Episode 1 ACM

The podcast discusses the importance of authentic church ministry and its impact on today's world. It emphasizes the need for a genuine demonstration of the Spirit of God and the lack of authenticity in many current ministries. The podcast will explore the dimensions of authentic church ministry, including its elements, benefits, and origins. It also highlights the example of Stephen, who prioritized truth and the work of the Holy Spirit over attracting large numbers. The podcast will also examine 1 Corinthians 2:1-16, which presents the model of authentic church ministry. Welcome to the Authentic Church Ministry Podcast. This is your host, Rev. David E. Hall, coming to you from West Midlands, UK. This podcast deals with the burning issue of effective church ministry and how its prevalence, or lack thereof, impacts upon our world today. Now the renowned author Samuel Chadwick once lamented that in the face of the seemingly insurmountable challenge facing the church, many church leaders behave as if the only remedy for the decline were method, organization, and compromise. Insisting that this is not so, Chadwick implored the church to adopt the plan which God has already laid out for reaching mankind regardless of men's disposition. Chadwick lists men's disposition as falling into the categories of modernism, mysticism, or even sacerdotalism. Chadwick believed that the cravings of the human heart can really only be met by the experience of Pentecost. To put in man's dilemma in perspective, Chadwick said, Mankind's current state has resulted from the works of the flesh, and it is the product of spiritual death. Therefore, the remedy is not in reproach, bitterness, or compromise, but in floods and rivers, winds and suns, or the demonstration of a supernatural religion which is rooted in the abiding presence of the Spirit of God. In Chadwick's view, only a demonstration of what may be characterized as authentic church ministry will turn the tide and bring men back to God. The author Andrew Murray, in A Grave of the Sediments of Chadwick, said, The biggest lack in the church today, and the single solution to all its problems, is the real moving of the Spirit. He said, while so much time is wasted with men's ideas and men's methods, he said, if we were simply to seek the power of the Holy Spirit and allow him to work, the whole Christian landscape would change. The author John Starr, in his text, Our Guilty Conscience, sums up a similar argument with respect to the lack of effective ministry by saying, In a day when the church's evangelistic mission was never more urgent, it would seem that the church's evangelistic enterprise was never more lacking or ineffective. Starr continued by pointing out that today's church displays more enterprise in theological debate, lethargical reform, and social services than in spreading of the gospel. All these great men believe that what the church lacks today is a sincere demonstration of authentic church ministry. In addressing this issue, In addressing this issue, our podcast will explore In addressing this issue, our podcast will explore the full dimension of authentic church ministry, and we'll try to determine how its prevalence or lack thereof impacts the effectiveness of the church's work today. In assessing the subject, therefore, we will look at the what, where, why, how, and when of authentic church ministry. When we look at the what of authentic church ministry, or ACM as we call it, we will explore what it is, what are its elements, what it does, what does it look like practically, and what are the benefits to be derived from it. When we look at the where of ACM, we want to take a look at where does it originate, where is the source. When we look at the why of ACM, we want to explore why do we need it, why should we spend time figuring it out. When we look at the how of ACM, we want to see how it works in helping to fulfill the church's mandate. And when we look at the when of ACM, we will look at when is the right time or the right season for ACM. But before we get into the what, where, when, how, and why of ACM, in following on from what Samuel Chadwick, Andrew Murray, and John Stock said earlier, we realize that there are lots of other reputable men both past and present, who have made similar observations with respect of the church's ministry. They have stressed that today's church ministry lacks authenticity. By authenticity, they stress genuine New Testament style church ministry, the type of ministry which has an origin supported by unquestionable evidence which is engineered and powered by the Holy Spirit and which is rooted and grounded in the rightly divided word of truth. Ministry in their minds that is verified and verifiable, believable, and holistic. They reference this type of ministry that comes to mind when one reads from Acts 6, 10 where it says, and they were not able to resist the wisdom and the spirit by which he spoke. This quote is made in relation to the ministry of Stephen, Stephen the deacon, and this was just before he was stoned to death. Interestingly, Stephen was a man appointed not to preach but to serve tables. Yet Stephen's passion and commitment to authenticity propelled him into the annals of history as one full of faith and power who did great wonders and miracles among the people. In fact, history also accords Stephen the status of the first Christian martyr and the first one in church history even before our Lord Jesus Christ to say to his persecutors and to his killers, Father forgive them. Then Stephen said, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. You see, Stephen lived in a time when it was beneficial not to upset the status quo, but Stephen believed that truth mattered. Hence, people needed to be told the truth of God's word no matter what the consequences. Stephen's focus, therefore, was not on attracting large numbers or being recognized for the signs and the miracles and the wonders but rather about bringing men face to face with the truth of God's word and forcing them to acknowledge their sin and submit to the work of the Holy Spirit in their life. As far as Stephen was concerned, success was not about gaining followers but about declaring the hard truth of scripture even though it was risky to do so. Today, many of the world's biggest ministries seem content merely to give the hearers what they want. Unlike John the Baptist, these ministries don't require factual fruit of repentance as evidence of true conversion. As a result, both the ministry and the converts themselves oftentimes seem suspect. And this, therefore, causes some to have concluded that authentic ministry may not be truly available and maybe we should just be content with what we have and that way we'd at least have something to show for our efforts. And the thing about it is this, sometimes when we hear about a new, fresh, seemingly powerful ministry, we are drawn to attend the services or watch the programs but only too often we realize that the much touted new hot ministry, as some call it, seems to contain way more forms and substance and we're more stalled and content. Thus, just like the other ministries around it that we're trying to avoid, this new ministry turns out to be lacking in transformation and in transforming power. In 1 Corinthians... In doing an exposé of 1 Corinthians 2, 1-16, I discovered that the Holy Spirit, through the Apostle Paul, reveals how one ought to respond when confronted with the problem of a lack of authenticity in ministry. This passage highlighted what the Apostle identifies as authentic church ministry compared to the customary carnal, bankrupt archetype to which the church he was ministering had become accustomed. This is what I term to be the authentic church ministry model which Paul presented that forms the basis of our discussion, our investigation, and our podcast. And it is this same model that I find in the writings of persons like Samuel Chadwick, Andrew Murray, and the great John Scott. I want to begin by reading from that passage, 1 Corinthians 2, 1-16, and it reads like this. And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not with excellency of speech or wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God. For I determined not to know anything among you, save Jesus Christ and Him crucified. And I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling. And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith shall not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God. Howbeit we speak wisdom among them that are perfect, yet not the wisdom of this world, nor of the princes of this world that come to naught. But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the world, unto all glory. Which none of the princes of this world knew, for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. But as it is written, I have not seen nor heard, neither have entered into the heart of man the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. But God hath revealed them unto us by His Spirit. For the Spirit searcheth for all things, yea, the deep things of God. For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the Spirit of man which is in him? Even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God. Now we have received not the Spirit of the world, but the Spirit which is of God, that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God, which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom speaketh or teacheth, but which the Holy Spirit or the Holy Ghost teacheth, comparing spiritual things with spiritual. But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness unto him. Neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judge of no man. For who have known the mind of the Lord, that we may instruct him, but we have the mind of Christ. Now in surveying this passage, and several other passages for that matter, you soon discover that there are eight essential spiritual characteristics of authentic church ministry, which are settled in scripture, and ought to form the basis of modern day church ministry. Upon further research and analysis, I realize that these spiritual elements, that they have corresponding practical elements, making up what I call the spiritual and practical, or the SMP index of authentic church ministry. Now the full research has already been documented, in a soon to be published text called, the SMP index of authentic church ministry of ACM. But as we go on in our podcast, over time you'll be able to delve into these elements. But before even doing that, we want to pick up where we said we would start, that is looking at the what, where, why, how, and when, of authentic church ministry. So we come then to our questions. What is ACM? This question brings us to the place of understanding ACM. We heard Chadwick talk about it, we heard Stott talk about it, we heard Murray talk about it, the need for this authentic demonstration of ministry. And so what really is ACM? What does it do? What does it look like? What are the benefits to be derived from it? We'll also go on, as I said, to look at the where, where does it come from, and so on. Now in surveying this passage I've just read, and even surveying some other supporting passages throughout the New Testament, I discovered that there are eight essential spiritual elements or characteristics of authentic church ministry, which are set up in Scripture, and which ought to form the basis of modern day church ministry. Then doing further research and analysis, I also realized that these spiritual elements have corresponding practical elements. This goes to making up what I call the spiritual and practical, or the SMP index of authentic church ministry. Now the full research has been documented in a soon to be published text entitled The SMP Index of Authentic Church Ministry. As we go over, or go through our podcast, we will delve into the various elements. But for the time being, as I said earlier, we want to begin by first looking at what is ACM, where does it originate, why we need it, how it helps us, and when is the time for it. With this in mind, our first podcast, the topic is Lacking in Authentic Church Ministry, the Church Suffers. So let's get to the subject. What really is ACM? What is this authentic church ministry that Stock is talking about? What is this authentic church ministry that Chadwick is talking about? What is this authentic church ministry that Andrew Murray is talking about, that you've heard Leonard Revenhill talk about, that you've heard E.M. Bounce talk about, that you've heard A.W. Tozer talk about? What really is this authentic church ministry that you associate with persons like the great Dave Bernard? What really is this authentic church ministry? And the answer to what is ACM can be derived from the passage we just read in 1 Corinthians 2, verses 1-16. And it is here where Paul says, And I, brethren, when I came to you, I did not come with excellency of speech or wisdom, declaring to you the testimony of God. He said, because I was determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. He said, I was with you in weakness, I was with you in fear, I was with you in much shriveling. He said, and my speech and my teaching was not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power. In this text, Paul identifies authentic church ministry as ministry undertaken and done not through human efforts, but through the prevailing power of the Holy Spirit. Let me say that again. In this text, Paul identifies authentic church ministry as ministry undertaken and done not through human efforts, but through the prevailing power of the Holy Spirit. This tells me that Paul understood that to be successful in impacting the world and answering the detractors and the skeptics, especially those at Corinth, he needed to be reliant on God for instruction, direction, and confirmation, rather than go on what he was able to deduce based on his own learning or his powers of observation. And this is important when we're talking about Paul. Why? Because two things. We all know that Paul was a very learned man. And if he really took it upon himself to debate with those at Corinth, there was no way that they could overpower Paul in terms of what he would have been able to debate. And the second thing about it is that the church at Corinth was riddled with skeptics, with idolaters, with fornicators. You name it, Paul had to deal with it at Corinth. In actual fact, these people at Corinth, they gave Paul such a hard time that even Paul's proven apostleship was ridiculed. Therefore, if Paul were to attempt to minister based on his earthly credentials, that itself would have been a problem. Because they were not willing to accept that Paul had to minister to something or minister with something outside of what he himself was capable of. And the third part of it is that in many ways the church at Corinth is similar to the church we have today. The church at Corinth as a church today has been influenced to a great extent by the world. And the world has left its mark on the church. We are in a world today where the gospel or the truth of the gospel is heavily criticized. In some instances, certain aspects of the gospel have been redacted. Some have been refuted. Some have been even changed to fit in with the prevailing cultural conditions. Therefore, Paul knew that to be convincing it would take more than logic and reasoning. Similarly, today we've got to understand it will take more than logic and reasoning. So therefore, in ministering to the brethren at Corinth Paul was not relying upon his proven ability or previous record but solely upon the leading of the Holy Spirit. So this is what Paul is saying, Authentic ministry is not with, let's say, intellectualism. It is not with my ability to articulate. It is really in my reliance upon the Holy Spirit. So for the Apostle Paul to exercise that kind of discipline to wait on the Holy Spirit was indeed remarkable because, like I said, we knew that Paul could get down to debating but he chose not to. So Paul's approach in ministering was that he chose to, he made a conscious decision where he says, I am determined to know nothing other than Christ and Him crucified. See, in taking this approach, what Paul was doing, Paul was demonstrating that effectiveness in ministry is not about catering to self. It is not in being able to debate. It is not in giving the audience what they want to hear. But really it is in being able to minister as led by the Holy Spirit. And there's a reason for that because Paul in his Ark writings mentioned of two groups of people. He said Jews and Gentiles. And Paul knew that in ministry that the Jews were looking for a sign and that the Gentiles were looking for intellectual reasoning. But Paul said, look, laying those aside, I choose to minister under the guidance and power of the Holy Spirit. Because why? The Spirit alone knows what God has designed and the Spirit alone is able to communicate to me what God has designed and the Holy Spirit alone is able to take what God has designed and apply it to the conditions of man. Going back to what Samuel Chalbert said earlier, where he says it might be modernism, it might be mysticism, it might be sacerdotalism, but whatever man's disposition, Paul understood, look, hey, if I'm going to be effective in ministering to mankind, I need to minister in accordance with the leading of the Holy Spirit. Okay, so let's go on and look then at the where of ACM. The where of authentic church ministry. Where does ACM come from? Where's the source? Where did it originate? And where exactly in scripture are these elements to be found? One can truly say that the concept of authentic church ministry originated in the mind of God. The Bible tells us that when Jesus ascended from the dead, he led captivity captive and he gave gifts unto men with a distinct purpose in mind. Ephesians 4.8 and 11-17 tells us the reason. Here's what it says. Wherefore he saith, when he ascended on high, he led captivity captive and gave gifts unto men. And he gave some apostles and some prophets and some evangelists and some pastors and teachers for the perfecting of the work of the saints, for the perfecting of the saints rather, for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come into the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of a doctrine by the slight of men and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to be seen. But speaking the truth in love, may grow up unto him in all things, which is the head, even Christ, for whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every junk supply of, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love. This will tell you that authentic church ministry is not the brainchild of any human agency. And the Bible reminds us clearly the reason why it was given. It originated with God for a particular purpose. The church needs to be edified. The sins build up. The body unified. The church matured. And you can go through that project and pick out a number of reasons which are being given. The where of ACM. Where does ACM come from? Where is the source? Where did it originate? Where in scripture are its elements to be found? Now the concept of authentic church ministry is not a new concept. Now the concept of authentic church ministry originated in the mind of God. The Bible tells us that. As a matter of fact, when we read Ephesians 4 verses 8 and then 11 to 17, we get the reason quite clearly. If I may just read a part of that where it says, Wherefore he saith, when he ascended on high, he led captivity captive and gave gifts unto men. He gave some apostles and some prophets and some evangelists and some pastors and teachers for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come into unity of faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the statue of the fullness of Christ, that we henceforth be no more children tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of a doctrine by the slight of men and cunning craftiness, whereby they are lying in wait to deceive, but speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him all things, which is the head, even Christ, for whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplyeth, according to the effectual working of the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love. Now that passage is loaded from the first verse that was read to the last. It is loaded. Not only does it begin by talking about Jesus and his triumph leading captivity captive, but then it goes on to show us exactly the source of authentic church ministry. He gave gifts unto men. Jesus Christ, the head of the church, gave these gifts unto men. Apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, teachers. But not just that, it says, why he gave them? For the perfecting of the saints, so the saints would carry out the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body, so that we come into unity and the knowledge of the Son of God unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the status of the fullness of Christ, Christian maturity, that we are no more tossed about by every wind of a doctrine, we are no more deceived by the slight of men and their cunning craftiness, and beyond that, that we grow in love, but speaking the truth in love, we may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, that may come into the image and likeness of Christ, that the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth. This passage is loaded in telling us where ACM originates. Authentic church ministry originated in the mind of Christ and it originated there for a very specific reason. Authentic church ministry is not the brainchild of any human agency. And the fact that the Bible reminds us that as Christians, we have been given the ministry of reconciliation in 2 Corinthians 4-7 to tell us that. But what is interesting is, the Bible tells us, that we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency may be of God and not of us. And what that tells us is that the real source of the power is God and it also tells us where the credit for successful ministry ought to go. Today, many are quick to point out the success and the accomplishments of their ministry and the phrase, my ministry, has become very popular, almost idolized. You know, there are some who will say, but when someone says that, it's nothing more than a grammatical statement and people don't really intend to take credit for ministerial achievements. But if that was true of everyone, Jesus would not have needed to make the statements that he did in Matthew chapter 7 from verse 21 where he said, at the end of time, many will come and they will say, Lord, we've done these wonderful things in your name. And he will say, depart from me, I never knew you. What is interesting about that passage is that Jesus doesn't question the works that are being reported. Nowhere he says, you didn't heal, you didn't deliver, you didn't break bands, no. He doesn't question the works themselves. What he questions was the motive of these people who in doing it, he said, you weren't doing it for me, you were doing it for yourself. And this suggests that when it comes to where ACM comes from, what is the source of ACM that some have allowed themselves to be distracted as to where, as to what's the real source, where's the source of authentic ministry. And similarly, they've forgotten where the credit for authentic ministry should go. Because no one would argue that, you know, the ministry that they were doing, people were being saved, people were being healed, people were being delivered. But that was real. When we talk about authenticity, we talk about what is real. And that is why later we want to come into the characteristic of authentic ministry. The very characteristics and what things must undergird or what things must be found throughout authentic church ministry. Just as the Bible says, you'll have pastors, you'll have pastors and pastors, you'll have prophets and prophets. So when we talk about authentic church ministry, we're talking about authentic church ministry that is the same all the way through. As I said earlier, that which is verified and verifiable, that which is authentic in the full sense of something being authentic, that which is not detached from its source. So we're going to do more on that later as we go through this and other subsequent podcasts. The why of ACM. The why of ACM. The next question we need to answer is, why ACM? Why do we need authentic church ministry? And the answer to that is the same as to the question why we need the Holy Spirit in Chadwick's view. Without the Holy Spirit, our efforts are doomed to fail. Without authentic church ministry, our efforts are doomed to fail. The fact of the matter is that the world is disintegrating and dying right before our eyes. And much of the church's current programming doesn't address the spiritual needs of the church's membership, far less those of the masses. It has gotten so bad that in desperation, some churches have adopted questionable methods in the hope of drawing men to the gospel. However, in spite of these compromises, the situation has not improved. For many instances, the more the church has compromised, the more compromises the opponents have demanded. And for all the compromises that have been made, the decline in the influence and growth of church life continues unabated. Now, for those who are vigilant, this lack of influence of the church upon the world heralds a clear warning. And that warning is we need to offer more than we are currently offering. We need a return, an urgent return, to the principles of authentic church ministry as laid down in scripture, as practiced by the apostles, as characterized the Holy Church, as was exemplified through the ministries of those whom God called and anointed for ministry throughout scripture, and also as identified by some of the great men that we've made reference to so far in our broadcast. Now, the gifts and ministries God has given to the church, as we looked at earlier, are intended for the sole purpose of empowering and equipping the church for ministry. You know, if I could go back to Samuel Chadwick and his work, that book is entitled The Way to Pentecost. And that was where he said, and I mentioned the statement earlier, the why of ACM. The next question we turn to is, why do we need ACM? Why does the church need authentic church ministry? The answer is the same as why we need the Holy Spirit. Without the Holy Spirit, the church suffers. Without authentic church ministry, the church fails. The world is disintegrating and dying right before our eyes. And unfortunately, as has been identified, much of the church's current program doesn't address the spiritual needs of the church's membership, furthermore that of the masses beyond church. The situation has gotten so bad that in sheer desperation, some churches have adopted questionable methods in the hope of becoming relevant and drawing men and women to the gospel. But yet, in spite of all these compromises and these questionable methods that have been adopted, little has changed. In fact, in quite a few instances, the more compromises the church have made, the more the opponents have demanded more compromises. And while that continues... So why are they here? The Why of APM? The next question is why do we need APM? The Why of APM? The next question we come to is why do we need APM? Why do we need authentic church ministry? The answer is the same as to why do we need the Holy Spirit. Without the Holy Spirit, the church is useless. Without authentic church ministry, the church is useless. In fact, the world, as you know it, is breaking and dying right before our very eyes. The Why of ACM? The next question we come to is why do we need authentic church ministry? Someone said the answer is the same as why we need the Holy Spirit. Without the Holy Spirit, the church dies. Without authentic church ministry, our efforts are doomed to fail. Without authentic church ministry, our efforts are doomed to fail. The world, as we know it, is disintegrating. Cut, cut, cut. Please ignore all of this, and I will record again in a few minutes. And I will start at the Why of ACM. The Why of ACM? The next question we come to in our discussion is why do we need ACM? That is, why do we need authentic church ministry? Some have said the answer is the same as to why we need the Holy Spirit. Without the Holy Spirit, the church dies. Without authentic church ministry, our efforts are doomed to fail. The world, as we know it, is disintegrating and dying right before our very eyes. And there are those who believe that much of the church's current program just doesn't address the spiritual needs of its own membership, furthermore, the needs of the masses on church. In desperation, some churches, in seeking to become relevant and minister to people's needs, have adopted some rather questionable methods in the hope of drawing men to the gospel. Yet, in spite of these many compromises, the situation has not improved. In actual fact, in many instances, the more compromises that the church has made, the more ground the opponents have demanded, and the steady decline in the influence and the growth of church life continues unabated. For many, this lack of influence on the part of the church, with respect of the world, heralds a clear warning that we need more than we currently have. Hence, we need a return, and an urgent return, to the principles of authentic church ministry. The gifts and ministries God has bestowed upon the church are for the sole purpose of empowering the church for ministry. Author Samuel Chadwick, in his work, says that as modern society rebounds from materialism, or from the bondage of the flesh and the mind, that that craving for truth, as we said earlier, can only be satisfied by the experiences of Pentecost, which only comes through that authentic church ministry. So again, why do we need ACM? Without it, the church struggles. Without it, the work dies. We now move on to the how of ACM. The how of ACM. That is, how does ACM, or authentic church ministry, really help the church? Cut, cut, cut. Please discard everything on the how of ACM. From this point, and as you've heard so far, I will record this again. We next move on to the how of ACM. That is, how is ACM really supposed to help the church? Does the church really need it? The short answer is, ACM helps the church as it is the only thing that can help the church to completely fulfill its God-given mandate. Not only does it help the church through empowering its membership, but it also restores that balance between dependence upon the Word of God, trust on God. Cut, cut, cut. Please discard all you've heard so far about the how of ACM. I will discard and record again. The how of ACM. The question has been asked, does authentic church ministry, as it is being promoted, really help the church, and if so, how? And, do we really need it? The short answer as to how the church needs ACM, or how ACM can help the church, is this. Authentic church ministry is seen to be the only thing that can help the church in completely fulfilling its God-given mandate. What ACM does is that it empowers the believers while restoring that balance between dependence upon God, trust in the Word of God, and at the same time, providing a practical roadmap for successful ministry initiatives. When that happens, cut, cut, cut, we have to do again the how of ACM. The how of ACM. The next issue we come to is how. Cut, cut, cut. The how of ACM. That is, how does ACM, as it is being promoted, really help the church? There are some who believe that ACM is the only thing that can help the church in completely fulfilling its God-given mandate. That is because authentic church ministry, if properly implemented and practiced, helps the church in several different ways. ACM is seen to be necessary in restoring the balance between dependence upon God and utilizing those gifts that God has bestowed upon the church. Authentic church ministry proposes that the one who is called by God and who is equipped by God relies upon God for His instruction and His direction and then with that is able to successfully and efficiently carry out the work of God. But there is something else to this. When asked how does ACM help the church, there are those who will tell you that one of the unique focuses of authentic church ministry is in the empowering of believers whereby as believers are empowered that believers are also put to use or put to work within the body of Christ. And so what happens that the members all play a part in carrying out the job as it needs to be done because an understanding is then brought about that as Paul says if one member suffers all the members suffer with it and if one be honored all the members honor with it be honored with it. One of the problems that we've had over the years is that we've had loads of people within the church but who don't seem to be aware of what their particular gifts and ministries are and as a result some have just been lying around not doing anything whereas others have gotten involved in things that seemingly have been beyond their scope. And when we talk about authentic church ministry authentic church ministry looks at how people are placed in their correct ministries or how people are helped to unearth or discover their peculiar place within the body of Christ in a way that they are then able to effectively function within that particular ministry. So going back to the early church the appointment of Dickens in the early church was to deliver a practical solution to a practical problem that had resulted from spiritual progress. It might seem ironic that tremendous spiritual growth and success brought along with it a very real carnal problem of how to house and feed those thousands of newcomers to the Christian faith. But it is. It is noteworthy that the apostles acknowledged that although prayer and preaching were absolutely central to the church's mission so too was ministry to the widows as to leave these issues unresolved would destabilize the church. It was not therefore about spiritual ministry versus physical ministry. It was about how to get it all done. What the apostles did back then church leaders need to do now. And that is they must learn how to fill their role but at the same time be able to identify others whom God have called and gifted and help them to fulfill their particular role so that the church would be able to function more effectively. So again how does ACM help the church? Authentic church ministry help the church in having everyone mobilized and in the right place doing the right job in the right way for the right reason. Finally let's talk today about the when of ACM. Knowing how ACM can help us is the next question that cut, cut, cut And finally for today we come to the when of ACM. Knowing how ACM can help us next becomes the question cut, cut, cut cut, cut, cut Finally we look at the when of ACM which simply asks us when do we implement ACM? When is the right time for this program? Is it now? Is it sometime in the future? Has the time for it been has the time for it passed already? Cut, cut, cut Finally finally finally the when of ACM that is when do we implement it? When is the right time? Is it for time gone by, past? Is it for time in the future? Or is it for now? There are those today who argue that the level of ministry of which we are speaking is for a bygone era. And so in the debate as to whether prophets and apostles have a part to play within modern ministry suggests that these giftings are not for today. What however they cannot deny is that authentic church ministry for which these are for which the apostles called and for which the great men that we've identified spoke about, insisted is for today. So we will come to that debate later on but for now we are looking at the ministry but as time goes on we will have to take that question as to the minister in dealing completely with authentic church ministry. And I think it is clear that no matter what our thoughts are we must conclude that authentic church ministry is needed today and our current anti-God climate dictates that there is no time to waste. The truth of the matter is too often we focus almost exclusively on cursing the darkness rather than shining the light. This brings me back to something which Neil T. Anderson says in his work. The preoccupation we have with merely cursing the darkness suggests helplessness and hopelessness on the part of many churches when they face certain situations rather than representing their trust and their confidence in God's ability to do what He has called us to do or what He wants to do through us. And so what you find is that there are currently several issues bedeviling the church and in response to those issues the church sometimes initiates aggressive language. But the aggressive language has its place but what we do need more than ever is to be demonstrating here and now the signs of authentic ministry whereas going back to actually where the Bible says of Stephen that they could not withstand the wisdom and the power with which he spoke. So what needs to happen is that we need to realize authentic ministry is needed and it's needed now and therefore we need to agree that if we're going to get ourselves and the church out of this dilemma we need here and now to begin to correctly and to in a way that is very clear and unambiguous begin to demonstrate the power of God working in and through the church in such a commanding way that the world has no choice but to stand up and take note of what he's doing. It's as simple as this. I am of the firm belief that authentic church ministry is the only way and it's needed right now to accomplish the supreme task of making disciples as commanded by Jesus in the New Testament. The task of making disciples in its entirety involves three things from my perspective. One is revitalizing the church. The second one is evangelizing the world and the third one is defending the Christian faith. To my mind, these three things must be part of any effective ministry of any effective discipleship making program because in making disciples disciples are made within a context and it is within that context that these disciples are then able to function. Cut, cut, cut. Cancel everything so far about the when of ACM. A new recording will be done. Cut, cut, cut. www.circlelineartschool.com