Moving from Denominationalism to Apostleship
The spirit of denominationalism has divided the church for the past 1800 years and prevents her from operating in the fullness of what she should be operating in.
To put it simply, the spirit of denominationalism is a spirit that places a belief above a relationship. Its priority is not relationship; its priority is belief, understanding, conviction, or doctrine.
I have just begun reading Kris Valloton's new book "Heavy Rain". A book where he writes his deepest convictions about the next wave God is preparing His church for to operate in her fullest measure: to bring the Kingdom of Heaven to Earth like a flood. Like heavy rain.
He opens the book with a deep conviction of how denominationalism is a destructive ideology that has and continues to rob the church of her power and Glory. I am barely halfway through the chapter and it has got me thinking in a big way.
I was sitting with a good friend not too long ago, and he said to me that he believes no man has the full body of Truth, because God has ordained things in such a way that we rely on each other in the same way a hand relies on an arm, and lungs rely on the circulation system etc. We are the Body of Christ, and we were meant to rely on each other.
That too got me thinking, because each and every Born-Again, Holy Spirit-filled believer has the very Spirit of God dwelling within them, and Jesus promised that He (Holy Spirit) would lead us into all truth. But that doesn't necessarily mean that we know all truth yet. Jesus said; "I am The Truth." And we will never fully grasp the Glory of Jesus, His Glory is eternal. So you see, it starts to make sense.
The Holy Spirit is working within us to lead us into deeper measures of the Glorious Truths of Jesus. But they are fresh and new day after day, year after year. We need to be a lot more embracing than we are critical and rejecting.
Now I get to my point.
The key is that we would put aside our intellectual minds and instead trust, like little children, in the Holy Spirit to lead us into deeper levels of HIS Glorious Truths. Our intellectual approach to the things of God is what is preventing us from entering into the fullness of what the Body of Christ should be operating in. A fullness of operation that Jesus died for! Jesus died to see His Body as the giant in the world that nations would stand in awe of!
BUT! A significant key is to let people start thinking for themselves, and to place relationships above our theological interpretations.
Our preaching and teaching should not be to convince and win-over our listeners. It should come from a place of our own deep conviction and revelation that we can't wait to share! And we just want people to live in the same liberation and power that we are experiencing!
This kind of approach to leadership will create thinkers. People who think for themselves, and if they have the Holy Spirit living inside them, He will lead them into Truth. If they disagree with us, our approach should not be to try convince them, but to love them and fight for the relationship. That love and relationship will create a platform for the Holy Spirit to teach both parties.
This is apostolic leadership. We share different views, but we don't divide over those differences. Instead, we honour the person and their gift above their perspectives and interpretations.
One of the biggest problems we face in the church today is fear. And the biggest fear? Fear of being deceived. Which makes very little sense. We are the custodians of Truth itself, and are meant to be connected to the Person of Truth Himself by a deep spiritual connection; and yet we are the ones who are afraid of being deceived.
The time has come for the Church to stop pointing fingers at each other and start getting on with the job. And the significant key in all this is LOVE. Love covers a multitude of sins. And if it covers a multitude of sins, I am pretty sure it covers a multitude of differences too. But there is very little love left in the church today. We need to open our hearts wide, stop criticizing and let the Love of God intoxicate every fiber of who we are and get on with the job. Hold hands with leaders on our left and our right who we may have very little similarities with, but see through those differences for a higher purpose: Extend the Kingdom. Because in the Kingdom people will live free, loved and at peace. That's what we all want, right? So come on.
"...for whoever is not against us is for us." Jesus - Mark 9:40
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What do you say? Is doctrine more important than relationship?
To put it simply, the spirit of denominationalism is a spirit that places a belief above a relationship. Its priority is not relationship; its priority is belief, understanding, conviction, or doctrine.
I have just begun reading Kris Valloton's new book "Heavy Rain". A book where he writes his deepest convictions about the next wave God is preparing His church for to operate in her fullest measure: to bring the Kingdom of Heaven to Earth like a flood. Like heavy rain.He opens the book with a deep conviction of how denominationalism is a destructive ideology that has and continues to rob the church of her power and Glory. I am barely halfway through the chapter and it has got me thinking in a big way.
I was sitting with a good friend not too long ago, and he said to me that he believes no man has the full body of Truth, because God has ordained things in such a way that we rely on each other in the same way a hand relies on an arm, and lungs rely on the circulation system etc. We are the Body of Christ, and we were meant to rely on each other.
That too got me thinking, because each and every Born-Again, Holy Spirit-filled believer has the very Spirit of God dwelling within them, and Jesus promised that He (Holy Spirit) would lead us into all truth. But that doesn't necessarily mean that we know all truth yet. Jesus said; "I am The Truth." And we will never fully grasp the Glory of Jesus, His Glory is eternal. So you see, it starts to make sense.
The Holy Spirit is working within us to lead us into deeper measures of the Glorious Truths of Jesus. But they are fresh and new day after day, year after year. We need to be a lot more embracing than we are critical and rejecting.
Now I get to my point.
The key is that we would put aside our intellectual minds and instead trust, like little children, in the Holy Spirit to lead us into deeper levels of HIS Glorious Truths. Our intellectual approach to the things of God is what is preventing us from entering into the fullness of what the Body of Christ should be operating in. A fullness of operation that Jesus died for! Jesus died to see His Body as the giant in the world that nations would stand in awe of!
BUT! A significant key is to let people start thinking for themselves, and to place relationships above our theological interpretations.
Our preaching and teaching should not be to convince and win-over our listeners. It should come from a place of our own deep conviction and revelation that we can't wait to share! And we just want people to live in the same liberation and power that we are experiencing!
This kind of approach to leadership will create thinkers. People who think for themselves, and if they have the Holy Spirit living inside them, He will lead them into Truth. If they disagree with us, our approach should not be to try convince them, but to love them and fight for the relationship. That love and relationship will create a platform for the Holy Spirit to teach both parties.
This is apostolic leadership. We share different views, but we don't divide over those differences. Instead, we honour the person and their gift above their perspectives and interpretations.
One of the biggest problems we face in the church today is fear. And the biggest fear? Fear of being deceived. Which makes very little sense. We are the custodians of Truth itself, and are meant to be connected to the Person of Truth Himself by a deep spiritual connection; and yet we are the ones who are afraid of being deceived.
The time has come for the Church to stop pointing fingers at each other and start getting on with the job. And the significant key in all this is LOVE. Love covers a multitude of sins. And if it covers a multitude of sins, I am pretty sure it covers a multitude of differences too. But there is very little love left in the church today. We need to open our hearts wide, stop criticizing and let the Love of God intoxicate every fiber of who we are and get on with the job. Hold hands with leaders on our left and our right who we may have very little similarities with, but see through those differences for a higher purpose: Extend the Kingdom. Because in the Kingdom people will live free, loved and at peace. That's what we all want, right? So come on.
"...for whoever is not against us is for us." Jesus - Mark 9:40
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What do you say? Is doctrine more important than relationship?
