True Apostles are True Fathers!

A current Sovereign Grace pastor asked a pertinent question on "SGM Survivors" today;

"From your vantage point what are the primary weaknesses within SGM? Do you see any strengths?".

Sadly as per the tone of the blog a lot of the focus is on the weaknesses of SGM. But a criticism has had me thinking a lot - a lot of the "SGM survivors" (ex-SGMers to you and me) are extremely critical of the polity of SGM - or in other words the way that the denomination is run. It used to be run by C J Mahaney and the "Apostolic Team". It is now run by Dave Harvey (interim President) and the "Board of Directors".

I think the reason I am slightly more cautious of dismissing SGM's polity is because it is so similar to the style of church leadership I am used to in Newfrontiers or other apostolic movements.

Does abuse command no use - or rather consideration of right and proper use?

Firstly it is important to understand that Brent Detweiler has unveiled that SGM do not believe in the apostolic ministry anymore (seemingly). From his papers, he wrote in response to an official announcement by SGM (p114 of "Concluding Remarks");

"I wrote my wife and son the following e-mail.

From: Brent Detwiler
Sent: Tuesday, February 01, 2011 12:19 PM
To: Jenny Detwiler; Jonathan Detwiler
Subject: What Happen to the A Team

Check out ―"What happened to the apostolic team?" - It is not a truthful answer. The apostolic team was comprised of men we believed were called as apostles,not just pastors, in keeping with the teaching of Eph 4:11, etc.

The Statement of Faith makes this clear. It reads, ―The ascended Christ has given gift ministries to the church (including apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers)
for the equipping of Christ‘s body that it might mature and grow. Through the
gift ministries all members of the Church are to be nurtured and equipped forthe work
of ministry.

Sovereign Grace no longer believes in present day apostles and I presume prophets. The five fold ministry is out. The three fold ministry is in. What concerned me the most was the effect such an explanation would have upondiscerning readers who have been a part of the movement for more than five years. Itwould undermine your credibility. Except for you; Dave, Steve and I all gave up ourpastorates in order to fulfill our calling as apostles. We were not a team of pastors. We were a team of apostles. We were an apostolic team. Not a pastoral team.

Since then Sovereign Grace‘s understanding of apostles continues to fluctuate. I‘m still
not sure if you believe in apostles and prophets per Ephesians 4:11, etc. If you don‘t,
the Statement of Faith must be changed. But this much I know, when I stepped downfrom the apostolic team in November 2007, none of us thought of ourselves as apastoral team.Sovereign Grace Ministries can change its ecclesiology and polity, but it should notmisrepresent the past. Instead be honest. Just say we believed in apostles then, we
don‘t believe in them anymore. In the past we called it a team of apostles, now we call
it a team of pastors. In Reformed and evangelical circles it is unacceptable to refer to oneself as an apostle or prophet. Those gift ministries have ended according to their theology. But let‘s not try to save face in those circles by spinning our understanding of the apostolic team in the past.Now a days, you refer to yourself as the President and to Dave, Jeff and Joshua as Directors.

In my opinion, Sovereign Grace Ministries has become a para-churchorganization because it no longer has a clear biblical justification for its existence. The five-fold ministry has folded".

Now it is largely irrelevant whether SGM have discarded their belief in the full Ephesians 4 Ministries or not - they (led by Mahaney and Harvey) have the right to change their doctrinal views on the baptism of the Holy Spirit as on Ephesians 4 Ministries. The point however is that the criticisms of SGM's polity HAVE come from their previous belief in the apostolic ministry. They believed that C J Mahaney, Dave Harvey and Brent Detweiler were apostles - hence equipped to lead and father SGM.

I actually believe that the problem is not their belief in the apostolic ministry but that C J Mahaney is NOT an apostle (what churches has he been personally responsible for fathering and planting? What signs and wonders has he been used in ministering?). I've said this before. I believe that rather he is a prophet/teacher. He is an extremely gifted and able teacher who is unilateral in what he preaches. He preaches the Cross - period. And that needs preaching! But it does not need preaching to the exclusion of other aspects of the Gospel such as the resurrection, glorification, ascension and so on. From what I hear Larry Tomczak WAS the apostolically gifted leader in what was PDI - hence the shame the two men split.

Again - rather than dismissing the validity of apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers - we should assess and look at the valid and real. I am finding David Devenish's new book so helpful in this respect; "Fathering Leaders - Motivating Mission". Apostles must be fathers - otherwise they are nothing worse than autocratic leaders who care more about speaking on conference platforms than they do sitting and weeping with church pastors. Dave wrote;

"One danger ... is that apostolic ministry can become unwittingly hierarchic in terms of organisation. Apostolic ministry rightly raises sons to continue the ministry and go to places where the apostle is no longer able to go, whether through lack of time or because he has been called on to other ministry. But an apostle should never become simply 'the head of an organisation' simply supervising others with apostolic calling.

Apostolic ministry is always to a large extent, a hands-on ministry. It is not like some secular models of management, where the further we progress in the corporate hierarchy, the more distant we become from the coalface of production. Paul never worked like that.

The call to apostles is both to be engaged personally, hands on in world mission and also to "father" many others who will have the same passion for the gospel to go to the nations of the world".

Where are the Fathers?

I am enjoying a couple of days off work presently - yesterday I spent a wonderful morning with my dear friend Pete Day in London. We spent time praying, hearing from God and one of the aches on our hearts was the apparent lack of spiritual fathers. And our prayer was that God will give to us - not organisational apostles but relational fathers who can lead and father us.

It is not a coincidence I think that I decided to listen to the DVD of Dr Ern Baxter speaking

during his final visit to us at New Covenant Church in Dunstable before he went to glory in 1991 on "History Making Prayer". He opened his message making some comments about one of the young assistant pastors to Stanley Jebb and emphasized his heart for what he called his "Timothys". He said that men would contact him after hearing him in conferences and he would write to them, and recommend books and have contact with them.

What moved me so much was that this mighty man of God who probably knew that he was nearing the end of his time on earth still had a heart for young men and fathering them. I think the below beautiful photograph (thanks to Terry Virgo for the link) demonstrates this perfectly. Ern Baxter had a wonderful love for eagles:

I didn't notice the young eagle under the wing of the magnificent parent eagles for a minute. I was too caught up admiring their proud bearing. But then I did. Terry Virgo spoke at Stoneleigh Bible Week 2001 on eagles also - and spoke about how parents will push their children out of the nest and make them take flight. This baby eagle to me looks like he should have passed that phase. But I love the fact that the parent is still protective towards it. We used to sing a beautiful song in Dunstable during our charismatic days called; "Living under the shadow of His wing - we find security".

Of course we always have our heavenly Father - but it was His divine design and indeed resurrection gift in Ephesians 4 that we should have earthly spiritual fathers also. And I fear that many current Ephesians 4 Ministries do not have that heart for fathering sons and daughters. The pressure is too great to treat our churches like businesses. When I used to try and contact men in the very same way that Ern spoke off - the phrase I would hear all too regularly was; "I'm too busy". It made me wonder how you can be too busy to father. Many of the excuses for business were valid - but they were outside their Ephesians 4 giftings. That's why so many pastors these days are caught up in administration, in finances, in church affairs - and are indeed too busy to father! Just the same with apostles - they are too busy leading their movements, trouble-shooting and so on.

The beauty of true Ephesians 4 Ministries means that each is freed to follow their true giftings - and that surely involves fathering. I realised that true Ephesians 4 Ministries all should see fathering as key! Oh for apostles who can father up and coming young men and women with apostolic gifting. Oh for prophets with recognised and powerful prophetic gifting (such as Greg Haslam or Jon Cressey or Ginny Burgin) who are prepared to spend time sitting with young men and women with prophetic giftings. Oh for evangelists (like Lex Loizides) who can inspire and fire those with evangelistic gifting.

And of course pastor/teachers - who perhaps may have opportunity to father more than any because of their local church involvement. I have to pay tribute to Stanley Jebb for being the only pastor/teacher in my experience who really had this heart for fathering young men. When he was leading the church in Dunstable he committed so much time to the Bible College we ran, and even when he had retired from church leadership - he still graciously spent some time with me years back fathering me for a short season. And I believe he still does - even though he is in his 70's! Alas - I have yet to meet other church pastors with that heart.

Tributes to Arthur Wallis!

I am still really enjoying my new "Restoration Magazine" collection - and was interested and moved to read tributes that were written in light of Arthur Wallis's death. I have always known of the impact Arthur had on the charismatic scene in the United Kingdom but it was interesting to read the personal tributes from many charismatic leaders.

For example Terry Virgo wrote;

"I would probably have never written a book if it were not for Arthur".

Ern Baxter wrote;

"We weren't destined to meet in some formally pre-prepared setting. We met in the men's toilet's and looking at each other blurted out, "You must be ..."!

And Stanley Jebb wrote;

"Arthur impressed me by his biblical outlook. In the early 1960's when a number of us were working out and studying the subject of the baptism of the Holy Spirit, Arthur was a great encouragement. His clear teaching and insistence on going back to the Word of God for answers was a challenge and an inspiration to all".

The other tributes are below. Thank God for fathers in the faith! This is one of the reasons why I could never attend a youth church or a student church (despite the fact that I'm too old!). Of course there are abuses and excesses and leadership manipulation - but the fact is that we need fathers and mothers in the faith. Arthur Wallis was clearly one such to many - and many of my generation I am sure have benefited from his indirect influence on men that we see as fathers in the faith today - such as Terry Virgo or Ern Baxter.

A Respected Intolerance

I had two posts in mind stemming from today - one is about fathers. I find it difficult - to be frank - relating to God as my Father. I don't quite know why that is. Maybe it's partly because I found it difficult to get on with my earthly dad. We are very different people emotionally. He is a man's man. I am an emotionally unstable soul - up or down but never in-between. I thank God that I have a measure of friendship with him now but childhood and teenage years were not easy. So does that disqualify me from ever enjoying God as heavenly perfect Father? Of course not - no earthly father is perfect. The key is to realise that any poor or bad relationships don't set the model for God - we have to be prepared to learn again and learn from new.

So I turned to the Song of Solomon today! I did so deliberately and without really much thought. It just seemed natural to me that if I wanted to learn what God is like as a heavenly Father. I'm in good company - C H Spurgeon's solid gold sermons on the Song of Solomon (gathered together masterfully in; "The Most Holy Place"). Who better than Spurgeon to teach about this book?!

However I was distracted by C H Spurgeon's rather "un-P.C" discussion of those who would hold views of the Song of Solomon that he would not agree with. I like that fresh approach! In this day and age I notice that the Christian church has become affected by the community. Disagreeing with someone isn't acceptable and it doesn't go down well. One of the things I liked about Spurgeon and the Puritans was that they were not afraid to state boldly their views and disagree carefully and thoughtfully where they felt someone was wrong.

So here is C H Spurgeon's statements on the Song of Solomon and those he would not agree with. He starts the sermon by discussing the view that men such as Mark Driscoll and C J Mahaney would hold - namely that the book discusses Solomon's marriage to Pharoh's daughter (as is thought). Spurgeon states;

"Now as I am sure as I am of my own existance, that this is one of the grossest mistakes (the Driscoll/Mahaney view) that was ever committed ... If you look all through the song you will find that this is so; in the very beginning she is compared to a shepherdess. Now all shepherds are abominations to the Egyptians; do you think therefore that Solomon would compare an Egyptian princess to the very thing which she abominated? In one place Solomon compares her to a company of horses in Pharoh's chariot. Now horses were among the Israelites, common things; and what would Pharoh's daughter have said if Solomon compared her to a company of horses?".

So there are a couple of excellent Spurgeon rebuttals to obvious glaring problems in "humanising" the Song of Solomon. It just doesn't quite make sense. Spurgeon then goes on;

"The fact is that this book is a puzzle to many men for the simple reason it was not written for them at all. Learned men and wise men find this a stone which they are broken to powder just because it was not written for them. Men who are disposed to laugh at Scripture find here an opportunity to exercise their profane wit, just because the book is not written for them".

One cannot help but think of Mark Driscoll's "jokes" about the Song of Solomon.

"The true believer who has lived near to his Master will find this book to be a mass, not of gold merely, for all God's Word is this, but a mass of diamonds sparkling with brightness ... If I must prefer one book above another, I would prefer some books of the Bible for doctrine, some for experience, some for example, but let me prefer this book above all others for fellowship and communion. When the Christian is nearest to heaven, this is the book he takes with him.

There are times when he would leave even the Psalms behind, when standing on the borders of Canaan, when he is in the land of Beulah and he is just crossing the stream, and can almost see his Beloved through the rifts of the storm-cloud, then it is he can begin to sing Solomon's song. This is about the only book he can sing in heaven".

I state all this again not to take one jot away from Driscoll or Mahaney's ministries. I know many people receive much from them. But for me - I feel more comfortable taking a hallowed approach to the Song of Solomon - it isn't funny. And it shouldn't have jokes made about it. I come to this book as a hungry learner - desperate to learn how a son should relate to his Father.

Dudley Daniel - Father of NCMI

Anyone who follows Rob Rufus's ministry will know the impact that a man called Dudley Daniel had on his life. Dudley was a spiritual father to Rob and continues to have profound influence on Rob - even though City Church International is not part of New Covenant Ministries International. I am always interested in the influences on my heroes because the influences help to shape them become who they are. For example Dr Ern Baxter and Dr Martyn Lloyd-Jones both had great impact on Dr Stanley Jebb - my first senior pastor. William Branham had great impact on Dr Ern Baxter. Dr John Stott and Dr Martyn Lloyd-Jones had great impact on Terry Virgo and so on.

So over the past few days I have been watching with great interest - "NCMI TV" and in particular a series of interviews conducted by Tyrone Daniel - the current leader of NCMI - with his father Dudley Daniel. They really are well worth watching. In it Dudley shares his heart about where the movement of churches has come from and where he hopes it is going.

Here are the videos:

1. "The Dream".

2. "The Nations".

3. "The Price".

4. "The Transition".

5. "The Future".

6. "The Faith".

Each video is only about 5 minutes long so won't take long but the spiritual truth is well worth it! These videos have also re-emphasised to me the importance of "spiritual fathers". You can catch something of Dudley Daniel's heart here and it also helps me piece together something of how Rob Rufus became who he is today.

By the way - I do re-recommend an interview with Rob Rufus conducted by Adrian Warnock. They discussed something of NCMI and Dudley Daniel's influence and it's a vital interview for anyone interested in Hong Kong and in Rob's ministry.

Fathers and Sons / Teachers and Disciples / ...

I've just finished reading the recently released third part in the "Inheritance Cycle" - a book called "Brisingr" and greatly enjoyed it. Briefly it's a book about a young hero called Eragon who becomes a "Dragon Rider" and his realising that his destiny is to have to fight an evil king called Galbatorix - who is also a Dragon Rider. In many senses it has many similar themes to other fantasy and fiction novels (all of which I greatly love!). But the one theme that gripped me particularly in the reading of "Brisingr" is the theme that is ever so common in many novels - and it's that of the "teacher and pupil".

Here's a few of my other favourites - that prove my point. In "Starwars" - Luke Skywalker is mentored by firstly Ben Obi-Wan Kenobi and then by the Master Yoda. In "Lord of the Rings" - Frodo Baggins is mentored and cared for by the wizard Gandalf (with input from the elves Eldrond and Galadriel. In the "Matrix Trilogy" - the One Neo receives advice from the Oracle and from Morpheus. And of course the "Harry Potter" series - the young wizard Harry is accompanied by the formidable Headmaster Albus Dumbledore right through to the penultimate book.

In the "Inheritance Cycle" - Eragon spends some considerable time with another Elf Dragon Rider called Oromis and his dragon and then again some final training in the third book; "Brisingr". I was gripped by the account of the training. Much of the final preparation before Eragon is sent into battle involves talking which perhaps isn't very dramatic - but what gripped me was the vital relaying of information and experience. At the end of the book much to Eragon's surprise, Oromis and his dragon follow him into their own battle elsewhere.

So here's some of my thoughts about how these teacher/student themes may apply to the Kingdom of God;

1. Teachers are VITAL to the continuation of the Kingdom of God.

Jesus spent just 3 years in ministry and although those who preach and teach the gospel of salvation single out Jesus Christ's death on the Cross as central to everything (the "Gospel Song" is an example) - we also cannot forget that Jesus chose 12 disciples to spend those three years with Him. At the end of those 3 years He didn't just abandon them and go back to heaven. He commissioned them with a command to take the Gospel to the ends of the earth - He empowered them with the promise of the enduement of power from the Person of the Holy Spirit. That empowerment would enable those disciples to "do the works ... and greater works". But I'm jumping ahead of myself - those disciples had their lives changed FOREVER by being called by Jesus and those 3 years with Him. What He taught them in those 3 years was more than vital. What He taught them surely ensured the first step in the "spreading flame" of the Church that would come.

2. Teachers MUST make their students go FURTHER than them in the Kingdom of God.

One of my concerns with the gospel of salvation emphasis is that we are forgetting that Jesus Christ Himself said to His disciples; "It is BETTER for you that I go away". It's not blasphemous therefore to say we are in a far better position to have the outpoured Holy Spirit - because the Son of God said it Himself! So surely our responsibility is to remain ever grateful and ever worshipful for what Jesus Christ did in that key moment on Calvary. As a matter of fact I was at the gym yesterday and was listening to Whitney Houston's incredible; "One Moment in Time" and I feel that God spoke to me very powerfully about "that moment" when the veil was torn in two. I'm just praying about it to see whether it is something to share publicly or just for me.

But the theme that goes throughout the novels. Eragon, Harry Potter, Frodo - they all spent this absolutely invaluable time with their mentors and teachers and fathers - Gandalf, Dumbledore, Oromis. But there comes a point when the teaching is done and the mentoring is over and the students have to step out on their own and all of them face a moment of loneliness and absolute vulnerability. There's a key moment in "Brisingr" where Oromis stuns Eragon even further. Eragon has just learnt that his mentor Oromis will go to war. He says;

"But if you die" said Eragon, feeling very small, "and yet we still succeed in killing Galbatorix and freeing the last dragon egg, who will train that dragon and his rider?". Oromis surprised Eragon by reaching out and clasping him by the shoulder. "If that should come to pass" said the elf, his face very grave, "Then it will be your responsibility, Eragon ... to instruct the new dragon and Rider in the ways of our order".

There comes a moment when the student must realise that the time has come for him to become a teacher or mentor or father. And surely any teacher that doesn't push their students to go further and accomplish more in the Kingdom of God than they are falling a little short of what they could be doing.

3. Teachers CANNOT simply lecture theoretical knowledge ... it MUST be impartations of power.

One of my favourite insights into the role of the apostle came from Dave Holden. He said that apostles have;

"To impart the Holy Spirit. This could be introducing people to the baptism in the Holy Spirit, or enabling a church to have fresh encounters of the Holy Spirit. It may also be signs and wonders. Apostolic ministry is far more to do with impartation than administration".

Surely any professor of theology can sit and absorb text book after text book and then re-hash it in a classroom. Surely any student of theology can sit in the said classroom and write notebook after notebook and sit an exam and then declare himself or herself "trained in theology". There is a massive difference between that and the true teachers in the Word of God - and indeed in my favourite novels. How so?

Jesus Christ "breathed upon" His disciples and said; "Receive the Holy Spirit". I realise that there are different theological views on whether anything actually was imparted when He breathed on them (I personally think something did). But that aside - Jesus is known as the "Baptizer in the Holy Spirit". It was His ascension and glorification that meant the Holy Spirit could be poured out. Jesus was a teacher who imparted power and encounter. Even Paul the great apostle to the Gentiles knew far more about spiritual life than just theoretical knowledge. He had 3rd heaven encounters, he saw miracles and signs and wonders. And any student of his would have known that and would have learnt the secrets of staying fresh in the supernatural.

In my novels? Well as I mentioned in "Brisingr" - I was gripped by reading the vital conversations that occured between Eragon and Oromis. The young Eragon learned some vital secrets that could mean the difference between success and failure. But I wasn't expecting the climax of the book. It read something like this;

"Saphira descended towards the clearing by Oromis's pinewood house, where Glaedr and Oromis stood waiting for them. Eragon was startled to see that Glaedr was wearing a saddle nestled between two of the towering spikes on his back and that Oromis was garbed in heavy travelling robes of blue and green, over which he wore a corslet of golden scale armour ... a tall, diamond-shape shield was slung across his back, an archaic helm rested in the crook of his left arm and around his waist was belted his bronze-coloured sword Naegling".

I got a shiver of excitement when I read that! The teacher is going to war. It reminds me of something Rob Rufus said;

"Let me say this - I strongly believe with many others that I have studied and investigated who have got such wonderful results - I don't listen to theologians who talk about healing and who are not seeing the sick healed. I'm not interested in them - they are not producing the fruit then I am not listening to their doctrine. Because they are eating from the tree of knowledge of good and evil not from the tree of life".

I have to say that the only teacher I can really relate to in this manner was my pastor Dr Stanley Jebb - with whom I was so SO fortunate to be able to go and visit for some months a few years ago. Now Dr Jebb was and is a theologian par excellence (my big regret being that he hasn't put any of his teaching into print). And admittedly a lot of the time we spent together, he was lecturing me and teaching me. But the amazing practical impartation came from hearing him pray. What a man of prayer!

So ... for those who have been blessed to sit under teachers and fathers. Count yourselves blessed. But remember - we must go further than our teachers! Are your teachers imparting power to you? Are your teachers taking part in spiritual warfare? And above all - don't forget. The day is coming when YOU may have to teach and father others too. The Kingdom of heaven is waiting to break out on Planet Earth!

Ern Baxter - a Personal Touch!!

I do try not to flood this blog with too many personal anecdotes and have certainly never published my full testimony. But I came across a clip on a sermon video of Ern Baxter's that I thought would be amusing to publish. Ern was always present in my life when I was growing up in my home church - New Covenant Church in Dunstable. His visits were always anticipated whenever he came to a church Bible Week or to visit our church itself. I am told that I humiliated my parents when they were honoured to have Ern and Ruth Baxter come for dinner once. Apparantly I was in bed ill and was told by my older sister to come down and say hello to Dr and Mrs Baxter. I sent the message back with her saying; "Let them come up to see me".

Fortunately Ern Baxter found this highly amusing and called me; "Lord Bangham the Aristocrat" - a nickname that stuck on his subsequent visits. Unfortunately during his final sermon of his visit in 1991, I was 10 years old and finding his sermon (which had already stretched over an hour) a little too long! So I was looking out the window of the church into the car park watching some youths playing. Alas - it did not go unnoticed from the pulpit!

Here's the clip of what happened:



It was only later after I was baptised in the Holy Spirit that I began to fully appreciate Ern Baxter's awesome gift of teaching and have never looked back since!

Terry Virgo - Apostles of Order and Power?

I have mentioned in a previous blog that I have a great affection and respect for this father in the faith and man of God - he has been instrumental in opening my eyes to my legalistic past and showing the wonder of God's grace. But he has also stood firm (up until now) in the Person and power of the Holy Spirit and I have rejoiced to get to go to conferences where the manifest power of God is actively welcomed under Terry's leadership. I was prompted to go on this little investigation by a quote from a USA teacher called Bill Johnson - Rob Rufus quotes him a lot. Bill said;

"Apostolic order without apostolic power is to be questioned. Order based on biblical principle that is lacking biblical power is tragic at best, and deceptive at worst. Order does not exist unto itself. The wineskin exists for the wine. The wine is the focus. All order exists to house God Himself – not to restrict Him, but to accurately express Him.

Wineskins need to flex in order to be useful, because of the expanding nature of the wine in the fermenting process. The Holy Spirit brings constant change, and to house Him means to embrace flexibility as a way of life. The goal is not to create a perfect structure or government. It is to create one that recognizes Him, and flexes with His changes".

I think great strides have been made in the evangelical church in recognising that apostolic ministries do exist - even if the more conservative types don't want to use the word. But the question must be asked - are most modern-day "apostles", apostles of order and not power? If so according to Bill Johnson they must be questioned. "The wine is the focus"! David Holden was speaking at Brighton a few years ago about Ephesians 4 Ministries and he said;

"Apostolic ministry is far more to do with impartation than administration".

So I have taken a stand and expressed my concern about Terry inviting a man like Mark Driscoll to Brighton. (As did Scott). Some people have taken that concern to speculate that I have written Terry off in my mind. I've done no such thing. But what is he upto this year? Is his schedule more to do with "order" than "power"? Terry has graciously become quite transparent on his website and lets us see his diary.

1. Terry began the year by ending a three part series on Elijah at his home base church CCK in Brighton. That series is available here for download. I wrote up the notes of the last session that we attended.

2. On the 29th and 30th January (about right now) Terry is speaking at the FIEC Council Conference. Now this speaks to me of power! Because I grew up in an FIEC church all my life and they were - let me put it nicely - never that enthusiastic about the Holy Spirit. I don't know what he is going to speak about and I don't know whether the sessions will be available. But the fact he is there is a miracle enough. Or is it? Has his ministry suddenly become not a threat to conservative evangelicals now?

3. April 7-10 sees Terry going to speak at New Word Alive Pwllheli accompanying John Piper and Don Carson. My comments remain as above. Is it a miracle? Are the conservatives softening and opening to the fact that things can be learned from charismatics? Or are the charismatics they are welcoming becoming "acceptable"?

4. July of course sees "Together on A Mission" and Mark Driscoll. Power? Or a "feast of the Word"? Or both?

5. But it was the month of October that really caught my eye. Terry leaves the UK for South Africa on the 1st and goes from there to Sydney Australia where he will be based until December. I am guessing (because I don't know) that he will be there to help and assist Peter Brookes and the Newfrontiers push into the South Pacific rim.

That really excites me! What an upheaval but what a commitment to the Great Commission! Many men around Terry's age would or are thinking about retirement, peace, tranquility and "calming down". But the fact that he is so called to his role as a father that he is prepared to go and live on the other side of the world for three months is a real challenge to me. What am I doing to contribute to the Great Mission we are on?

There are many other apostles I could have mentioned and spoken about and I am sure come to your mind.

But in closing let me say again - are you in a position to have apostles over you and benefiting your churches? But are they guilty of apostolic order without apostolic power? Do they exercise and enjoy a form of authority without a father's heart and a father's love? In that case are they really anointed by the Holy Spirit or simply self-appointed and self-exalted? Let's NEVER settle for second best! If God has restored the Ephesians 4 Ministries to the church for the "for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ" then let us be absolutely sure we are relating to men and women of God!

True Apostle - True Father

It's a thrill to see Terry Virgo embark back into the blog world with a full and comprehensive report of his summer! Unsurprisingly he has been excessively busy ministering all over the world (but mainly in Africa). I must admit when I read his blog I understood something of how the prodigal son felt when he saw the father again for the first time. I'm not saying I'm prodigal or coming home - but like many thousands upon thousands of us in Newfrontiers I do see Terry Virgo as a true father and when he's not around - I miss him! He doesn't know me but such is his ministry and calling.

I was browsing through some of the "touristy" photos he has posted there and found my attention seized by this one;

So why this one? Well firstly I noticed the T-shirt that Terry is wearing. "Newday"! The young people's Bible Week! I have yet to see another photo of any self-styled apostle around the world who is wearing a T-shirt with the logo of the young people in their movement of churches. If there is one - forgive me, name it in the comments and I will retract! But I think this is very significant. Apostles MUST be fathers. If they don't have a father's heart I wonder if they are really apostles. Terry has never failed to move me as I watch the joy and thrill in his face as he watches the Mobilise at Brighton dance wildly on the offering night, or hear the excitement in his voice as he recounts what Newday are doing or will be doing. I've never heard Terry utter a harsh or condemning word against the young people (as has been my sad experience in my past churches). He is for the young people and doesn't fail to show it.

Secondly (and this is me being a bit silly) - does anyone see the rainbow? I wonder if the photographer saw the rainbow when they took the picture? Rainbows are a sign of God's eternal and everlasting grace. It seems to me that God was putting His seal on that photograph too because Terry has consistently and faithfully exposed more people to the grace of God and the joyous freedom it brings than many. It's sort of like the famous William Branham photograph isn't it - where the halo of light came down!

Thirdly it made me quite excited to see this photo and the kind of people that Terry Virgo is travelling around with. Julian Adams made quite an impression on me at Brighton with his powerful prophetic ministry and I know a lot of people speak very highly of P J Symthe.

So all that being said - this post is all about a reflection on the excitement of being part of an apostolic/prophetic movement with an audacious vision to "change the expression of Christianity around the world". With a father like Terry Virgo who is for the young people in his family as well as travelling around in the company of prophets rather than Reformed scholars (not that there is anything wrong with scholars) I think Newfrontiers is set with it's sights on the horizon for some time to come!

Fathering from Beyond the Grave.

Oh for a spiritual father!

Kelly Kapic wrote in his Foreword to "Overcoming Sin and Temptation" by John Owen;

"During recent conversations we had been praying that God would provide a mentor for me while I was working on my P.hd - someone who would ask the hard questions, challenge my thinking and living and consistently point me to the love of the Father.

As we sat talking that morning in what had become normal language around our home, I began another sentence with, "Do you know what Owen said yesterday ... ?". Stopping me, Tabitha interjected "You are being mentored. Listen to how you refer to John Owen as if he were alive. He is your mentor" ... She was right ... although Owen had been dead for centuries, I found myself in daily dialogue with this prominent Puritan".

Note: "Listen how you refer to John Owen as if he were alive".

I found myself nodding in agreement as I read the foreword to Kapic and Taylor's modification of this great work of John Owen's. This isn't some eccentric unique odd activity known only to Phd students. I realised as I read this that I too have been referring to some of my great heroes as if they were still alive and most definately dialogue with them. I too have frequently bemoaned the lack of spiritual fathers around my life - but rather the truth is that I am blessed beyond imagining! I do have mentors in my library!

Pete's latest blog touches on this exact issue and it is something we have discussed frequently. We use a J K Rowling-ism and call our libraries, "Portrait Galleries". Anyone who has read her books will understand! But Pete wrote;

"How do we treat the older believers in our churches? ... But they are a library of rich volumes of experience with God. Many of them have a lifetime of reading His word, hearing His voice and seeking His face in prayer. They have a wealth of testimonies of how the Lord has guided, protected, provided, answered, comforted and encouraged".

His counsel and advice is - don't miss the moment! Not all potential mentors write. I fear greatly that great men of the faith who don't entrust the revelations and insights into the Word of God into print do a great disservice to future generations. I pride myself on the fact that it was partly my bullying that pushed my friend Pete into writing. He is an incredibly gifted preacher but suffered from the common evangelical paralysing symptoms of humility. "Who am I". Well we know that we are nobodies but God has given gifts and they should not be wasted!

And the gift of writing is an awesome one. For in writing the truths, revelations, insights and wonders that God has shown to His servants throughout church history are captured - like a Polaroid camera - for all time should that volume be preserved. So when you next look at your bookshelves or when you next go into your library don't see it as just a collection of old, dusty, dead books. Every time you open a volume imagine that the author is speaking to you and engaging you in dialogue - eager and desperate to train you and show you what they have learnt about the Almighty God that we love and serve and are seeking to know and be known!