Chapter 10
The Apostles, Prophets and Accountability
Deception, deceit, apostasy are all words that
describe what an “end times” Christian can expect from the apostate church.
Don’t look for something, obvious, bad or sinful, but appealing, good and
couched in Biblical terms. It will be introduced by trusted experts, even the
chief apostles! If the clergy, our illustrious leaders fall away, where does
that leave the rest of us? There is a move in the church today to restore the
office of “apostle” and “prophet” to today’s church.
They feel the problem with the church today is
that there is no apostolic and prophetic leadership. The laity needs to be held
more accountable. The church is floundering for lack of leadership, vision and
authority. So to fill that need, apostles and prophets are springing up around
the world and to coordinate that effort, the Apostolic Council of Prophetic
Elders was established in Colorado Springs in 1999 with C. Peter Wagner as the
“chief apostle.” It is time to get organized according to true Biblical
principals and they are going to help us do it!
In Wagner’s book, “Apostles and Prophets, the
Foundation of the Church,” he claims that the reason for the success of the
early church was that it had a foundation: apostles first and prophets second.
Today, there is no foundation to build on (p. 8) Wagner believes there have
been apostles and prophets down through church history, visionary leaders such
as Martin Luther, but they just weren’t recognized as such. The present day
church is founded on teachers and administrators ever since the sermon became
the focal point of the worship service so there is no leadership or vision. (p.
10) He quotes George Barna, Christian researcher and pollster as saying, “As
long as the Church persists in being led by teachers, it will flounder.
Identifying, developing, deploying and supporting gifted LEADERS will renew the
vision, energy and impact of the Church.” (p.11) In “Churchquake!”,
his ”71,000 word textbook, he claims the “New Apostolic Reformation” will
be as revolutionary and earth shattering as Martin Luther’s.
Remember C. Peter Wagner from the last chapter?
He is a great proponent of meta churches and cell churches. He was a devoted
disciple of the late John Wimber, founder of the Vineyard Church movement. Both
chaired the Department of Church Growth at Fuller Theological Seminary. After
Wimber’s death, Wagner relocated to Colorado Springs to form Global Harvest
Ministries and became the chief apostle of the International Council of Apostles
and formed the Apostles Round Table, which he is accountable to. He embodies
the merging of the “church growth movement”, cell churches, the “New Apostolic
Reformation” and the dominion theology of “kingdom now.” He is very prolific
and wrote another book titled, “Apostles of the City: How to Mobilize
Territorial Apostles for City Transformation” in which he describes the
organization of the apostles. Trans-local apostles are over the pastors who are
over the people, being accountable to one another going up the hierarchy.
Wagner believes that a visionary apostolic
leader is needed to oversee a move of God. Wagner and other proponents believe
that the apostles and prophets will lead the body of Christ in establishing the
Kingdom of God on earth. Did you hear that? These “apostles” will lead the
church to have dominion over the earth!
I would like to give you just one more example
from a book titled, “Moving in the Apostolic” by John Eckhardt with the
foreward by C. Peter Wagner. He puts forth the following four premises:
The Church has been given a commission.
1. This commission is an apostolic commission.
2. This commission must and will be fulfilled.
3. Since the commission is apostolic, it will take an apostolic anointing to
fulfill it. (p. 21).
He claims that the Holy Spirit is an apostlic Spirit and only an “apostlic church” can fulfill the Great Commission.
(p.24) He claims that apostles are officers of the Church and “an
officer is an executive, and executives have the authority to execute
commissions.” (p.32) Isn’t it an affront to the Body of Christ, the true
church to say that the Great Commission can only be fulfilled by apostles?
But there is more! He believes that “Strongholds
are major hindrances to the advancement of the Church and must be dealt with
apostolically” (p.60) He claims these are only destroyed through apostolic
ministry. He claims that “although every believer has rank to cast out
devils, apostles walk and minister in the highest rank. Evil spirits and angles
recognize this rank. Apostles are the spiritual commanders of the
Church.” (p.63) He goes on to claim that only the apostle has the authority
to execute the plans and purposes of God. “These are the military generals
and commanders who will mobilize the people of God…” (p.65) I could go on
and on, and would encourage you to carry on, if interested.
There is so much written on this, I will leave
further research up to you (e.g. please see http://www.banner.org.uk/contents.html ). Also see Chapter 7 of this book. The apostles and prophets movement ties in with
“territorial spirits”, spiritual mapping, cell churches, the church growth
movement, etc. The participants in this movement reads like a “Who’s Who?” of
Christianity. (e.g. C. Peter Wagner – chief apostle, Dutch Sheets, Ted Haggard
– new President of the NAE, John Kelly, Win and Charles Arn, David Yonggi Cho,
Bill Hybels, Paul Crouch, Jack Hayford, Tim LaHaye, the late John Wimber, Juan
Carlos Ortiz, C. Peter Wagner, Ern Baxter, Pat Robertson, Jerry Falwell, David
Yonggi Cho, Robert Stearns, Mike Bickle, Reuven Doron, Che Ahn, Frank Hammond,
Cindy Jacobs, Bill Hamon, John Eckhardt, Bobbie Byerly, Jim Goll, John Paul
Jackson, James Ryle, Frank Damazio, Ed Silvoso, Carlos Annacondia, Claudio
Freidzon, Roger Mitchell, Ted Haggart, Chuck Pierce, Rick Joyner, Kingsley
Fletcher, Jim Laffoon, Barbara Wentroble, Robert Schuller, Paul Cain, Ralph
Neighbor, etc.)
There is a hierarchy with apostles over several
cities, and pastors as a super-eldership over a single city. Perhaps
evangelicals are learning from the Roman Catholic Church. There is more to the
agenda than just organization. The goal is dominion! Liberal Protestant
Churches such as the Presbyterians, Congregationalists, Methodists, etc. have
always been “a” or “post” millenarian (meaning that they don’t expect Christ to
come and reign a thousand years). It is the church’s job to bring God’s kingdom
to earth holding a position not unlike the Roman Catholic Church. All of these
different branches – from the RC Church, to the liberal Protestant to the
Charismatic Churches of the Apostles and Prophets Movement come together with
the goal of taking over political and social institutions. We know that the
woman of Revelation 17 (the apostate church) rides the beast (the political state) in
her quest for world dominion. Is this not like the marriage between the
“religious right” and the present administration to defeat the forces of evil
and bring capitalism, democracy and Christ to the world?
Rather than repeating it, I would refer you to chapter 7 of this book for a description of the extra-Biblical notion among
the “prophets” – a new breed of people who believe they utter “God’s word” today
with the same power and authority as God Himself (in spite of the fact that they
are more often wrong than right). But, hey, who’s keeping score? They go on
year after year making false prophecies but no one calls them to account!
Also, without belaboring the fact, I would point out that this is a highly
authoritarian, hierarchical structure. So what about it?
Analysis:
Early in history, the church got off track and
went the way of the world with clergy, buildings and all, but in the beginning
it was not so. In the days of the Old Testament you needed leaders and
superstars like David and Sampson, but not so in the New Testament period. We
are all “kings and priests”. We all have equal access to God through our human
spirit. We are like a vine, not a tree. Every born again believer is plugged
into the vine. But to create a New Testament Hierarchal model is utter
nonsense. We may as well just all become Roman Catholics again where the laity
lost all touch with God (the vine) and had to go through a priest.
Today’s apostate church uses the world’s
corporate or military model. The “church” of titles, ranks and job descriptions
is from the world, not the Lord. The Bible speaks of gifts and functions – an
apostle is one who is sent out to start churches. That’s what he does, not what
he is. Others pastor, teach, oversee and prophesy. That is what they do, not
offices they hold! This is a “functional” rather than a “positional” point of view. Man is not the head of the church, Jesus. There is
only one head to the body and all instructions are issued from the head. They
don’t flow down through the body. Every part of the body has a direct
connection to the head. The world needs hierarchy and outward control.
Jesus said,
Ye know that the princes of the Gentiles
exercise dominion over them, and they that are great exercise authority upon
them. BUT IT SHALL NOT BE SO AMONG YOU: but whoseoever will be great
among you, let him be your minister; and whosoever will be chief among you, let
him be your servant, even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but
to minister, and to give His life a ransom for many. (Matthew
20:25-28)
Jesus repeats this in Luke 22:25-27. The Gentile world operates on the basis of a
chain-of-command. Authority is based on position and rank. Leaders measure
their greatness by power, influence and prominence. In the kingdom of God, the
greatest is least and the least the greatest. The ruler is the one who serves
the most. God’s way is the absolute opposite of the world’s way. The New
Testament way is where you have a people controlled by the indwelling Spirit.
Satan and the world always need hierarchy! Not so in the body of Christ!
But what about religious authority? Aren’t we
supposed to revere and respect religious leaders? Jesus said,
But be not ye called Rabbi; for one is your
Master, even Christ; and all ye are brethren. And call no man your father upon
the earth; for one is your Father, which is in heaven, neither be ye called
masters; for one is your Master, even Christ. But he that is greatest among you
shall be your servant. And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and
he that shall humble himself shall be exalted. (Matthew
23:8-12)
In the Jewish and apostate Christian world,
there are religious leaders with titles – Rabbi, Pastor, Bishop, Priest,
Reverend, Father, etc, but it should not be so among us. We are merely
brothers and sisters in Christ, each gifted and functioning in His body. There
may be pastors, teachers, prophets, evangelists and even apostles among us – but
that is what they do, not what they are. A pastor is simply someone who pastors
and cares for people. A teacher teaches. An apostle is sent out to start
churches. Elders oversee. They don’t “lord it over” the flock. We are all
equals with different functions. We don’t need to have a committee to do a
nationwide search for a pastor. We should look for the gifts in the saints
among us. Each us has a gift and each should exercise it.
Offices or Functions?
The early church did not have a person who was
the CEO of a 501c3 tax exempt organization, who directed the staff, preached on Sundays
and conducted weddings, funerals and Eucharistic services, and did psychological
counseling . This is an extra-Biblical carry over from the Roman Catholic
Church, and now, if the C. Peter Wagner’s have their way, we will have another
hierarchy of apostles paralleling Rome. There is no such figurehead in the
church! It is this very clergy/laity organization that has had such a crippling
effect on the saints. For the saints themselves should be shepherding,
overseeing and teaching, not some “professional” who has advanced post-graduate
education in church growth, management, organization, creator of programs,
exegesis of the Word, and chief cook and bottle washer! There is no such thing
in the New Testament as an elder-driven, board-driven or pastor-led church! The
church is simply brothers and sisters in Christ meeting together and ministering
to one another.
I Corinthians 12:28 does not describe an organizational hierarchy when he
says, “and God has appointed in the church, first apostles, second prophets,
third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, administrations,
various kinds of tongues.” He describes logical functions: the one who
gives birth to the church (the apostle), the one who imparts vision (the
prophet), the one who lays the Biblical foundation (the teacher) and so on.
When describing characteristics of elders or deacons, he is talking about qualities of a person functioning in that capacity, not qualifications for an office. A brother or sister functions in a group because he has been
dealt with and refined by the daily working of the Holy Spirit. Others
recognize their gift, their experience and authority in certain matters. But
these are gifts and functions – not offices held. Their legitimacy is
recognized by others because of their “servanthood” and their fruit, not
because they were elected or appointed to office. An apostle proves his gift by
raising up churches. An evangelist proves his gift by his fruit (bringing
people to the Lord), a teacher by his teaching and a pastor by caring for
others. These are all functions rather than offices bestowed. You don’t have
to study for years to learn to be something. You let the Lord so work in your
life that you become a gift to the body. It is a function of “life”, not
holding a “position.”
We have gotten so far away from the true church,
the simple body life, I doubt that we will ever find it without a good dose of tribulation! Only when we have been shaken free of our preconceptions,
the world, our possessions and our preoccupations and realize that it is all
coming down – only then will we get real and discover the treasure that lies
within the least of the saints, and let it be set free! Only when our
organizations, programs and professionals have been exposed for the sham they
are, will the body be free to be the body Christ intended where every member
functions according to the life worked into it by the Lord.
And He gave some as apostles, and some as
prophets and some as evangelists and some as pastors and teachers, for the
equipping of the saints for the work of services, to the building up of the body
of Christ; until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of
the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness
of Christ.
As a result, we are no longer to be children,
tossed here and there by waves, and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by
the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming;
But speaking the truth in love, we are to
grow up in all aspects into Him, who is the head, even Christ,
From whom the whole body, being fitted and
held together by that which every joint supplies, according to the proper
working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building
up of itself in love. (Ephesians
3:11-16)
My prayer is that, as you meditate on these
verses, the Lord will show you His body and how it has absolutely nothing to do
with the institution we call the “Church”. God puts a variety of people
together. He works in their lives and through them to build up others. They
don’t go to Bible School and Seminary. They go through the “school of hard
knocks” as they grow and mature in the Lord. They function by living in the
“spirit” – not to hold an office and draw a big salary, but to raise others up
so the whole body will be knit together and every individual part is working
properly, allowing the love and life of the Lord to flow though the body causing
it to grow and build up itself in love. These gifted men don’t hog the whole
show, but they protect the younger ones and encourage them to be connected and
grow to maturity themselves. They don’t dominate. They facilitate and
encourage others to function.
I am so excited by passages such as this, but so
inadequate to explain what they mean. Unless you have experienced it, it is
like describing a good movie to a caveman. I actually experienced this “church
life” in a wonderful way so I know it works. Those were days in which we
abandoned everything for Christ and His body. It was so much more than just
meetings. But today, there is so little commitment. A meeting doesn’t make a
“church life” whether it is in a building or a home. We’ll get into this
later. Meanwhile, Christians move from one church and program to another. That
is why cell churches, mega churches, meta churches, apostles and prophets and
all that sounds so appealing to Christians these days. We want something more
and hope that the next fad will be ‘It’. We fall further and further away from
God’s ultimate intention as expressed in Ephesians 3 – a corporate expression of Himself on the earth – an organism
called the “church” consisting of many people filled with His life.
I’ll have more to say on what we can do about
this in a later chapter, but now we have to talk about one of the most abused
and misused practices in Christianity today which is an outgrowth of the
apostles and prophets movement – accountability!
Accountability, a Biblical Concept?
We quoted above the verses which contrast the
world and God’s concept of authority. In the Old Testament and in the world,
authority depends upon position. You respect and cede to the authority of
another person because they have a higher position than you do. Many Churches
today would have everyone in an organization chart (or the maps we referred to
in the last chapter) where everyone is over and under someone else. In the case of
the “apostles and prophets” movement, an apostle would be over the pastors of a
city, who preside over congregations and the flow of authority would go down
through the pastoral staff or elders, deacons, cell group leaders, etc. And as
you may recall the quotes in a previous chapter from Juan Carlos Ortiz, every
single person should be under someone.
There is a Biblical form of subjection to
authority, but not in this way. It is an attitude of mutual submission, a
voluntary attitude because of the leading of the Holy Spirit. There is only one
“head” and authority in the Church and that is Jesus Christ. (John
17:2) As we submit to Him, He may have us submit to others – a mutual
subjection but not a subjection that is insisted upon because of someone’s
position. That is the way of the world. He is very clear in the verses above,
“let it not be so among you.” (Matt.
20:26) The Bible does not teach that believers have authority over
other believers. This type of authority is condemned in the church. “The
kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and those who have authority over them
are called ‘Benefactors.’ But no so with you, but let him who is
greatest among you become the youngest and the leader as the servant”. (Luke
22:25-26)
Divine authority is not conferred, inherited,
ordained or claimed by men, including the self-appointed apostles! Divine
authority is exercised by a person who is acting in the Spirit, but it is not
intrinsic or positional authority. It can’t be imposed upon people. It is
recognized and accepted because of the working of the Spirit in the body of
Christ. It derives from the Head and is recognized by others as coming from the
head because it is earned rather than absolute and positional. Christ’s
authority flows through the mature Christian and others recognize the merit and
worth of that authority. Divine authority is NEVER in a hierarchy nor found in
an office or position. Its source is the indwelling Spirit.
The kind of accountability in vogue today is not
Biblical and often the excuse for a “fishing expedition” into the intimate
details of a person’s life from sexual matters to finance to conformity to the
unwritten rules and mores of the “Church”, cell or accountability group. Unless
there is very good reason to suspect someone is in serious sin, you have no
business getting into their business.
“Therefore let no one act as your judge in
regard to food or drink or in respect to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath
day. (Colossians
2:16)
“Do not speak against one another, brethren.
He who speaks against a brother …but who are you to judge your neighbor? (James
4:11-12)
“At at the same time they also learn to be
idle, as they go around from house to house; and not merely idle, but also
gossips and busybodies, talking about things not proper to mention. (I
Tim 5:13)
Mutual subjection does not give one another the
right to probe. (see the warning about being a troublesome meddler in I Peter 4:15) Believe me, the shepherding and discipleship movement, cell
churches, the Promise Keepers and self-help groups following the AA type groups
lead to intrusive meddling in areas of intimacy, finances and every aspect of
your life.
We are to encourage one another in our
relationship with the Lord - not meddle, control or adjust. Christians properly
built and knitted together in the Spirit will automatically open and share
things as the Spirit leads and directs. We are likened to a family, not a
corporation or an army. We are an organism, not an organization! A family
fosters a loving and supportive environment, not the tyranny of accountability.
Each local church or assembly is like a family. It is independent,
self-governing with Christ as the head. There is no hierarchy of churches, no
apostles overseeing a city. There is no idea of submitting to someone for a
“covering.”
Conclusion – The Goal of the Apostles and
Prophets
There is something particularly seductive about
the apostles and prophets movement. It sounds “properly” anti-establishment and
has the flavor and allure of a truly New Testament “early church” solution to
the deadness and stultifying nature of the traditional institutional church,
especially when combined with a “Meta Church” zeal for the gospel or the “Cell
Church” model which promises the intimacy and opportunity of the free wheeling
house church. But in the end, it leads one into an even greater apostasy, an
informal system of brainwashing, peer pressure and control, a well-oiled
hierarchy that is militant and tightly governed. There is so much written on
this, I have just presented the tip of the iceberg and would encourage you to
look into it further. The web of the meta churches, cell churches, apostles and
prophets is all interconnected. These are the leaders of apostate
Christianity!
I would remind you all, that, if we are in the
“last days”, there will be deception. The deception will be so good most people
will see nothing wrong with it and many will embrace it. The counterfeit will
be so clever, it will require keen spiritual insight to see the difference! But
the real goal of the apostles and prophets is not just to establish themselves
as self styled leaders. It is to bring the kingdom of God to the earth. It is
dominion! They see a way to bring that dominion through an alliance with a
government that seems to share their agenda, with a country that seems to have a
“manifest destiny” and calling by God to bless the nations of the earth. This
brings us to our next chapter – democracy, destiny, patriotism and politics!
Sources
Here are just a few of the books used as
sources:
“The Coming Church Revolution” by Carl
F. George.
”Moving in the Apostolic” by John Eckhardt
“Spheres of Authority” by C. Peter Wagner
Apostles of the City: How to Mobilize
Territorial Apostles for City Transformation” by C. Peter Wagner
“Churchquake” by C. Peter Wagner
“Disciple” by Juan Carlos Ortiz
“The Cell Church, Preparing Your Church for
the Coming Harvest,” by Larry Stockstill
”Apostles and Prophets, the Foundation of the
Church” by C. Peter Wagner
Please see the following websites”
Banner Ministries at http://www.banner.org.uk/articles.html
The apostles gathering at http://apostles-gathering.com/
See Flames of Fire Ministries at http://home.att.net/~flames.of.fire/home.html
See http://www.rapidnet.com/~jbeard/bdm/
