~Authors Preface: The Christian church is facing a major question in this hour. A question that speaks just as strong today as it did thousands of years ago in the book of Genesis – “Hath God Said” Gen.3:1. Those were Satan’s words to Eve and they are the same words to us today “Hath God Said” or to us it can just as accurately be phrased this way- “Are the scriptures just a nice example of what could be or are they a pattern of what should be?” That question underscores everything that will be said in this article as well as what has been said in all the other articles on this website. What do you believe on this? What is your position? Do you have one? You can’t float on this. There is no waffling or the results can be disastrous! Are the scriptures just a nice example to inspire us or are they a pattern to be followed. If they are nothing more than a “nice example” then please read no further. This article will do you no good. But if you see the scriptures as a “pattern of what should be” then the following is a must read.~

The church has finally backed itself into a corner because our divisive, sectarian beliefs won’t allow us to go anywhere else and still maintain our walls. Well the walls are now closing in and making it more and more difficult to do anything but curtsey to the status quo. Pastors and church leaders have bumped the edges of their walls for centuries without the faith and courage to go beyond them. After 500 years we have reached the final extreme of Protestantism’s capabilities and the curtsying is coming to an end. Protestantism’s short-comings have left gaping holes in the churches witness and across its door is written “Ichobod” – the glory of the Lord has departed.

History is now moving from a walk to a run and those who try to remain with the old and retain its former relevance are going to be left behind at an increasing speed as the Spirit of the Lord moves on. Church leaders are scratching their heads (especially in the West) wondering how to deal with a rapidly growing secular culture that is pushing the limits of Godlessness. Although the trappings of historical Protestantism ( and Catholicism- they are just as much a part of this mess ) have been comfortable for many, they now will slow you up and bog you down from what God is moving His church too. Those who are able to free themselves from the webbings of current sectarian Christianity and embrace Kingdom thinking and the fast flow of theology that will, and is now beginning to come with it, will survive this final era of God’s plan in Christ for man. Those who refuse to move forward will be left behind and the longer they remain behind the harder it will be to catch up! In a few words “Let go church.” This is not a time to hold on to the past. It’s simply not worth it. It is eternally not worth it!!

It’s extremely important to understand that everything we are dealing with in these articles ( I know I call them articles-Ok everyone- Blogs ) is a spinoff of our divisions (sectarianism). They are not the result of a more enlightened era of the church ( Hey when you live among the unorthodox everything looks orthodox right? So is a nuthouse to those inside! ) They are the result of a falling away from the truths of scripture that have been lost to centuries of division and divisive theologies. The current system of the church has become ‘holy grail’, a right of passage to anyone who wants to fit in and move up the ladder of acceptance and “success.” To question it is like trampling on sacred ground and the backlash is sometimes fierce. We have not moved forward from the New Testament standard. We have moved away in every direction but forward. –Hard to believe that we have come to the place where someone has to say these things!!-

So we’re not tweaking the edges of old church thinking here. We are promoting major reformation in the church. This is a full court press subject we are on. The foul lines have moved up really close and unfortunately much of the current church system is on the opposing team. There is no catering to both sides of the line. Those who are going to remain with walls and all the dynamics that go with them will never agree to the changes necessary to reestablish Biblical Apostolic ministry and the bulk of New Testament genius that surrounds it. The two ways of thinking are totally opposite and mutually exclusive. So called contemporary apostles and prophets will not get this either. They are far too enabled by walls, the personal favoritism that goes with it, and not Kingdom thinking. This is a matter of “How long halt ye between two opinions? if the LORD be God, follow him: but if Baal ( Walls ), then follow him. And the people answered him not a word” (1Ki.18;21). We are largely in the ‘non-answering’ phase today. But the voice of this thing will grow louder and louder until it is a thunderous roar. A few are beginning to hear the “still small voice” of this today. Others will hear as it grows much louder but unfortunately some will never hear it. They won’t let go of the control that has become so embedded in the current church system. And that’s what this is all about, “Control” with a capital “C.” Say it with me “Control.” Who really holds on to it- us or Jesus? You don’t have to dig very deep in the current system to find the cables that hold so many and surprise, surprise they don’t want to let them go.

Can you handle this dear reader? Are you with me? Is it too much to take? Does it seem too incredible and strong? Amazingly it’s probably not strong enough. The very near future is going to bring massive structural and ideological changes not only in the church but in the world at large. Perspectives are going to shift. Biblical Apostolic ministry will no longer just be a periphery subject. It will become absolutely necessary and central. The times will require it! The pressures that are currently building against the Lord and His church are going to grow much stronger, especially in the West. Power and giftings on an Apostolic level will guide the churches leadership and movement very soon. Those who don’t embrace it will probably fight it!

Now all that said consider this. All the churches of the New Testament were Apostolically founded. They were not pastorally founded. Scripture says,

“Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone.” Eph.2: 19-20

**The church was always meant to be built on an Apostolically laid foundation not one laid by pastors or any other ministry. Apostolic ministry is a church planting and establishing ministry. Pastoral ministry is a maintenance ministry. Pastors were never given the tools to found churches only Apostles were!!**

Ok, let’s pause a minute, take a deep breath and grab some of those question marks that are now probably flying everywhere around you-????. Stop the “buts”- but, but, but? Reign in your ideological tradition driven convictions, have a very strong “Hmm” moment for just a minute or two and give the above statement at least a little time to introduce itself to all the “that can’t be’s” in your “I thought I had this all figured out” thinking. Got it? Good. New thoughts are extremely feisty characters. Greet them gladly. Make them feel welcome. Grab their hand. Warm it up. Allow the warm and fuzzies to flow a bit or those precious rare new thoughts will run away to hide and you may never find them again. That’s right. But you can do this dear reader. Yes you can! And you’ll be doing a lot more of it before we’re through with this subject. So give me a minute more to say something extremely important in your quest for truth and we’ll revisit that bolded statement above once more.

Let me really indent this statement. It needs to be noticed.

>>>>>There are certain extremely, extremely crucial moments in our lives that are pregnant with HUGE potential and equally GREAT jeopardy at the same time. They are best called “kairos” moments. That catchy little New Testament Greek word that means “appointed times” ( Check out 1Thes.5:1; Gal.6:9; 1Pet.5:6; Acts3:20 where this word is translated as “time”, “times” and “due time” but always literally means “appointed times” ). So what am I saying? God has apportioned certain “appointed times” in our lives and in our world for particular events fo come about-[ Please pay close attention to this. Again it is seriously important that we understand this about our God. And therefore about how He works with us and our world ]-“To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven…” Eccl.3:1-8. These “appointed times” are extremely rare especially when they have to do with our personal future. What you decide and how you decide it at such times can mean the difference between life and death, joy and tragedy, fulfillment and loss, opportunity and opportunity lost, breakthrough or resistance and much more. The outcome of all these things can also be greatly increased by the situation and time. So walk lightly dear reader when you are presented with new and/or fresh understanding like this. Don’t turn it away too quickly and likewise don’t embrace it too fast. It could be a missed opportunity that may effect you for the rest of your life. It’s very difficult to turn around and redo such times. They are far too precious. Be ready to recognize them when they come. Pray that you have eyes to see and a heart to receive at such times <<<<<.

Now why did I take time out from this incredibly insightful article and your amazingly busy schedule to tell you that? Well I have been shocked, and I mean shocked to the core, at the numbers of people and especially Christian leaders who shut the door (I should say “slam”the door) on fresh biblical understanding of the sort we are currently talking about. It’s as if their life was being threatened and I suppose in a way it is by subjects like this. It rocks their boat, upsets their religious world, brings confrontation from their denominational hierarchy, comes under the scrutiny of the board, troubles happy pulpits, causes the loss of ‘friends’ and so many other uncomfortable little intangibles. Jesus said, “Whoever seeks to save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it”, also “And this is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the Light; for their deeds were evil” (Lk.17:33;Jn.3:19). Really church! Is this what it’s come too?? Another replay of the 1st centuries rejection of Jesus Christ. Are we now so steeped in our traditions, justifications, hierarchies and walls everywhere that we won’t let go, regardless? Such resolute defiance will not stop what is coming. I repeat, it will not stop what is coming!! We can only pray that as God blows upon the old to bring in the new many will let go and let God have his way. This is the difference between revelation and blindness, walking in light or darkness. It brings a ‘hit’ and from people you would never expect it to come from. Oh happy day!

This is a bit of the uncomfortable stuff that surrounds the subject we are on. It was only right to mention it here and go into a bit of detail. We have got to clearly understand that this isn’t just about restoring truth. It is also about a very bold dividing line, separation (being set apart), taking the narrow way that leads to life and the consequences that may come with it. There are billions of souls in the balance right now across our world unknowingly waiting for a willing generation to hear the voice of the Lord, flee walls and restore the New Testament message. Remember! Jesus didn’t say, “And this gospel will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.” On the contrary He said, “And this gospel of the Kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come” Matt.24:14. Please understand there is a huge difference between what people and our churches mean by the “Gospel” and what scripture calls the “Gospel of the Kingdom.” The two are light-years apart. The one that will save is the “Gospel of the Kingdom” which falls right in the middle of what we are talking about. We are moving away from a “churchy” religious centered message to a “Kingdom” centered message.

Now back to our original statement. We’ve got a bit to add on to it. It was said,

The church was always meant to be built on an Apostolically laid foundation not one laid by pastors or any other ministry. Apostolic ministry is a church planting and establishing ministry. Pastoral ministry is a maintenance ministry. Pastors were never given the tools to found churches only Apostles were!!

To understand this properly we have got to somehow get our minds free from all the divisive jargon and churchanity’s sacred cows that dominate so much of four walls Christianity. So let’s develop this step by step.

~Note: Repentance always begins every work of God and repentance is always there throughout it. There is never a time to get off our knees. But we have certainly gotten off our knees on this one!~

First point. Why did Jesus set up a fivefold ministry of Apostles, Prophets, Evangelists, Pastors and Teachers ( see Eph.4:11 ) if it could all be accomplished equally as well under the one office of a Pastor?? Was it meant to be duplicated that way? Why do we look in vain to find any pastors planting churches in the New Testament?? Why is it always Apostles- Bar none?!! Throughout the book of Acts and all the epistles there is no evidence for pastor ‘founded’ churches and yet throughout Christianity today it is almost exclusively the dominant paradigm. People who either call themselves and/or are recognized as pastors come into an area to “plant” a church where the church already exists. No body thinks twice about it. In fact we tend to like the variety!! But WHY?? Nothing in the New Testament authorizes such a thing!! It is sectarian tradition gone wild not Biblical truth.

**Alert!! They are not really starting a church they are adding another division to the already existing one! Think about it??? You can’t really start a church where THE CHURCH already exists. Biblically you can only work with it and add on to it. It is not divisible unless it is made to be so BY THE TRADITIONS AND ARROGANCE OF MAN and accepted as such in people’s minds. It is ONE whether people understand that or not. It is the Body of Christ and that can not be divided and still remain the BODY (Singular) of Christ. This kind of plainly absurd divisive rhetoric has been around long enough. We have bowed to it for so many centuries everyone has callouses on their knees. Today we would call this a SCAM. It is pure religious boondoggling, five star theo-babble. The Apostle Paul wrote,

“And so I have made it my aim to preach the gospel, not where Christ was named, lest I should build on another man’s foundation.”
Ro.15:20

Did you get that, “Lest I build on another man’s foundation.” What is that supposed to mean? It means he is not going to start another church in that area. He is not going to lay another foundation. His thinking was that if he were to go into an area where Christ was “named”, where the church already existed, he would build on the foundation of the church that was already there; work with it, add on to it and not do something separate from it. Sorry folks this really isn’t rocket science but it has been made to be such by centuries of warped divisive thinking. You may have to struggle a bit to wrap your mind around it. Give it time. Let it dispel the darkness. The whole mentality of starting another Christian church in a town where the church already exists is completely foreign to New Testament thinking. It literally rips the fabric of the Body of Christ in shreds. Most church planting ministries of today are literally tearing the body of Christ apart!! You can’t get unity out of that! It is impossible! There has to be a mentality that lays aside personal ambition and recognition for true servanthood.–Note: Repentance always begins every work of God and repentance is always there throughout it. There is never a time to get off our knees. But we have certainly gotten off our knees on this one!–

Be that as it may, let’s get back to the subject.

Second point. Why are Apostles noted in scripture as having the authority to plant churches and pastors are not? Remember the Apostle Paul wrote,

“According to the grace of God which was given to me, as a wise master builder I have laid the foundation, and another builds on it.” 1Cor.3:10-11

So let’s back track this a little bit and see what we come up with.

When Jesus told the twelve “you shall receive power after that the Holy Spirit is come upon you: and you shall be my witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth”(Acts1:8), He was highlighting the office of apostles in the spreading of the gospel and the growth of His church (read the context carefully. He was speaking to the twelve). The office of Apostles was meant to be the centerpiece of this. I am well aware that we don’t read it that way especially throughout Charasmania today. We like to broaden the meaning out to include everyone. And so it has been, the uniqueness of the apostolic office in the founding and spread of the church has been lost, or should I say ‘Protestantized’ to accommodate the limitations forced upon us by our love-affair with walls. We have pushed people into positions they were never meant to be in, and most people have never been comfortable with it anyway. So much could be said on that, perhaps in a later article.

So the twelve launched out spreading the gospel and founding churches as recorded throughout the book of Acts. We know that other apostles were soon added to their number (Paul, Barnabas, Silas, Timothy etc.) and founded churches among the Gentiles. But at no time and in no way were true churches founded by pastors or pastor wannabe’s.

When three thousand got saved on the day of Pentecost and another five thousand plus just a short time later in Jerusalem it was via the apostle Peter’s ministry ( Acts 2:40-41; 4:3-4 ). It’s also interesting to note that the believers from Acts 2 “..continued in the apostle’s doctrine.” It was Peter again who went up to the cities of Lydda and Sharon and “all who lived there got saved” via a notable miracle by the apostle Peter (Acts 9:33-35)…

-Sorry to drop it here everyone. So much more to say. Many more scriptures to cover. This will be continued in the next article.

Old Chinese proverb say,
“Long train always end with caboose.”

Well the caboose is still quite a ways off on this subject. Stay seated the train will stop.

By the way those of you who have been looking for my podcasts. I will be starting those soon ( The Lord willing ). Remember, don’t follow the crowds follow Jesus!

Luther Canon
Sola Scriptura