This scenario is probably all too familiar to those of us who have siblings or are raising children. How often did we see the faith in which the younger child would execute the orders mom gave, especially when they involved authority over the elder sibling.

This younger sister was sent as Mom’s representative to deliver a message to the elder. The younger was probably small and physically weaker, yet she possessed more authority – because she was sent by a recognized greater power – Mom! The younger demonstrated her faith by delivering the message, invoking the name of this power by stating: “Momma said” and expected results!

Spiritual or Apostolic authority is much the same.
We have been sent as Jesus representative (See What Is Apostolic). It is our purpose to demonstrate the power of our King and his kingdom. In our natural self, we are small and weak in comparison to the principalities and powers we fight against – yet we posses greater authority.

Our faith is demonstrated when we go and perform our commissioning; invoking the name of our king Jesus, who is recognized as having all power, therefore we should expect results!

Advance the Kingdom today, go and exercise your authority!

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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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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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If you know me or have been following my blogs and Apostolic Notes, you know I am all about demonstrating the miraculous power of Jesus and His Kingdom. Yet on this particular morning, I wondered about this. No I am not doubting, I have seen too much to stop: but I question if maybe there is too much of a focus on a miraculous event?

What I mean: are we living our normal lives, waiting for a miraculous event to demonstrate the power of the Kingdom? When we should be living a lifestyle that is exhibiting a kingdom culture.

Culture is a common set of values and beliefs that are the foundation of actions: Thus every culture has its unique manifestation. This can be clearly seen in many of the Asia countries where their culture has been in existence for hundreds if not thousands of years.

Kingdom demonstration is more than the miraculous, it is a lifestyle based on a unique set of values and beliefs that are not of this world. The greatest challenge to revealing this lifestyle is moving beyond the born again experience: taking our focus off an eternal goal and focusing on a transformational lifestyle.

Along with the miraculous, Jesus ministry was one of teaching and preaching a different life style. What we call the sermon on the Mount (Matthew chap 5 & 6) is a discourse on a way of life that was radically different than what the religious leaders were demonstrating.

I believe the application for us today is this: we live a lifestyle initiated by our born again experience that is based on Kingdom culture. This manner of living is to be the “salt” that attracts others. When they seek us out, we now have the opportunity to demonstrate the power of His kingdom: both in the miraculous and in the new birth.

Food for thought:
Am I waiting for the opportunity to demo the miraculous or am I demo for the transformed Kingdom lifestyle?

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Have you ever found yourself wandering in a wilderness?

What is a wilderness place?
It is uninhabited, sparse, sterile place of desolation: characterized by one word – solitude. It is a place you find yourself alone with nothing but your thoughts and emotions. The amazing thing is that you can be in a wilderness experience, yet be in the most populated city.

This is a common place that a child of God will find themselves on their spiritual journey. This wilderness can be initiated in many different arenas: health, ministry, career, provision or relationship. No matter the arena, it is a place we find uncomfortable, sometimes directionless, and just plain barren. (it’s ok to say amen here!)

The Purpose Of Your Wilderness
So what is the purpose of our wilderness? May I say, one word: REVELATION. Just like fire purifies silver and gold, the wilderness experience brings to the surface the impurities of our lives. The externals of our lives are stripped away, figuratively or literally, and we come face to face with the real us. It is here, that God encourages us to address ourselves.

When Israel was delivered from Egypt, God did not lead them directly to the Promised Land. He took them on a wilderness tour. It was in this place of isolation that God revealed two things:

The Revelation of Self &
The Revelation of Himself.

The Revelation of Self

Our Bondage To The Past

In the wilderness by the Red Sea the situation revealed their bondage to the past. They cried out to go back to their former life. This place revealed that Pharaoh still maintained influence over them, they exhibited a slave mentality. God was pointing out that they might have been out of Egypt, but Egypt was not out of them.

In the business of life, it is easy to keep things hidden in our lives, even from our self. But it is in the wilderness experience our bondage to the past is revealed. When the pressure of the isolation grows, somehow it taps into our weaknesses; feelings of inadequacy and old habits are brought to the surface. We now have the opportunity to address them.

Our Bitterness

In the wilderness area of Marah, God revealed the bitterness that was in the nation of Israel. The situation brought out their disappointment: it was not as they expected. They had gone three days without water, now come to a place they expect refreshing: but it was not what they expected it to be.

The longer we live, the more our expectations for happiness can be crushed: our plans don’t seem to work out. Because our wilderness experience is never expected: it can bring out the bitterness of disappointment in us. The long buried injuries and failures of our lives will begin to surface: allowing God to refresh us if we let Him.

Our Hunger

In the wilderness of Sin, Israel experienced a hunger for the things of the past. They longed to get off Gods schedule of development and go back to a place that was comfortable.

It is common knowledge; we really do not like to change. It is the wilderness experiences that cause us to face this truth. It is here we come to understand how comfortable we have become with our familiar lifestyle. Here we also learn to trust God in a place of unknown. Whether it is changing from a life without God or moving forward in His plans, there are times the change is tough and we can begin to look longingly back to what once was.

Revelation of God
In our wilderness experience, seeing our self is a setup for God’s revelation of Himself.

In the wilderness experience, God revealed himself to Israel:

• At the Red sea – He delivered them from the bondage of the past.
• In the Wilderness of Shur – he delivered them from bitterness that consumed them.
• In the Wilderness of Sin – He dealt with their hunger for their old comfortably lifestyle.

When the wilderness strips us of ourselves, we come to the place that we can see the Lord and his work in our lives. It is in this place of pain and isolation we can experience the healing and restoration that God offers.

So, embrace your wilderness experience: it is where you will find Him embracing you!

till next time
martin

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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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Recently I viewed a video of legendary basketball coach John Wooden describing his definition of success. In essence, his goal was not to build a winning basketball team: his goal was to build people. By help each individual come closer to realizing their full potential, they would be a success and the by-product would be a winning team.

My mind naturally went to Christianity and church. I asked my self a question: “Do we seek to build successful churches or to build people?” Jesus’ ministry was not to build an organization or edifice, but to see people’s lives transformed. His message was not an escapist doctrine of get saved and go to heaven, but he boldly proclaimed the kingdom of heaven is here! It is near you! You are not far from the kingdom of heaven! Jesus message was the good news of the Kingdom!

Before His ascension, Jesus gave us his commissioning:
“Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.Matt 28:19-20 NKJV.

Notice what He did not say: go and save the lost or go and build a church. He said we were to make disciples. How is this accomplished? By using His authority, baptizing and then TEACHING them to observe the things he command us. Discipleship is a developmental process of the believer!

So, two more questions came to mind:
1 – Is our goal discipleship or salvation?
2 – How many of our programs are truly designed to CHANGE people?

Now I know most sincere leaders will say both of course! So, if this is the case, why is one the biggest problem of the church today retention? I have heard of wonderful evangelistic events that have resulted in many being born again: yet a short time later, these people cannot be found. To me, this is a problem. (A side note, I believe there is a problem with our intentions and presentation of the good news, but that is for a future Apostolic Note.)

As a pastor, I tried many different ideas (can you say “programs”) of discipleship. I even compiled material and wrote a 3 level, yearlong discipleship program: Discipleship Development, Discipleship Maturity, Discipleship Ministry and taught this to the entire church my last year of pastoring. Yet I came to see the weakness of it in the last few months. Let me explain.

Too much of discipleship today is the teaching of facts.

Coach Wooden’s philosophy was not to make his players experts of the mechanics of basketball: dribbling, passing, or jump shots. His goal was, to help them express their greatest potential as an individual. This being accomplished, basketball success would naturally follow as an outgrowth of who the players were.

Jesus’ ministry was the same. Matthew 4:23 tells us:
“Jesus traveled throughout Galilee teaching in the synagogues, preaching everywhere the Good News about the Kingdom. And he healed people who had every kind of sickness and disease. NLT”

The intention of Jesus ministry is expressed in the meaning of the word “teaching,” it means: “to know or teach, it includes the aim of shaping of the will of the pupil.” Jesus’ intent was not to impart religious facts; it was his desire to see a change in the will of the student. Obviously, a transformation of the will results in a different lifestyle.

So the weakness of my discipleship program: I was teaching a lot of good information, but there was not a method or structure to bring about a transformation. Something was missing.

Back to coach Wooden. In his development process, he was just as concerned with the player off the courts as on them. He stressed their classes and grades and conduct. In short, he was involved in their everyday life! So an addition weakness of my program: there was good info, but it was not followed up with practical involvement in the daily lives of the people.

I think this is common in the church. Unfortunately, we stress involvement at church on Sundays, maybe a mid week. Usually, there is limited involvement outside of the sanctioned activities of the church. Most church programs are not designed for true discipleship. Their focus is disseminating information, fellowship or alternative activities (some youth ministry). Very little real transformation happens in these settings.

As new believers, my wife and I were truly discipled by another young couple in the church. We spent hours together outside of service: having dinner, going shopping, taking trips or just hanging out. It was during these times, the principles of living for God were talked about BUT many were caught. I was taught how to live for God by example. (Thank you Marty & Vickie!)

So, a possible answer:

• Minister and train saints to emphasize transformation, not just about heaven or hell. It is about becoming like Jesus.
• Structure the local assembly with multiple opportunities for practical application of the word to everyday life.
• Seek out mature leadership and train them to be elders or shepherds. Assign them to work with individuals.
• Create share groups; people with like interests. Get them spending time together; it does not even have to have a “spiritual” focus.
• Pray for a spiritual transformation of the mind of the local assembly

It may be slow, but when you start with a core and they develop and grow, winning new people, eventually the mindset will change and you will come to a tipping point and there will be a cultural shift to the local assembly.

till next time-
martin

1 Lexical Aids To The New Testament, The Hebrew-Greek Key Study Bible, AMG Publishers

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So this got me thinking: our faith is like that, the more we use it, the more confidence we gain to move on to greater challenges.

A couple of years ago spent a day with a spiritual giant: this man, by an ones measure, operated as the gift of an apostle. During his decades of ministry he had seen thousands filled with the spirit and many miraculous events including the dead brought back to life. In our discussion of faith he commented that God will usually start you with small things to pray for then build you up to the bigger things. If you don’t have faith for a headache, how will you have faith for cancer?

When I travel ministering the principles of apostolic authority of the believer, I do what I call a faith test. I ask by show of hands, how many people believe God can heal: most raise their hands. Then I ask how many want to be used by God to heal someone? This time many lift their hands, but it is noticeably less. Then I ask how many are actually laying hands on people, praying for them? Usually, only a handful will raise their hands. Most believer God heals, many want to be used by God, but only a few are exercising their faith.

Our faith comes because of a relationship with Jesus and his word (faith comes by hearing). But I believe our faith is developed by application. The more I step out by faith, using the authority I have been given, the more of His power I see demonstrated. Each time, my faith is increased to step out further.

Today, begin to exercise your faith. Step out on a limb (for you). Pray for the coworkers headache, the students fever, the seniors arthritic pain: watch God begin to move in their lives. The results will increase your faith for bigger things.

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One of the dangers of church programs is they can hinder the growth of a church by creating a way of thinking that is contrary to what was exampled by the first church. Program based ministry establishes a limiting paradigm in the believer in the following ways:

1. A mindset that the major outreach or evangelism needs to be done at the church location.
2. A mindset that the leadership of the church needs to oversee the major outreach or evangelism.
3. A mind set that majority of ministry gifts are to operate when the church gathers at one location.
4. A mindset that we must create an event that will entice visitors to come to our location.

Now, before someone starts to hurl the rotten eggs and tomatoes, let me say: I am not against some usage of programs. I am against a program mentality. I am against the above mindset.

I believe, based on biblical example, that the first church empowered the born again believer. Their focus of ministry was not at a local assembly, after all, they did not have buildings called churches. Their method of evangelism was to preach Jesus and demonstrate the power of the Kingdom. This they did during their daily life and the Lord added to their numbers.

Just thinking out loud –
martin

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It seems like it is a law somewhere, if I want to go up I must give up. To be different I have to do different. So if my goals challenge me to change, will I?
• If my goal is to lose weight: I must change how I eat.
• If it is to get in better physical shape: I must start exercising.
• If it is to pay off bills: I must change how I spend my money.
• If it is to have improved friendships: I must be friendly.
True progress requires change.

Just as our personal goals are based on change, so are spiritual goals. So many of the people I communicate with: pastors, missionaries, spiritual leaders, and especially those under the age of 35, have a desire to see a greater manifestation of Jesus and his kingdom. The challenge is to do so, we have to change.

Many of us have heard the definition of insanity: it is doing the same thing over and over, hoping for different results! Unfortunately, this describes the new years goals of many churches and ministries. Numerical growth goals have been established and then the calendar is filled with “new” events that are supposed to bring about these goals. In reality, these new events are just the same modus operandi with different wrappings.

If we truly desire a greater manifestation of Jesus, we must be willing to change.

This year, instead of just putting goals on the same old things: attendance, giving, buildings, etc. maybe we should make transformational and quality goals? Maybe we should have a goal de-construct and to re-think & re-image church?

Some possible goals to consider:
• Transferring the focus of ministry from a Sunday event, to daily lives.
• Empowering the born again believer to minister their giftings.
• Less focus on liturgy and more waiting on Jesus.
• Simplify worship, creating an environment for intimacy.
• Focus less on external and more on internal transformation.
• Discipleship development based on relationship, not conformity.

There is a dual challenge to achieving these goals. First, they are not measured quantitatively but qualitatively. Second, they are opposite of traditional church. Both however, require a change in our mindset about who we are as the church and how we do church.

Twenty Ten can be a powerful year for the believer and church who is willing to stop, evaluate and change. The world is ready for something different this could be the year we give them something different!

till next time
martin

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