Leadership

True Leadership

Do not call anyone on earth your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven. And do not be called teachers; for One is your Teacher, the Christ.
But he who is greatest among you shall be your servant. And whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.

Matthew 23:9-12 (NKJV)

IDOLATRY AND HUMAN LEADERSHIP An excerpt from Chapter 9 in David Orton's book, "Snakes in the Temple: Unmasking Idolatry in Today's Church" “They set up kings without my consent; they choose princes without my approval. With their silver and gold they make idols for themselves to their own destruction” Hosea 8:4 NIV “A horrible and shocking thing has happened in the land: the prophets prophesy lies, the priests rule by their own authority, and my people love it this way…” Jeremiah 5:30-31 NIV Confusion of terms - Elders, Bishops, and Pastors Consequently, the Western church’s traditionally inherited structures have confused three important terms: elders, bishops, and pastors. Traditionally, they have been seen as three distinct layers of church office: the bishop originally presiding over one congregation but in time over many, and, therefore the pastor of each congregation, who in turn presided over the elders. It is important to note that Paul in his address to the Ephesian elders used all three terms inter-changeably, for one category of person. In verse 17 of Acts chapter 20 he called the presbuterous or ‘elders’ of the church to meet with him. In verse 28 he also referred to them as episkopos - as ‘overseers’ (NIV, NASV) or ‘bishops’ (NKJV, NRSV), reminding them that it was the Holy Spirit who placed them in this role. And in the same verse he exhorts them to poimainein (to feed and rule) or ‘shepherd’ (NASV, NRSV) the flock, which is the verb form of poimen, translated ‘pastor’ in Ephesians 4:11. From this we see that: Firstly, Paul did not call for the bishop or senior pastor of the church, but the elders. They are the governing council of the church. The office of bishop or senior pastor did not exist. Second, the role of the Holy Spirit in appointing them - they have been gifted and positioned supernaturally by the Spirit as were the apostles, prophets, and teachers. Third, the three terms apply to three aspects of the one person: elder - referring to their character; overseer/bishop - to their sphere; and, shepherd/pastor - to their function. In Paul’s use of these terms there was no distinction between a bishop, elder, or pastor. The elders are the pastors and the bishops of their congregation. All three terms are synonymous for the same person! Protestant Popes & Priesthoods If there were an office of leadership in the New Testament, it would be that of plural eldership. However, the only reference to office in the NT is an invention of translators: “If a man desire the office of a bishop, he desireth a good work” (1 Tim 3:1 KJV; also NKJV, NASB, NRSV). In this case, the NIV is a more accurate rendering, “If anyone sets his heart on being an overseer, he desires a noble task”. There is no corresponding word for office in the Greek text. The translators have literally pulled it out of the air, betraying the entrenchment of traditional structures and mindsets in the church! Rather than being treated as a living spiritual organism, the church has historically been managed as an organisation. The only other potential reference to office is in Hebrews, referring to the Old Testament priesthood. Nowhere in the Scripture record of the new covenant church, however, is there a term that refers to any kind of human priestly or leadership office. It is most definitely a concept imported from the Old Testament. In fact, it was borrowed from there by several of the early church Fathers to legitimise the church’s shift from charismatic function to organisational position. But imposing old covenant institutions on new covenant ministry only created a new priesthood. As Christ is the only mediator between God and man any usurpation of his priesthood can only be described as the spirit of anti-Christ. And yet that is exactly what happened as the concept of official power grew in the church. A priesthood developed, with abuses down through history that defy imagination. While the Reformation addressed some of this, it did not resolve it. Because the concept of office and official power was perpetuated it has resulted in a plethora of abuses – of Protestant Popes and Priesthoods. The usurping of spiritual authority by official power is at the root of the perennial problem of spiritual abuse and atrophy in the church. We will not see true apostles, prophets, and teachers fully restored until the issue of office is resolved. The full restoration of true spiritual authority hinges on it. So, what about Senior Pastors? The only reference to the pastor is in Ephesians 4:11. He (or she) is one of the ascension-gift ministries, who along with apostles, prophets, evangelists, and teachers are trans-local in their sphere of ministry. In my view, the true Ephesians 4 pastor is exclusively trans-local, serving as a member of an apostolic team. They work with the apostle in shepherding the shepherds, the local elders. The New Testament knows nothing of a local church position that looks any thing like the current role of pastor or senior pastor. I suspect that many of those currently serving as senior pastors are either apostles or elders. But this will not be evident until some major shifts occur. One of these is the restoration of the city-church. This will cause major adjustments for those serving in leadership roles, including their understanding of the local church. In apostolic times the local church was the church of the locality. It was the church of the city or the region, and was defined geographically, not denominationally. As God restores the apostolic unity of the church, denominational boundaries will become increasingly obsolete until only geographical ones remain. A church will no longer consist of those loyal to a particular denomination, leader, or theological perspective, but of all those in a city who belong to the one Lord and the one faith. As this occurs every member of the body will discover their placement. This will emerge according to their gifts and anointing, not by academically or politically gaining a position. Some senior pastors will prove to be the apostles of the city. But they will need to come off the top of their congregations to function translocally in planting and overseeing multiple congregations. Even so, this kind of apostolic ministry will not be manifested in its full maturity unless it functions in the context of the emerging church of the city. As servant-leaders they will facilitate the phenomenon of the church simultaneously growing smaller and larger! As in apostolic times the church will increasingly live in the healthy tension between two polarities – the church in the home and the church in the city. House-churches will accelerate the harvest and facilitate shepherd care, while “temple worship” will be revived in large citywide celebrations, overflowing the largest public arenas. There will be many congregations but only one church. In fact, many churches will merge regardless of denominational tags resurfacing as house churches participating in regional or citywide apostolic networks. Many church buildings will either be sold or become training centres in raising labourers for the harvest. Otherwise the church will meet in the home or in large public arenas. Those “senior pastors” who emerge as true apostles will be called to geography, to the city or a larger region – not to a single congregation or denominational agenda. Other senior pastors will emerge as the true elders of the city, who will serve with the apostles, prophets, and teachers in a collegiate style of leadership – as a joint-pastorate over the city. What about Elders? But what about those who are currently serving as elders? Biblically, the elders are the shepherds or pastors of the city church. And, as such, are spiritually mature people, anointed to teach and oversee the flock of that city.194 They are not a business council or a traditional church board consisting of naturally accomplished men who surround the senior minister of what we currently understand to be the local church (i.e. one congregation). In fact, some of those who are currently serving as elders, and even some senior pastors, will emerge as the deacons of the city church. Serving with the apostles and elders the deacons will function as strategy implementers and facilitators of citywide unity, prayer, and evangelism, while others will emerge as administrators of ministry to the poor, and as stewards of church resources. And as already stated, some senior ministers will, with the emergence of the city church, surface as the true elders of the city. In a practical expression of unity in diversity they will display diverse gifts, ministries, and impact, overseeing the flock together in plurality and humility of heart; and this, in tandem with the trans-local ministries of apostles, prophets, and teachers. Some of whom will emerge from that city, serving as co-elders with the citywide presbytery. This is reflected in Peter’s self-referencing as a “fellow elder”, while clearly functioning as an apostle. The Apostles and the Elders Just as the office of senior pastor did not govern the church, neither was it exclusively governed by the gift of apostle. Its governance was clearly in the hands of the elders in its day to day life; but who willingly co-laboured with those they received as apostolic.198 Any authority that the apostles had with the elders was purely spiritual and relational – not organisational or official. They were apostles to one city, but not to another. Epaphroditus was known as “your messenger” (Phil 2:25) or literally “your apostle”, suggesting that while to the church in Philippi he was a relational overseer he was not to others. No doubt Paul had this principle in mind when he said, “Even though I may not be an apostle to others, surely I am to you!…” (1 Corinthians 9:2 NIV). While official power functions organisationally, and is taken over another, spiritual authority serves relationally, and is received by another. A true leader does not exercise power over another because of position. Rather, they are given the authority by those who receive their leadership through relationship and trust. Recognition of spiritual authority is always voluntary and never coerced. A true elder will not “lord it over the flock”, but serve in humility, as an example. Paul’s apostolic bond with the churches, therefore, clearly reflects a relational and charismatic connection, as opposed to a formalised office. Each church was totally free to receive or reject apostolic personnel and policy according to their relationships. So, the answer to our earlier question as to whether the New Testament model of leadership was based on office or gift is clear. REPRINT AGREEMENT: Duplication and re-transmission of this writing is permitted provided that complete source and website information for Lifemessenger is included. Thank you. Copyright © David Orton 2007 www.lifemessenger.org Lifemessenger Inc. PO Box 777 Mount Eliza VIC 3930 Australia

The Cup by Francis Frangipane
Part One: The Death of Ambition  When I first came to Christ, the Lord gave me a dream about my future. I thought that everything the Lord said was supposed to occur immediately; I didn't know of the work of preparation and dying to self, of learning patience and maintaining vision through testing, that would occur before God's promise would find fulfilment. Consequently, I was filled with ambition. Ambition is the first motive that arises in the spiritually immature. I was like the disciples who, a few days after Jesus' resurrection, were already asking, "Lord, is it at this time You are restoring the kingdom?" Acts 1:6.
Ambition is very deceptive. It can seem just like obedience, yet because we don't truly know the Lord, the voice we find ourselves obeying is not God's, but our own. Our vision can actually be from God, but our motive be self. Consequently, where there is ambition, James tells us there will soon emerge "disorder and every evil thing" James 3:16. Why? Because we begin thinking we can accomplish the will of God through the strength of man. We are seeking a breakthrough; God wants to give us brokenness.  The spiritually immature do not recognize their immaturity because they are immature. Thus, they become impatient, fearful and demanding. Because pride blinds the ambitious, we presume we are ready for greater assignments in God. In fact, we become a harder assignment for those who work with us, for our actions continually generate strife.
Ambition seeks to put to death what stands between it and spiritual fulfilment. Yet, it is ambition itself that must die to reach fulfilment. Webster's tells us that ambition is "an earnest desire for some type of achievement or distinction, as wealth or fame, and the willingness to strive for it." The word translated "ambition" in the NAS is rendered "strife" in the King James. Truly, ambition is a major cause for strife, church splits and conflicts within the church.
I thought having a promise from God was the same thing as receiving a commandment from God. I did not understand what I personally lacked in character or what I needed to attain concerning faithfulness, becoming a bond-servant, and possessing a grateful heart. These things needed to be worked in me before God would truly begin to fulfill His larger promises and opportunities. What I became for God was more important than what I did for Him.
Today, I am living in the spiritual substance of what was just a dream thirty-eight years ago. My ambitions have suffered greatly, yet my dreams are being fulfilled. While I have not yet arrived at the greatest aspects of my calling, I understand the difference between ambition and true leadership and it is this: Ministry is not a call to lead, but to die. Every advance that I have made spiritually was preceded by an opportunity to die to self. The power in my life comes from where I have died to self and now live unto Christ.
Do you want to advance spiritually? The gateway to resurrection power is crucifixion. God will arrange opportunities for you to die to self. You must discern them. Dying to self and its ambition is the means of reaching true spiritual fulfilment. If you react to the opportunity to die with fleshly anger or resentment, you will fail to reach fulfilment. However, if you can maintain your vision even while your ambition dies, you will succeed.

Part Two: Christ Living in Us   Having a true vision is not the same thing as having a godly motive. A person could have a vision directly from God, yet be driven by self-promotion and ambition in seeking to fulfill it. Jesus preached that the kingdom of heaven was at hand. This is vision. But He also taught: "If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross" Matthew 16:24. If we will follow Jesus, notice we each have been given our own unique cross: "let him take up his cross." God has a cross specifically designed to crucify our fleshly ambitions en route to reaching our vision.
Consider Joseph: God had given him a dream of his future, but rather than quietly ponder the divine experience, he exalted himself to his ten older brothers. He assured them that one day they would each bow, like stacks of wheat, in subservience before him. His fleshly immaturity awakened a fleshly, even diabolical plot among his brothers: they sought to kill him. Joseph's vision was from God, but his motives lacked character, and his actions nearly cost him his life (see Gen. 37). Yet, God was with Joseph, even in his lack of spiritual knowledge. And, we should rejoice for God is with us as well, even in our immaturity and ambition. Yet we should also understand: A true vision will kill you before it will fulfill you. Joseph had to learn to trust God in whatever circumstance or injustice he found himself; he had to become patient, serving others until the time arrived when his dream bloomed into reality.
"Until the time that his word came to pass, the word of the Lord tested him" Psalm 105:19.
Consider: the Almighty could have certainly brought Joseph to Egypt by a less threatening route. Joseph could have grown to maturity among his family without being sold into slavery. Since he was given the gift of dreams and interpretation, the Holy Spirit could have simply given him a dream and told him to move to Egypt (as He did another Joseph centuries later). Once safely there, Joseph's fame at dream interpretation would have reached the ears of Pharaoh at precisely the right time, say the morning after the king's night of ominous dreams. Joseph, the "dream merchant," would have been positioned in the right place at exactly the right time. Instead, God brought him to Egypt thirteen years earlier than needed. The young man had to face and overcome repeated experiences with an inward dying to self. He faced betrayal and abandonment; he was enslaved, tempted sexually, slandered and imprisoned. How hopeless could his situation be? Yet, he then faced the challenges of being forgotten. In spite of all these things, Joseph trusted God and grew in both wisdom and spiritual integrity. God didn't merely want a man to interpret dreams, but a man who could rule his heart when it suffered abandonment, injustice, slander and rejection and betrayal, and still remain the man of God regardless.
Joseph kept his heart free from the bitterness that overwhelms the soul. He was a man who wept when he finally saw his brothers. These were the men who laughed while he cried to them from the pit, then would have left him to die a long, agonisingly slow death had not a caravan passed by and Joseph been sold to traders. Joseph could have had his revenge – off with their heads! But the scriptures record that five times Joseph turned away and wept in the discourses with his family; once he "wept so loudly that the Eyptians heard, and the household of Pharaoh heard" Genesis 45:2.
Joseph was a man of character, a man whose ambitions died but whose vision lived. He drank the cup given him by God, and his dream became a reality. Jesus drank the cup given Him, and we experienced salvation. But each of us has a cup to drink en route to our destiny. There will be no shortcuts to power. We will swallow the full dregs and though it kills us, we shall live. Yet, it shall not be us, but Christ living in us.

Part Three: Leadership is a Call to Die  In Matthew 20:17-19, Jesus sought to prepare His disciples for the hardships that awaited them. He warned that a time was coming when He would be mocked, scourged and crucified for the sake of redemption. In the midst of this utterly sober warning, incredibly, the mother of James and John requested of Jesus fulfilment of her family's ambitions! She said, "Command that in Your kingdom these two sons of mine may sit, one on Your right and one on Your left" (v. 21). She's thinking advancement, position and place; Jesus is thinking scourging, mocking and death. She's looking for the crown; Christ spoke of the cross. Jesus' answer speaks not only to silence her ambitions, He speaks to ours as well: "You do not know what you are asking for. Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink?" (v. 22). Amazingly, they said to Him, "We are able." In truth, they hadn't any idea of the price that was to be paid. It was only pride, ignorance and ambition talking. Yet, listen to how Jesus answered them: "My cup you shall drink; but to sit on My right and on My left, this is not Mine to give, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared by My Father" (v.23). Hear this you who desire true spiritual fulfilment. Jesus was telling them, I cannot fulfil your ambitions. I can only show you how to die.
Yet, even in their immaturity, Jesus knew they would overcome. He assures them, "My cup you shall drink." They would outgrow human ambition and become great examples for us. And we too shall drink His cup. Jesus describes the elements of that cup as He continued, again slaying the dragon of ambition,
"Whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave; just as the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and give Himself as a ransom for many" (vv. 27-28).
If we will advance with Christ, consider the words He uses to describe the doorway into power: "slave . . . serve . . . ransom." Notice, He didn’t point out the rewards, which are many; He showed them the way to true resurrection power. Give yourself as "a ransom" for the sake of your family, your church or city. Position yourself in prayer, fasting and faith for others. Stand in the gap so others might live. This is the cup that leads to spiritual fulfilment.
But let me assure you, this is not a gloomy path; this is the path to the life of heaven. For when Christ lives in us, He comes with an overwhelming, sustaining joy. The Scripture says, looking at the joy set before Him, Christ endured the cross (Hebrews 12:2). The cross delivers us from the prison of self-absorption; it releases us into the true reality of God, in whose "presence is fullness of joy" and in whose right hand are "pleasures forever" (Psalm 16:11).   One may argue, "You don't understand Francis, I've been hurt." Yes, we all face heartache and disappointment, and the pains we experience can be deep. Yet, in seeking justice for ourselves, we must guard against the voice of self-pity. Indeed, self- pity keeps all our wounds alive. Instead of carrying the cross, we carry the offence. We must rebuke self-pity and command it to leave. We are followers of Christ! Therefore, forgive the offence and let it go. This is not a deep truth; it is the basic path of Christ!
Paul wrote of the source of miracles and virtue in his life. He said, "That the surpassing greatness of the power may be of God and not from ourselves; we are afflicted . . . but not crushed . . . always carrying about in the body the dying of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus might be manifested in our body" 2 Corinthians 4:7-10.
What is this "dying of Jesus"? It is dying in the manner Jesus died: when offenses come, when we are struck with injustice, when people fail or even betray us, we position ourselves in redemption; we pray the mercy prayer, "Father, forgive them." The only way ambition can be fulfilled is if we are ambitious for Christ to be revealed through us.
Paul continued, "For we who live are constantly being delivered over to death for Jesus' sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. So death works in us, but life in you" 2 Corinthians 4:11-12.
Beloved, death has a work that it accomplishes in us. Is this not exactly what we desire above all things: "the life of Jesus . . . manifested in our mortal flesh"?
Paul says, "So death works in us." In the hands of our eternal Designer, death is not our enemy; it actually becomes an ally in the transformational process of our souls. It performs a work in us we cannot otherwise fulfil. For the death of our old self leads to the manifest life of Jesus.
Here abides true spiritual fulfilment, not in our striving to create a place for ourselves, but in laying down self to create a place for Jesus. Leadership is a call to die. Spiritual maturity is to drink deeply of the cup of Christ. The Cup by Francis Frangipane.doc

PROPHETIC LEADERSHIP Dr. Adrian Yuen, November 15, 2009
Aloha. Sometimes I hesitate writing what I hear in my spirit, I was raised to be cautious about speaking for God or speaking as if I always hear from God. Even when I do, I struggle saying it as if I am, but, let me share this one point. God is calling for prophetic leadership.
We need to give up our secular ideas, We need to stop leading by our own understanding. We need to not measure our obedience by what people say of us. God is calling us into a leadership model that: stands up, stands out, stands on His authority.
Luke 4:36 states. . . THE PEOPLE WERE AMAZED WHEN THEY HEARD HIM SPEAK WITH SPIRITUAL AUTHORITY.
That's the kind of leader God is calling out today. We are not to impress the people, yielding to their likes and understanding, but we are to speak with spiritual authority until the people are amazed, until they are convinced, until they are convicted.
Read Acts 2. After Peter preached, the people said, WHAT MUST WE DO NOW? (Acts 2:37, 38) PETER SAID, REPENT, BE BAPTISED, RECEIVE THE HOLY GHOST!
That's prophetic leadership: JUST TO THE POINT, NO ENTERTAINMENT, JUST PURE TRUTH.
PROPHETIC LEADERSHIP IS RARE TODAY, THE CHURCH LIKE ISREAL WANTS TO BE LIKE EVERY OTHER INSTITUTION (see I Samuel 8)
BUT GOD DEMANDS THAT WE: OBEY. TRUST, FOLLOW, YIELD AND LOVE HIM AS OUR GOD, LOVE OTHERS, LOVE OURSELVES SO THAT WE KNOW HOW TO LOVE OTHERS. AND LEAD AS SERVANTS, BOLD AS PROPHETS, HUMBLE AND HOLY, DIFFERENT AND UNIQUE. CALLED AND DETERMINED. UNCOMPROMISING!

A Way in the Wilderness
by Chip Brogden http://theschoolofchrist.org/articles/a-way-in-the-wilderness.html
"Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall you not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert" (Isaiah 43:19).
"And Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost returned from Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness... and Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee" (Luke 4:1, 14).
The Cross does not eliminate weakness, it brings strength out of weakness. With less of me there is more of the Lord. So these wilderness experiences are designed to teach us something about weakness. When you are weak, when you have no strength, then Christ is revealed. You become conscious of a supernatural strength rising up from within. If you're fasting you're still hungry. The hunger doesn't magically go away. If you've got a thorn in the flesh God doesn't wave His magic wand and just take it away. What does He say? I'll not take the thorn away, but I will give you more grace, and you will learn by experience that my grace is sufficient.
See, you don't learn the sufficiency of Grace until you have experienced the insufficiency of Self. The sooner you give up the better. I go back to my original statement - we spend too much time crying and praying and asking God to take us out of whatever we're in, and the thing we're trying to get out of is the very thing God intends to use to teach you something of Himself. You say that's a hard way to learn. Well, who said it would be easy?
The only people who say it will be easy are the ones who have never walked in the wilderness before. They sound like they have great faith but that faith has never been tested. They have no depth of experience. They haven't walked with God through the valley of the shadow of death. They're doing everything they can to walk around it, and they think that's faith. They think victory means elimination of problems. Actually victory means living independently of your circumstances. I still have the thorns, I still have the weaknesses, I still have the problems. My wife and I have been through enough to fill up three lifetimes. Now I'm doing like Paul did, I'm boasting in my weaknesses. I won't bore you with all details of all the things we've endured, I don't want to make this teaching all about me. I'm saying this to encourage you.
THE WILDERNESS WALK
What is your heart's desire? Is it to know God? To walk with Him? To grow in grace and in the knowledge of the Lord Jesus? Then let me tell you something. The depth of your revelation can be measured by the depth of your suffering. Little suffering means little revelation. Much suffering means much revelation.
You don't become intimate with God by studying books, reading books, listening to other people teach. Enoch walked with God. Abraham walked with God. David walked with God. Paul walked with God. They were on a journey together. They were walking it out, and working it out, together. It was a marriage, no question about it. If I want a relationship with my wife I don't go around and interview all her friends and relatives and ask them to tell me about my wife. I don't type her name into Google and see what comes up. If I want a relationship with my wife it takes more than a marriage certificate! It takes more than a wedding ceremony! That might be enough to satisfy the legal requirements of marriage, but if that's as far as you go then it won't last. I think that's the problem with some people in their spiritual walk. They fulfilled all the "legal" requirements of "getting saved", they had a ceremony, and they hung their marriage certificate on the wall and said, "Well, I can cross that off my list, now I'm saved." Well, that should be the beginning of the relationship, not the end of it.
I'm just speaking plainly. It's time to go on to maturity. Let's get serious about our spiritual life. I tell you, when you experience some pain or weakness or sickness in your body, you get concerned. You seek relief. You seek medical attention. You seek the prayers of the saints. You seek healing and deliverance. If we were as concerned for ourspiritual life as we are for our physical life we would know God.
Or look at your financial situation. If you can't make ends meet, or you lose your job, or something unexpected comes up that you don't have the money to pay for, you get concerned. You pray. You ask for help. You do whatever it takes to get out from under that financial difficulty. If we were as concerned for our spiritual situation as we are for our financial situation then we would know God. Oh, there's no question about it. Absolutely. And often God can't get our attention unless He permits, unless He allows, something to happen to us in our body or in our finances. Sometimes it takes something drastic to get us to pay attention to our spiritual life.
"LED BY THE SPIRIT... INTO THE WILDERNESS!"
Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted, to be tested. Now that's one purpose of the desert; that's one reason why God leads us into the wilderness. We want to cover up our weakness, and God wants to expose our weakness. Hypocrites want to hide their true condition and make themselves appear to be better than they really are. They get so good at hiding their true condition that they actually begin to believe they are better than they really are. Then they start trying to fix everybody else, pointing out their weaknesses and shortcomings. Well, they just haven't spent any time in the desert. They've never been confronted with their weaknesses. They don't know what hunger is. They don't know what thirst is. They don't know what isolation is. They don't know what it is to be stripped down to nothing. They've never been broken, never been humbled, never taken up the Cross, never died to anything. So they've got plenty of time on their hands, and they spend their time looking for specks in other people's eyes while ignoring the log in their own.
I'm telling you, the Narrow Path that leads to Life takes you through the Spiritual Desert. If you haven't experienced it yet then you will if you stay on the Path. People are still looking for away around it, a way over it, a way under it, but God's Way is through it. A lot of people turn back! They say let's go back to Egypt. It's hot out here, it's dry, it's lonely. Oh, I need fellowship. Oh, I need something for the kids. I need teaching. And pretty soon they go right back into a place that they said not too long ago God had called them out of. They were led up by the Spirit into the wilderness, but before that Spirit can teach them anything they're trying to get out of there.
In the wilderness you don't follow your feelings. It says the children of Israel were led by a column of smoke by day and a pillar of fire by night. When the cloud moved then they moved. When the cloud stayed still then they stayed still. I mean it's really as simple as that. Walk in the Spirit. If you begin to be led by your feelings then you'll make the wrong decision every time. Most of the time, the right decision don't feel good. Doing the right thing is usually difficult. The easiest thing to do is to quit, to give up, to go back to Egypt. But I'm telling you: get to place where going back is no longer an option; then, going back is no longer a temptation.

This article is based on an audio series titled "The Spiritual Desert: How God's Purposes Are Fulfilled In Your Wilderness Experiences." It is available in its entirety here: http://theschoolofchrist.org/listen/the-spiritual-desert.html
Back to Welcome Page

A New Expression of Church Leadership Adrian Watts, August 2009
Perhaps like me you have been looking for the new wineskin that is able to contain the new wine that is to be poured out from heaven.
No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment, for the patch will pull away from the garment, making the tear worse. Neither do men pour new wine into old wineskins. If they do, the skins will burst, the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved. Matthew 9:16-17 (NIV)
I get excited when I consider Jesus’ action at the wedding in Canna demonstrating that “the best wine has been saved until last” (John 2). The best wine will be served up from vessels that have been set apart and which have been standing in relative obscurity until now. However, I become rather sober when I consider how Winkie Pratney was interrupted by the Lord Himself during a message Winkie was preaching during the 1970s on how God was going to bring revival to New Zealand. He says that the Lord basically interrupted him in mid-sentence to tell him that he was not in fact planning to bring revival right then. What reason did the Lord give? If He brought revival at that time there would not be the leadership available to sustain it properly – the intended blessing would be lost. Leadership issues would include: the quality and quantity of leaders, their relationships, structures, and mode of operation.
The Western church has mainly followed a non-Biblical model for many centuries now. It is greatly influenced by the structures and methods that the world uses. Generally they look like the photo on the left:

A pyramid is something that men build from the ground up. It is earthly. It is derived from man’s fallen wisdom that suggests that to go higher you have to stand upon a whole lot of other people who in turn are standing on a whole lot of other people. Earthly wisdom is rooted in selfish ambition and invites confusion and demonic infestation.

But if you have bitter jealousy (envy) and contention (rivalry, selfish ambition) in your hearts, do not pride yourselves on it and thus be in defiance of and false to the Truth. This [superficial] wisdom is not such as comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual (animal), even devilish (demoniacal). For wherever there is jealousy (envy) and contention (rivalry and selfish ambition), there will also be confusion (unrest, disharmony, rebellion) and all sorts of evil and vile practices.  James 3:14-16 (AMP)
I am now convinced that the structure needs to look far more like the photo on the right. Why? Because God’s governmental structure comes down from above and is centred in His Son.
For to us a Child is born, to us a Son is given; and the government shall be upon His shoulder, and His name shall be called Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father [of Eternity], Prince of Peace. Of the increase of His government and of peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from the [latter] time forth, even forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this. Isaiah 9 (AMP)
Jesus first came preaching the Kingdom, demonstrating the power of the Kingdom to change lives, teaching His disciples to pray that His Kingdom would come, and releasing them to preach the gospel of that Kingdom until the end of the age.
God’s government is Jesus-centred and Holy Spirit administered. Jesus finds some people whom He can trust; He calls them “friends”, and tells them the secrets of the Kingdom.
His disciples asked him what this parable meant. He said, "The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of God has been given to you, but to others I speak in parables, so that, "though seeing, they may not see; though hearing, they may not understand.” Luke 8:9-10 (NIV)

You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master's business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.  John 15:14-15
Like the drop in the pond, Jesus arrived from heaven and created a “splash” that has resulted in ripples spreading out ever since. Jesus still invades individual lives in a similar way and the ripples from each changed life spread out to impact others.
In terms of the leadership structure, the drop in the pond suggests fluidity and outward expansion. It also suggests that genuine leadership is reflected in the ongoing impact we have on others’ lives rather than the number of bricks that make up the layers below you.
In contrast, the pyramid suggests rigidity and inflexibility. A pyramid is something that Pharaohs build using slaves to make bricks. Rigid structures will not be able to survive the shaking that is coming. There is no need to build a tower of Babel because all such projects end in confusion anyway.
If we keep it simple and keep it flexible, we will do well. If we keep Jesus as the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end of all we are building, then He will get the glory and the reward of his suffering.
Unless the LORD builds the house, they labour in vain who build it; unless the LORD guards the city, the watchman stays awake in vain. Psalm 127:1 (NKJV)

The LORD said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand, till I make Your enemies Your footstool.” The LORD shall send the rod of Your strength out of Zion. Rule in the midst of Your enemies! Your people shall be volunteers in the day of Your power; in the beauties of holiness, from the womb of the morning, You have the dew of Your youth. Psalm 110:1-3 (NKJV)
New-Expression-of-Church-Leadership.doc