Mere Missions

166 • M ere M issions : M oving F orward to M ultiply

needed to complete God’s designed process was the authorization and releasing through the leadership of a local Church. Barnabas, through the Holy Spirit, goes to Tarsus and brings Paul to the Church in Antioch (Acts 11.24-26a). Though called and equipped, Paul willingly and intentionally submits himself to the appointed godly leadership (elders) of the Antioch Church. They apparently determine he needs some further equipping in teaching (Acts 11.26b) and the stewarding of finances for the relief and care of the suffering and need within the Body of Christ (Acts 11.27-30). He continues this for one year (Acts 11.26b) until the leaders, through the Holy Spirit, authorize and release Paul into his calling as the Apostle to the Gentiles (Acts 13.1-3). With this understanding, here are two critical insights to move forward in Apostolic Missions: 1. We cannot by-pass the local church as God’s agent for His designed process for apostolic missions. The smallest of compromises will lead to the slowing, stand still and potentially the ceasing of missions. This is especially important given, that in the West, most do not see the Church as central and pivotal in our culture. The Church is just one, and to many a dying and powerless one, of the systems that make up our culture. Satan has hated the Bride of Christ since her founding. He has masterfully moved her away from being central in this age of the new covenant. He has woven his lie, “who needs the church anyway” and it has stuck. Unfortunately, this lie has stuck to many who profess Jesus. They feel the same way, “I can do without the Church.” The truth is, for the eight reasons listed above about the Church, she is central to the unseen spiritual world and to the seen world in which we are strangers and aliens. The local church, through Spirit filled leadership, is the only agent in which God works His Kingdom mission. This is the time for the Church to aggressively pray to the