fullness.

Apostles and prophets BUILD, not just PLANT or send. And maybe the emphasis on scattering is because the gathering has become so nebulous and innocuous; a lot of folks just getting together, not hearing from heaven, not necessarily encountering Jesus and being equipped, not "tempered together" and formed into HIS body, HIS church excited about living for God and one another. It’s in a different dimension. As a result I believe there is movement from purely missional towards the ORIGINAL. Making gathering and scattering, ministry and mission, seamless...mutually dependent on one another.

I believe it will bring us back to the original intention of God. God uses apostles and prophets to "measure" His church, thereby bringing it into its intended design and effectiveness. It simply has to do with the grace of the gifts, the spiritual and ecclesial DNA and calling God deposits within those given to re-establish His church as the gateway of heaven, "that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known" (Eph.3:10).

And yes, we may need to recover the reputation of the church, its marginalization is very real, but not simply by being more "missional" in the earth, but also seeing the TRUE church or HIS church built corporately. The metanarrative of Scripture regarding God and His people is that He would have a DWELLING PLACE by the Spirit, that He would build Himself a habitation out of "living stones" where He provides the means of grace to “equip the saints..." Where the church is God's means in the earth to make visible an alternative new creation COMMUNITY, the Kingdom of heaven breaking in, a "city with foundations whose builder and maker is God". (Hebrews 11:10, Rev.21:1-4). Saved communities that offer a genuine expression of Jesus Christ, bringing restoration, a sign to the world actually and prophetically of what's to come. I never want to see the church "gathered" lose out to the church "scattered" because HIS church gathered is mission's source, giving mission its context, empowering those on mission....the two are one.

At any rate what I'm seeing is that many “churches” are responsive and enthusiastic about innovative missional ideas, but in practice they often fall short because the community is made up of individuals overwhelmed by various personal/relational problems, cracks in the foundation of their faith, blown about by every wind of doctrine and the deceitfulness of other "priorities"; victims of spiritual identity theft, not aware of the radical calling on their lives...lukewarm in their commitment to Christ and one another. There might be glorious talents, abilities, gifts, and callings among them but without the prophetic insight, apostolic awakening and solid foundation of who they are and what they are a part of, folks will settle for less, double in mind and lifestyle, the life of God within them either lying dormant or poorly utilized. Without the gifting of those given by the Head to bring order and maturity to His body, bringing what exists in the unseen realm and building it in the tangible now, returning God's people to His original intention, the result, sadly, is that the gates of hell very often begin to prevail.

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Evangelists, possibly confused with the apostolic, often dominate missional conversation. This may explain the seeming lack of an equipping or building emphasis currently taking place today in many missional expressions. Maybe it also explains the lack of understanding and REGARD for the incredible nature of His church, the unsearchable riches of Christ activated in earthen vessels as they gather...a supply of God to His church and to the world. And finally, maybe this clarifies why there seems to be a vacuum of strong leadership, a lack of maturity and firm foundation in the church today.

For instance, when I think of the apostolic and prophetic I think of a solid foundation built to support a structure, built to support His church (Mt.16:18, Mt.7:24-26). I think of the Head, Christ, reigning over His body assembling it together into that "new man"..."BUILT together into a dwelling place of God by the Spirit".

It is clear in Scripture that the apostolic and prophetic are concerned with much more than simply planting churches, in fact it's quite evident in the New Testament that not all apostles and prophets founded churches. Nor did all of them bring an exclusive evangelistic thrust of "scattering"; that is, where the scattering supplanted the gathering in its order, hopscotching over "the equipping of the saints". But in a lot of missional circles those with primary gifting as evangelists (often, I believe, mistaken for apostolic gifting, i.e. Michael Frost, Hugh Halter, Shane Claiborne etc) is the primary source of direction; the gift that pushes for GOING, for the scattering...but not the gathering, the CORPORATE equipping and building. Here you often witness the "de-ecclesiologizing" of the church. And yet the apostle Paul sought to prevent this...he brought another emphasis to insure the sustainability and ongoing presence of the people of God in the earth...he said that in the face of impending opposition to the church's very existence, “I laid a FOUNDATION as an expert BUILDER, and someone else is building on it…” (1Cor.3:10). And this verse does not imply that apostles and prophets lay foundations as in the concept of church planting which is held by many in missiological circles (by the way, I am not adverse to church planting, been there).

Years ago we confronted another similar issue about a lack of balance in the church, we all realized that there was too much "Pastor" and found that in God's Kingdom economy there is a divine “order of gifting”, the pastor doesn't rule nor does the evangelist, in His church there is "first apostles, secondarily prophets thirdly teachers and after that..." In this sequence the gathering, the equipping and building, is emphasized (not diminished) in importance. But the key is that all five Ephesians 4 equipping gifts establish a representative authority, not just one expression, all of them reflecting Christ to the church in fullness.

Evangelists, possibly confused with the apostolic, often dominate missional conversation today. This may explain the seeming lack of an equipping or building emphasis currently missing in many missional expressions. Maybe it also explains the lack of understanding and REGARD for the incredible nature of His church, the unsearchable riches of Christ activated in earthen vessels as they gather...a supply of God to His church and to the world set in motion. And finally, maybe this clarifies why there seems to be a vacuum of strong leadership, a lack of maturity and firm foundation in the church today.

For instance, when I think of the apostolic and prophetic I think of a solid foundation built to support a structure, built to establish, strengthen and vitalize His church (Eph.2:20, Mt.16:18). I think of the Head, Christ, reigning over His body assembling it together into that "new man"..."BUILT together into a dwelling place of God by the Spirit".

It is clear in Scripture that the apostolic and prophetic are concerned with much more than simply planting churches, in fact it's quite evident in the New Testament that not all apostles and prophets founded churches. Nor did all of them bring an exclusive evangelistic thrust of "scattering"; it is quite evdent in Scripture that the scattering did not supplant the gathering in its order, hopscotching over "the equipping of the saints". (see previous post, "The church at Antioch, culture of commitment"). But in a lot of missional circles those with primary gifting as evangelists (often, I believe, mistaken for apostolic gifting, i.e. Michael Frost, Hugh Halter, Shane Claiborne etc) are the primary source of direction; the gift that pushes for GOING, for the scattering...but not the gathering, the CORPORATE equipping and building. Here you often witness the "de-ecclesiologizing" of the church. And yet the apostle Paul sought to prevent this...he brought another emphasis to insure the sustainability and ongoing presence of the people of God in the earth...he said that in the face of impending opposition to the church's very existence, “I laid a FOUNDATION as an expert BUILDER, and someone else is building on it…” (1Cor.3:10). And this verse does not imply that apostles and prophets lay foundations as in the concept of church planting which is held by many in missiological circles (by the way, I am not adverse to church planting, been there).

Years ago we confronted another similar issue about a lack of balance in the church, we all realized that there was too much "Pastor" and found that in God's Kingdom economy there is a divine “order of gifting”, the pastor doesn't rule nor does the evangelist, in His church there is "first apostles, secondarily prophets thirdly teachers and after that..." In this sequence the gathering is not a docile, insignificant and benign meeting. It's alive with the equipping and building up of the saints...the manifestation of the presence of God through His people; this is emphasized (not diminished) in importance. But the key here is that all five Ephesians 4 equipping gifts are to establish a representative authority, not just one expression, all of them reflecting Christ to the church in fullness.

Apostles and prophets BUILD, not just PLANT or send. And maybe the emphasis on scattering is because the gathering has become so nebulous and innocuous; a lot of folks just getting together, not hearing from heaven, not necessarily encountering Jesus and being equipped, not "tempered together" and formed into HIS body, HIS church excited about living for God and one another. It’s in a different dimension. As a result I believe there is movement from purely missional towards the ORIGINAL. Making gathering and scattering ministry and mission, seamless...mutually dependent on one another.

I believe it will bring us back to the original intention of God. God uses apostles and prophets to "measure" His church, thereby bringing it into its intended design and effectiveness. It simply has to do with the grace of the gifts, the spiritual and ecclesial DNA and calling God deposits within those given to re-establish His church as the gateway of heaven, "that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known" (Eph.3:10).

And yes, we may need to recover the reputation of the church, its marginalization is very real, but not simply by being more "missional" in the earth, but also seeing the TRUE church or HIS church built corporately. The metanarrative of Scripture regarding God and His people is that He would have a DWELLING PLACE by the Spirit, that He would build Himself a habitation out of "living stones" where He provides the means of grace to “equip the saints..." Where the church is God's means in the earth to make visible an alternative new creation COMMUNITY, the Kingdom of heaven breaking in, a "city with foundations whose builder and maker is God". (Hebrews 11:10, Rev.21:1-4). Saved communities that offer a genuine expression of Jesus Christ, bringing restoration, a sign to the world actually and prophetically of what's to come. I never want to see the church "gathered" lose out to the church "scattered" because HIS church gathered is mission's source, giving mission its context, empowering those on mission....the two are one.

At any rate what I'm seeing is that many “churches” are responsive and enthusiastic about innovative missional ideas, but in practice they often fall short because the community is made up of individuals overwhelmed by various personal/relational problems, cracks in the foundation of their faith, blown about by every wind of doctrine and the deceitfulness of other "priorities"; victims of spiritual identity theft, not aware of the radical calling on their lives...lukewarm in their commitment to Christ and one another. There might be glorious talents, abilities, gifts, and callings among them but without the prophetic insight, apostolic awakening and solid foundation of who they are and what they are a part of, folks will settle for less, double in mind and lifestyle, the life of God within them either lying dormant or poorly utilized. Without the gifting of those given by the Head to bring order and maturity to His body, bringing what exists in the unseen realm and building it in the tangible now, returning God's people to His original intention, the result, sadly, is that the gates of hell very often begin to prevail.

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The prophetic, things I think about:

FOUNDATION:

I believe the prophetic gift given to the body of Christ functions both locally/regionally with a unique and often overlooked focus, one that emphasizes the church's foundation.

When the Ephesian 4 equipping gift of prophet functions locally...it is in residence, it is not a pilgrim spirit wandering into a community with a "word" but it dwells among and brings words out of fellowship in the body...words maybe like Dwell received about the coming year and the "two essentials"...where "in 2012 we would move into a greater revelation and more faithful expression of Christ the Head and His body the church, with an emphasis on foundation". The prophetic and apostolic are, at least in part, "foundational" building gifts (I Cor.3:10, Eph.2:20-22). The sending or "going" aspects of the apostolic and the predictive element of the prophetic often diminish an essential function of both...which is BUILDING, of setting things in order. Agabus in Acts 11:27-30 and Acts 21:10-14 moved in prophetic prediction. By the Spirit he predicted a famine and saw that Paul would be imprisoned. But though important, just as you can tell the value of something by its cost, you can also recognize the value of a STRUCTURE by the quality of its foundation.

The church is built on a ROCK or foundation that Christ Himself lays through genuine apostles and prophets the purpose, of course, is that it produces stability and growth in maturity that the gates of hell CANNOT prevail against. For instance, an ongoing revelation of Christ is brought, anchoring the church on solid ground. With the equipping of His church, there is a certain way and ORDER that God builds; that is, from the bottom up, beginning (not surprsingly) with foundation. Paul says in I Cor.14:30, “But all things should be done decently and in order”, especially as it pertains to the building of His house (see also I Cor.12:27,28). You don't put up dry wall before foundation is laid. A lot of people might get together but they won't take on the characteristics of His church unless it is built on the right foundation. This is how foundational gifts serve the body and it's often a neglected function of the prophetic...

THE EYE:

The prophetic gift functions as an "eye" to the body, (some folks like to use the term "seer", ugh) locating cracks and fissures in the foundation that if overlooked (or seen as inconsequential) would eventually cause the house to weaken and eventually collapse (Mt. 7:24-26). The idea is to bring to maturity "living stones", men and women of stature, immovable...a witness to the world of confidence and stability in the face of adversity (Eph.4:12-16).

The prophetic is also about casting vision with the apostolic, casting or imparting vision to the body, making the vision "plain". Jesus said "The eye is the lamp of the body. So if the eye is single (sound), the entire body will be full of light" (Matthew 6:22). In addition, the prophetic will bring "the word of God in season" recognizing and in synch with shifts in emphasis; the times and "kairos's" of God. A crucial part of the churches' present task is to understand what the Spirit of God is saying to the body...as Ecc.3:1 says, "For everything there is a SEASON, and a time and a purpose for every matter under heaven". And the prophetic also equips individuals in the body with eyes to see changing seasons in their own lives. The goal is to gather around what the Lord is saying, united, joined together, tethered to His word, discerning and receiving from the body of Christ.

IDENTITY:

When this gift manifests, the Spirit also starts fanning into flame gifts in others, "The one who receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet's reward". There are gifts lying dormant needing to be activated, Paul said, "For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God which is in you...acknowledged by prophetic utterance" (I Ti.4:14, II Ti.1:6). Everyone can’t be everything, that’s not the way He set it up. But when gifts are activated it brings nourishment and health to the entire body. That’s why we reject independence and operate in mutual dependence in community ...we need each other’s supply of Christ. The equipping gifts are called to help the rest of the church become competent in their particular measure of grace, the prophetic also helping to confirm calling. Here you'll also see gift and calling in context with corporate vision and mission. We hear a lot about the general idea of "being a Christian" but not much about being discipled/equipped into our unique and specific calling, embodying the gift in maturity and humility. This gift helps form Christ in us (Gal.4:19), compelling us to forsake all that would hold us back and follow Him, serving Him by the Spirit in the context of community, with passion, love and renewed purpose.

ASCENSION ORDER/DESCENSION ORDER:

As you know, the Eph. 4:11 prophet should not be confused with the "motivational gift" of prophecy (Romans 12:6), which some believers have, or the gift of the "Spirit" of prophecy (I Cor. 12:10). Paul told us to DESIRE spiritual gifts, with the realization that without these spiritual endowments we are going to have to rely on our own abilities and strength to do the work of the ministry, meet the demands of everyday life, leaning on our own understanding, on mission, trying to help others. But the "ascension order" gifts (Eph.4:8,11) are the result of Christ ascending and delegating His spiritual authority to His appointed leadership to help equip and empower the church for its task. It is authority by gifting; a divine "measure of grace" given according to responsibility and function. He "captures" men and gives them to the church. Others may have the message (rhetoric) or method but God gives the measure; that certain "measure of grace" and rule in order to equip and empower the saints for the work of the ministry. (Eph.4:7,8,11, II Cor.10:13, I Cor.15:10). Though there isn't hierarchy, there are different gifts and where we find that authentic, recognizable ascension order grace of God...the fruit and life of Jesus, it is here that solid foundation is built and spiritual growth accelerated.

COMMITMENT:

The apostolic and prophetic inject commitment and faithfulness into a community's foundation. They are "prisoners of the Lord", walking in a manner worthy of their calling setting the tone for the rest of the body. Their role is to spearhead a wedge of commitment which inspires the saints to follow and use their own unique gifts to move forward. Prophetic gifting doesn't go with the flow, they create the flow. They "....transmit and entrust as a deposit to reliable and faithful men who will be competent and qualified to teach others also. (II Timothy 2:2). Paul set an example saying, "But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I WORKED HARDER than any of them, though it was not I, but the GRACE OF GOD that is in me." This helps to form a community into a "culture of commitment", one we see in Acts 11 in the church in Antioch. The prophetic imparts its commitment into foundation ala John the Baptist who, Jesus said, was a prophet of prophets, a true example, one not swayed by the wind or dressed in soft garments; no, here was heroic prophetic commitment, one who would forge a way for the Lord against impossible odds (Matthew 11:7-10). At any rate, there is an unmistakable legacy: a seal, or mark of commitment brought to the body by foundational gifts, Paul said, "Am I not an apostle? Are you yourselves not the product, proof and seal of my workmanship in the Lord?" We receive the Eph.4:11 deposit...the investment Christ has made in them, "considering the outcome of their way of life, and duplicating their faith.” Hebrews 13:7. They serve others "Christ in them", the treasure in the earthen vessel, what they themselves embody. People who are saved and never trained miss this foundational aspect of discipleship and there is often a negligible outcome, a never ending wobble in their walk...we can avoid this.

HEARING GOD:

There are so many voices. The prophetic gift is therefore given to help train the church to listen and recognize the voice of God, the voice of the Spirit. When the church is absent of the prophetic emphasis and without a prophetic voice, it is absent of the "ear" of the body; of hearing God. As a result there's little familiarity with the ability and reality of recognizing God's voice individually/corporately through Scripture; through teaching, in meetings, preaching, prayer, prophecy and the myriad other ways God speaks...hearing God working within you; in your spirit, in the inner man, hearing something. Jesus said in John 10 that "the sheep know my voice, a strangers voice they shall not hear". If that's not happening, if there is no community emphasis on it, you’ll be sitting there thinking, "I can’t say what I believe I heard. If I do, they’ll laugh. I’ll sound foolish. They won’t believe me. I’ll be ridiculous."

Meanwhile, this is FOUNDATIONAL to our faith...faith comes by hearing. If you had been exposed to the function of the prophet, what you would have noticed is somebody who confidently declares as normal that we can hear God, that they are hearing from God in some way every day of their life. And there is such assurance...the prophetic carries the weight of this without boastfulness or arrogance. And hearing God results in the body coming out of its silence, folks begin to speak, to see, to know...to report on what they are being impacted by out of relationship with God...there's excitement. Proverbs tells us that "where there is no ongoing prophetic revelation people perish", they get bored, they are distracted, they get lazy or become tainted by other voices and cast off restraint. But as a prophetic COMMUNITY...we get a corporate sense of the church functioning as “prophet” to the world in all sorts of different (creative) ways. I Sa.10:5,6, "After that you shall come to where there is a garrison of the Philistines. And there, as soon as you come to the city, you will meet a group of prophets coming down from the high place with harp, tambourine, flute, and lyre before them, prophesying. Then the Spirit of the LORD will rush upon you, and you will prophesy with them and be turned into another man".

There will be the distinguishing between the voice of God, the voice of the Spirit of God who speaks to the inner man and that voice that is NOT of God and tries to shout down the other. If a community is exposed to the prophetic it will never be at a point in its process where its members don't believe that they can hear from Him.

More to come....

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The "real" often comes in increments as we come out of the "shadow" or type: "And He (Jesus) took the blind man by the hand, and led him out of the town; and when He had spit on his eyes, and put His hands upon him, He asked him if he could presently see. And he looked up, and said, I see men as shadows, as trees walking. After that He AGAIN put his hands upon his eyes and made him look up: and he was restored, and saw every man clearly."

Before God brings things into reality, He often progresses us towards it in a prophetic sequence...speaking that which brings us out of the "shadow" or "echo" in increments, preparing us and moving us from the type or facsimile into the "authentic". The mystery that existed previously begins to unveil as God begins communicating the reality. For instance, in the Old Testament God set up some form but that form was not the fullness, it was meant to be a type. The prophets kept pointing to what was coming, alluding to the fact that it was still incomplete. And what it was all headed towards (and still is) was God bringing to the earth the fuller expression of Himself via a dwelling place among men...individually, domestically, vocationally....all of which emerges from His church corporately: the divine order. And, in its context, it's all designed to manifest His presence by the Spirit in increasing measure, "In Him you also are being built together into a dwelling place of God by the Spirit"..."which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all."

As the real comes out of the "shadows", we experience it before in type. But then we go through some things and move towards more of the genuine...the "seeming" truth (but actually veiled), now becomes the truth (unveiled). And as it comes, it takes on form, the invisible becomes visible taking on flesh, "Then He said to me, "Prophesy over these bones, and say to them, O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. Thus says the Lord God to these bones: Behold, I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live. And I will lay sinews upon you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath (life) in you, and you shall live, and you shall know that I am the Lord."

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Rapid growth or foundational depth?

Over the years I've seen it over and over again, the classic "cart before the horse" emphasis of church growth (in whatever form) taking priority over foundational depth. The poor donkey once on solid ground gets overloaded with the weight of new initiatives or a temporary spike in numbers that simply cannot be sustained. Meaningful growth (however you define it) cannot take place without laying solid foundation to support it...and is why they run concurrent. No wonder Paul said "be careful HOW you build." It's just a fact of life, you don't install plumbing or put up dry wall before laying foundation, there's an order (see ICor.3:10,11,16,17, I Cor.12:27,28, Eph.4:11-16, Eph.2:20-22). The principle of “more is better”, in whatever way, at the expense of genuine corporate equipping, undermines the health of the body. Isaiah wrote, "And those left of the house of Judah shall again take ROOT downward and bear fruit upward."

Just as you can tell the value of something by its cost, you can also recognize the value of a structure by the quality of its foundation. The nature and substance of the foundation will determine whether God’s people, the "house of God", can support growth, can withstand the shakings and pressures over time…especially in the coming year. Individually, domestically or corporately, if the foundation is not solid in all three areas, than the storms that come will collapse the house that may have looked so great from the outside. If you have a building with a faulty foundation, you will be forever trying to square up the corners…replastering the cracks, with little time for anything else. The more solid the foundation, the steadier, stable and more secure the structure built upon it. And this solid foundation is built as we are in relationship with Jesus Christ and foundational gifts set in His church.

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Rapid growth or foundational depth?

Over the years I've seen it over and over again, the classic "cart before the horse" emphasis of church growth (in whatever form) taking priority over foundational depth. The poor donkey once on solid ground gets overloaded with the weight of new initiatives or a temporary spike in numbers that simply cannot be sustained. Meaningful growth (however you define it) cannot take place without laying solid foundation to support it...and is why they run concurrent. No wonder Paul said "be careful HOW you build." It's just a fact of life, you don't install plumbing or put up dry wall before laying foundation, there's an order (see ICor.3:10,11,16,17, I Cor.12:27,28, Eph.4:11-16, Eph.2:20-22). The principle of “more is better”, in whatever way, at the expense of genuine corporate equipping, undermines the health of the body. Isaiah wrote, "And those left of the house of Judah shall again take ROOT downward and bear fruit upward."

Just as you can tell the value of something by its cost, you can also recognize the value of a structure by the quality of its foundation. The nature and substance of the foundation will determine whether God’s people, the "house of God", can support growth, can withstand the shakings and pressures over time…especially in the coming year. Individually, domestically or corporately, if the foundation is not solid in all three areas, than the storms that come will collapse the house that may have looked so great from the outside. If you have a building with a faulty foundation, you will be forever trying to square up the corners…replastering the cracks, with little time for anything else. The more solid the foundation, the steadier, stable and more secure the structure built upon it. And this solid foundation is built as we are in relationship with Jesus Christ and foundational gifts set in His church.

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If "the fullness of Him who fills all in all" is in the body of Christ according to Eph.1:22,23 and yet all authority on earth belongs to Jesus (Mt 28:18)...think about it. Maybe a conclusion you draw is that His authority is in His body, the church...and it is incarnated in giftedness; that is, in spiritual authority given by grace, not inherent by position. Try to follow me here...

Christ gave gifts to His church, those which He Himself embodied. And since all authority in heaven and earth belongs to Jesus, evidently where we find that authentic, recognizable giftedness of Christ...the fruit and life of Jesus, it is here that spiritual authority arises.

For instance, where I recognize the gift of faith, I receive that...it is the giftedness of Jesus in that realm and I submit and partake of His provision. Jesus said "Whoever receives you receives Me, and whoever receives Me receives him who sent Me. The one who receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet's reward, and the one who receives a righteous person because he is a righteous person will receive a righteous person's reward." And though gifting/function may at some point be recognized corporately by title, (elders etc.) their authority and role in leadership is by His grace, "according to the measure of Christ's gift" (Eph.4:7). It is not about hierarchy, no, it's giftedness, anointing, order. The supernatural giftedness to equip, to serve, not natural ability or talent.

Jesus was without honor in His hometown and could therefore do no miracles. He was rejected by men 2000 years ago and He is still rejected today whenever the church refuses to recognize and receive His giftedness through those whom His endorsement, clearly, is on. Not only is God dishonored by this but the body of Christ is cheated out of its full inheritance. The point is that unless we discern the body of Christ, we will not submit to the giftedness of Christ in a person...we can never derive the benefits of that gift. The measure with which we will receive an authentic God-given gift in someone determines, to a large extent, the measure of Christ we will receive in return.

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Now, at the same time, David loved God with every fiber of his being, read the Psalms. And yet THE VERY OBVIOUS OVERFLOW OF A MAN THAT LOVED GOD WAS TOWARDS...HIS HOUSE! He said he'd rather be a door-keeper in God's house than anywhere else in the universe. There's a fascination, something so compelling about the HOUSE for everybody that loves God. Why? It's His dwelling place, "In Him you also are being BUILT together into a DWELLING PLACE (a house, a habitation) of God by the Spirit".

Folks will say "but I love GOD, you can worry about the church or focus on it if you want to but I am seeking to worship, to know God". I could say to that person that you may not know how to love God, or ever get to know Him fully, if like David (a man after God's own heart), you don't see the provision for all of that in God's house; if you do, you will just automatically love His house. The absence of regard for His dwelling place can't be a true love of God...how can you say you love a God you've not seen if you can't love His house; that is, His body, an expression (though flawed) of His Person that you CAN see? How can you say you love the Head who you've NOT seen if you can't love His body which you HAVE seen?

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Now, at the same time, David loved God with every fiber of his being, read the Psalms. And yet THE VERY OBVIOUS OVERFLOW OF A MAN THAT LOVED GOD WAS TOWARDS...HIS HOUSE! He said he'd rather be a door-keeper in God's house than anywhere else in the universe. There's a fascination, something so compelling about the HOUSE for everybody that loves God. Why? It's His dwelling place, "In Him you also are being BUILT together into a DWELLING PLACE (a house, a habitation) of God by the Spirit".

Folks will say "but I love GOD, you can worry about the church or focus on it if you want to but I am seeking to worship, to know God". I could say to that person that you may not know how to love God, or ever get to know Him fully, if like David (a man after God's own heart), you don't see the provision for all of that in God's house; if you do, you will just automatically love His house. The absence of regard for His dwelling place can't be a true love of God...how can you say you love a God you've not seen if you can't love His house; that is, His body, an expression (though flawed) of His Person that you CAN see? How can you say you love the Head who you've NOT seen if you can't love His body which you HAVE seen?

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Jesus didn't say "Saul Saul why do you persecute MY CHURCH?" He said "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute ME?" Jesus saw himself as one with His people, His body and if He does, surely we should. From Jesus' standpoint, for Paul not to discern God's people, the church, is also not to discern Christ. For us to persecute or minimize His church, or not esteem this thing called the body of Christ, is to persecute, minimize and not esteem Christ. And here I'm not talking about "a" church, but HIS church where the standard and blueprint are found in the Word of God. I believe in the coming year a greater revelation of Christ and His church, a call to SEE the body of Christ...to see it as God sees it is at hand. That a reverence and awe for the church; the Head in heaven and His feet on earth has got to be restored. When Paul persecuted the church that was filled with mortals, people at various levels of maturity, Jesus took it personally.

In Genesis 28 Jacob spoke about a “dread", “How dreadful is this place, the house of God, the gateway of heaven” (Gen. 28:17). You could ask, "What is so dreadful about the House of God?” Well, there are other ways to translate the word “dread” such as, “How awesome is this place,” but the point is that there IS a right view of the body of Christ that includes a certain sort of wake-up call, a new awareness that alerts you to a reality you were oblivious to or chose to ignore...something solemn, weighty, even burdensome and Jacob responded to it. Paul said in Acts 20, "Pay careful attention...care for the church of God, which He obtained with his own blood."

There was some sort of transition that took place the moment those first believers in Acts 2 saw the church, "And all the believers were filled with awe”. Something so dramatic that they abandoned their previous separate lives. They had some sort of revelation about the resurrected Christ and His connection to His body. They became willing to risk everything in order to be a part of that community, that "culture of commitment", of experiencing the reality of God. Without that revelation, folks will call His church something other than what it is and make major tactical errors in both their discernment and the way they live their lives...and the consequences are usually very unfortunate. If we see the house of God as being the very gate of heaven (Genesis 28:16,17) there will be a passionate respect and love for it. Jesus Himself said "zeal for the Father's house consumes Me." There is something about the body of Christ...where the two are one, that consumes us.

Folks ought not to pompously think that they can somehow love God and derive all they need from Him directly without loving His body, the very means He has provided in the earth to meet those needs, to bring them their supply. Even instruction on relating to and hearing Him directly! Folks who think that “I can be a Christian, but I don’t need His church" have, unfortunately, missed what God Himself says about it...that "THROUGH THE CHURCH His manifold wisdom might NOW be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places". God "put all things under Christ's feet and gave Him as Head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all." Evidently His church is not just opinions and individuals and methods that folks just simply and arbitrarily accept or reject. No, if it's His church, in judging they are judging the Head, the One who sees the church as His body, His means of disclosing His heart, His wisdom...the means of the invisible becoming visible.

His church is not this casual, frivolous get-together of those with common ground and desires, nor is it a bunch of friendly people with a common belief looking to do good things and meet twice a week. That is, those who hold to their own opinions on just about everything, saying of leadership and others that "they have their views and we have ours". No, it's more than just "a bunch of people", it's His body...it's people IN Christ and those with Christ IN them; people joined by Christ the Head as community, centered on His corporate purpose in the earth. And if we won't discern it and think only of it as folks with some common beliefs, if that's how we view it (which is not how GOD views it) then folks will find themselves without much of its supply....or worse.

See, God builds a dwelling place by His Spirit (Eph.2:20-22) and in it you find identity; calling and purpose in a corporate context. He lays foundation in people's lives individually, domestically and corporately by bringing called men and women alongside His people to equip and help them find out who they are in Him, and who He is in them. It is an awesome place. Things come alive as He makes Himself known through His church.

And if you see the reality of the body of Christ in your life-time and give your life to this heart God has for His house, you will be mocked and ridiculed...you will be called various names...it is very supernatural because Satan despises the only thing that can prevail against him. BUT, in this same revelation of the body of Christ, if you give your life to this heart God has for His house, you will also experience the reality of the life you were created for...the greatest life you can live, alongside those who have also given themselves completely to Jesus... and His Church. If we say we love God desperately, then we love the House of God; we love the work of God’s hands, we love the extension of His heart, we love the visible of the invisible God. We are "prisoners" of that calling (Eph.4:1), captured by the vision of loving His body, the overflow of loving Him.

So, there is a call this year to a greater revelation of Christ and His church, a call to SEE the body of Christ...to see it as God sees it. "Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, "Surely the Lord is in this place, and I did not know it." Now you do. It is the house of God and it's a dreadful/awesome/weighty thing, the very gate of heaven and it's not just a bunch of people who might believe some of the same things...you can go to the V.F.W. for that.

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Not the next new thing, but something He birthed 2000 years ago:
So not something NEW in 2012, but something NEXT; not a new movement, “lo, He’s moving over here or there’s a revival over there”, but a greater revelation of the surpassing greatness and unsearchable riches of Jesus Christ in and through His BODY the church…something He birthed and began 2000 years ago. God had a dream, a purpose from the very beginning for His people…that they become the intersection between heaven and earth for the extension of His Kingdom, to bless the nations (Genesis 12:2,3, 28:17). In 2012 I believe there is a call to move into greater understanding and a higher regard for the MEANS of that mission…to where His blessing truly IS and where his heart is really AT…His church.

The two essentials:
In many ways, church planting in North America has been taking what’s left of Christianity and creating “new” versions or innovative expressions over and against the perceived failures of less “relevant” or “effective” existing churches. They organize themselves as “the next new thing”, compensating for what some other churches lack. But this way the church is susceptible to contextualizing itself into an unrecognizable form. Which is why, at least in my view, there is a call to the builders to return to the Scriptural blueprint, to foundation…to focus on those two essentials, Christ the Head and His body the church. (see Col.1:18, Eph.1:22,23, Mt.16:17,18, ICor.3:10,11, Eph.2:20-22, Eph.4:11-16 etc.).

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"If we walk in the light, as He is in the light, then we may have fellowship with one another..." (I John 1:7).

Over the past 30 years, through personal experience and much frustration, I have learned I can only build His church with and fellowship Christ to the measure that another “lives and moves and has their being" in Him. Yeah, I can have relationship (and I mean that) but fellowship of the Spirit...building His church together? Not so much.

As a leader I have understood that there is a limit to how much I can give my heart away to folks in fellowship, at least the way I'm defining the term. I believe we will avoid much pain and lost time if we understand we cannot build any other way but with others who are walking in a genuine revelation of Christ and His church.
John said, "But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship one with another..." It matters little how nice folks may appear, how little trouble they cause, how funny they are, how eager they are to participate or how spiritual/biblical their vocabulary. You can relate with them, laugh with them etc...but this is considerably different from genuine fellowship of the Spirit, from sharing Christ together and receiving life; from building together. There is an imitation, but (hopefully) you learn to recognize it over time; it's the difference between being stuck together or glued together. See, in true fellowship with one another, there is a transaction in the inner man, a resonant frequency that sets something off in our spirits. When there’s truly His life present, the words are spirit and life over the long haul. It's kind of like the two on the road to Emmaus, "They said to each other, "Did not our hearts burn within us while He talked to us on the road, while He opened to us the Scriptures?" (Luke 24:32).

To build on any of those other things...personalities, levels of "spirituality", charisma, convenience, "common ground", significant reputation etc., can cause an infinite number of problems as well as heartache to God. The anointing in us teaches us to recognize these things. If we’ll listen, if we’ll watch, He shows us what’s really there. We are no longer limited to “the seeing of the eye and the hearing of the ear”, especially when it comes to outward appearance. Great wisdom from Paul in Galatians 2:6, "And from those who seemed to be influential (what they were makes no difference to me; God shows no partiality)-those, I say, who seemed influential added nothing to me".

And so with those who ARE walking in fellowship with the Lord, in a revelation of Christ and His church (see

I John 1:7, Mt.16:13-18) we will KNOW them and we can build HIS church together. This, I hope, is not elitism but rather a responsible discernment of the body; ensuring that the impact a committed leadership core will have on the body of Christ will be an impartation of God's life, equipping the saints, building them UP, bringing an authentic revelation of Christ and His church, creating an atmosphere of true fellowship.

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it seems there are fresh expressions of gifting emerging in missional communities uniquely suited to our time; a time requiring innovation and adaptation. In one of our gatherings, someone spoke of the "poet" and then, recently, I read about the "synergist", and the "boundary-crosser" and added some thoughts.

-The poet is especially oriented to helping us recover missional creativity; able to improvise and innovate....current in media and design, radical in presentation and/or proclamation. The poet presents ideas so that what was hidden and invisible becomes known.

-The synergist is like a human catalyst with an uncanny ability to bring people together and inspire. Able to define purpose and meaning, bring clarity and direction, energy and ignition; making things HAPPEN in large groups, small groups and forming NEW groups to meet fresh challenges.

-The boundary crosser is just that, stretching forward across theological and cultural borders. They get to the essence of a subculture, that which runs beneath its surface and can  engage it.  Theologically, they make available an eschatological hermeneutic, bringing into the present a theology that forms a community into what does not exist as yet.

From all of these fresh combinations of gifting, a new, missional imagination is emerging. Where do you fit most comfortably? Do you overlap? Or would you redefine...add categories? 

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-Disapproval of women speaking in public gatherings:
ICor.14:33b-35 says, "As in all the churches of the saints, the women should keep silent in the churches. For they are not permitted to speak, but should be in submission, as the Law also says. If there is anything they desire to learn, let them ask their husbands at home. For it is shameful for a woman to speak in church".

On the face of it, Paul's arguments in this short passage are very straightforward: woman should not speak in the church, if they have any questions, they should ask their husbands at home. But is Paul contradicting what he wrote in I Corinthians 11 and in Acts 2 about women prophesying? Is it really "shameful" for a woman to speak in the church? is this the best that women can aspire to in worship, that they should keep their mouths shut?

It has been said that one way to avoid the apparent contradiction between this passage and, say, scriptures in I Corinthians 11 (which allow for women to prophesy) is to suppose that they refer to two different types of gathering. Perhaps women prayed and prophesied in the home or smaller, informal get-togethers, but were not to do so in the larger more formal gatherings. Maybe this was true to some extent. But to remedy all the apparent textual inconsistencies regarding a woman's role in the church, there often has to be a theological contortion of scripture.

-The cultural context:
I think in order to really do justice to the text and Paul's imposition of a ban on women speaking we are going to have to consider the broader cultural and religious implications of women participating in public discussions. It has to be considered that this represents the view of a cultured, educated, dominant male elite. There was a prejudice among Greeks and Romans against the participation of women in public life generally and, in particular, in the assembly. Women were not permitted to vote or speak in the civic ekklesia. Aristotle voiced the opinion that "silence gives grace to a woman". This is important because it is against these standards of ideal behavior that the moral and social condition of the church would have been measured.

-Silence in the church to avoid offense:
In addition, we might ask to what extent Paul's teaching in the churches was aimed at maintaining fellowship between Jewish and Gentile believers. At the end of I Cor.10 Paul summarizes his teaching on the eating of food offered to idols, a subject of considerable importance for Jewish/Gentile relations: "Whether you eat or drink or do anything, do all things to the glory of God. Be unoffending to the Jews and to the Greeks and to the church of God, as I also strive to please all men in all things". We might reasonably assume, therefore, that the wish to be "unoffending to the Jews and to the Greeks and to the church of God" constitutes a significant part of the rationale for his teaching in the churches and, indeed, for the teaching about women in I Cor.11-14.

This gives us grounds for thinking that Paul imposed silence on woman in the congregation in order to avoid offense, in particular, offense either to non-believing Jews who might enter the church (ICor.14:23) or to Jewish Christians who were already part of the church. Undoubtedly there were those among the Gentiles who also strongly disapproved of women participating vocally in public meetings, but Paul's instructions here are generally recognized as having a pronounced Jewish character and in that matter at least indicate a bias towards accommodating Jewish opinion.

-Blind conformity to ancient world standards?:
Maybe the question to be asked is, where is the offense? Is it an offense for women to speak in church? Or is the problem the offense that women speaking "inappropriately" might cause in certain societies and cultures? Is it a matter of insubordination today if a woman voices an opinion in church? Is Paul's command any longer applicable? The church today, particularly the church in the West, has to ask itself whether this is still the case. Do we have good reason to impose such restrictions on the freedom of believers? See, when Paul asserts that it is shameful for a woman to speak in church, this is not in the first place judgment on the essential rightness or wrongness of women speaking in church but a recognition of the public/cultural unacceptability of the action.

If shamefulness is primarily a matter of public acceptability, then we must allow for a measure of relativity in the judgment of what is shameful. This is necessary with regard not only to the type of action that in any culture is considered shameful but also to the intensity with which that shame is felt and expressed. Any attempts to translate these instructions into rules of behavior for the church today must take into account the constraints of privacy and submission under which women in the ancient world lived and to the extent to which such constraints were enforced by a powerful ethos of honor and shame. In Western culture is it generally "shameful" for a woman to speak in public? No, of course not. On the contrary, it might be considered shameful to DENY women the opportunity to participate fully and on equal terms with men in the public process. Those who complain that in allowing women to lead and teach, the church is blindly conforming to the standards of the world, may simply be recommending instead blind conformity to the standards of the ancient world.

More coming

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The death and resurrection of Jesus, linked together in a brief three-day period, constitute the defining moment of Christian belief. It is here that the light of God’s love for humanity, for his people, burns most brightly. 

But the light of the Easter event can be so intense that we can fail to see the surrounding context, the big picture, the long narrative of which the horrible execution and unannounced resurrection appearances are an integral part - and without which they so easily become misappropriated by an emphasis of personal salvation alone. So this post will come from another (more historical) Easter direction and highlight five of the narrative insights that help explain the story of God's people preeceding and then proceeding Jesus' resurrection from the dead.

1.Ezekiel’s vision of a valley of dry bones:
Ezekiel is told that the dried, sun-bleached bones of the house of Israel will live; they will be raised from their graves in exile, raised from the death of judgment, and restored to life, brought back to the land (Ezek. 37:1-14). Resurrection is the hope of a nation that has suffered punishment for its failure to live as an example and expression of God's faithfulness, failing to fulfill its vocation to be a light to the nations (Ro.2). Ez.37 is a metaphor for the renewal of the created "microcosm" of Israel through the Spirit of God: "And they will say, 'This land that was desolate has become like the garden of Eden, and the waste and desolate and ruined cities are now fortified and inhabited' " (Ezek. 36:35).

2. Resurrection on the third day:
Hosea calls rebellious, idolatrous, unrighteous Israel to return to the Lord. The nation has been politically wounded, "oppressed, crushed in judgment" (Hos. 5:9-13), but God will heal it; Israel has been struck down, but he will bind up the people. After two days, the prophet says, God will revive his people; on the third day he will raise them up from death, so that they might live before him (Hos. 6:1-2). Resurrection - indeed, resurrection on the third day - is again a metaphor for the restoration of the people following judgment.

3.The righteous will shine like stars:
At the climax of the crisis of national faith provoked by a Syrian tyrant Antiochus Epiphanes, there will be a time of suffering unlike anything that the nation has experienced before. But the righteous are given hope: the people of Yahweh will eventually be delivered from the oppressor; those whose names are written in the book will live. Many of the dead will be raised. Those who have been disloyal to the covenant will be raised to receive "shame and everlasting contempt"; but those who suffered because of their faithfulness and who helped to preserve Israel through the crisis by turning many to righteousness will be raised to the life of the coming age: they will "shine like the brightness of the sky above…, like the stars forever and ever" (Dan. 12:1-3).

Jesus relates to Daniel 12 and tells a simple but devastating story about a harvest at the end of the age of second temple Judaism, when the "weeds" of sin and lawlessness will be burned up in the fires of divine judgment, and "the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father" (Matt. 13:43). Resurrection is the culmination of the crisis of pagan aggression against Israel: it does not mark the end of history; it marks the historical deliverance and vindication of God's people, his church.

4.The resurrection of the martyrs:
When the nation is suffering under the brutal hand of Rome, the foreign invader, because it has sinned against God, resurrection is the hope of the righteous who refuse to renounce their faith even under extreme persecution. John speaks of  the suffering early church as overcomers, conquerors in a divine battle of endurance. And truly the contest carried on by them WAS divine, the testing of their perseverance offered rewards. Those who are martyred, those overcoming unto death are promised "the right to sit wih Me on My throne, just as I was victorious and sat down with My Father on His throne" Rev.3:21. 

5.The fulfilment of hope:
In his death at the hands of Rome, betrayed by a nation on the brink of apostasy, Jesus suffered for the sins of his people, anticipating the faithfulness of those who would take up their own cross out of loyalty to him following his resurrection and into a prolonged historical crisis. In his resurrection from the dead through the power of the Spirit, he anticipated the restoration of the people of God and the eventual vindication of the community that would take the risk of following him down a narrow and dangerous path leading to life.(Mt.7:13,14).

And unlike the lawless, self-aggrandizing types of Caesar, Jesus did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped. He embarked on an entirely different trajectory, downwards towards servanthood, humiliation, suffering and death. But God raised him from the defeat of death - he did not abandon his soul to Hades (Acts 2:27) - and gave him a name far above all the governors and kings and emperors of the earth; and because of his faithfulness and obedience, all the ends of the earth would come to see that Yahweh alone is God, that he is sovereign over the nations and cultures of the world.

In overcoming the enemy of righteous Israel, Jesus also overcame the final enemy of all creation - and thus opened up the unprecedented possibility that not merely the microcosm of Israel, but the whole world might be rescued from corruption and made new. The resurrection of Jesus from the dead was the hoped-for renewal of the life of the people of God. It was the re-creation of a nation that, for all its good intentions, had simply failed to escape from the law of sin and death that ruled over them. The resurrection provided the assurance that those who would lose their lives for his sake and for the sake of the gospel in that time of first century upheaval would find their lives again - that those who would not withdraw from the persecution the from pagan imperialism would win a crown on the day of their vindication. (see Revelation chapters 2 and 3).

But with the resurrection of Jesus, hope jumped from the microcosm of Israel to the macrocosm of the entire world; from the small, condensed story of Israel to the grand, expansive story of the nations. Jesus is not merely firstborn from the dead for the sake of Israel, he is firstborn of ALL creation, the image of the Creator, through whom "all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities" (Col. 1:16; cf. Jn. 1:1-3; 1 Cor. 8:6). So the New Testament came to imagine a final resurrection of all the dead, a final accounting for all that has been done, and a final destruction of everything that stands in opposition to the good work of the Creator God (Rev. 20:11-21:8).

In the light of this extraordinary transposition of the resurrection, N.t.Wright wrote, "We who live in the interval between Jesus’s Resurrection and the final rescue and transformation of the whole world are called to be new-creation people here and now. That is the hidden meaning of the greatest festival Christians have."

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It's 2011, a different time, a different culture...so what about a woman's leadership role in the world and laeadership role in the church and how do the two connect? (Or are they suppossed to connect?). Should there be discrimination? If a woman receives the fullness of the Spirit, what basis is there for saying that she may exercise the gifts of the Spirit only in certain contexts? If Paul regards the authority of the man over the woman not as a theological absolute but as a given cultural reality, should not the pattern of leadership within the church be viewed in the same light? Would it be unsurprising if the structures of authority are adapted to the circumstances of culture? And isn't this part of Paul's theology in the New Testament? This inference, of course, cannot be made uncritically and requires more careful definition, but the general principle seems unobjectionable: that leadership in the church should at least reflect, if not anticipate, such a significant social change as the widespread participation of woman in, say, secular leadership. I mean, are women not now heads of state? But, by doing this, are we therefore pandering to secular intetrest? Not if Paul regards heirarchy as a social phenomenon, a distortion of the creational prominence of man. But I digress, I need to wait until next time to develop this. Maybe it's more important to end by using an example Paul gives in Ephesians 5:22-31 as corrective teaching; it provides a counterbalance to a given situation, that is, the passage begins with the image of the man as head but ends with the image of man and woman as one flesh.

Sent from my iPad

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