One of the most important churches in the first century was not planted by apostles, but actually gave birth to apostles and a whole new kind of missionary apostle that would "turn the world upside down." This was the church at Antioch, planted by believers simply preaching the gospel. Yet this church set the course of history for much of the world, and is one of the great inspirations of how the Lord can take any little church and impact the entire world through it.
In contrast to the original twelve apostles who mostly stayed in Jerusalem, the apostles raised up at Antioch went out and had their primary purpose and impact on the mission field. Of course, the original twelve did go out some, but mostly they stayed put and let the people come to them until later when they began to follow the example of the missionary apostles sent out from Antioch.
This pattern is one that we must understand if we are going to stay on the cutting edge of God's purposes in our time—He usually begins new movements in new places and in new ways. Many leaders today, if they had been the leaders in Jerusalem, would have probably rejected what came out of Antioch because it did not come through them. The early apostles had more maturity and wisdom than this. They were not only open to what was born out of Antioch, but they embraced it quickly and sent ministries there to help encourage them.
The original apostles and elders in Jerusalem did not see Antioch as a threat to them, but just another example of the fruit of their own ministry, as those who had been raised up under them were responsible for starting the work in Antioch. This was accepted by them even though it does seem to have just happened spontaneously, without their planning or control. This reveals a most healthy maturity within the first century leadership.
It was this kind of maturity in the leadership of the church in the first century which made it possible for the strategy that may well have contributed to some of the greatest strengths of the first century church. That is the ability of one ministry to go throughout the churches sowing seeds, and another to follow them who would water the seeds that had been planted so that there was great fruitfulness in the churches.
Just as plants are pollinated by bees that fly from one plant to the other, carrying the necessary interchange between plants which is required for them to grow and bear fruit, traveling ministries do the same. They carry ministry to the churches, but they also pick up things from them that they carry to the other churches. When this same strategy began with the Moravians in the early 1700s and was picked up by those such as John Wesley and George Whitefield, it resulted in some of the greatest spiritual advances since the beginning of the Reformation.
When this same strategy was picked up by the Pentecostals and later the Charismatics in the latter half of the twentieth century, it sparked the greatest harvest of new believers, the release of the most ministries, and the planting of the most churches in history.
One of these modern apostles whom I got to know quite well, but who few have probably heard of today, was a man named Erskine Holt. He traveled more than three hundred days a year, mostly to small churches and even home groups. He rarely stayed in one more than two days, but he spread an amazing amount of life and vision in the church. In some ways, he helped to lay a foundation for some of the great movements which have arisen in recent times.
I traveled with Erskine a couple of times and observed him closely. He was a great teacher, but I quickly learned that he was an even greater student. He was always seeking to learn something from every place he went, which he would often then deposit at the next church. I never saw him preach from notes, as he stayed focused on the needs of the church he was ministering to, and he never came with a canned message. For this reason, his messages were always like fresh manna—always interesting and new, and always pointed to Jesus.
There was something else very unique about Erskine. Every time I saw him he had someone new traveling with him who he was training. Many of these, like John Hamrick, went on to also have a great impact on many people and churches. John probably had a greater impact on the formative stages of our ministry than anyone else. He remained a counselor and mentor until he passed away returning home after one of our MFM retreats. John had a major influence on many ministries and missions that have arisen from this fellowship.
Another one of my favorite such modern apostolic type ministries is Bob Weiner. He, too, rarely stays in one place more than a few days, but travels all over the body of Christ carrying life and vision. Bob founded Maranatha Campus Ministries, which attracted a new breed of Christian and Christian leader, some of whom have gone on to start their own movements. Then Bob felt that the Lord told him to decentralize Maranatha and simplify his own ministry, and take a year sabbatical. Since then he has been used to help start or give direction to some of the most powerful churches and movements to be raised up in the world. Bob's whole organization has continued to basically be a secretary. I do not know of anyone in our time who has accomplished so much with so little organization behind them. Bob has a lot of energy, but this could not have been done without the Holy Spirit.
People such as Erskine, John, and Bob, and many more like them, are performing an absolutely essential ministry to the body of Christ. As mentioned before, just as any flock of sheep will get weaker with each succeeding generation if it does not cross-breed with other flocks, churches or movements will get weaker with each generation if they do not cross-pollinate or interchange with other churches and movements. Those who are led by fearful or possessive leaders inevitably get weaker and weaker until they dissipate or collapse. This is one place it is certainly true that those who seek to save their lives will inevitably lose them.
In Israel, which was a blueprint or model for "spiritual Israel," the church, all of the people were required to go up three times a year to Jerusalem to worship the Lord. This brought even more interchange. The people, who were all from different tribes, also were able to maintain their common national vision this way. This same strategy has been implemented almost across the spectrum of the church in the last few decades through the hosting of conferences, which has likewise greatly edified and strengthened the church, imparting to many believers a vision of the whole body of Christ.
The healthiest church visions which produce the healthiest Christians will always be those that can emphasize and focus on the vision of the local church or the central vision of a movement while promoting and maintaining a vision for what is happening in the whole body of Christ. Because of the freedom of travel and free exchange of information and ideas which is now available to almost everyone, it is hardly possible for possessive or fearful pastors and church leaders to keep their people isolated. Those who try to inevitably wither away and those who are mature and free enough to promote interchange are the ones who are growing and prospering. This is definitely a good thing.
These are some of the more basic issues of a healthy church life. Next week we will continue these and begin to address some of the more specific issues. I appreciate those who want to go on with the message of the kingdom, but this message cannot be preached in its fullness and power without a strong representation of it on the earth, which the church is called to be. Those who claim to have a kingdom vision without having a church vision are missing some very basic truths about the kingdom. Those who have a church vision without a kingdom vision are likewise missing some essential truths of the gospel.