Apostolic Alignment – The Blog of Don Atkin

“I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent’s cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ (2 Corinthians 11:3).”

It is our pure devotion to Christ that binds our hearts to the others in His family. It is our pure devotion to Christ that enables us to hang in with one another when the going gets tough. It just doesn’t work that well the other way around, with only a devotion to church.

We cannot separate Christ from His body. However, His body without His headship is no different than any other human club. Devotion to church is meaningless apart from devotion to Christ.

Sincere and pure devotion to Christ will facilitate His leading you, sooner or later, into your place in His body.

I love you because He first loved me.

When was the last time you made a significant adjustment in your belief system that affected your manner of ministry?

When was the last time you consulted with someone outside of your immediate circle to see if your immediate circle is missing apostolic mandates?

Can you say that your life and ministry are pretty normal and routine?

Can you say that your strategies are up to date?

Which has a higher priority – your plans, or the immediacy of the Holy Spirit?

“I went up by revelation, and communicated to them that gospel which I preach among the Gentiles, but privately to those who were of reputation, lest by any means I might run, or had run, in vain.” – Paul, from Galatians 2:2

October 8-10 is our opportunity to get outside of our own little circles and sharpen one another, “lest by any means we might run, or have run, in vain.” Click on “Events” above, for details on the forthcoming apostolic dialogue—for master builders only.

“The world lives in such a time of crisis. Christians alone are in a position to rescue the perishing. We dare not settle down to try to live as if things were normal.” – A. W. Tozer, from ‘Born After Midnight’

Jesus said that “the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than” John the Baptist.

There may be no other comparison that so dramatically draws the line of distinction between the two creations.

We may be duly inspired, even guided, by what the Scriptures have to teach us about tithing. But, Father sees a bigger picture for His kingdom sons. The Holy Spirit waits to lead us in stewarding even greater resources.

P. S. We are hosting an Apostolic Dialogue October 8-10 in Charlotte, North Carolina, for the first thirty apostles to register. This is by invitation only. Email donatkin@kingdomquest.net for more details.

(Two Announcements:  1. We are in the earliest stages of convening an apostolic dialogue later this year.  2.  Greg Austin, Steve Crosby, and I have written a book together: “Royal Priesthood, the Pathway to Kingdom Authority.”  It will be available soon.)

I remember the John 17:21 Movement, an attempt to bring churches together in the purpose of God. Various activities, including citywide events, were conducted.

Nice. Not wrong. But, not an architecturally sound expression of the church that Jesus is building. They were event-focused for an outward demonstration that the body is one. But, the inward hearts had no vision or willingness to actually become one in design and function. The movement, like so many before and after, came to nothing.

I have been a participant in a number of community-wide pastors’ prayer efforts over the years. I remember one in particular—kneeling with others at the altar, the Evangelical pastor prayed for the rest of us, that we would lead more people to Christ. Then, the Baptist preacher prayed for the rest of us, that we would baptize more people. Then, the Pentecostal minister prayed that the rest of us would speak in unknown tongues. And so it went. No joke.

We must first come to grips with the fact that the church is constituted as one; that only those who are born of God are parts of it, and it is to be overseen by citywide elders. Until then we have not begun to find our functional order together.

We live not far from a prophetic ministry that is seen as quite successful on the world stage. It draws prophetic types from many states and nations. Like attracts like.

However, when leaving such organizations, many find it very difficult to fit together as functional members of a local fellowship. They are not equipped for life together with other saints within a local body.

Seasons of specialty training should be goal focused and limited in time.

Placement is God’s work. He will have an expression of His body in every geo-political sphere, equipped by His various equipping ministries so that we fit in with others, and there is neither shortage or overlap of graces. That potential already exists in many cities.

“God has set the members, each one of them, in the body just as He pleased.” Jesus is building His church. “The Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved.”

He builds. He adds. He places. We cannot join. It is not our choice. He chooses us.

My dear brothers and sisters, with whom I share in the apostolicity of the Spirit of Christ, “Peace, be still!” We will not be effective in calming the raging storms in life until there is peace within our collective soul. The body of Christ is seeking the Holy Spirit-inspired infrastructure that is foundational for responding to the cry of creation.

Cynicism is a carnal distraction that hinders the objective pursuit of the kingdom of God. You will not find cynicism in the recorded behavior of Jesus, or in the defining characteristics (fruit) of His Spirit. I entreat you to not do language and word searches in the pursuit of biblical exceptions to justify carnal behavior.

We are to demonstrate fatherhood in the midst of an orphan culture living in fear and insecurity. Developing trust relationships is a precursor to kingdom culture. No respecter of persons, loving unto dying for the world, and unwilling for any to perish, are to be the obvious attributes of His personhood being lived out in His persons—us!

The vilifying of others in our pursuit of the kingdom is clear evidence that we have missed the Way, and are traveling down a dead-end detour. Our Spirit-enabled objective is to speak to others in ways that envision and challenge them to pursue their potential through repentance, conversion, reconciliation, and transformation.

The premier apostolic grace is wisdom. Through wisdom a house is built. Wise master builders are among those who have purged their closets of skeletons, cast all their baggage upon Jesus, and settled on their identity that is found in Him. They have resolutely placed their heads in the yoke with Jesus, are learning from Him, have found the rest that has been prepared for them, and are souls at peace.

The profound stability of inner peace leaves nothing to hinder us in being forthright in confronting the sinfulness, unrighteousness, and injustice operating in others without compromising the very essence of God who is Love. His Spirit identifies, clarifies, and energizes what is to be spoken—where, when, and how.

Realizing that peacemakers are called sons of God, that sons are joint heirs of the kingdom with Christ, and realizing the difference between passively keeping the peace and proactively making peace—they realize the important and essential value and nature of having conversations with one another.

Let’s talk.

Placing these two words together—INSTITUTIONALIZED APOSTLES—is to create a conflict of interest. They are incongruent terms, an oxymoron. 

I am not referring here to the many founders and leaders of specialized para-church ministries who are “apostolic” in some aspects of their construct, who develop organizations to achieve their objectives. I am referring specifically to “master builders” in the church that Jesus is building.

Here is my narrow context for this thesis:

“Apostles are ‘sent ones,’ commissioned to disciple the nations, and to architecturally and foundationally equip a people who are destined to release creation from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. “

Caution: Don’t judge by outward appearances. This is an issue of heart. Some who fit these criteria are involved in institutional settings by God’s design and appointment. They are not satisfied with and do not bow to “status quo.” They pour out their lives to envision and inspire their constituency, realizing that the larger the ship, the more time it takes to negotiate changes in direction without throwing people overboard.

However, to simply join themselves to existing institutional organizations would be functionally impossible for true master builders who grasp and are gripped by the divine design and purpose of the church that Jesus is building. Such institutional organizations are instinctively humanistic in design, thus severely handicapping their constituents from achieving God’s goal and intention for their individual and corporate lives in Jesus.

Paul and Peter developed a relationship that proved to be practical. They did not incorporate. Their relationship was initiated by revelation. They provide us with a good model. Study Galatians 1:15-19, and 2:1-21 for foundational understanding of apostles with different spheres relating to one another.

Beware of extra-biblical organizing and institutionalizing. They are likely the product of man’s creative genius and native leadership skills.