I watched a video of the "apostolic aligning" of Lakeland revivalist Todd Bentley last month by Peter Wagner, Che Ahn, John Arnott, Rick Joyner, Bill Johnson and several other leaders--most of whom I have met and/or interviewed at some point in the last five years. While I have respect for their ministries and acknowledge that their giftings and emphases may be different from mine, it was difficult to connect the on-stage pomp and circumstance of this ceremony with my understanding of New Testament apostolic advancement of the church. The "alignment" was conducted, in part, to counteract the controversy surrounding Bentley's ministry brought on by the bizarre emphases and practices that seem to have no precedent in scripture.
This disconnect became more vivid in my mind yesterday when I had the privilege of conducting a video interview with a Korean-American couple who even the most stodgy evangelical would identify as modern-day apostles. It was not that their ministry was accompanied with dramatic signs and wonders (although there were some clear instances of deliverance and healing) or that they were able to fill a 10,000-seat auditorium. Instead, their church-planting ministry in Central Asia bears such a close resemblance to accounts in the Book of Acts that an apostolic aligning ceremony would seem laughably redundant. Why have such a ceremony for a family who moved to a Muslim country, baptized and discipled converts, planted a congregation, encouraged their flock through persecution, raised up national leaders and were eventually arrested and deported for preaching the gospel? The church there remains and is thriving under indigenous leadership.
That is apostolic ministry.
This disconnect became more vivid in my mind yesterday when I had the privilege of conducting a video interview with a Korean-American couple who even the most stodgy evangelical would identify as modern-day apostles. It was not that their ministry was accompanied with dramatic signs and wonders (although there were some clear instances of deliverance and healing) or that they were able to fill a 10,000-seat auditorium. Instead, their church-planting ministry in Central Asia bears such a close resemblance to accounts in the Book of Acts that an apostolic aligning ceremony would seem laughably redundant. Why have such a ceremony for a family who moved to a Muslim country, baptized and discipled converts, planted a congregation, encouraged their flock through persecution, raised up national leaders and were eventually arrested and deported for preaching the gospel? The church there remains and is thriving under indigenous leadership.
That is apostolic ministry.
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