Ed Stetzer’s excellent book has the sub-title ‘Planting A Church That’s Biblically Sound and Reaching People in Culture’. He has done a fine job, both in terms of retaining Biblical soundness and also being phenomenally relevant to the culture.
Apostles
The end of the beginning
Dear friends, we are coming to the end of the beginning. We’ve some ‘i’ dotting and ‘t’ crossing to do. But the principle is clear. Jesus didn’t hand over to one successor, not even Peter!
Honouring the future
So apostolic churches are caught up ‘together on a mission’. That’s not just the name of a conference, it’s who we are! We are nations, crossing borders, entering, moving on, trying to recapture Biblical Christianity.
What was the Apostolic task? (continued)
The word ‘father’ is another word associated with apostolic ministry. Paul says the Corinthian church may have had many teachers but not many fathers. Paul says, ‘I became your father through the gospel.’ He developed relationships with churches.
What was the Apostolic task?
The 3,000 saved on the Day of Pentecost were described as being ‘added’ to a small community founded on these apostles. Ephesians 2:20 says that the church, this new temple, is being built upon that foundation.
Who is an apostle?
We often call ourselves a ‘family of churches’ and although that’s not a Bible phrase it’s one we feel comfortable with. God Himself lives as Trinity, in loving relationship, so we love emphasising that magnificent value of expressing mutual love, affection, and desire for one another’s blessing.
TOAM 2009: Newfrontiers – Past, present and future: Part 3. Our Future
This is the 3rd message of a 3 part series that was recorded at the annual newfrontiers international leadership conference, Together On A Mission 2009 in Brighton.
