During my time of practice, occasionally, there would be a patient who would come in exasperated or frustrated and say, “Just do something.” I would explain that to help them, we needed to undergo a diagnostic process to determine WHAT was the true SOURCE of their problem. In the church today, many pastors and leaders are like these patients. They know something is wrong and they are frustrated. They look to do something, by grasping the latest church growth program, big name evangelist or that one special conference. I know, I have been there. It is my desire to help us walk in apostolic authority. This Apostolic Note is a diagnostic process to assist us in determining WHAT the true source of our problem could be.

In the Christianity of today, we find that many of man’s ideas have become a hindrance to the operation of the Spirit, limiting the church’s ability to operate in apostolic authority. Jesus said, “Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. For laying aside the commandment of God, ye hold the tradition of men,” (Mark 7:7-8). Jesus further spoke of the result of holding the traditions of man in verse 13, “Making the word of God of none effect through your tradition, which ye have delivered:” According to Thayer’s “Making of none effect” is one word and it means “deprive of force and authority.”

The greatest hindrance to apostolic authority that is faced in this day is the tradition of men and the resulting structure of traditional churches. (PLEASE NOTE: not all tradition is bad, only the traditions of men that make the word of God of none effect) Traditions create a biased paradigm that is used to filter scripture. This tainted view of scripture affects the individual’s faith and ability to walk in apostolic authority. Centuries of man’s tradition have created an organization that is far from the original apostolic church.

In the New Testament, the Greek word paradosis is translated as tradition 13 times, 11 times in a negative context and the two times it is used positive it must have a qualifying statement to make it positive. According to Thayer’s it means: “a giving over, giving up. 1. the act of giving up, the surrender: 2. a giving over which is done by word of mouth or in writing.” Most online English dictionaries that I have looked at include for the modern word tradition a component of a “handing down or over.” Furthermore, paradosis is derived from paradidoomi which, according to Thayer’s, means: “to give into the hands (of another) or to give over into (one’s) power.” So we can see the essence of tradition is to surrender something over into the hands or power of another.

Also, according to Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary; tradition’s etymology is Middle English tradicioun, from Middle French & Latin; Middle French tradition, from Latin tradition-, tradition and is the action of handing over. It is from the same root word as treason.

Once again, according to Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary; the etymology of treason is Middle English tresoun, from Old French traison, from Latin tradition-, traditio act of handing over, from tradere to hand over, betray.

Man’s traditions affect our faith by creating predetermined paradigms that hinder our ability to walk in apostolic authority. A paradigm is: “A set of assumptions, concepts, values, and practices that constitutes a way of viewing reality for the community that shares them.” American Heritage Dictionary (Dictionary.com). These traditional paradigms create a filter we view the Lord, His purpose and our spiritual lives through.

A review of the modern church reveals some of the developed characteristics of man’s traditions. Along with these traditions I have also given food for thought about an apostolic approach.

A traditional church is a church that….
…preaches a “bless me” gospel
This gospel and its message is an attempt to alleviate man’s discomfort and pain. The Bible is seen as a cookbook with recipes to fix our current problem. This is a “self” focused gospel. Much of modern preaching is about how we are to be “healthy, wealthy and wise.”

The apostolic church is a church that…
….preaches the Gospel of the Kingdom of Heaven
Jesus’ first message and that of the disciples was the gospel of the kingdom of heaven (Matt 4:17, 4:23, 9:35; Lk 9:60, 10:9). He did not come preaching how wonderful we are, He came declaring the reality of a Spiritual Kingdom. We are to be ambassadors of this kingdom. Our blessings are a by-product of obedience to His purpose.

A traditional church
…has most of its ministries inward focused
Due to the “bless me” gospel, most of the resources must be allocated to programs that make the individual feel good about themselves. This focus does not promote a transformation of the believer. There is a constant need to change the program to deliver the necessary stimulus to the people.

An apostolic church
…focus on outward ministries
Our focus should not be on self, but on others. Jesus commanded His church to go and make disciples – followers. (Matthew 28:19 AMP, Darby, NKJV). The focus of the church should be outside the four walls of the building.

A traditional church
…is built upon man’s ideas, structure and programs
Therefore, the result is only what man/flesh can produce. If a program is successful in attracting a crowd, it’s duplication is attempted by others hoping for the same results, producing the latest “fad” of church growth. Unfortunately, the success is not always duplicated, and frustration results.

An apostolic church
…is built based on the spiritual gifting in the body
The church should be structured around the giftings that the Lord has placed in the body. This would be the outcome of the ascension gifts (governing gifts) identifying, instructing, empowering and supporting the individual member’s gifts.

This list of comparison been presented to challenge our paradigm of church, not to condemn. When I pastored, I sought to address these issues, seeking the Lord’s direction as to how to lead a local assembly in a paradigm shift. The Lord will do this, because the church is His chosen vessel today. As we seek to align ourselves with the way He wants to build the church, we will find a flow of apostolic authority to accomplish His purpose.

The purpose of the apostolic church is to demonstrate and reveal our King and His kingdom.

This list is taken from our book: Apostolic Authority, Every Believer’s Privilege. Order now, click here.

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During my time of practice, occasionally, there would be a patient who would come in exasperated or frustrated and say, “Just do something.” I would explain that to help them, we needed to undergo a diagnostic process to determine WHAT was the true SOURCE of their problem. In the church today, many pastors and leaders are like these patients. They know something is wrong and they are frustrated. They look to do something, by grasping the latest church growth program, big name evangelist or that one special conference. I know, I have been there. It is my desire to help us walk in apostolic authority. This Apostolic Note is a diagnostic process to assist us in determining WHAT the true source of our problem could be.

In the Christianity of today, we find that many of man’s ideas have become a hindrance to the operation of the Spirit, limiting the church’s ability to operate in apostolic authority. Jesus said, “Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. For laying aside the commandment of God, ye hold the tradition of men,” (Mark 7:7-8). Jesus further spoke of the result of holding the traditions of man in verse 13, “Making the word of God of none effect through your tradition, which ye have delivered:” According to Thayer’s “Making of none effect” is one word and it means “deprive of force and authority.”

The greatest hindrance to apostolic authority that is faced in this day is the tradition of men and the resulting structure of traditional churches. (PLEASE NOTE: not all tradition is bad, only the traditions of men that make the word of God of none effect) Traditions create a biased paradigm that is used to filter scripture. This tainted view of scripture affects the individual’s faith and ability to walk in apostolic authority. Centuries of man’s tradition have created an organization that is far from the original apostolic church.

In the New Testament, the Greek word paradosis is translated as tradition 13 times, 11 times in a negative context and the two times it is used positive it must have a qualifying statement to make it positive. According to Thayer’s it means: “a giving over, giving up. 1. the act of giving up, the surrender: 2. a giving over which is done by word of mouth or in writing.” Most online English dictionaries that I have looked at include for the modern word tradition a component of a “handing down or over.” Furthermore, paradosis is derived from paradidoomi which, according to Thayer’s, means: “to give into the hands (of another) or to give over into (one’s) power.” So we can see the essence of tradition is to surrender something over into the hands or power of another.

Also, according to Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary; tradition’s etymology is Middle English tradicioun, from Middle French & Latin; Middle French tradition, from Latin tradition-, tradition and is the action of handing over. It is from the same root word as treason.

Once again, according to Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary; the etymology of treason is Middle English tresoun, from Old French traison, from Latin tradition-, traditio act of handing over, from tradere to hand over, betray.

Man’s traditions affect our faith by creating predetermined paradigms that hinder our ability to walk in apostolic authority. A paradigm is: “A set of assumptions, concepts, values, and practices that constitutes a way of viewing reality for the community that shares them.” American Heritage Dictionary (Dictionary.com). These traditional paradigms create a filter we view the Lord, His purpose and our spiritual lives through.

A review of the modern church reveals some of the developed characteristics of man’s traditions. Along with these traditions I have also given food for thought about an apostolic approach.

A traditional church is a church that….
…preaches a “bless me” gospel
This gospel and its message is an attempt to alleviate man’s discomfort and pain. The Bible is seen as a cookbook with recipes to fix our current problem. This is a “self” focused gospel. Much of modern preaching is about how we are to be “healthy, wealthy and wise.”

The apostolic church is a church that…
….preaches the Gospel of the Kingdom of Heaven
Jesus’ first message and that of the disciples was the gospel of the kingdom of heaven (Matt 4:17, 4:23, 9:35; Lk 9:60, 10:9). He did not come preaching how wonderful we are, He came declaring the reality of a Spiritual Kingdom. We are to be ambassadors of this kingdom. Our blessings are a by-product of obedience to His purpose.

A traditional church
…has most of its ministries inward focused
Due to the “bless me” gospel, most of the resources must be allocated to programs that make the individual feel good about themselves. This focus does not promote a transformation of the believer. There is a constant need to change the program to deliver the necessary stimulus to the people.

An apostolic church
…focus on outward ministries
Our focus should not be on self, but on others. Jesus commanded His church to go and make disciples – followers. (Matthew 28:19 AMP, Darby, NKJV). The focus of the church should be outside the four walls of the building.

A traditional church
…is built upon man’s ideas, structure and programs
Therefore, the result is only what man/flesh can produce. If a program is successful in attracting a crowd, it’s duplication is attempted by others hoping for the same results, producing the latest “fad” of church growth. Unfortunately, the success is not always duplicated, and frustration results.

An apostolic church
…is built based on the spiritual gifting in the body
The church should be structured around the giftings that the Lord has placed in the body. This would be the outcome of the ascension gifts (governing gifts) identifying, instructing, empowering and supporting the individual member’s gifts.

This list of comparison been presented to challenge our paradigm of church, not to condemn. When I pastored, I sought to address these issues, seeking the Lord’s direction as to how to lead a local assembly in a paradigm shift. The Lord will do this, because the church is His chosen vessel today. As we seek to align ourselves with the way He wants to build the church, we will find a flow of apostolic authority to accomplish His purpose.

The purpose of the apostolic church is to demonstrate and reveal our King and His kingdom.

This list is taken from our book: Apostolic Authority, Every Believer’s Privilege. Order now, click here.

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A common story told regarding the captivating power of thoughts is that of the training of elephants. As it goes, young elephants are taken and using heavy chains are tethered to stakes driven deep into the ground. The young elephant continually pulls and struggles against the chain, eventually giving up and “learning” it cannot get free. Once this has happened, even as a full-grown elephant, it can be tethered with a rope and stake because the elephant “believes” they cannot get free.

We find the same process happens in our lives when God sends us illumination of His kingdom and it’s power. We have a series of thoughts that affect how we process this illumination; unfortunately, many times these thoughts limit what God desires to do with in us.

What is the source of these limiting thoughts? They are from the traditions of men.  Speaking of the effects of the Pharisee’s’ teachings, Jesus said they were “nullifying and making void and of no effect [the authority of] the Word of God through your tradition, which you [in turn] hand on” (MK 7:13 AMP). They were nullifying the authority of the Word of God. Now how can that happen? Isn’t God’s word all-powerful? Yet they were rendering it useless. The key to grasping this is in the word “traditions.”

The word used for traditions is paradosis and means “giving over, giving up, surrender.”* It derived from paradidoomi which according to Thayer’s means: “to give into the hands (of another),”  “to give over into (one’s) power or use.” This word is used 121x and in 100 of them it us used in the negative sense of taking or handing over into captivity.

So the principle here is that the traditions of men create thought processes that take us into captivity. This captivity of thoughts, prevent us from see the truth or illumination of the Word of God, thus limiting its effectiveness in our lives.

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Two things that stood out in this presentation that relate to my title.

First, a quote: “The longer a church exists the more concerned it becomes with self preservation…the less concerned with its original purpose.” (Engaging Church Seminar ppt).

Second, they show a life-cycle of a church: Missional, Institutional, Disintegration.

Now to this let me throw out my two cents worth.

Most people start a church because of a vision, calling, burden etc. They are excited, full of faith. They desire to make a difference. In the early stages there is the willingness to sacrifice because it is all about the purpose or vision. But as it grows, gaining momentum, there seems to be a transformation. Now it is what do we do with what we have gained or accomplished?

It is at this stage we find a turn from external missional focus to an internal establishnent or instituionalism. Facilities must be acquired (may I ask, who says so?), staff must be placed in positions (based on who’s model?), programs must be established (why?). The end results is that this once excited, world changing small group of people has become an organization or institution, with a focus of gaining new people to maintain the organization.

Now I know, many leaders will say “That is not my mind set, we are kingdom minded.” Well, let me ask a couple of thought provoking questions:

1. Instead of one full time paid leader (pastor, overseer, bishop, elder, apostle, etc.) why not spread that full time salary over 2-4 leaders? Allow them to only have to work part-time. Let them stay focused on the vision and purpose of the church. These same individuals can share the responsibilities of shepherding the flock.

2. Instead of builing a new building and going into debt, why not multiply the congregation? Take a group and plant a fully functioning NEW assembly.

Now I believe how an individual answers these questions reveals their level of Kingdom thinking.

The sad thing is that this institutionalization leads to the stagnation of tradition (for real meaning of tradition click here). It becomes all about maintaing the status quo. What once started as relevant, exciting, challenging or envelop pushing has now become stagnated by the security of traditions. Thus the disintegration begins.

Now before you may get to upset with me, my motive for writing this is to get us to think. Why must a church go through these phases? Why can’t it stay missional focused and fulfill it’s vision? It can, if we are aware of the dangers of the traditional process AND establish a ministry philosophy that will be willing to go against the norms of religion. That church will truly be remarkable.

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The cover story for the current issue of Newsweek (April 9, 2009) magazine is entitled “The Decline of Christian America,” and presents a bleak picture of the church’s future of impacting society.

Based on the 2009 American Religious Identification Survey, the article quotes the following statistics:

• The “number of Americans claiming no religious affiliation has nearly doubled since 1990, rising from 8 to 15 percent.”
• The number of individuals claiming to be agnostic or atheist “has increased about fourfold from 1990 to 2009, from 1 million to about 3.6 million.”
• The number of individuals claiming to be Christians has fallen by 10 percent since 1990.

Agreeably, these stats can give us a reason to be concerned for the future of traditional Christianity here in the US.

But is this truly a bad thing? In fact, could this be the best thing that could happen for the church?

One of the key concepts of the free enterprise system is that if a business, product or service does not sufficiently meet the needs of the consumer it will suffer losses. This being the case, the savvy businessperson is always looking for a way to be relevant to their market. It is a matter of survival. Unfortunately, much of Christianity does not understand this and has become irrelevant and obsolete to many, or if you use the research, now the majority.

The general picture of modern North American Christianity today is a segregated, organizational hierarchy, much of which is built on man’s traditions; the results are a passive laity governed by a select clergy. Subsequently, this church has a lost or diminished capacity to manifest the power of the kingdom. Jesus stated to the Pharisees, that they  “made the commandment of God of none effect by your tradition” (Matt 15:6). [for more insights on traditions click here] The teaching of man has resulted in the typical church we see today.

In contrast, the original church was very different and powerful. Yes it had a basic structure of leadership, but it was not about the structure: It was the King and His kingdom. It was this focus that resulted in a revealing of the nature and characteristics of Jesus in the lives of those who were born again. The structure that existed was about empowering the believers, allowing them to make a difference in the communities they lived in.

The culture of this church was Kingdom focused: it was an authentic, transparent, transformational community. It was a place where individuals shared, took responsibility and were accountable to each other. It was in this environment that the members (not professional clergy) would minister the grace of God, restoring the broken and empty lives of the hurting around them. This was accomplished by the manifestation of the supernatural power of the indwelling Spirit.

In short, this church was demonstrating to the world something different than religion: and it turned their world upside down.

So….. IMHO, the decline of this traditional church is setting the stage for the genuine, authentic church to rise to the occasion! It is up to you and I to choose if we will be a part of it!

PS – I know at times I may come across hard on church. Let me clarify: I do not like religion or man’s tradition. Jesus chastised the pharisee’s regarding their man made traditions that were making the commandments of God powerless.

Also, my views are based on a biblical study of the word tradition and it’s origin. The greek word for tradition is used 13x in the NT, 11 of which are in a negative connotation. It’s basic meaning is “a handing over or surrender.” The greek word it is derived from means “to take into captivity. ” It is used 121x in the NT, 101 of which are used in a negative connotation. So with this view in mind, I have a problem with religion and man’s tradition.

I do believe that there is to be a powerful assembly of people who are manifesting the nature and image of Jesus Christ. It is this group of people who He has called out and empowered that are the true church.

Just thought I should let you know.

Martin

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This article is titled; “You’re Growing? Well, She’s Dying.” It speaks of their observation that there may be some mega churches doing well, but unfortunately the church as a whole is not growing and in fact dying.

This article prompted a few responses in me.
First, there was a confirmation; here was someone else with the same concern as me.
Second, there was sadness; ok there is a problem, so, lets just continue to talk about it.
Thirdly, the urge to put my two cents worth in; so I left a comment. The following is an expanded version of this comment.

The church as we know it (at least in North America) appears to be dying. Recent reports state that Christianity is no longer the “default” religion of the US. There are any number of reasons given that blame society, organizations, pastors and young people. Many of them contain some truth – yet I do not believe they are the cause, they are the symptoms of a greater problem.

In my opinion, this situation has developed because the average church is no longer expressing the Kingdom in a relevant and engaging way to those that are under the age of 35. The breakdown is because much of doing church today is based on man’s traditions*.

Oh yes, some churches are growing because they are able to cater to the “mall” mentality, offering programs that appeal to the selfish interests of the individuals. Yet the vast majority of churches are using the same model of doing church that has been around for centuries. There may be a more contemporary wrapping to it, but still the same structure and format.  I know this may sound harsh, but this is reality.

This lack of connecting with this younger generation was exampled in my life this past week. An individual contacted me and we spent almost 2 hours discussing how they were tired of the “stuff” of church. They were looking for a more authentic or genuine connection with God.

This hunger for an authentic engagement with the Lord has caused many young people (under 35) to plant churches that are very different from the ordinary. Terminology may vary, but they stress three ingredients: community, missions and purpose. All of which entail a less formal structure and are highly interactive. Will this be the ultimate kingdom expression – who knows, but it is a step in the right direction.

When the church returns to it’s purpose – all about revealing the nature and image of Jesus – that is when we will see a growth in the body of Christ.

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Reviewing the early church, it is clearly seen that the apostles walked in a miracle producing authority. They performed the miraculous, and the Lord confirmed their preaching by signs and wonders. This miraculous demonstration of apostolic authority in the daily lives of the first believers was so powerful and convincing that cities were stirred to riots because of its affect, and a reverential fear or awe of God was produced with many souls being converted.

In the Christianity of today, we find that many of man’s ideas have become a hindrance to the operation of the Spirit, limiting the church’s ability to operate in apostolic authority. Jesus said, “Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. For laying aside the commandment of God, ye hold the tradition of men,” (Mark 7:7-8). Jesus further spoke of the result of holding the traditions of man in verse 13, “Making the word of God of none effect through your tradition, which ye have delivered:” According to Thayer’s “Making of none effect” is one word and it means “deprive of force and authority.”

The greatest hindrance to apostolic authority that is faced in this day and age, is the tradition of men and the resulting structure of traditional churches. Traditions create a biased paradigm that is used to filter scripture. This tainted view of scripture affects the individual’s faith and ability to walk in apostolic authority. Centuries of man’s tradition have created an organization that is far from the original apostolic church.

In the New Testament, the Greek word paradosis is translated as tradition 13 times, 11 times in a negative context and the two times it is used positive it must have a qualifying statement to make it positive. According to Thayer’s it means: “a giving over, giving up. 1. the act of giving up, the surrender: 2. a giving over which is done by word of mouth or in writing.” Most online English dictionaries that I have looked at include for the modern word tradition a component of a “handing down or over.”

According to Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary; tradition’s etymology is Middle English tradicioun, from Middle French & Latin; Middle French tradition, from Latin tradition-, tradition and is the action of handing over. It is from the same root word as treason. (emphasis added)

Once again, according to Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary; the etymology of treason is Middle English tresoun, from Old French traison, from Latin tradition-, traditio act of handing over, from tradere to hand over, betray. (emphasis added).

It should be a shocking revelation to us that tradition and treason have the same etymology. They mean a handing over of something. So we see the significance of tradition is that it can be considered a treason of beliefs or values that were once held by individuals or a group. In respect to the traditional church, we see that there has been a surrendering, a giving up or handing over of the power of God, as demonstrated through apostolic authority. This treasonous act has been a replacing of the commandments and power of God for the traditions of men. This is truly making the commands of God none affect.

Check out our other posts for some areas of traditions that I believe are hindering us from being a true apostolic church. I encourage you to write me – agree, disagree, give more examples.

Till next time—
Martin

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