I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
ROMANS 12 : 1-2
3 considerations
about the priority of timeless truth.
What has been is what will be,
and what has been done is what will be done,
and there is nothing new under the sun.
Ecclesiastes 1:9
A big surprise.
Over recent days I've picked up on numerous conversations observing how the most recent additions to streaming media services and content providers were far outstripping older classics and historic content. The numbers of downloads for recent additions incomparably outstrip the older regardless of quality.
We live in an age where the first thing to pop up on Netflix, prime, sky etc is ...
"What's new?".
Even the old beacon of stability and longevity the BBC is at it, with their top scroller on Iplayer being "new and trending". Is our priority always to know what is new, to have our finger on the pulse, be informed, current, in the loop, keeping tabs, on trend? Are there other priorities ?
I was thrilled to read in a variety of places in UK media over the last few weeks that there is a decisively fresh appetite in the emerging generations (Ages 18-24) to explore the bible and The God of the bible by connecting with local church.
Having chatted to various mission partners in the UK, especially in pastoral ministry / local church leadership it was even more encouraging to hear that most shared the same optimism and assessment. However, they also shared the view that an authentic illustration of the gospel we preach must come through the new community, and that finding the reality of that trend was of greater concern to them. In other words, authentic faith in God, and authentic declaration of the good news about Jesus (which is the only answer for our nation) cannot be divided from authentic discipleship in an authentic community of God as outlined in the bible. It begs the question, does the local church in the UK currently display what it is like to live under God and by the truth of the bible ?
It has been interesting over the last few weeks to observe what different folks call or deem wisdom.
Sometimes if something makes sense to us, our perspective, our preferences, we call it wise.
The Biblical perspective however is very different. God says there such a thing as man made wisdom that does not come from Him and His wisdom which does not come from humanity.
The tower of Babel is human wisdom - the definition of folly. (Gen 11:1-9)
When we derive our own passions and way forwards it is destined to failure.
Gen 12:10-20, Abraham decides to go his way to Egypt, not stick with God's promises.
1 Sam 17:38 cf v 50 Saul decided that loading David with armour was wise, God's way gave him a sling and a stone.
The teaching of James 3:15 is incredibly direct and diagnostic.
Wisdom which marks the new community living in His power and presence is a loving wisdom. Speaking the truth in love is hard when folks may not want to listen. Pride is a tank which continues driving, shooting, but doesn't know where it is heading. Standing in its way is painful. It tests our patience, our mercy, our "Spirit-filledness". It tests how like Christ we desire to be, and how much we desire others to go His way and Honour His presence.
I have never met a believer who has humbly stood up to false human wisdom in believers / church/ humanistic decisions/ pride in the people of God, and not come out of it closer to Christ, more blessed in His presence. They show battle scars covered in His wisdom and the balm of His word. Those who have pleaded on their knees before God and before those who lead others into foolishness reap a harvest in His presence, and their own spiritual lives.
Trust Him. He knows all things.
Trust Him against His enemies. The cross displays His victorious wisdom (We have 3 enemies according to Eph 2:1-3, The world, human desires (ourselves), and Satan himself.) Our Saviour is victorious over all. (1 Cor 1:20-25, Deut 20:4, Col 2:15, John 16:33).
Trust Him and His word when those who call themselves followers of Christ live by the guidelines and compromises of this world. (Romans 12:2, 1 John 2:15-17).
Trust Him not yourself when the pivotal decisions are to be made, and with each day. (Proverbs 3:6)
Trust His word, it brings resolution and clarity. (Isa 58:11) Such is not the case if we go the earthly route, peace that we seek does not come from the easy way of popularity, the projection of pride, but on the foundations of humility before Him. In Him we discover His all sufficiency, He brings us to a place of righteousness, direction (Ps 119,105), stability (Psalm 37:23, Isa 30:21, Prov 14:11), a reaping which changes us for the better.
“All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.”
2 Timothy 3:16-17
Other references:
Throughout biblical and redemptive history, God has commanded (not suggested) that His people act in a way which display His character in a broken world. One of the things which mystifies most about the present global socio-economic situation is the derogation of that, in preference for advancing personal status.
ISAIAH 1:17 like many similar verses is extremely clear...
Note:
1) This is habitual and developmental, not a one off / extraordinary act for the cameras or those watching,
"learn... to do good"
Don't go near any brand which calls itself "Christian" but assumes the goodness in themselves. This is not the gospel. Our goodness is from Christ alone, teaching us to be like himself. Goodness starts with the admittance that we are not, rather than pretending before the world that we are the goodness they need, that we are the messiah or answer to their problems - that is not good and leads to no good place,
2) Justice is an absolute not a subjective opinion. Right is right, wrong is wrong, it does not depend on the difficulty of putting into it practice.
3) Correct oppression - nuff said.
4) Bringing justice to the Fatherless and pleading the widows cause is exactly where Ukraine is, and what the church honouring Christ are prioritising. Many new believers are widows and children who have received love and practical help through our ministry partners in the name of Christ.
5) All of the above is active. When Christians remain silent about what is wrong it is the opposite of being salt and light in our world. Salt stops the decay, silence condones it. Light brings attention to the darkness, it exposes... it doesn't procrastinate or sweep it under the carpet in the hope that it cannot be seen.
PRAY FOR JUSTICE AND CORRECTION NOT JUST "PEACE WHICH IS NO PEACE" (Jeremiah 8:11 springs to mind - when false prophets offer false hope)
Exodus 22:22 commands us not to take advantage of the widow or Fatherless. If we show no mercy, how then would we expect to receive from God ? (Matthew 5:7)
BBC quotes Nobel Peace Prize winner Oleksandra Matviichuk...
'We must return the human dimension' to talks, says Nobel Peace Prize winner
Joel Gunter
Reporting from Kyiv
Ukrainian human rights lawyer and Nobel Peace Prize winner Oleksandra Matviichuk tells the BBC that the “human dimension must be returned to the political process” taking place over the war.
“What will happen to the dozens of thousands illegally detained citizens, men and women, and prisoners of war… this question is very urgent,” Matviichuk says.
According to Ukrainian authorities, nearly 16,000 Ukrainian civilians are still in captivity in Russian prisons after being abducted by the invading army.
That's not counting the nearly 20,000 Ukrainian children estimated to have been taken to Russia.
In June, I spent time with families of Ukrainian civilians still detained in Russian prisons.
Their fear is that their loved ones are being left out of the discussions around peace, and there is no framework in place to return them to Ukraine.
Matviichuck says she has lost faith that Trump can bring a peaceful solution to the war.
“As a candidate for president, [he] said that he would finish this war in 24 hours. This is the longest 24 hours in history.”
It was similar when for many years of my life nearly all the people I knew on the planet introduced me with the title "Pastor". That was a sticker on my head that made me a marked and curious man in the towns, shires, cities and coastline. It felt in some contexts that I was very similar to a leper with a bell around my neck, and wherever I went I was an oddity to point at/ steer clear of. "Pastor" was coded to mistakenly message people to walk away from me at dinner parties, that I was there to convert them and had probably no interest in anything else or redeeming feature. I wasn't to be let alone with normal people. Surely I didn't genuinely love to spend time with them or have intelligent conversation, huge belly laughs with them, listen to quality music through loud speakers with them have a genuine interest in comedy/ films/ culture. In the same way as "a pastor" I was considered "abnormal".
Sometimes our obedience can mark us, though we are just being countercultural to please Him. To be countercultural in local church ministry I spent most of my time trying to avoid non church people finding out what I "did" till much later in the conversation. I love people, they show God. They are diversely brilliant even when messed up. This is the bridge we all walk across one way or another. I love chatting about normal life with people. Liz used to smile at me as I talked to people when out socially, wondering how far I'd get before they discovered "the truth about me" . If we did footy, music career, "famous" people we'd met, cars, rear wheel drive, DIY, gardening, playing with model trains, building in Ukraine, she was impressed, but regularly assured me that "normality" was probably never one of the ultimate options for classification (especially if I mentioned model trains).
What hits me however about the understanding of title "missionary" is that what should definitely be considered normal is misunderstood. The constituent biblically defining characteristics are not prioritised and instead we misdefine the term according to our own agenda.
THE SPRIT WHO SENDS, IS THE SPIRIT OF HOLINESS.
It is implied in "teaching them to obey everything" (Matt 28:20) that we ourselves are modelling obedience, and that He evidentily is assumed to be with us, in us, our obvious defining characteristic. How then does so much defining of mission life concentrate on where and what people do in mission without exploring how life is lived in transparent obedience in a cross cultural context ? In many ways the success of living like Jesus is the very definition of what it means to be sent, on mission, called of God.
Possible reasons for confused understanding:
1) People assume that because someone has "gone" or wants to "go" they are on His mission.
The emphasis to eke out and mobilise as many workers as possible for context so ripe in harvest, with so few operatives in play is commendable. It is not always obedient itself though to the nature, characteristics and purposes of His commission. I wonder sometimes if some are so activist about this drive, that this is the only lens they view mission through, that they see the success in getting people to "go" regardless of how they go. It becomes a numbers thing rather than an authentic thing. Many set their 9:38 iPhone alarm (Matthew 9:38) each day to ring to pray for mobilisation , yes it is a command, but is this is considered a greater daily priority than remembering the nature of what we are called to be? Are there other commands in the bible that we are showing equal diligence to that are integral to this command ?
The key distinctive of all great mission organisations and especially the great mobilisers of the faith mission movement is that they prioritised the test of the calling, and affirmed those sent by God within his agenda and planning as they saw the work and character of God displayed.
They asked questions like...
I fear that some, have a wrong sort of peculiarity in mission. They have gone, because they never truly fitted in their local church or social context, or maybe they never had their self proclaimed gifts recognised or had a plan to be disciplined to crack on where Jesus had placed them already. "Going" on your own volition, off your own bat makes you no more a mission worker sent by God as kicking a ball makes you Lionel Messi. There is a huge difference between wanting to preach Christ on the streets and saying without a shadow of a doubt you are personally called and affirmed by the church you represent to do it.
We are not defined by doing an activity but who we really are in obedience before God as we do it. Many may well have gone on their own, far distances, well intentioned and out of love for Jesus, but it is not the same as knowing that this is an act of fundamental and unavoidable obedience (being truly, clearly, relationally sent by Him as a result of His direction, work, and equipping).
Some have assumed they were "missionaries" from birth because they were born into a missionary or mission minded family. The ambitions are noble, the culture engrained, the conviction deep from parents. I still believe there is a test of calling needed, fo clarify if it is God who has called, and what He has called them to. At least there should be a seasonal testing in non missional activity to decipher their adaptability and ability for cross contextual obedience, discipline, sensitivity to others. It is akin to telling a young guy called to be a pastor that he should work in the "real world" for life experience before he pastors people in that context. Wise advice, which has resulted in faithful family members and friends in ministry now in ministry over 30 years after hard times in tough jobs, offices, and dark contexts, they never wanted to be in but did so out of obedience and submission to God, who has blessed. It was there they learned the true values of integrity, pastoral care, missional sensitivity, understandable and effective communication. Ministry trades on tested integrity, without such our ministries are gone and worthless.
When relationally, socially peculiar people who have never lived a non missionary or ministry type life environment attempt to lead or mobilise others in the gospel, it would appear that all they are able to attract to their churches or mission groups are other peculiars, people who don't want or never intend to live in the real world or can be effective in the true reality of wider mission. This is not missional, authentic gospel "sentness" and leadership, it is cultish and confused however well intended. Yes God is gracious, but such a dynamic invariably leads to a catastrophic end hurting many people, losing credibility for the gospel, dishonouring the name of Jesus. Duplicating people to be like us when we are messed up, or not sent, is not what we are called to. Affirming our peculiarities by getting people to follow us and copy us is not gospel leadership it is ego, hubris and narcissism.
At the foundational level of mission obedience is the question, what and who has Christ called me to be? Some around us, (maybe many) will not get our "sentness" when we are truly sent personally by Him, because that command has not been given to them in the same way, or because a significant change in our life obedience to Him has happened inwardly first. Even more starkly there will be some who don't truly know personally the one who is speaking and sending. Alarm bells should ring however, if the reason people think we are not sent is that we have to address some major issues in character, self awareness, identity and general obedience to Him before were on the right page to get to that question.
I fear that some have bypassed "sentness" 101. They are in a different country because of a passion to make a difference, because they saw others who did something and were inspired, they want to honour the conviction of their parents, they love travel, because they think they have something to offer the world and see themselves as a faithful crusader. Even worse are those who do things on their own bat to make sense of what has up until now been a train crash of a life, full of issues and relational complexity they would love to see redeemed and mission seems the obvious way.
In the contemporary situation, such a conviction is way more easy to execute and package as "mission". Set up your own funding page, articulate your own narrative with humour and winsomeness of what you are called to. Few will fact check what you write, and many will want to encourage your earnestness. The nature of your calling, how it has been tested, which church sends you, what gifts you bring, how your character and obedience to the situation have been tested, your cultural sensitivity, your short, medium and long term clarity of what He has called you to may not appear on the webpage, but some funding might well do.
I have never been so convinced of the need of Spirit led biblical mission boards that send on biblical criteria in partnership with frontier need and tested new community senders.
2) People assume that because you are activist and call yourself a Christian, it must be an activity of God.
Contrary to some missionary organisations and cultures, not all missionaries are hyper-active. Some are hugely reflective and naturally introverted. Not all called / sent missionaries are gregarious and outgoing, in fact the proof / evidence of some so clearly called and sent by God, is that they have sacrificed their natural (quiet) habitat so clearly. They do so in obedience not by choice. They would go back in a shot to the quiet life they once lived, were it not for the inescapable fact that they love Jesus more, and want to express that to Him in a context of great need that He undoubtedly pointed their attention to, commanded them to go to, for a specific season or purpose.
Being activist or wanting to constantly do/ move/ get going is not an inherent foundational identity characteristic of missioners. The activity and reality of God is the key identifier. That He is at work and the hallmark characteristics of who He is remains paramount. What God actually calls us to is often ...not to do, but to listen, reflect, observe, submit, wait, and be ready to act on God's command, His timing, discernment, truth, and yes grow in holiness, patience, self discipline and self control. These things are inherent identity characteristics of being called and sent missioners. (Gal 5:22-23).
I would put many catastrophic mission failures in the 21st century down to this. Alpha males (mostly) who go before they know what they are going to, or who decide where they should go before how they should go. They go to dominate and impose personality, their own. Marked by thinking that doing something is always better than doing nothing, when them doing nothing would've actually saved a lot of people a lot of pain and retained the credibility of the gospel within that location for a future time of fruitfulness.
Not exclusively a male trait, overconfidence of this sort is often led by men. Getting people to follow us before we know where we are going is the definition of folly, whether male or female. Doing, and been seen to do gospel type things and say gospel type phrases, is is often misinterpreted as Godly behaviour. He sees our hearts long before our activity. The Living God is a God of order, eternal planning and His true sent one did everything under the principle that public life and ministry was fuelled by the reality of a foundational "in secret' walk principle, true obedience, true prayer, true aloneness, true communion, true undeniable mission directive, true Holiness, true listening.
THE SPIRIT WHO SENDS IS HOLY.
All the above reminds us that who we are before God matters. Who we are before a watching world matters.
If we are commanded to "Go" then we are also commanded to "Be", (Matt 5:13-16) to show Jesus and the character of a God in whom there is no shade of darkness. I've been recently meditating on 1 John. It reminds us that in Christ and His people, as we walk in fellowship with each other...we walk in unity and communion with the one who is Holy before a watching world. Such profound simplicity is easy to miss, but so deeply life changing, so many implications.
1 John 1:5-10 masters the subject, read it, ponder it. The message (ref v1-5) is Jesus and who we are in Jesus, by the power of His Spirit. When He lives in us, loves through us, and calls us to His task it is obvious, there are no behavioural caveats given. "No sin" is the category we need to show, (3:4-5) and hallmarks the one we commend. Honesty to admit that we are not what we should be and to attend to this is the uncompromising command. (1:8-9). Not intending to the address the reality of who we are remains off the table, not an option.
This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. f we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.
Our world needs to see what integrity looks like. Our world needs to see what transparent honesty is. Our world needs to see truth not shades of it. Our world needs to see Jesus, and we are the people commanded to be Him in this context. If you say you are "called" and "sent' , that you are a missionary, gospel worker, pastor, Christian (etc. etc.) - whatever your tag for saying you are a follower of Jesus... where is the evidence of your Christlike character and Holiness?
Praise God that He rescues us from ourselves and our self proclaimed identities.
We are called to be personal messengers and ambassadors of the Holy one.
(2 Cor 5:20).
Is your integrity so evident in what you say, your instincts, finances, how you habitually operate, your treatment of others, your genuine love, service of others not yourself, lack of self ambition, inner life holiness in recreation... so clear that your family, colleagues on mission, church leadership, closest brothers, sisters, relatives , neighbours, people around in business, accountants, bankers, insurance people, government workers, tradespeople, shop keepers, shoppers who come into your life, all say... without a shadow of doubt that you are "100% a straight bat person to be trusted. I trust them without a shadow of a doubt".
Now that's a good way for us to be noticed and stand out.
Do you desire most to be loved or to be effective ?
Who do you desire to be effective for ?
God's approval and pleasure according to His unconditional love, calling and purposes in our lives should be the only demand / desire we serve and have affection for.
Things we know are in the bible but may forget in contemporary culture.
1) Truth is always more important than trend.
2) Ultimate matters matter most. True reality is not what we project but what He knows about us. If we die/ we were called to be before His throne today, internet followers, books sold, video hits, anything which comes from reputation/ self projection would not matter with even a smidgen of relevance.
However, the reality of our love for Christ, the outworking of it, how we actually live, build, model and encouraged His kingdom in others, in obedience, worship, urgency, genuine love for His people, our integrity to be like Christ and prioritise His mission to the lost in faithfulness to Him, remain issues of ultimate importance.
Of course some come to Christ in their final hours which impact this, but for most of us this not our reality. Alongside this is the basis of our motivation in all things, our genuine daily, moment by moment delight in Him, our true motivation and joy to do what pleases Him in response to who He is, not being motivated by anything else or building on any other foundation for the legacy and impact of our lives.
There appears to be a lot of self-projection in our culture, trying to direct or channel people into what we want them to think of us (manufacturing / management of our profile real or virtual). This is the age where we write our own bio, our own LinkedIn profile becomes our passion and the viewing of many others. This is a complex dynamic many of our forefathers never battled with. We are more tempted to believe ourselves more than any other generation. I know I frustrate some by not playing the projection game. I don't relish other platforms to encourage my ego or self obsession, I can do that well enough by myself and with the company of my old friend - the "old sinful man" (Eph 4:22-24) who comes visiting on a regular basis. He takes a fair bit of effort to get out of the picture, I've unfollowed him but he still messages me.
Networks and reputation, affirmation of others who bolster our reputations seem to matter so much. So prevailing and present in contemporary spiritual leadership culture is the idea that we convince others of our orthodoxy or authenticity, our faithfulness and unerring validity to be doing God's work. We can assemble others around us who pact to group promotion, so that we call it a "movement". The real unvarnished gospel truth is that anything we are is all of grace and entirely undeserved. God is good (but we are not.)
I'm honestly not convinced in many contexts if people notice anymore when projection is fundamentally human, self centred and self motivated. God notices without fail.l Identity in Him (producing sanctification / fruitfulness/ being obedient to Him) and human projection should not be accepted as compatible with those inhabited by His presence, but there are times we are hard pressed to see others discern this. There is a very clear timeless biblical demarcation line between working amongst the world of self projection and becoming habitually conditioned by it/ synchronised with it. This has no place in the people of God and the mission of God.
3) Whilst contemporary culture connects people fleetingly for a purpose veneer thick , His eternal plan is for authentic lasting relationship at the deepest and most organic level.
His patterns, foundations, communities and applications for relationship are so much deeper. (Gen 2:18, Acts 2:46). It is relatively easy in our world to find a contact or connect with someone who affirms you or thinks you have something to say on some issue. In the good old days people did something before they wrote about it or were affirmed. Today you can build a platform to raise funds and promote yourself (or a subject) before you have done anything. Relationships or ministry profile can really therefore be built on the most shallow of foundations. Doing life biblically, ministry in substance, being proper church, life on life fellowshipping in mission is so much more demanding than a temporary or shallow connection. Shepherding people fruitfully in accordance with Him, is such a very different thing to being a preacher or teacher with a profile or platform. Being effective in His purposes has very little to do with profile and very much to do with humility and obedience.
As I have said before here (and fear might be becoming a bit of a mantra), people quote biblical instruction (what God says in the bible) as if they have ticked and completed all the relevant boxes of proving authenticity. Our culture is far less observant of biblical patterns (what God does, loves and detests) and I fear we apply ourselves far less readily to that.
Observations of biblical patterns.
a) Sent from God, shaped by God and not by the world.
Apostleship post glorification / ascension of The Lord Jesus sees The Spirit giving gifts to the church in a new epoch (Ephesians 4) by His sending and His command of individuals to go. It is not by man's manufacturing. Both epochs / eras/ seasons have intimate spiritual relationship in The Spirit at the core of the dynamic. The way of God has never changed, the season has (Acts 1:7-9). The great command to love as proof of authenticity and the great collaboration to seek His kingdom is key, as is the one of priority relationship with whom all are truly united and empowered (reread 1 John 4). These things (the great command and collaboration in Christ) are as equally important as the great commission He gives us. The manner in which we go is as important as the going. Going alone does not mark authenticity, in fact it could be a human mechanism to adopt a divine notion.
b) To the world for Christ and not for ourselves. To proclaim Him, His Lordship character and salvation, the reality of His resurrection (Acts 1:22, 26)
c) His work is qualitatively different on many dimensions to a human construct. He appoints children to edify the body and equip/ encourage it to do the same by His resurrection power. It is The Spirit who.choses to do this sending and equipping for expansion work of the kingdom ACTS 13:2, 14:4 (Paul and Barnabas as Apostles) continues in dynamic (1 Cor 4:9 Appolos / Sostehenes, Romans 16:7, Andronicus, Junia 1 These 2:6 Silvanus, Timothy 1 Cor 15:5-7) , but this choosing is His work not our work, His designation not ours, defined by His parameters not ours.
New frontiers of ministry, founding churches amongst new people groups, dynamics of gospel reach are by His direction and equipping when authentically His work, direction, and by His power. Proof of human industry does not automatically correlate with proof of divine authenticity and authority. Bringing revelation of God, his revealed truth to bear on decision making within such scenarios is an awesome responsibility. Humility is the prominent characteristic of this dynamic when genuine. (1 Cor 15:8-9) "I am the least".
d) There are clearly false Apostles and presumptuous self appointed spiritual "over leaders". (The Ephesian church Revelation 2:2. ) Just because people attempt gospel work or mission, or a high level missional position of leadership does not mean that it is The Spirits work.
e) The testing of an apostolic function is not in gifting but "sentness". Of course Paul was gifted, so uniquely and exquisitely, and God does not / will not send someone who is ill equipped but ... obvious gifting or human qualification/ qualities do not make apostolic dynamics happen.
There are OT apostolic dynamics of commissioning (Luke 11:49-54) and the divine sending of God by his specifically sent people for specific purpose at a specific historic juncture has been a constant pattern / theme of grace through redemptive history. (John 13:16).
Note in passing these added distinguishing characteristics of all the above.
1) This is about team not individualism. Regardless of the uniqueness of the calling, era, geography, missional challenge, individualism, self promotion and self declaring of position is not how God works. Accountability, obedience and humility are always present and affirm authenticity in the Christ sent dynamic.
2) A teacher sent by The Spirit is more than one "able to teach" or with a teaching record . He is sent to speak how that revealed truth to all works in such a context at this time for kingdom / missional advance. Antioch's teaching men show this. Evangelists likewise are a sent gift (Acts 21:8) Philip), and without wishing to be controversial Prophets are the most clearly defined ( Romans 12:6, 1 cor 12:10, 28, Eph 4:11). Some gifts for the local church seem to be marked for local use, others for advance and missional use.
3) Although a leader gifted to the church can use His spiritual gifts anywhere, something unique is stressed in apostolic dynamics to use what God has gifted for a place and sent time of fresh gospel advance.
4) Apostolic dynamics / gifting are still relational (Acts 13:1-2 Antioch) with others who do not have apostolic purpose. Those who are sent and those who remain are one in His purposes. True NT team shows diversity and humility in leading others into truth, they all seek to fit in with His divinely commissioming purposes for His glory, not clamber for elevation or superiority.
5) The normal pattern for one used in apostolic "sending" is one of consistent suffering, hardship, rejection, relational burden and often martyrdom. Endurance is a key sign of authenticity (Col 1:11). To keep going under persistent, prolonged pressure tests the reality of our calling whatever and wherever it is (Romans 5:3-5, 2 Tim 4:5). His might and His glory keep those going who are called to such a life of self denial and task of obedient influence. This is what we seek to model faithfulness in, regardless of whether our task is local or global, one or multiple geographies, deep fellowships with a small group or larger, missional leadership of one culture or many cultures. This is the nature of maturity we seek to see in others as they grow in dependance on Him and affection for Him not us, and we show our weakness - point to His strength, as we seek to make disciples of Christ and not followers for ourselves.
Lord, by your grace make us faithful disciples in every dimension, influencing the next generation of disciples to follow you alone in all things, for your purposes alone, in your timing and your power.
