LEADERSHIP OF THE CHURCH IN THE LAST DAYS

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Torben says that one of the reasons God put him in jail for over one year was to teach him about the leadership of God’s people. We need to lead in a way that says follow me as I follow Jesus Christ and as a good father of a household. It certainly is not as a leader of a business operates which is the way many large churches operate. The church is not a business. The church therefore needs to be small as it was in the Book of Acts when the church was first established. They were house churches. Church leaders lead as a father leads his family, eventually sending his children out to start their own church. A leader must be a good example, able to lead his own household.

God is raising up leaders for His last-days church, as we will soon enter the last seven years before Jesus returns to establish His Millennial Kingdom. Jesus’ Millennial Kingdom is God’s answer to the Lord’s Prayer, the prayer Jesus taught us to pray: “Your Kingdom come, Your will be done, on Earth as it is in heaven“.

MESSAGE FROM TORBEN SONDERGAAD:

I hope you are doing well. We are currently in Mexico and witnessing amazing things that God is doing. God has truly led us here and confirmed it powerfully. If you haven’t seen the video where I shared about it, you can watch it here.

The narrow road leads to righteousness. God’s Call: Miraculous Healing and Strong Confirmation    • The narrow road leads to righteousness…  

One area where God worked in me during my time in prison is leadership. Now that I am out and speaking with others in The Last Reformation, I hear that God has been working in the same way in many others, and I am very excited about that. This is truly something that God desires. Many of us have been disappointed and hurt by leaders. Personally, as a new believer, I had many negative experiences. Because of that, I have always had a desire to see something beautiful and biblical. In my book, “The Last Reformation,” I also have different chapters about leadership and how we should not misuse it to control people but instead be like parents who lay down their lives for their children. When I look at TLR, I see that we are far from that ideal. In some countries, I see something beautiful and biblical, while in others, it is not as exciting and can be quite messy. I realize that I need to step in and take responsibility for that. I need to work towards laying a solid foundation together with others so that we can all witness something amazing. I am sorry and hurt for all the people in our network who have been hurt by immature leaders and a lack of accountability that we see in many places. I have just released this video, and in it, there is also an invitation for people in the States, as that is where we will begin. However, we hope that this will grow and eventually reach everyone. In this video, you can hear that our first step towards this is providing teaching and training for those who see themselves as elders and leaders, and those who desire this role. Watch the video and share it with others. It starts with us, but this is for the entire body of Christ. As I mentioned at the beginning of the video, it is truly something that God is doing. The reason we see a mess in the churches right now, with leaders falling into sin or being exposed, is not only an attack from our enemy. God is cleaning out and building something new. The Bible says that judgment begins in the house of God, and we need to have a firm foundation in the rock, otherwise, we will not withstand the waves. “However, if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear that name. For it is time for judgment to begin with God’s household; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who do not obey the gospel of God?” 1 Peter 4:16-17 God bless you and thank you for your love and support. We will be sharing much more about this later. If you have questions or other things you are very welcome to reach out to us.

Blessings from Mexico, Torben Sondergaard

CHURCH LEADERSHIP

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Even as far back as the 1970s many church goers began to be suspicious of ordination and all that went with it. The spectacle of some leaders being given special status among the people of God seemed contrary to the essential equality of all people in creation, fall and redemption. When accompanied by the wearing of special clergy robes and designation as “Rev” and then the clambering for such giddy titles as “Right Rev.” and “Very Rev.”, the whole ordination thing seemed reminiscent of Matt 23:1-12 (Scribes and Pharisees). Women clamoured after these top jobs.

The liturgical construct separated ordained clergy from the people of God and from the eldership. Clergy were placed on a pedestal (with all its perils), the eldership was diminished (with all its perils) and the people of God were left behind in this hierarchical understanding of church (a tragedy).

The present rising pattern of non-ordained persons being entrusted with significant pastoral ministries in our churches may be a reaction against the abuse of ordination as noted above. Which makes it time to look at what God’s Word says about the appointment of pastors and leaders.

1 Timothy bear witness to an orderly process:

  • 1 Tim 2:7 on Paul’s appointment as a preacher, apostle and teacher;
  • 1 Tim 3:1-13 on the criteria of character and gifting applicable to church leaders;
  • 1 Tim 4:6 on the value of training in the ‘words of the faith’ and ‘doctrine’;
  • 1 Tim 4:13 on the key word ministries to be undertaken by leaders;
  • 1 Tim 4:14 on the recognition of the role of the ‘council of elders’ (πρεσβυτέριον) in recognising gifts of ministry (see also 2 Tim 1:6b);
  • 1 Tim 6:2 on expected standards for the content of teaching by church leaders.

The context of 1 Timothy is relevant to this discourse. Paul had left Timothy in Ephesus to continue his own ministry elsewhere (1 Tim 1:3). This was an apostolic delegation which many see as part of the transition from the extraordinary and time-bound office of apostle to the more enduring office of pastor or shepherd. We do know that Timothy had been well-reared in the faith by his maternal ancestors (2 Tim 1:5; 3:14). However, he was also young, subject to youthful passions (2 Tim 2:22), possibly subject to self-doubt (2 Tim 1:7) and open to dismissive treatment because of his youth (2 Tim 4:12). The recognition and affirmation of Timothy by Paul and the council of elders was important as testimony both to him and to the church as to his suitability for ministry.

Therefore, by all means let’s scrap the titles, robes and assumed status that can be implied by the traditional construct of ordination. Equally, let’s locate the work of pastor within the eldership rather than as a separate order and let’s recognise the gifting and service of the whole people of God. However, let’s not lightly dismiss the value of orderly processes to test and affirm those called to pastoral ministry.

Of course, the same applies to all roles in church service. The youth leader, small group leader or teacher of children all need processes of testing, training and affirmation before being appointed to their roles. However, the high potential of pastoral leaders to do good or harm demands that they receive particular scrutiny before their ministry is recognised.

This article is adapted from an article by David Burke “Rethinking Ordination” David was a lecturer at Christ College. He was almost refused ordination in 1979 for his views on clergy titles and robes.

LISTEN TO HOW THIS CHURCH GOT RIGHT WITH GOD

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Bob Gallaty finally realises He was the problem in His church. The reason why churches are not seeing God move is the Holy Spirit is not directing them, particularly their leaders, and true prayer is absent. Pastors in particular need to watch this video.

Robby Gallaty is senior pastor of Long Hollow Baptist Church in Hendersonville, Tennessee. He spoke with Faithwire about his church having seen 1,048 people baptized from Dec. 20 to April 11. He spoke about how to lead a church, how to make space for the Holy Spirit, and how to pursue God in prayer in effective and meaningful ways.

Those who follow livingeternal.net know that I believe the end times church will be like the church described in the Book of Acts. Church is relational, home groups, and is about making disciples who in turn make disciples of Jesus. Therefore, I am not saying that Bob Gallaty has discovered the right model but he is certainly moving in the right direction.