LAST DAYS CHURCH

I know, everyone has been saying we are in the last days for hundreds of years. The fact is, if you don’t believe this, you will not have a sense of urgency to fulfil the great commission.

The last days church is throwing up quite a few challenges, none more so than the fact that the map hasn’t been drawn up for it yet. It needs quite a few visionaries who are prepared to invest everything in a pioneering spirit that will take us where no man has gone before. Well…sort of, the New Testament Church notwithstanding.

Why is there a growing last day’s church and what does it look like.

1. Those pioneering the last day’s church are usually people who have come up against barriers to change in their own church and have had to leave because the status quo was more important than God’s will.

2. The last day’s church is a church that is not a church. It does not have definable boundaries and cannot be contained in buildings.

3. The gospel is one that they take out to the market place. They do not expect people to come in to ‘our building’ hear it.

4. The focus is on ministries, not positions which give place to the priesthood of all believers.

5. Relationships, with each other and with Jesus are more important than doctrinal statements.

6.Ministry is based on needs not organisational goals.

7. Servant leadership is replacing performance ministry.

8. Mission statements are being replaced with the great commission and a passion for the lost.

9. It is a nameless and faceless church that is more interested in its mission than its popularity or prestige.

10. Its leader is the chief shepherd, Jesus, not the ‘senior pastor’ and it gets its instructions from the Holy Spirit not denominational headquarters.

Sounds a bit like the New Testament Church to me. You know, the one that changed the world in 30 years. The one where the people involved loved not their lives unto death. The one where those involved took up their cross and died daily. The one where following Jesus was not a part time occupation to be fitted in with all the other activities of life.

I am reliably informed that the last day’s church is happening across the globe in a bigger way than we realise as they do not court publicity and prominence. They do not say look at us we have 5,000 members in ‘our’ church. They just get on with what the Holy Spirit is telling them to do.

Because they have no programmes to satisfy, they are free to get instructions direct from the Holy Spirit on a daily basis. Not just the ‘priest’ or ‘pastor’ leader both of which are not scriptural, but anyone who has a relationship with Jesus through the Holy Spirit.

I know that a lot of people are going to throw their hands up in horror at the prospect because they cannot conceive of a church that doesn’t have a public building or a paid priest or pastor to do most of the work and a structured programme that makes everything comfortable and well organised.

Despite this, the scriptures say they that know their God will do exploits, not they that know their doctrine or church will do exploits. Sounds good to me.