podcast final 2 segments

Authentic Church Ministry (ACM) is discussed in this transcription. ACM helps the church by empowering believers for ministry and providing a roadmap for successful initiatives. It emphasizes the need for both practical and spiritual aspects of church ministry. The appointment of deacons in the early church shows the importance of addressing practical needs. ACM aims to benefit the body of Christ by utilizing the skills and giftings of the membership. It is recommended to implement ACM sooner rather than later, given the current anti-God climate. The podcast focuses on equipping church leaders with tools for authentic ministry and making disciples. It targets those tired of ineffective or empty church ministries, as well as those seeking truth or meaningful decisions. It also assists pastors and church leaders in building vibrant and sustainable ministries. The How of ACM. We now come to the How of ACM. And the question is, does authentic church ministry as it is being proposed really help the church? And if so, how? And do I really need it? The short answer as to how ACM helps the church is this. ACM is the only thing that can help the church in completely fulfilling its God-given mandate. What it does is that it helps the church by empowering believers for ministry and providing a credible road map for successful ministry initiatives. Central to this, ACM helps the church to recognize and utilize the giftings of individual members of the body of Christ who are in the local assembly. Now, if the church is to be truly effective in reaching its maximum potential, then every member is critical to the church as far as that process is concerned. In 1 Corinthians 12, 25-27 we read that there be no schisms in the body, but that the members should have the same care one for another. And whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it. And if one member be honored, all the members rejoice with it. Know you are the body of Christ and members in particular. The fact is, too many church programs seem to lack the critical balance between the practical and spiritual elements of church ministry. And this is what authentic church ministry helps to clarify. While some churches heavily emphasize the spiritual aspects of church life, other churches reemphasize the practical side of church life. And this is often traced to the availability of the resource persons occupying the leadership roles. So if a case you have lots of persons who are spiritually inclined in church leadership, that is the direction the church goes. If on the other hand you have more persons who are socially inclined, that is the direction the church goes. The end result of that is that there is generally a deficiency on one or even both sides of the aisle, resulting in an imbalance within that church's ministry. But the truth is, we need, as the body of Christ, in carrying out our ministry, to adhere to both the physical as well as the practical aspects of church ministry. And that is what we term as authentic church ministry. Now watch this. The appointment of deacons in the early church was to deliver a practical solution to a practical problem that had resulted from a spiritual enterprise, so to speak. So you have deacons being appointed to deliver a practical solution to a practical problem that had resulted from spiritual progress. Now this might seem ironic, that tremendous spiritual growth and success brought along with it a very real kernel problem as how to feed and house these thousands of new converts to the Christian faith. But it did in fact happen. Now what is noteworthy is that the apostles, when the problem arose and there was murmuring, although they recognized that they were to be committed to their role of prayer and preaching, they also understood that to leave this issue of the widows being discontented in the church's distribution of the sustenance would eventually destabilize the church. So for the apostles, it was not about spiritual ministry versus physical ministry. It was about how to get it all done. And the Bible tells what they did. They took the time out, they met, they consulted, they prayed, and at the end they came up with the solution. This is what seems good to us and to the Holy Spirit. What the apostles did back then, church leaders need to focus on doing now. Those who have been called by God and who are specially trained in Bible and theology and hermeneutics and exegesis, they must continue to fulfill their roles of preaching, teaching, correctly dividing the word of truth. But at the same time, they must not ignore the fact that ways need to be found to utilize the skills and giftings of the membership which God has placed within that local body. You see, it cannot be about the relative importance of one compared to the other. Why? Because God has deployed all these individuals in the church to assist the leadership, the pastors and elders, the role that these other gifted members occupy, help in terms of protecting the church unity, organizing the practical aspects of the service, meeting the tangible needs, sometimes being visible to the community and in the community. And this is what the biblical role of the deacons and acts was supposed to do. It was supposed to take care of the physical and the logistical needs of the church so that the apostles could concentrate on their primary calling which was teaching and giving themselves to prayer. These offices, as I said, supported the leadership. And this is how the model of ACM we are talking about works to benefit the body of Christ. And as we go through this model in its entirety, you will see even in a clearer and deeper way, and especially when we get to unpacking ACM and show you all the practical aspects that there are involved in ACM. As I might have pointed out earlier, there are eight essential spiritual aspects of ACM and they have corresponding practical aspects and we'll look at them in further detail during the course of our many broadcasts. Now, finally, we want to come to the when of ACM. That is, when do we implement it? When is the right time for ACM? Is it now? Is it sometime in the future? Has it already passed, as some might suggest? Based on all the research that we've done, we must conclude that the sooner we embark on authentic church ministry, the better. Why? The current anti-God climate tells us there is no time to waste. Neil T. Anderson, in his book, which deals with the darkness, suggests that too often the church focuses on cursing the darkness rather than shining the light. This preoccupation with merely cursing the darkness suggests mere helplessness and hopelessness on the part of many in the church. Therefore, not knowing how to adequately respond to the critical issues bedeviling the church, many resort to aggressive language. But the reality is that for the Christian, we need not feel helpless or hopeless. We need simply to remember that God, having called us into the ministry of reconciliation, has also empowered us and equipped us for the task. Thus, when we come to that realization and we allow that to permeate our minds, our outlook will change along with it as well. If, on the other hand, we continue to wring our hands and look bewildered and fail to address the situations as they currently are, we can rest assured that things will only get worse. But when we read scripture and we come to an understanding of what the Bible has laid out, then we realize that the Bible has given us the tools, the keys, the pattern, the model, the mold for authentic church ministry that we can embark upon a sustained program that addresses the problems currently plaguing humanity. The Bible declares boldly that sin lies at the root of all man's problems and any proposed solutions must therefore address both these spiritual and practical aspects of this issue. And that is what authentic church ministry emphasizes. It is saying to us, this is how we ought to go about correctly utilizing the spiritual and practical enablers God has given to us for us to go about the process of setting the world right side up. We therefore believe that authentic church ministry is the only way for church leaders to accomplish the supreme task of making disciples as commanded by Jesus in the New Testament. Now, what is interesting about this task, which we don't often hear being emphasized, is that the task of making disciples involves three things, revitalizing the church, evangelizing the world, and defending the faith. Why? Because disciples are not made in a vacuum. And the truth of the matter is, if our church programs are not evangelizing the world, defending the faith, and in the process revitalizing the church, can our programs be truly considered to be authentic? That is why the sole purpose of this podcast is to equip our audience with tools for recognizing, embracing, facilitating, and implementing the elements of authentic church ministry as set out in scripture. Because when we do that, we will understand and we will see that we will be able to successfully fulfill the mandate of making disciples. Now, some parting words. This podcast may not appeal to everyone, but there are specific groups that we're targeting. This podcast may not appeal to everyone, but there are specific groups of persons that we're interested in connecting with. Now, if you are one of those persons who become tired of the same old, same old, ineffective, non-inspiring, shallow run of the mill church ministry, which leaves you spiritually starving and disillusioned, then this podcast is for you. At the same time, if you're one of those who've been disappointed by the new, ultra-modern ministry hype, which promises much but delivers little, and when you investigate, turns out to be empty or fake, and you're left frustrated and angry, well, we are here to help you discover what authentic church ministry looks like so that you can be a part of it and you can enjoy it. We are also here to help people, Christian or non-Christian, who are seeking to learn the truth about God through the church. If that's you, we are here to help you identify Bible-believing, Spirit-filled, God-ordained church ministries that preach and promote the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Additionally, if you are here because you are curious, you may not even be religious, but you may simply be looking for answers about humanity and life in general, this podcast will put you in a better position to make meaningful decisions because it will point out to you from a Christian standpoint what authentic ministry looks like so that you are able to make that decision. And last, and by no means least, this podcast is here for pastors and church leaders who need assistance in building a vibrant church ministry, a church ministry that is authentic, that is sustainable, that is self-propagating and timeless. The Authentic Church Ministry Podcast commits to examining this vital subject through mature study, through dialogue, through fellowship, through interaction and consultation with fellow believers. All our efforts, all of our work, all our podcasts are grounded in prayer, reliance on the Holy Spirit and on accepted biblical exegesis. We trust that you have enjoyed this segment of our show. God bless.