Preparing For Eldership

Preparing for
Eldership
PREPARING FOR ELDERSHIP
Preparing for Eldership

Copyright 2004, 2005 by Glenridge Church International
Portions Copyright 1999, 2004 by New Covenant Ministries International
Used with permission.
Revision: 7 February, 2005
Mastering Date: 9 February, 2005
This manual may be duplicated whole, or in part, in any form
(written, visual, electronic or audio) without express written
permission, providing it is not used for commercial purposes.
Printed by Glenridge Church International
+27 31 304 8841
info@gci.za.org
Set in Book Antiqua (print) or Arial (screen).
Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW
INTERNATIONAL VERSION. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984
by International Bible Society. Used by permission of
Zondervan Publishing House. Scripture taken from the 1984
North American Edition of the NIV Bible, unless otherwise
indicated. All italics in quotes are ours.
Introduction
This book is an edited transcript of eldership
training sessions at Glenridge by Rory Dyer during
2004. Much of the material used is from Chris
Wienand and Leon van Daele.
It also includes a transcribed sermon by Kevin
Booth, Being Ready to Preach (from a Young
Leaders Training Time in Los Angeles, USA
during 1999); a transcribed sermon by Nigel DayLewis, Leading Prayer Meetings (preached at a
Leadership Training Time in Germany during
2001); as well as the I Have a Dream sermon by
Dudley Daniel (preached at a Durban City
Celebration, South Africa during 1996).
The Art of Preaching is adapted from notes by
Nigel Day-Lewis (when he was an elder at
Glenridge during the early 1990s).
Most headings have been added primarily for the
purpose of the table of contents. You may want to
skip over them while reading.
Contents
1: What is an Elder? _____________________11
Introduction and Key Texts _________________11
The Calling _______________________________14
1. You Must be Called by God ___________________
2. You Must Respond to the Call _________________
3. You Must Know Eldership is Not a Title __________
4. You Must be Recognised by Others _____________
5. You Must be Able to Work on a Team ___________
6. You Must be Trustworthy _____________________
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God Our Governor _________________________19

1. The Need for Government ____________________ 19
2. Forms of Government that God Gives ___________ 20
Pressures in Ministry ______________________22

1. People Pressure ____________________________
2. Partner Pressure____________________________
3. Performance Pressure _______________________
4. Profile Pressure ____________________________
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The Duties of an Elder______________________24

1. First of All, Pray ____________________________
2. Correctly Handle the Word of Truth _____________
3. Preach and Teach the Word___________________
4. Train Yourself to be Godly ____________________
5. Fight the Good Fight _________________________
6. Do the Work of an Evangelist __________________
7. Recognise, Raise up and Release Leaders _______
8. Pastoral Care ______________________________
9. Endure Hardship ____________________________
10. Lead Meetings ____________________________
11. Manage the Affairs of the Church ______________
12. Administrate Discipline ______________________
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Questions and Answers ____________________48

1. Debt _____________________________________
2. Bad Behaviour from Children __________________
3. Setting Salaries_____________________________
4. Elders Wives Working and Fulltime Elders _______
5. For Those in the Secular Workplace ____________
6. Church Spending ___________________________
7. The Costs of Travel in Ministry _________________
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8. Retirement Planning and Life Assurance _________ 57
2: The Tasks of an Elder _________________59

The Role of the Lead Elder __________________59
1. He is Not a King ____________________________ 59
2. He Has Recognised Authority in a Team _________ 59
3. I am Your Servant, He is My Master ___________ 62
Questions and Answers About Lead Elders ____62

1. Apostles and the Role of Lead Elder ____________ 62
2. Special Anointing for the Task _________________ 63
3. Decision Making by the Elders _________________ 65
What Elders Do ___________________________67

1. First of All, Pray ____________________________
2. Managing the Affairs of the Church _____________
3. Keep the Whole Biblical Picture in Mind __________
4. Do the Basics Well __________________________
5. Convert Ingredients into Strategy _______________
6. Assess the Additions and Prunings of Ministry_____
7. The Tension of Church, Calling and Home________
8. Finances __________________________________
9. Administering Apostolic Ministries ______________
10. To Gather the Team ________________________
11. Fight the Good Fight ________________________
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Questions and Answers ____________________85

1. Casualties in Leadership_____________________
2. Elders Not Being Recent Converts ______________
3. Testing Deacons____________________________
4. Decision Making in a Church __________________
5. Relationship with an Apostolic Team ____________
6. Restoration of Morally-Fallen Leaders ___________
7. Practical Prayer ____________________________
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3: The Biblical Shepherd _________________90

Shepherding______________________________90
1. The Heart _________________________________
2. The Standard ______________________________
3. The Equipment _____________________________
4. The Method________________________________
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The Good Shepherds Purposes _____________98

1. Search for the Un-churched ___________________ 98
2. Search for the Ex-churched ___________________ 99
3. Rescue Scattered Sheep ____________________ 100
4. Bring Out and Bring In ______________________ 102
5. Gather the Flock ___________________________

6. Pasture Them Widely _______________________
7. Have Them Lie Down _______________________
8. Bind Up the Injured _________________________
9. Shepherd with Justice to Bring Righteousness ___
10. Judge Between Sheep, Rams and Goats_______
11. Bless the Sheep __________________________
12. Break the Yokes __________________________
13. Help Them Live in Safety ___________________
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Conclusion ______________________________112
Questions and Answers ___________________113
1. The Elders Wife ___________________________
2. People Moving Between Churches_____________
3. The Question of Denomination_______________
4. Accountable to God ________________________
5. Home Group Issues ________________________
6. Problems in the Church _____________________
7. A New Lead Elder in a Church ________________
8. Deacons _________________________________
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4: Gods Call to Leadership______________125

Introduction _____________________________125
1. We Are to be Radical _______________________ 125
2. We Are to be Apostolic and Prophetic __________ 126
The Purpose of Apostolic Ministry___________127

1. To Prepare Gods People for Works of Service ___
2. To Build Up the Church _____________________
3. So We All Reach Unity in the Faith_____________
4. To Become a Mature Church _________________
5. To Attain the Fullness of Christ________________
6. In All Things To Grow Up ____________________
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The Nature of Apostolic Ministry ____________129

1. Governmental Authority in the Local Church _____
2. A Going-Not-Gathering Mindset _______________
3. A Sending-Not-Staying Mindset _______________
4. A Giving-Not-Merely-Getting Mindset ___________
5. Gifts Working Into Existing Local Churches ______
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What It Means to be Prophetic ______________130

1. We See Ahead and Live it Now _______________
2. We Persevere Though it is Demanding _________
3. We Persist in Preaching Holiness______________
4. We Keep Changing and Remain Changeable ____
5. We Fill Ourselves with Gods Dream ___________
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6. We Live Radically Without Compromise_________ 139

7. We Travel, Sow and Pray ____________________ 139
8. We See Gods Word as Effective and Powerful ___ 140
Biblical Leadership Requires Authority_______141

1. Be In Authority ____________________________ 142
2. Be Under Authority _________________________ 143
3. Exercise Authority__________________________ 145
The Nature of Authority____________________146

1. Governmental Authority _____________________ 147
2. Liberating Authority_________________________ 147
Your Personal Call and Gifting______________148

1. We Must Contribute with Our Gifts _____________
2. We Must Identify Our Call and Gifts ____________
3. We Must Identify Our Anointing _______________
4. Our Character Must Match Our Call and Gifts ____
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5: I Have a Dream ______________________157

Preamble: The Apostolic Mandate ___________158
1. Keeping the Churchs Focus Right _____________ 158
God Has a Dream_________________________159

1. God Has Predestined a Plan for All of Us________
2. Our Initial Vision was of a Perfect Church _______
3. We Lose Sight of Gods Plan _________________
4. We Need to Believe in Gods Plan _____________
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God Wants to Reveal His Dream ____________163

1. God Shows Us the Goodness of His Plan _______
2. The Good Plan is for Now Not Later____________
3. We Must Ask for His Plan for the Church ________
4. We Can Choose to be Out of the Plan __________
5. We Need Wholeheartedness for the Plan _______
6. We Must Commit to Gods Plan _______________
7. God is Committed to Making the Plan Clear______
8. We Should Believe Despite Circumstances ______
9. We Must Have Faith in the Plan of God _________
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I Have a Dream of a People_________________171

1. Who Love Like Jesus Loved _______________
2. Who Care for Others _____________________
3. Who Care for the Underprivileged ___________
4. Who Care for the Widow and Widower _______
5. Who Care for the Divorced_________________
6. Who Care for the Unmarried _______________
7. Who Care for the Orphaned________________
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8. Who Care for the Imprisoned _______________

9. Who Care for the Aged ___________________
10. Who Care for the Street People ____________
11. Who Care for the Nations_________________
12. Who Care for the Religious _______________
13. Who Care for the Church _________________
14. Who Care about Integrity and Truth_________
15. Who Care Enough to Set Captives Free _____
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I Have a Dream of a Church ________________178

1. That is Real ____________________________
2. That is Un-religious not Irreligious ___________
3. That is Obedient to the Word of God _________
4. That is Operating in the Ways of God ________
5. That is Functioning like a Priesthood _________
6. That has No Idolisation ___________________
7. That is Zealous for God ___________________
8. That is Transparent before God and People ___
9. That Insists on Integrity in Leadership ________
10. That is Committed to the Commission _______
11. That is Planting New Churches ____________
12. That is Equipping Itself___________________
13. That is Generous Together _______________
14. That is Spreading the Good News __________
15. That is Dressing Morally__________________
16. That is Worshiping Unashamedly __________
17. That is Caring for Widows and Orphans _____
18. That is Exercising Dominion_______________
19. That has No Generation or Colour Issues ____
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The Devil, Too, Has a Dream _______________189

1. He Uses the Religious ______________________
2. He Uses the Gossips _______________________
3. He Uses the Critical ________________________
4. He Uses Our Hurts _________________________
5. He Uses the Cynical ________________________
6. He Uses the Insecure _______________________
7. He Uses Those with Wrong Commitments_______
8. He Uses Those Who Want a Club _____________
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Conclusion ______________________________193
1. God is Moving in Increasing Power ____________ 193
2. God is Restoring Organic Church Life __________ 194
3. God Will Help Us as We Respond _____________ 195
6: Leading Prayer Meetings______________197

Introduction _____________________________197
1. The Apostolic Church was a Praying Church _____ 197

2. The Church is Like a Battleship _______________ 197
3. The Church is Like a Body ___________________ 198
Reasons Why We Pray Together ____________198

1. Because Theres Work to be Done_____________
2. Because Community is Encouraging ___________
3. Because Theres Power in Agreement __________
4. Because it Fosters Comradeship ______________
5. Because it Brings About Ownership ____________
6. Because a Heart for the Nations Grows _________
7. Because We Can Change the Future___________
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How to Lead Prayer Meetings_______________202

1. Initiate Prayer Meetings as Soon as Possible ____
2. Meet for Prayer Once a Week ________________
3. Make Prayer a Priority Meeting for All __________
4. Prepare Well ______________________________
5. Give Clear Leadership ______________________
6. Pray for a Few Minutes at a Time ______________
7. Use Different Styles of Prayer ________________
8. Use Different Kinds of Prayer _________________
9. Pray for Matters Outside the Local Church_______
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Essential Ingredients in a Prayer Meeting_____212

1. Faith ____________________________________
2. Passion __________________________________
3. Perseverance _____________________________
4. An Example from Scripture ___________________
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Conclusion ______________________________214
7: Being Ready to Preach _______________216

Introduction _____________________________216
Our Need to be Ready _____________________217
1. Readiness is Your Responsibility ______________ 217
2. Readiness When We Dont Seem Needed_______ 218
Becoming a Public Speaker ________________219

1. Public Speaking is Difficult ___________________
2. To Become a Good Speaker Takes Work _______
3. Your Life Must be Spent in Preparation _________
4. Watch Great Speakers Communicate __________
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Begin with the End Purpose in Mind _________222

1. Everything Must Point to the End Purpose _______ 222
2. Speak to the Lord About the Purpose___________ 224
3. Consider the People and Their Needs __________ 224
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4. Use the Purpose of the Message as a Filter _____ 225

5. Prepare Early so that God can Fine-tune ________ 225
6. Use Gods Work in Your Life to Illustrate ________ 225
Do Your Homework _______________________226

1. Spend Lots of Time in Preparation _____________
2. Preach From Whole Passages ________________
3. Read Commentaries ________________________
4. Understand that You will Make Mistakes ________
5. Be Humble and Correctable __________________
6. Listen to Your Own Sermons _________________
7. Ensure You Have Conviction _________________
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Cautions ________________________________231
1. Try Not to Imitate Other Preachers_____________
2. Try Not to Develop Bad Habits ________________
3. Dont Live and Die on Successes and Failures ___
4. Dont Use the Pulpit to Get Even ______________
5. Dont Exaggerate __________________________
6. Dont Use Inappropriate Jokes ________________
7. Dont be Corrective _________________________
8. Dont be Intimidated ________________________
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Practical Pointers ________________________236

1. When in Doubt, Give Your Testimony __________ 236
2. The Cure for a Dry Mouth is to Drink ___________ 237
3. Listen to Your Spouses Criticism ______________ 238
Conclusion ______________________________238
1: What is an Elder?
Introduction and Key Texts
Here is a trustworthy saying: If anyone sets his
heart on being an overseer, he desires a noble
task. Now the overseer must be above reproach,
the husband of but one wife, temperate, selfcontrolled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach,
not given to drunkenness, not violent but gentle,
not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. He must
manage his own family well and see that his
children obey him with proper respect. (If anyone
does not know how to manage his own family,
how can he take care of Gods church?) He must
not be a recent convert, or he may become
conceited and fall under the same judgment as the
devil. He must also have a good reputation with
outsiders, so that he will not fall into disgrace and
into the devils trap.
Deacons, likewise, are to be men worthy of
respect, sincere, not indulging in much wine, and
not pursuing dishonest gain. (1 Timothy 3:1-8)
Lets look at verse 1. Here we see that leadership
is a privilege: it is a noble thing to be in Gods
leadership. In verse 8 we see that there are not
two different standards for elders and deacons. It
says, Deacons, likewise . Its not as if the
elders are the main guys and then there is a little
tier down and another tier downit says,
Deacons, likewise . It is a standard for the
whole Church.
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The reason I left you in Crete was that you might

straighten out what was left unfinished and
appoint elders in every town, as I directed you.
An elder must be blameless, the husband of but
one wife, a man whose children believe and are
not open to the charge of being wild and
disobedient. Since an overseer is entrusted with
Gods work, he must be blamelessnot
overbearing, not quick-tempered, not given to
drunkenness, not violent, not pursuing dishonest
gain. Rather he must be hospitable, one who
loves what is good, who is self-controlled, upright,
holy and disciplined. He must hold firmly to the
trustworthy message as it has been taught, so that
he can encourage others by sound doctrine and
refute those who oppose it. For there are many
rebellious people, mere talkers and deceivers,
especially those of the circumcision group. (Titus
1:5-10)
Here is a question for youdo you believe in the
position of a lead elder? Where do you see it in
Scripture? As an exercise, write a one page
essay on the office of lead elder.
Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of
God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of
life and imitate their faith. Jesus Christ is the
same yesterday and today and for ever.
Obey your leaders and submit to their authority.
They keep watch over you as men who must give
an account. Obey them so that their work will be a
joy, not a burden, for that would be of no

advantage to you. Pray for us. We are sure that
we have a clear conscience and desire to live
honourably in every way. (Hebrews 13:7-8, 1718)
To the elders among you, I appeal as a fellowelder, a witness of Christs sufferings and one who
also will share in the glory to be revealed: Be
shepherds of Gods flock that is under your care,
serving as overseersnot because you must, but
because you are willing, as God wants you to be;
not greedy for money, but eager to serve; not
lording it over those entrusted to you, but being
examples to the flock. And when the Chief
Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of
glory that will never fade away. (1 Peter 5:1-4)
From Miletus, Paul sent to Ephesus for the elders
of the church. When they arrived, he said to
them: You know how I lived the whole time I was
with you, from the first day I came into the
province of Asia. I served the Lord with great
humility and with tears, although I was severely
tested by the plots of the Jews.
Now I know that none of you among whom I
have gone about preaching the kingdom will ever
see me again. Therefore, I declare to you today
that I am innocent of the blood of all men. For I
have not hesitated to proclaim to you the whole
will of God. Keep watch over yourselves and all
the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you
overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God,
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which he bought with his own blood. (Acts 20:1719, 25-28)

There are three wonderful words in this text: in
verse 17 it is elders; in verse 28 it is overseers;
and in verse 28b it is shepherds. All three of
these words refer to the same office and so we
are going to explore these during this course. The
origins of these three words in the Greek are:
Presbuterosfrom where we get our word
presbytery.
Episcoposwhich often gets translated to
bishop.
Poimenwhich means shepherd.
All three of these words refer to the same office
and are found in 1 Peter 5 as well. Some
shepherd references are:
John 10;
Ezekiel 34; and
Psalm 23,
and we will look at them later. Now, lets consider
a few things on eldership.
The Calling
1. You Must be Called by God
God only sustains that which he ordains. It is
one thing to desire it, but we have to have the call
of God with it. Consider these three things
regarding the call of God: where, when and what.
Where has God called me to? When has he

called me to it? What has he called me to? When
those issues have been settled in my heart,
everything in my life becomes subservient to that
call; everything is towards that call. Where, when
and what. Most people, especially young people,
are more concerned with the where and the
when than with the what. I think that the most
important part of the call of God is, What has he
called me to?
So, the first thing is that God has to call me
where, when and what. The second thing is that I
need to learn how to respond to that call.
2. You Must Respond to the Call
The second thing that I look for (because I believe
God looks for it) is people responding to the call.
In what area? In every area of your life. For
example:
Your sexuality. If Gods called you to eldership
then you respond to the call in your sexuality.
Your finances. If Gods called you to eldership
then you respond to the call in your finances.
There is a phenomenon that is starting to affect us
around the world where businessmen who have
the call of God upon their lives for ministry have
not made the adjustment financially, and so they
can never go into ministry because ministry can
never pay the same as business. We need to
think, What has God called me to? Am I
responding? Am I putting systems in place to pay
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off my house and my car so that when the where

and the when come together, I can respond?
There is a wonderful young guy in one of the
churches in this area. He was a lawyer, and he
knew from before he went to university that God
had called him into ministry. So, when he went
into law, he saved every single cent; every single
cent that he could, he saved. When he went into
ministry he could buy a house and put almost 80%
down as a deposit! That is because he knew what
God had called him to, from a little boy, and he
made the adjustments.
Your marriage. If you know what God has
called you to, you need to prepare your
marriage for the strain.
3. You Must Know Eldership is Not a Title
What does it mean to say that eldership is a
calling and not a title? It means that I should be
doing it before I become it. Many people come
to me and say, I feel that I am called to
eldership, but they never get to meetings early,
they never contribute at meetings, I never see
them shepherding anybody beside the little group
that they are comfortable withthey operate
within homogeneous little arrangements and are
selective in their pastoringthey only pastor
people similar to themselves. In eldership you
cant do thatyou have to pastor everybody and
you have to contribute wherever. And, so, if you
feel that God has called you then you must start
doing it before the so-called title comes to you.
4. You Must be Recognised by Others

I remember Leon van Daele saying, If you are
leading and no one is following you then you are
just going for a walk in the park.
When the princes in Israel take the lead,
when the people willingly offer themselves
praise the LORD!
(Judges 5:2)
This has got to be the leadership ideal in
Scripture. There has to be a recognition. One of
the things I do before we bring another elder on is
I just start to ask people (different peopleyoung
people, old people), Who are the next elders for
our church? More than likely, the same name, or
the same two or three names, keep coming up.
Its one of the ways that we bring elders on
because people are recognizing that they are
already stepping in and doing it.
5. You Must be Able to Work on a Team
One of the things that make my ears prick up is to
hear how people speak about their bosses. If I
hear that you constantly have a difficult boss then
I dont want to bring you onto this team because I
am a difficult boss: all of us are difficult! If you
battle constantly to work with somebody then you
will never work on an eldership teamnever.
Some of you honestly need to change the way
that you see your bosses. However difficult they
may be, God will use those men to prepare you to
work on another mans team. Ive had a most
obnoxious boss. He nailed me to the wall. He
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used to go out on business-meeting lunches and

drink and when he came back I used to tell him
that he was unfair. One day God said, Hes my
agent for change in your life. I said, But, God!
God said, I use donkeys, I use these guys, I use
whoever I need.
I had a meeting with a man once who fought and
fought and fought with his boss and I challenged
him about submitting to his boss. He changed,
and now God is promoting him.
Can you work on a team? It means that you have
to be flexible, that you have to be submissive and
youve got to be humble. God chose Moses and
Moses chose the eldersthats the reality. We
dont work with bosses here, we work with team
leaders (and, remember, you are going to find out
where it is in the Scriptures in your exercise).
6. You Must be Trustworthy
Whoever can be trusted with very little can also
be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest
with very little will also be dishonest with much.
So if you have not been trustworthy in handling
worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches?
And if you have not been trustworthy with
someone elses property, who will give you
property of your own? (Luke 16:10-12)
Now, from this text there are three things that are
absolutely crucial in the call of God.
Be trustworthy with little things.
Be trustworthy with money. I dont believe

that you can bring a man on to an eldership
team who is in debt. So, what does that
mean? You feel the call of God; you look at
your bank account. The Bible says that you
should have no debt outstanding but the debt
of love. You have to get people around you
and you need to pour all your effort and
energy and prayer life into it until that thing is
finished so that God can release you. Im
telling you that we cannot release men who
are in debt. Ive gone into churches that are
in debthuge debt. Theres no way that God
can bless you while youre in debtits
impossible! Youve got to sort it out, youve
got to cut it out, youve got to stop going on
holidays, meals, whatever it might be. Get
that thing under control so that he can release
you.
Be trustworthy with someone elses property.
God Our Governor

1. The Need for Government
The LORD God took the man and put him in the
Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.
And the LORD God commanded the man, You
are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you
must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of
good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely
die. (Genesis 2:15-17)
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The fall of man was because the man didnt

exercise the government that God had given to
him. His wife was in the wrong place at the wrong
time, and he should have exercised government
by telling her. He was watching her, she was
watching the serpent and God was watching them.
The whole thing fell apart and God said, Now Im
going to send someone to come and redeem the
situation. It says that of the increase of his
government there will be no end in Isaiah 9:7. So,
Jesus had to come through the line of David and
institute government back on the earth. Without
government there is anarchy.
2. Forms of Government that God Gives
In the house, the husband is the head of the
home. When he doesnt exercise government
there is anarchy.
In the country, the parliament is the government,
the highest governing authority. God has given
them delegated authority.
In the church, the elders. To do what? To rule
and to govern. God doesnt dictate to us and
neither do elders because the Bible says that we
are not to lord it over the people.
Thats the progression and God has to bring
government back because he wants us to live
back in the garden. So, he says, The way you
live in the garden is to come under my delegated
authority, and in the life of the church that is
eldership.
It is one of the most unbelievable phenomena I

have seen: a man or woman who will not submit
themselves to a biblical eldership will never count
for Godit is impossible! I have seen it happen
many times in our church because God has a
pattern and it is government.
Let me ask this question: Do you have
government on your life? Without government you
will never be an elder. How do you know if a
person has got government on his life? There is
orderhis family is in order; his marriage is in
order; his kids are in order; his finances are in
order.
I was once watching a video about lions. The lion
had caught an animal and was trying to feast on it
but the hyenas kept coming in and harassing him.
The lion was tired so he just put up with it for a
while, but eventually he got so angry that he just
climbed on the prey and roared with authority
sending the hyenas scooting off! I felt God say to
me, Go and roar over your inheritance.
Government!
If you are always tired then it could be because of
a lack of government. You need to put systems in
place that get you un-tired. Get control back in
your life and start to roar over your timetable.
Start to roar over your emotionsget them back
into the garden. Inconsistent people who have
continual cycles of good times and then bad times
have no government. You are like a lion with no
teeth when you dont take hold of the thing that is
preventing you from exercising your rulership.
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Pressures in Ministry
1. People Pressure
People make constant demands.
Thats not
wrongthe Bible says that the task of an elder is
a noble task; people are dependent on you. I
know that they are dependent on God but they are
still dependent upon us. And, people often delve
into your livesit is a very, very public position.
2. Partner Pressure
I remember after 6 months of running Glenridge, I
went to America and I was absolutely exhausted.
I had preached every sermon that I could preach, I
had exhausted all the revelation that I had, my
stories were finishedall my army ones, my
school ones, my Rugby onesI had nothing left to
give and I thought, Im going to get to America
and Im going to be a leech: I am going to suck in
every bit of information and then Im going to
come back and preach all this new revelation that
Ive learnt in America. I got into the car with one
couple and I realized that they were in trouble:
they were exhausted; their marriage was under
incredible scrutiny. They had gone from the local
church, which had become a safe haven for them,
and the condition of their marriage was not strong
enough to handle the conditions of America. I
ended up, with nothing inside of me, ministering to
them. Every relationship comes under incredible
scrutiny under the call of God.
Remember that it says in that text in Timothy that
we must be careful that we do not fall into the
devils trap. The devil is waiting to trap Gods

ministers. The three greatest traps are females,
fame and finances. That is the devils greatest
scheme. And so you need to ask, What has God
called me to? You need to make sure that you
have dealt with the financial thing in your heart. It
has to be sorted in your heart! You have to have
dealt with the female thing (or the male thing, for
the ladies), and you have to have dealt with the
thing of fame. John Stott says that there is no
more dangerous a place than the pulpit for a son
of Adamespecially in this context with all these
people running around. 500, 600 or 700 people
arrive for a prayer meeting: youve got to make
sure that the fame thing is dead in your heart.
3. Performance Pressure
Much of ministry is lived either under adrenaline or
anointing and many people do not have that in
their jobs. You may have the adrenaline and you
may
have
an
anointing
(supernatural
empowerment) but you have to learn to live
outside of that context as a normal man: outside
of the adrenaline and anointing (that speed up
your whole system) you have to be constantly
gauging.
A man came up to me in the beginning of this year
and he said to me, Exodus was a great series
now were sitting back and watching what the next
trick is. Its a pressureit sits on you. Now I
think, That guy, who is a leader in this church, is
watching me. Youve got to live comfortably with
that thing. Youve got to make the adjustments
and say, This is what God has called me toIm
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not here to perform. Im here to do my best. Ill

tell you honestly, guys, I lived with this yo-yo in
ministry because no one taught me. When I
preached well I was on a high and when I
preached badly I was on a low. My emotions went
like that until I realized that this is not a
performance. I have settled the issue that I am
meant to be here. I am here by the call of God
and if people criticize me or if they praise me, I
know what I am called to. You have to settle
these things in your heart. Some of you will be
looking at me and saying, I dont know what he is
talking about, but if God has called you to ministry
then one day you will know.
4. Profile Pressure
Peoples eyes are always on youwatching what
your wife is wearing, how shes dressed, who cut
her hair and, if youve been overseas, if youve
bought new shoes. Always watchingall the time.
Youve got to learn how to settle all those things in
your heart.
The Duties of an Elder

You, however, know all about my teaching, my
way of life, my purpose, faith, patience, love,
endurance, persecutions, sufferingswhat kinds
of things happened to me in Antioch, Iconium and
Lystra, the persecutions I endured. Yet the Lord
rescued me from all of them. In fact, everyone
who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will
be persecuted, while evil men and impostors will
go from bad to worse, deceiving and being
deceived. But as for you, continue in what you
have learned and have become convinced of,

because you know those from whom you learned
it, and how from infancy you have known the holy
Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for
salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.
All
Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for
teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in
righteousness, so that the man of God may be
thoroughly equipped for every good work.
In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who
will judge the living and the dead, and in view of
his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this
charge: Preach the Word; be prepared in season
and out of season; correct, rebuke and
encouragewith great patience and careful
instruction. For the time will come when men will
not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit
their own desires, they will gather around them a
great number of teachers to say what their itching
ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away
from the truth and turn aside to myths. But you,
keep your head in all situations, endure hardship,
do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the
duties of your ministry. For I am already being
poured out like a drink offering, and the time has
come for my departure. I have fought the good
fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.
Now there is in store for me the crown of
righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous
Judge, will award to me on that dayand not only
to me, but also to all who have longed for his
appearing. (2 Timothy 3:10-4:8)
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This is a wonderful Scripture and 2 Timothy 4:5

says to discharge all the duties of your ministry.
1. First of All, Pray
I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers,
intercession and thanksgiving be made for
everyone. (1 Timothy 2:1)
and will give our attention to prayer and the
ministry of the word. (Acts 6:4)
Biblically, the deacons took care of the needs of
the people. Our mindset is that the elders are the
fulltime guys so they can take care of it. No, the
Bible says, First of all, pray. The bulk of my day
should be taken up with prayer and the study of
the word of God. Ive got that wrong for so long
because the demand on my time is so incredibly
tight. I went back to the Scriptures this year and
Ive just said to the guys, Until lunch time you
cant get hold of me because Im in my study.
Doing what? Preparing the word and praying.
That is what I doevery day. Ive disappointed
people and theyve said, I can never get hold of
you. I said, ListenIm of no use to you if I cant
spend that time because the Bible says, First of
all, pray.
Let me tell you that if what God has called you to
be is an elder, and you get to work and at 12
oclock you think, I havent got into the presence
of God yet, then you need to start roaring, get
control of your diary and first of all, pray. Thats
what it says, first of all, pray!
2. Correctly Handle the Word of Truth

Do your best to present yourself to God as one
approved, a workman who does not need to be
ashamed and who correctly handles the word of
truth. (2 Timothy 2:15)
and will give our attention to prayer and the
ministry of the word. (Acts 6:4)
For I have not hesitated to proclaim to you the
whole will of God. Keep watch over yourselves
and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made
you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of
God, which he bought with his own blood. I know
that after I leave, savage wolves will come in
among you and will not spare the flock. Even from
your own number men will arise and distort the
truth in order to draw away disciples after them.
So be on your guard! Remember that for three
years I never stopped warning each of you night
and day with tears. (Acts 20:27-31)
What you heard from me, keep as the pattern of
sound teaching, with faith and love in Christ
Jesus. (2 Timothy 1:13)
3. Preach and Teach the Word
If you point these things out to the brothers, you
will be a good minister of Christ Jesus, brought up
in the truths of the faith and of the good teaching
that you have followed.
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Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading

of Scripture, to preaching and to teaching. (1
Timothy 4:6, 13)
Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out
of season; correct, rebuke and encouragewith
great patience and careful instruction. (2 Timothy
4:2)
And the things you have heard me say in the
presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable
men who will also be qualified to teach others. (2
Timothy 2:2)
What you heard from me, keep as the pattern of
sound teaching, with faith and love in Christ
Jesus. (2 Timothy 1:13)
For this reason I am sending to you Timothy, my
son whom I love, who is faithful in the Lord. He
will remind you of my way of life in Christ Jesus,
which agrees with what I teach everywhere in
every church. (1 Corinthians 4:17)
Preaching and teaching may sound similar, but
they are different. Preaching is proclaiming the
Word, teaching is explaining the Word.
4. Train Yourself to be Godly
Have nothing to do with godless myths and old
wives tales; rather, train yourself to be godly. For
physical training is of some value, but godliness
has value for all things, holding promise for both
the present life and the life to come. (1 Timothy
4:7-8)
You then, my son, be strong in the grace that is in

Christ Jesus. (2 Timothy 2:1)
For the grace of God that brings salvation has
appeared to all men. It teaches us to say No to
ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live selfcontrolled, upright and godly lives in this present
age, while we wait for the blessed hopethe
glorious appearing of our great God and Saviour,
Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem
us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a
people that are his very own, eager to do what it
good.
These, then, are the things you should teach.
Encourage and rebuke with all authority. Do not
let anyone despise you. (Titus 2:11-15)
One of the greatest challenges for me has been to
change my sense of humourhonestly. I grew up
in an all-boys school with sarcastic comments all
the time. It has been an ongoing battle for me to
train my mind because it got so programmed. I
read again this week where the cripple gets
healed in Acts 3. It stood out to me that he was
crippled for forty years and I realized that just one
encounter with Jesus sorted that whole thing out.
We have to allow God to come into those things
that have almost become set, like the bone has
become deformed. I have spoken to some people
about their tongues approximately twenty times
and said, This thing is going to stop you from
getting your inheritance. What are you called to?
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The Bible says, Train yourself to be godly. We

have to get ourselves reprogrammed.
5. Fight the Good Fight
Timothy, my son, I give you this instruction in
keeping with the prophecies once made about
you, so that by following them you may fight the
good fight. (1 Timothy 1:18)
Endure hardship with us like a good soldier of
Christ Jesus. No one serving as a soldier gets
involved in civilian affairshe wants to please his
commanding officer. (2 Timothy 2:3-4)
Weve been entrusted with cities and weve been
entrusted with nations and recently I was in
meetings with a group of pastors that went into a
prayer time. We were going to spend half an hour
to forty-five minutes praying. I looked around the
room and saw some guys sit down, put their
heads between their knees and just park off there
praying in tongues. Ive never seen a soldier win
a fight on his bottomnever in my lifeI have
never seen it happen. Unbelievable! They just
goofed out. These guys are called by God to go,
fight, win and aggressively lay hold of their
inheritance, and they were just sitting there! Now,
some people can pray sitting down but we are
called to fight the good fight. This means that we
need to be on the front foot, that we need to come
prepared and ready to contribute. You say, But,
you know, Ive had a busy day, Rory. What has
God called you to? That thing may be only in five
years time but what has he called you to? Well
then, come in here like a warrior. Come in here
with your spear in your hand, your javelin drawn,

your sword at your side and say, I will contribute
and I will push back the forces of darkness. You
dont have to shout and scream. Dont look at me
and think that because Im a loud guy that you
have to do it like me. You can do it quietly, but
you can do it with a heart of war in you.
Paul says, Fight the good fight. Take your
prophecies that have been spoken over you and
fight with them. While going through some papers
the other day I picked up an old prophecy that had
been given to me. It is on an old piece of paper
and my writing is still so immature on it. As I
looked at it I thought, Ive let some of this stuff
die. So, I put it in the car and Mel, my wife, said,
Do you know that the prophecy is in the car? I
said, Yes, I know the prophecy is in my car. Its
on my car seat and it was prophesied in 1989
thats about fifteen years agoand I let some of it
die. I accepted it because it was a clear word of
God to me. Ive had only two or three directional
prophecies in my life and that was one of them. I
have just accepted it again and Im laying hold of it
again. Ive got to fight the good fightits what
God has called me to.
6. Do the Work of an Evangelist
But you, keep your head in all situations, endure
hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge
all the duties of your ministry. (2 Timothy 4:5)
For the Son of Man came to seek and to save
what was lost. (Luke 19:10)
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to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles

with the priestly duty of proclaiming the gospel of
God, so that the Gentiles might become an
offering acceptable to God, sanctified by the Holy
Spirit. (Romans 15:16)
Brothers, my hearts desire and prayer to God for
the Israelites is that they may be saved.
(Romans 10:1)
everyonefor kings and all those in authority, that
we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all
godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases
God our Saviour, who wants all men to be saved
and to come to a knowledge of the truth. (1
Timothy 2:1-4)
I want you to take these Scriptures and ask God to
show them to you. I can give them to you, but
only God can make them come alive in you;
otherwise it just becomes a passing of information.
I think that there is such a fear in believersand
for years I have carried that fear: we think that
now that we are born again we need to get into an
evangelism mode and get out there to present
something in an unusual way. Jesus was not a
freakhe just walked. When he came across the
woman at the well, he asked her, Wheres your
husband? She said, I dont have a husband.
He said, in effect, I know that youve had a couple
of guys in your life, my dear. He just walked and
he touched people as he went. Im telling you that
wherever we go we should bring life. Ezekiel 47

says that wherever we go, there should be fresh
water. If we are doing some of these things,
prayer and the Word, then the opportunities will
open to us. There was a lady here on Sunday that
came because Ive been visiting a coffee shop
just having a cup of tea and having some
meetings there. She came here with her daughter
on Sunday night. I never even invited her. It is
easy to just get caught up in the Glenridge huddle
and think, Well, were touching the nations, were
going for God, and somebody else is
evangelizing. Weve got to break out of this thing.
The Spirit of God is in me, friends. Ive just got to
preach the truth. The Word convicts. The Spirit of
God convicts. Just do it!
You want to be an elder? Do the work of an
evangelist. I was so encouraged to hear that one
of the home-group leaders is leading people to the
Lord every single week. I was so encouraged to
hear that. They are getting readyGod is starting
to prepare their hearts. On Sunday night, Beth
got up to do an altar call. She had obviously been
waiting on God on Sunday afternoon and she had
written five pages of notes. She just got up and
somebodys life is changed as a result.
7. Recognise, Raise up and Release Leaders
The reason I left you in Crete was that you might
straighten out what was left unfinished and
appoint elders in every town, as I directed you.
(Titus 1:5)
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It says that the apostolic team must set in order

and appoint elders. Part of the task is to release
people and release leaders.
We have to
subscribe to a culture of leadership not
followership. A culture of leadership. How do we
do that? We set an example. Do you want to get
your home group worshiping corporately? Well,
pick up a flag and run. How else are you going to
do it? They are watching you. We reproduce
after our own kind. If the home group leader is the
running, jumping, shouting, screaming type then
many of the group will become like that. We had
an elder with a lower back problem; many of his
friends had a bent-over back while prayingthey
all bent over just like him but he did it because he
had lower back problems!
8. Pastoral Care
Consider these texts.
I tell you the truth, the man who does not enter
the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some
other way, is a thief and a robber. The man who
enters by the gate is the shepherd of his sheep.
The watchman opens the gate for him, and the
sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep
by name and leads them out. When he has
brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of
them, and his sheep follow him because they
know his voice. But they will never follow a
stranger; in fact, they will run away from him
because they do not recognise a strangers voice.
Jesus used this figure of speech, but they did not
understand what he was telling them. Therefore
Jesus said again, I tell you the truth, I am the gate
for the sheep. All who ever came before me were

thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen
to them. I am the gate; whoever enters through
me will be saved. He will come in and go out, and
find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill
and destroy; I have come that they may have life,
and have it to the full.
I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd
lays down his life for the sheep. The hired hand is
not the shepherd who owns the sheep. So when
he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep
and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock
and scatters it. The man runs away because he is
a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.
I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and
my sheep know mejust as the Father knows me
and I know the Fatherand I lay down my life for
the sheep. I have other sheep that are not of this
sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will
listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and
one shepherd. (John 10:1-16)
The word of the LORD came to me: Son of man,
prophesy against the shepherds of Israel;
prophesy and say to them: This is what the
Sovereign LORD says: Woe to the shepherds of
Israel who only take care of themselves! Should
not shepherds take care of the flock? You eat the
curds, clothe yourselves with the wool and
slaughter the choice animals, but you do not take
care of the flock. You have not strengthened the
weak or healed the sick or bound up the injured.
You have not brought back the strays or searched
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for the lost. You have ruled them harshly and

brutally. So they were scattered because there
was no shepherd, and when they were scattered
they became food for all the wild animals. My
sheep wandered over all the mountains and on
every high hill. They were scattered over the
whole earth, and no one searched or looked for
them.
Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the
LORD: As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign
LORD, because my flock lacks a shepherd and so
has been plundered and has become food for all
the wild animals, and because my shepherds did
not search for my flock but cared for themselves
rather than for my flock, therefore, O shepherds,
hear the word of the LORD: This is what the
Sovereign LORD says: I am against the shepherds
and will hold them accountable for my flock. I will
remove them from tending the flock so that the
shepherds can no longer feed themselves. I will
rescue my flock from their mouths, and it will no
longer be food for them. For this is what the
Sovereign LORD says: I myself will search for my
sheep and look after them. As a shepherd looks
after his scattered flock when he is with them, so
will I look after my sheep. I will rescue them from
all the places where they were scattered on a day
of clouds and darkness. I will bring them out from
the nations and gather them from the countries,
and I will bring them into their own land. I will
pasture them on the mountains of Israel, in the
ravines and in all the settlements in the land. I will
tend them in a good pasture, and the mountain
heights of Israel will be their grazing land. There
they will lie down in good grazing land, and there

they will feed in a rich pasture on the mountains of
Israel. I myself will tend my sheep and make them
lie down, declares the Sovereign LORD. I will
search for the lost and bring back the strays. I will
bind up the injured and strengthen the weak, but
the sleek and the strong I will destroy. I will
shepherd the flock with justice. As for you, my
flock, this is what the Sovereign LORD says: I will
judge between one sheep and another, and
between rams and goats. Is it not enough for you
to feed on the good pasture? Must you also
trample the rest of your pasture with your feet? Is
it not enough for you to drink clear water? Must
you also muddy the rest with your feet? Must my
flock feed on what you have trampled and drink
what you have muddied with your feet? Therefore
this is what the Sovereign LORD says to them:
See, I myself will judge between the fat sheep and
the lean sheep. Because you shove with flank
and shoulder, butting all the weak sheep with your
horns until you have driven them away, I will save
my flock, and they will no longer be plundered. I
will judge between one sheep and another. I will
place over them one shepherd, my servant David,
and he will tend them; he will tend them and be
their shepherd. I the LORD will be their God, and
my servant David will be prince among them. I the
LORD have spoken.
I will make a covenant of peace with them and
rid the land of wild beasts so that they may live in
the desert and sleep in the forests in safety. I will
bless them and the places surrounding my hill. I
will send down showers in season; there will be
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showers of blessing. The trees of the field will

yield their fruit and the ground will yield its crops;
the people will be secure in their land. They will
know that I am the LORD, when I break the bars of
their yoke and rescue them from the hands of
those who enslaved them. They will no longer be
plundered by the nations, nor will wild animals
devour them. They will live in safety, and no one
will make them afraid. I will provide for them a
land renowned for its crops, and they will no
longer be victims of famine in the land or bear the
scorn of the nations. Then they will know that I,
the LORD their God, am with them and that they,
the house of Israel, are my people, declares the
Sovereign LORD. You my sheep, the sheep of my
pasture, are people, and I am your God, declares
the Sovereign LORD. (Ezekiel 34)
You must teach what is in accord with sound
doctrine. Teach the older men to be temperate,
worthy of respect, self-controlled, and sound in
faith, in love and in endurance. Likewise, teach
the older women to be reverent in the way they
live, not to be slanderers or addicted to much
wine, but to teach what is good. Then they can
train the younger women to love their husbands
and children, to be self-controlled and pure, to be
busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to
their husbands, so that no one will malign the
word of God. Similarly, encourage the young men
to be self-controlled. In everything set them an
example by doing what is good. In your teaching
show integrity, seriousness and soundness of
speech that cannot be condemned, so that those
who oppose you may be ashamed because they
have nothing bad to say about us. Teach slaves

to be subject to their masters in everything, to try
to please them, not to talk back to them, and not
to steal from them, but to show that they can be
fully trusted, so that in every way they will make
the teaching about God our Saviour attractive.
For the grace of God that brings salvation has
appeared to all men. It teaches us to say No to
ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live selfcontrolled, upright and godly lives in this present
age, while we wait for the blessed hopethe
glorious appearing of our great God and Saviour,
Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem
us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a
people that are his very own, eager to do what is
good.
These, then, are the things you should teach.
Encourage and rebuke with all authority. Do not
let anyone despise you. (Titus 2)
Do not rebuke an older man harshly, but exhort
him as if he were your father. Treat younger men
as brothers, older women as mothers, and
younger women as sisters, with absolute purity.
Give proper recognition to those widows who are
really in need. But if a widow has children or
grandchildren, these should learn first of all to put
their religion into practice by caring for their own
family and so repaying their parents and
grandparents, for this is pleasing to God. The
widow who is really in need and left all alone puts
her hope in God and continues night and day to
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pray and to ask God for help. But the widow who
lives for pleasure is dead even while she lives.
Give the people these instructions, too, so that no
one may be open to blame. If anyone does not
provide for his relatives, and especially for his
immediate family, he has denied the faith and is
worse than an unbeliever. No widow may be put
on the list of widows unless she is over sixty, has
been faithful to her husband, and is well known for
her good deeds, such as bringing up children,
showing hospitality, washing the feet of the saints,
helping those in trouble and devoting herself to all
kinds of good deeds. As for younger widows, do
not put them on such a list. For when their sensual
desires overcome their dedication to Christ, they
want to marry. Thus they bring judgment on
themselves, because they have broken their first
pledge. Besides, they get into the habit of being
idle and going about from house to house. And
not only do they become idlers, but also gossips
and busybodies, saying things they ought not to.
So I counsel younger widows to marry, to have
children, to manage their homes and to give the
enemy no opportunity for slander. Some have in
fact already turned away to follow Satan. If any
woman who is a believer has widows in her family,
she should help them and not let the church be
burdened with them, so that the church can help
those widows who are really in need.
The elders who direct the affairs of the church
well are worthy of double honour, especially those
whose work is preaching and teaching. For the
Scripture says, Do not muzzle the ox while it is
treading out the grain, and The worker deserves
his wages.
Do not entertain an accusation
against an elder unless it is brought by two or
three witnesses. Those who sin are to be rebuked
publicly, so that the others may take warning. I
charge you, in the sight of God and Christ Jesus
and the elect angels, to keep these instructions
without partiality, and to do nothing out of
favouritism. (1 Timothy 5:1-21)
9. Endure Hardship
But you, keep your head in all situations, endure
hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge
all the duties of your ministry. (2 Timothy 4:5)
So do not be ashamed to testify about our Lord,
or ashamed of me his prisoner. But join with me
in suffering for the gospel, by the power of God,
(2 Timothy 1:8)
Christ Jesus. (2 Timothy 2:3)
persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down,
but not destroyed. We always carry around in our
body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus
may also be revealed in our body. For we who are
alive are always being given over to death for
Jesus sake, so that his life may be revealed in our
mortal body. So then, death is at work in us, but
life is at work in you. (2 Corinthians 4:9-12)
What happens in your life when the going gets
tough? Do you tell ten people or do you go back
to the Source? Do you tell people about your
problems or do you go to the source of the
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solution? Thats what Paul did. He said, Im hard

pressed on every side, getting smacked here,
getting sorted there, getting thrown into the sea,
getting bitten by a couple of snakes .
The devil doesnt come with a big flicking tail and
a spear in his handmany times the devil comes
through people. People in the church, family,
guys that just put pressure on you all the time.
Pressure, pressure, pressureall the time. Thats
where it comes from. You have to endure it.
You have to endure criticism.
There is an
incredible amount of criticism in the churchthere
shouldnt be, but there is. Weve got to walk
through it. Weve got to go back to the Source,
hold it out to him and walk through it. What has
God called you to? There is a sense in which we
need to toughen up inside.
10. Lead Meetings
Follow my example, as I follow the example of
Christ. I praise you for remembering me in
everything and for holding to the teachings, just as
I passed them on to you. Now I want you to
realise that the head of every man is Christ, and
the head of the woman is man, and the head of
Christ is God.
Every man who prays or
prophesies with his head covered dishonours his
head. And every woman who prays or prophesies
with her head uncovered dishonours her headit
is just as though her head were shaved. If a
woman does not cover her head, she should have
her hair cut off; and if it is a disgrace for a woman
to have her hair cut or shaved off, she should
cover her head. A man ought not to cover his

head, since he is the image and glory of God; but
the woman is the glory of man. For man did not
come from woman, but woman from man;
neither was man created for woman, but woman
for man. For this reason, and because of the
angels, the woman ought to have a sign of
authority on her head. In the Lord, however,
woman is not independent of man, nor is man
independent of woman. For as woman came from
man, so also man is born of woman.
But
everything comes from God.
Judge for
yourselves: Is it proper for a woman to pray to
God with her head uncovered? Does not the very
nature of things teach you that if a man has long
hair, it is a disgrace to him, but that if a woman
has long hair, it is her glory? For long hair is given
to her as a covering. If anyone wants to be
contentious about this, we have no other
practicenor do the churches of God.
In the following directives I have no praise for
you, for your meetings do more harm than good.
In the first place, I hear that when you come
together as a church, there are divisions among
you, and to some extent I believe it. No doubt
there have to be differences among you to show
which of you have Gods approval. When you
come together, it is not the Lords Supper you eat,
for as you eat, each of you goes ahead without
waiting for anybody else. One remains hungry,
another gets drunk. Dont you have homes to eat
and drink in? Or do you despise the church of
God and humiliate those who have nothing? What
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shall I say to you? Shall I praise you for this?

Certainly not!
For I received from the Lord what I also passed
on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was
betrayed, took bread, and when he had given
thanks, he broke it and said, This is my body,
which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.
In the same way, after supper he took the cup,
saying, This cup is the new covenant in my blood;
do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of
me. For whenever you eat this bread and drink
this cup, you proclaim the Lords death until he
comes. Therefore, whoever eats the bread or
drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner
will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood
of the Lord. A man ought to examine himself
before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup.
For anyone who eats and drinks without
recognising the body of the Lord eats and drinks
judgment on himself. That is why many among
you are weak and sick, and a number of you have
fallen asleep. But if we judged ourselves, we
would not come under judgment. When we are
judged by the Lord, we are being disciplined so
that we will not be condemned with the world. So
then, my brothers, when you come together to eat,
wait for each other. If anyone is hungry, he should
eat at home, so that when you meet together it
may not result in judgment. And when I come I
will give further directions. (1 Corinthians 11)
The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me,
because the LORD has anointed me to preach
good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up
the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the

captives and release from darkness for the
prisoners, to proclaim the year of the LORDS
favour and the day of vengeance of our God, to
comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who
grieve in Zionto bestow on them a crown of
beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness
instead of mourning, and a garment of praise
instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called
oaks of righteousness, a planting of the LORD for
the display of his splendour.
They will rebuild the ancient ruins and restore the
places long devastated; they will renew the ruined
cities that have been devastated for generations.
Aliens will shepherd your flocks; foreigners will
work your fields and vineyards. And you will be
called priests of the LORD, you will be named
ministers of our God. You will feed on the wealth
of nations, and in their riches you will boast.
Instead of their shame my people will receive a
double portion, and instead of disgrace they will
rejoice in their inheritance; and so they will inherit
a double portion in their land, and everlasting joy
will be theirs.
For I, the LORD, love justice; I hate robbery and
iniquity. In my faithfulness I will reward them and
make an everlasting covenant with them. Their
descendants will be known among the nations and
their offspring among the peoples. All who see
them will acknowledge that they are a people the
LORD has blessed.
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I delight greatly in the LORD; my soul rejoices in

my God. For he has clothed me with garments of
salvation and arrayed me in a robe of
righteousness, as a bridegroom adorns his head
like a priest, and as a bride adorns herself with her
jewels. For as the soil makes the sprout come up
and a garden causes seeds to grow, so the
Sovereign LORD will make righteousness and
praise spring up before all nations. (Isaiah 61)
What did you think about tonights prayer
meeting? Weve got to ask those questions. We
mustnt get divisive and say, If I was leading I
would have done this . Thats not helpful
because weve all got an opinion. We must all
look at it to see where the flow was, what God was
doing, what he was saying and what theme was
coming through. We must always be asking
questions on Sundays: Lord, what are you doing?
What is the theme? What are the songs? What
are you emphasizing? Is it your holiness? Is it the
nations?
What is it that you are doing?
Constantly be asking those questions! All the time
we should be asking ourselves: What is God doing
and how can I help to facilitate that?
For example, I once had given a prophetic word
about God as the Father wanting to speak words
of love over his daughter and I actually spoke for
too long so the guy hosting said to me, Youve
said it, now get down. I sat down with my tail
between my legs. As I sat down a guy started
singing songs of love from the Father to the
daughter.
About twelve, thirteen or fourteen
songs came one after the other about how much
the Father loves the Church (at an Australian

Leadership Training Time). A guy got up and he
switched ithe started praising God, saying, Ah,
Lord, we just worship you and the thing just
went dead. The guy hosting got up and said
something like, No, there is a mistake. God
wants to praise us for this moment; he wants to
speak words over us, not have us speak words
over him. What had happened is that a prophetic
word came but it had been switched. If we do
things like that then what we are going to do is
negate the last prophetic word that came. He
explained, We are going to see if God is finished.
So, he took that word aside and another ten or
twelve prophetic songs just gushed forth again.
One of the things we constantly ask in a meeting
is whether it is from up-to-down or from down-toup. We should be able to see those things and
recognize them.
That is what I do when
contributions come.
11. Manage the Affairs of the Church
The elders who direct the affairs of the church
well are worthy of double honour, especially those
whose work is preaching and teaching.
(1
Timothy 5:17)
It is only the elders that direct the affairs of the
church. That is why we dont have a financial
committee with businessmen included in it. Its
the elders that direct the affairs of the church.
Church finances are not run on worldly systems
like buying and selling, church finances are run on
the biblical principle of sowing and reaping. Its
the elders that direct the affairs of the church in all
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spheres. The elders look after every aspect of the

life of the church and then the Bible says that the
deacons come alongside to helpthey have
delegated authority. Together, the elders and the
deacons look after the church.
12. Administrate Discipline
Administrating discipline is the task of the elder.
We will look at some of these twelve things in
detail later.
Questions and Answers1

1. Debt
How do you see debt with regard to houses and
cars?
What we have worked on is issues of life. The
reality is that in this country you need a house and
you need a car to function properly. So, the
exception on the debt issue is on those two things
as long as the value of your asset is greater than
the value of your debt. If that is the case then if
the where and the when come together, you
are ready to move. For example, one elder had to
move to Australia and what he owed on his car
was less than what the car was worth so it was
sorted out and he had no hassles.
But we do not go into debt for non-essentials. A
TV is a non-essential; a hi-fi is a non-essential; a
1
Each of the first three training session was concluded with a question-and-answer time.
DVD-player is a non-essential; a computer for

many guys is a non-essential (for some guys it is
an essential). So, dont go into debt for anything
other than essential issues, which I think are a car
and a housenothing else. Eating out is a nonessential.
2. Bad Behaviour from Children
What does an elder do if his kids become unruly?
He will have to step off the eldership. The leader
needs to say something like, Listen, guys, there is
a call of God upon my life, but your behaviour
doesnt qualify me for that. If you would like me to
step off the team I will do that gladly so that you
can have more time with me. Otherwise, adjust
your behaviour so that I can get on with what God
has called me to. If you feel that you cant change
then I will step off the teamotherwise change
your behaviour.
Hopefully they adjust their
behaviour.
There is absolutely no way that an elder can
function while his children are misbehaving. If he
cannot take care of 2 then how can he take care
of 2 000? It is a real challenge and people watch
all the timethey watch my wife all the time: how
she dresses, how she operates, how she controls
the childrenall the time. But the Bible also says
that we have to consider the outcome of our
leaders way of life. Our kids sit on a mat during
the Sunday evening service while Im preaching.
The Bible says that you should watch that and
follow it. How do you get there? Your kids dont
just all of a sudden sit on a matit takes training
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to sit on a mat. Where do our kids worship? Our

kids worship at our feet with us, they are not
running around wildly all over the place. Our kids
know that as the worship starts, wherever they are
and whatever they are doing, they run to us. If
they dont then they get disciplined because we
worship together as a family. I want the church to
see us worshiping together as a family. Now the
reality is that they are 4- and 6-years old and they
dont have a 45-minute attention span so,
sometimes they sit down in the chair and they look
a little bored. I cant force them to be involved and
focussed for the full 45 minutes.
I watch my older fellow elders and deacons who
have kids out of school worshiping God. Clearly,
they have done something right and I want my
kids to be worshiping God when they are older.
There is an incredible tension between the call of
God and the blessing of children. We have to
learn how to marry those things. Some guys give
themselves so much to the call of God that they
neglect their kids. Other guys give themselves so
much to their kids that they neglect the call of
God. We have to learn how to marry the two.
Some people tell me that my lifestyle of travelling
is harsh on my kids: it is an incredible wrestle in
our hearts to leave our kids. One of the things
that keeps me sane is that when I look at the kids
of the guys that have gone before, I see they all
want to be in ministry and are all serving God
passionately. I look at Tyrone who is taking over
the team now, his brother who is leading a church
in Australia and many others. They are all
cooking for Godso I would rather loose my kids

to God than loose them to the world. Bring your
kids up like that. Our kids love the church.
Theyve got to have fun at church.
3. Setting Salaries
How do you set a pastors salary?
This is a very important thing. We will never set
our own salaries. We have always had at least
two of the New Covenant Ministries team guys set
our salaries. I take all our salaries and leave it
with those few guys. They will come back to me
with recommended salaries. So, what I do then is
I take the present salaries with the recommended
salaries and send them to one of the apostolic
team guys internationally. There are always at
least two guys, most times three guys and
sometimes four guys, who look after our salaries.
They look at our income and they take everything
into account.
If we look at the Scripturesthe Scriptures are
clear and I think that we need to get back to the
Bible without getting back to the worldit says
that the elders who direct the affairs of the church
well are worthy of double honour (see 1 Timothy
5:17-18). It says that in a financial context. That
means, in principle, that the elders of every church
should be earning double the average salary of
the people of that churchthat is what it means
biblically. Now, we dont do that but that is what it
means and I think that is where you have to get to.
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If that is what the Scripture says, then why do

elders not literally earn double the average salary?
That is where we need to get to. One of the
reasons is that we dont know what the average
salary of the people in the church is. Many people
in the church dont work and others are very rich.
So, we dont know. But the reality is that the
church has grown and done well under the
leadership of the eldersthey have done a good
job as a team. But they still dont earn the salaries
that they were earning when they were engineers
and doctors. But, we still need to point towards
the biblical ideal. The problem with that ideal is
that in the so-called charismatic church of South
Africa many guys are earning salaries that are
absolutely ludicrous. They are out of control and
out of touch, and the Bible is clear: you should not
be a lover of money. As soon as there is an
enrichment aspect in your heart you shouldnt be
in ministry because you will almost never ever get
rich in ministry unless you are crooked. So, we
have systems in place to protect us. There have
also been years where the pastors here didnt get
increases.
What issues get taken into account in setting an
individual pastors salary?
Well, there are a number of things, one of which is
fruitfulness.
Another factor is preaching and
teachingthe Bible speaks of those who preach
and teach well and those who administer the
affairs of the church wellso that is a
consideration. We dont set salaries based on
how many years people have been in ministry and

how many children they have, but some guys do
that. I think that the consideration should be in the
context of the elders worth to the churchthat
persons contribution to the life of the church.
4. Elders Wives Working and Fulltime Elders
Why do you prefer elders wives not to work and
why should elders be fulltime?
There is a misconception in peoples minds that
the elders only work on Sundayspeople have
this mentality. I hear it all the time, in fact, I heard
it this week: You cant expect us all to be at the
prayer meeting because you dont know what it is
like to work a full day! I know very well what it is
like to work a full day. You can just phone pastors
who used to be managing directors of companies
and ask them what the difference is between
being an MD and working a full day in ministry.
The pressure is actually unbelievable. One of our
elders will tell you about his first elders meeting
he came to: he went home and slept afterwards
because there is a weight. God puts a mantle
upon you to take care of this group of people and
you just sit with it. So, it is physical work and just
sitting with this weight. Paul goes through a whole
list of physical sufferings and he says that on top
of it all he carries with him daily the burden of the
churchhe is talking about the weight of the
church that just sits with you.
On top of working a full day, elders work many
evenings as well and it becomes very difficult to
bring two separate streams together under such
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pressure. We understand that husband and wife

are one in God. The ideal is that they both get
involved in doing the one thing that God has called
them to do together. At the moment only one
elders wife is not fulltime. She is functioning
wonderfully with relatively high-profile international
and community work but she wont be able to
function like that forever. There will come a day
when she will say, I cannot do it any longer.
Right now the grace of God has it, but it wont be
forever. Another of our elders who is a surgeon
will one day come into fulltime ministryhe cannot
do what he is doing and maintain the standards of
biblical eldership part-time. It is impossible! We
have always had a part-time elder, but you cant
do it part-time.
If we are going to do it according to the biblical
standardto oversee, govern and shepherdthe
demand is fulltime. There also has to be space to
bring up children, so it is definitely fulltime. You
cant have somebody that feels called to ministry
and a spouse who is career-orientated because
they will constantly split the thing. For example,
you do a funeral but your wife cant come because
she is working; you do a wedding and your wife
cant come because she is workingyou
constantly split the thing all the time. I tell you,
one of the greatest ways that the enemy pulls
ministry down is in marriage. I had an incredible
meeting with someone on Sundaywe were just
having a quick bite to eat and this lady just came
to sit at our table. She started talking about her
folks and she said that they have been married for
sixty years and have never ever spent a night

apart. That is phenomenal.
5. For Those in the Secular Workplace
What advice do you have for those in the secular
workplace now?
Here, again, people have a perception that in
order to be fully in ministry you have to be an
elderI have never ever preached that. To me,
many people, even in this room, are called to
business. That is what God has called them to
and they are functioning fully in that role. There is
no lesser anything upon their lives compared to an
elderthey are fully functioning. They have to be
happy with that until the where and the when
come together. If that is where you are (but what
God has called you to is eldership) then the
where and the when will come together in due
timeit could be three years, five years or ten
years from now. Youve got to know that when the
where and the when come together that you
are prepared.
Most of the elders in our church are called to lead
churches so I have told them that if they feel that
they are called to be lead elders then every single
Sunday they should be preparing two sermons.
That is how we operate here. Not the same
sermon but different sermons. Every Sunday they
come they should have an outlinefive, ten,
fifteen or twenty minutes. Because all of a
sudden, one day, the where and the when
come together If they have been goofing around
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here they will be found out over there, or they will

be able to say, I am ready.
So, just be comfortable with where you are now,
but you know what sits on you, and everything
else makes its adjustment accordingly. That thing
of what is very essentialand then roar over it.
A man recently said to me that he walked out of
the prayer meeting because he wasnt feeling it.
He has a call of God upon his life therefore he
cant do that. There are many times that I dont
feel like it but you have to learn to hang in there.
6. Church Spending
What do you do with the tithe money?
Well, the Scripture is quite clear. Straight away
we tithe to New Covenant Ministries ministry fund
to make sure that we are contributing to the
nations. A large percentage of our income gets
given away, then there is a smaller percentage
that goes to the running costs of the church. Then
there are salaries. God has blessed this church
amazingly in the area of finances. But you know
what? If people struggle with this, Im telling you,
those who give apostolically will be blessed
(Philippians 4:18-19) because it says that if we
give apostolically then God will take care of every
one of our needs.
7. The Costs of Travel in Ministry
Who pays for elders ministry travels? Does the
church pay for them?
No, they pay for themselves. The church pays for

the apostolic team guys and that is seen as part of
our apostolic sowing. Before someone comes
onto the apostolic team Dudley will sit down with
them and ask, Does your church have the faith to
pay for your travelling?
I expect the elders to travel internationally every
year and I would like the deacons to do the same.
The way that I keep myself straight in that is that I
make sure that I pay for two people to go
overseas every year out of my personal
financesone of the elders knows about that. I
cant get up and expect you to go overseas when I
never pay a price for travelling.
You know, travelling is not romantic. The first two
trips are romantic. It really is not romantic. We fly
into a country and have meetings all day. We
might have one day off in fourteen and then we fly
back again. You dont see the countryits work.
Its incredible and its a privilege because it is what
God has called us to. But it is not a party.
8. Retirement Planning and Life Assurance
How is retirement money planned and what about
life policies?
I dont see retirement anywhere in ScriptureI
think it is ungodly. But I do believe that you
should be wise. I think that we should be
investing but not hoarding.
I think that the
difference is a percentagewhen it is over a
certain percentage it becomes hoarding. You no
longer need to trust God because you are trusting
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the dam. But I do think that we should be wise

financially. We dont have a group fund or
anything like thateveryone takes care of their
own scenario. I do think that people should be
wise. Weve taken out an insurance policy for all
the elders, but not a big one, for the possibility of
them dying while on staff. It just saves the church
from having to pay for them when they do die,
which is wise.
2: The Tasks of an Elder

The Role of the Lead Elder
1. He is Not a King
In studying the role of the lead elder in Scripture
you have to admit that it is not a role that has
been categorically emphasised. You can deduce
it but you cannot say, This is a position I am
putting into a local church. I dont believe that
God wanted a man to carry that kind of authority
over peoples lives. Most times people put an
incredible pressure upon a lead guyin a sense it
goes back to the 1 Samuel 8 context where the
people say, Give us a king. People want a king.
People phone in here and they want to speak to
Rory. A young guy phoned in the other day and
said, Hi, do you know me? I said, No, I dont
know you. He said, Id like to have coffee with
you. Its a typical kingship mindset. He doesnt
know me but he has seen me here and he feels
that he has access to me (which is right) but he
has put me on a pedestal. Other deacons and
elders will be able to give him much more time,
much better advice and make him more at home.
There is a king mentality inside people that says,
We need one man to stand and show us.
2. He Has Recognised Authority in a Team
I believe that God wants us to work in team but I
still believe that, biblically, God has to have a
visionary man. Two visions becomes division.
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There has to be a man who is ultimately

responsible in a visionary context (not
hierarchically).
Let me ask you a question: Who was the leader in
the church in Jerusalem?
You acted foolishly, Samuel said. You have
not kept the command the LORD your God gave
you; if you had, he would have established your
kingdom over Israel for all time. But now your
kingdom will not endure; the LORD has sought out
a man after his own heart and appointed him
leader of his people, because you have not kept
the LORDS command. (1 Samuel 13:13-14)
Here Samuel says that God has chosen a man
not a teamto lead Gods people. We know that
there will be a restoration of Davids fallen
tabernacle and that there seems to be a man that
was in place.
Now, if you look through the gospels Matthew,
Mark, Luke and John, who is mentioned first out of
the disciples in each one? Peter is mentioned
first. In Acts 2, who stands up? Peter stands up.
The Holy Spirit put that in the Bible because Peter
was the man who was carrying the can. Then
there is a transition that seems to take place as
Peter gets more involved in his trans-local
ministryJames seems to come into his
leadership role. We pick it up in Acts.
The whole assembly became silent as they
listened to Barnabas and Paul telling about the
miraculous signs and wonders God had done

among the Gentiles through them. When they
finished, James spoke up: Brothers, listen to me
. (Acts 15:12-13)
That is quite a strong statement to make,
Brothers, listen to me. He is saying that he is
going to wrap this whole scenario up.
It is my judgement, therefore, that we should not
make it difficult . (Acts 15:19)
This is James again, making another strong
statementhe is giving his judgement on the
issue. Then the implementation is within the team
context again, that we should not make it
difficult .
Consider also:
When we arrived at Jerusalem, the brothers
received us warmly. The next day Paul and the
rest of us went to see James, and all the elders
were present. (Acts 21:17-18)
So, you see this incredible scenario where there
seems to be the recognition of this role of lead
elder but it is not put into a formal context where it
can dictate the process.
So, it is a very
underplayed role. It is probably one of the least
spoken-of roles in Scripture and I believe that the
Holy Spirit has purposefully put that there so that
we do not have one-man ministries and guys who
elevate themselves to super-spiritual positions and
power. I wanted to share this with you so that you
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can go and study the Scriptures and see why the

Holy Spirit says all these things.
3. I am Your Servant, He is My Master
One of the things that you need to understand in
an eldership context is that I am your servantmy
task is to serve youbut you are not my master.
Those are the two incredible things that we hold in
tension. This is cause for concern because when
I come and say that I am here to serve the church,
the church then presumes the role of my master.
God is my master. I am your servant but he is my
master. It is good to remember those things.
Questions and Answers About Lead

Elders
1. Apostles and the Role of Lead Elder
In Acts 20, when Paul calls for the Ephesian
elders and they come to meet him in Miletus, does
it imply that he was still seen as the leader of the
Ephesian church?
No, Paul was acting in his authority as an apostle,
not as a lead elder. The elders are always the
highest governing authority in the life of the
church. And, to have reality in their relationship
with an apostle, there needs to be a definite
responsiveness to that apostle. So, if we say that
we have a relationship with Dudley as an apostolic
oversight but we never heed his counsel then
there is no reality to his apostolic oversight. Or, if
an apostolic team guy comes through town and
we dont go to the meeting, then there is no reality
to our relationship with New Covenant Ministries

International, the name of the apostolic team to
which we relate. In Acts 20 Paul is an apostolic
figure to the church in Ephesus (which he
planted). The elders are recognizing his apostolic
authority and are responding to his call.
2. Special Anointing for the Task
Do you think that there is a special anointing for
the role of a lead elder?
Yes, I think that there is. Romans 12:8 speaks
about the gift of leadership. I think that there is a
specific anointing that comes upon the leader to
empower him to fulfil the task to which God has
called him. We sometimes question Dudley about
when we are ever going to catch up to him, and he
says, Neverwhile I am doing what God has
called me to do. Its not a matter of being more
clever or more gifted. It is just that God has called
that person to do the task and therefore he has an
anointing that no one else has.
For example, God spoke to me about preaching a
series on the book of Exodus. Now, some of
these elders have preached better sermons than
me on the book of Exodus but that whole
momentum came because God spoke to me
about the vision of the life of the local church.
That is not because I am more clever. It is just
that God has called me to envision us corporately.
The individual doesnt need me to go to Godhe
goes straight through Jesus Christ. But in our
corporate endeavours we follow the vision that
God gives to the lead elder. But as a lead elder I
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come back to the eldership team with what I am

feeling in God. There is not just one guy out in the
front dictating all the shotswe always chat things
through as an eldership team before we go ahead;
otherwise I would be taking a position that says
that I can hear God and nobody else can, and that
is a very dangerous place.
Since Scripture
underplays this role, we need to be careful not to
make it out to be more than what it is intended to
be.
As for those that seemed to be important
whatever they were makes no difference to me;
God does not judge by external appearance
those men added nothing to my message. On the
contrary, they saw that I had been entrusted with
the task of preaching the gospel to the Gentiles,
just as Peter had been to the Jews. For God, who
was at work in the ministry of Peter as an apostle
to the Jews, was also at work in my ministry as an
apostle to the Gentiles. James, Peter and John,
those reputed to be pillars, gave me and Barnabas
the right hand of fellowship when they recognized
the grace given to me. (Galatians 2:6-9a)
This is how Paul refers to the leaders of the
church: those who seemed to be important
whatever they were makes no difference to me;
God does not judge by external appearance
those men added nothing to my message. He is
saying that whoever or whatever they werethey
added nothing to his message. Although there is
this reputation that they are the main guys, it
actually makes no difference to him because he
has to just get on and do what God has called him
to do. But they do offer him the right hand of

fellowship. If we were to exegete the book of
Galatians, we would see that there is a mutual
respect for each others ministries. The point is
that there is no main guy in this structure.
It is interesting to note that, in Acts, the apostles,
elders and the whole church were involved
together in the decision of who would go to deliver
the letter containing the decision of the council.
Then the apostles and elders, with the whole
church, decided to choose some of their own men
and send them to Antioch with Paul and
Barnabas. They chose Judas (called Barsabbas)
and Silas, two men who were leaders among the
brothers. (Acts 15:22)
We see that they were all involved together in this
decision, but it was after the apostles and elders
had already established the doctrinal decision.
So, we see that apostles and elders set the
doctrine of the church, but that the whole church
can be involved on some other matters.
3. Decision Making by the Elders
What if you as the lead elder feel that the church
should go this way, and all the other elders feel
that the church should go the other way? How is
the final decision made?
The first part of this question was answered by one of
the elders, Ray Way; the second part by Rory Dyer.
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As team elders we respect and submit to the

lead-elders authority. That doesnt mean that we
are yes-men but if Rory says something then it is
very seldom that we as elders will all disagree
that has never happened during the time that I
have been an elder. One or two guys might
disagree and give their opinion.
Within the
eldership there is an incredible unity, even when
we dont agree. We give our opinion but, once
weve given our opinion, Rory is the final-decision
maker. Whatever decision he makes is followed
as if it were our own decision. Rory fully respects
our opinions and we recognise the anointing and
authority on him to lead the team so we would be
very silly not to take what he says very seriously.
The situation that is described in the question has
actually not yet happened and I cant see it
happening.
It says in Philippians that if we have fellowship

with the Holy Spirit and if we are united in love
then we will have one mind, one heart and one
purpose. While we are fellowshipping together
with God, that thing should always come outit
should be a yes and an amen in our hearts. But if
we dont have our own convictionsif these
elders cant have their own convictionsthen we
have become a cult. They have to be able to
have their own convictions. We have to be able to
talk those things through.
I think that one of the reasons why churches have
split over time is that guys have stood strong on
style issues, not truth issueson how we do

things, not the truth of the Scriptures. We have to
have room in our hearts for different styles. You
just have to look at the different dress styles
amongst the elders and you will realize that these
guys are all different. We have to be happy with
each others styles. The way that Elliott leads a
prayer meeting and the way that Ray leads a
prayer meeting is not the way that I lead a prayer
meeting. I stand there sometimes and while I am
not necessarily comfortable it is simply a style
issue and I need to be comfortable with that. The
truth of it is that they are praying and the church
needs this diversity of leadership style in order to
function properly.
What Elders Do
1. First of All, Pray
everyonefor kings and all those in authority, that
we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all
godliness and holiness. (1 Timothy 2:1-2)
I remember when I took over Glenridge, Chris
gave me a list of things that I should do. On top of
the list it said, Pray one hour every day. I
thought, Is that all hes been doing all these
years? You try and pray one hour every dayits
not easy. Thats not just talking to the Lord during
the course of the day. One hour a day: just give
the first hour of your day to prayer. Not for the
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churchjust for you and the King. Thats good

preparation for eldership.
You know that this is one of my favourite
Scriptures: Very early in the morning, while it was
still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off
to a solitary place, where he prayed. Simon and
his companions went to look for him, and when
they found him, they exclaimed: Everyone is
looking for you!
Jesus replied, Let us go
somewhere else . (Mark 1:3538a)
Why? Because his time and priorities were set in
the place of prayer. I see people arriving for
meetings completely blown. The enemy is totally
committed to making sure that we cannot fulfil the
call of God upon our lives. He will use any source,
any avenue, any telephone, any e-mail, any
computerhe will use anything to make sure that
I cannot do what God has called me to do. As I
was wrapping up my preparation for this, a man
came knocking on my doorhe was supposed to
come at 3 oclock but he arrived at 5 oclock as I
was about to lead the prayer meeting, talk to the
deacons and I do this teaching afterwards. He
came at 5:00 and he left at 5:20. You think, Well,
its not a big, red tail. But it is the enemy and I
should actually have told him, Im sorry, but I
cant see you now. I should have said to him,
This is not my priority right nowmy priority is
going to church and leading these particular
meetings. Friends, unless we are taking our time
in prayer we will not set our priorities properly and
the enemy will sort us.
Let me ask you this question to challenge you:

What is your prayer life like? What does it
include? Does it include you and your family?
You and your protection? You and your finances?
Or is it a little bit broader? Does it include you and
your home group? Does it include the church?
Does it include my travels? Many people tell me
that they will pray for me and I have also told
many people that I will pray for them, but it
becomes a Christianeseit becomes a
statement that we dont outwork. God is saying,
First of all, pray.
1 Timothy 2:1-4 tells us that after our daily
devotions, our priority in prayer is to pray for all
our leadersof our country and of the church.
The second thing is that we should be praying for
godliness. The third thing is for the lost. The
fourth thing is for the knowledge of God. We
should be praying for people to catch the
knowledge of God.
I said to one guy, What has kept you sane in
ministry? How is it that you havent burnt out?
How come you havent got divorced? He said,
For one, simple reason. Early in my ministry,
when I went out to the field to pray, God taught me
how to touch the throne room. He goes out
sometimes for three to ten hours, just praying. He
was telling me that there is one place where he
runs on the beach for ten kilometres and then he
walks back and prays. When you come out of that
mans presence you feel, I have something of the
knowledge of God. He is full of it in prayer so he
is able to deposit it into other people. What do
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you deposit in your home groupwhat comes out

of you?
What should our prayer life include for the people
that we lead?
Consider John 17:6-26: I have revealed you to
those whom you gave me out of the world. They
were yours; you gave them to me and they have
obeyed your word. Now they know that everything
you have given me comes from you. For I gave
them the words you gave me and they accepted
them. They knew with certainty that I came from
you, and they believed that you sent me. I pray
for them. I am not praying for the world, but for
those you have given me, for they are yours. All I
have is yours, and all you have is mine. And glory
has come to me through them.
I will remain in the world no longer, but they are
still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy
Father, protect them by the power of your name
the name you gave meso that they may be one
as we are one. While I was with them, I protected
them and kept them safe by that name you gave
me. None has been lost except the one doomed
to destruction so that Scripture would be fulfilled.
I am coming to you now, but I say these things
while I am still in the world, so that they may have
the full measure of my joy within them. I have
given them your word and the world has hated
them, for they are not of the world any more than I
am of the world. My prayer is not that you take
them out of the world but that you protect them
from the evil one. They are not of the world, even
as I am not of it.
Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. As
you sent me into the world, I have sent them into
the world. For them I sanctify myself, that they too
may be truly sanctified.
My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for
those who will believe in me through their
message, that all of them may be one, Father, just
as you are in me and I am in you. May they also
be in us so that the world may believe that you
have sent me. I have given them the glory that
you gave me, that they may be one as we are
one: I in them and you in me. May they be
brought to complete unity to let the world know
that you sent me and have loved them even as
you have loved me.
Father, I want those you have given me to be with
me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you
have given me because you loved me before the
creation of the world.
Righteous Father, though the world does not
know you, I know you, and they know that you
have sent me. I have made you known to them,
and will continue to make you known in order that
the love you have for me may be in them and that
I myself may be in them.
Protection by the power of the Name.
That they would be made one.
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That none would be lost. (I had to challenge

the deacons recently because there is growth
taking place in the life of the church and some
of the deacons are fast asleepthey are
dragging their feet. In contrast, when the
Spirit of God told Phillip to speak to the
Ethiopian eunuch, he ran up to the chariot.)
This is part of the prayer. Right now, as an
eldership, we are crying out to God on a daily
basis that the 130 new people on the
Foundations course would not be lost from
this church. From the moment that they
made a commitment, the enemy is committed
to distracting them. He wants the seed to be
ripped out of their hearts. He wants
distractions like wealth and busyness to take
place. Weve got to stand strong and pray
that they dont get lost. God has sent them to
us and Im telling you that God has sent
people to this church that have been lost.
The full measure of joy.
The Word was given.
The world hated them.
Protection from the evil one.
2. Managing the Affairs of the Church
The first thing the elders do is to set the vision and
the valuesnot NCMIs vision and values, not just
our churchs vision and valuesbut we believe
that they are Kingdom values. Our task is to bring
them before the people and to set those things in
place.
The next thing is to keep them even when growth
occurs. One of the values that we hold dearly is
friendship. Now people always challenge me and

say, Its all, Friendship, friendship, friendship, but
I dont see itthere is no reality in it. It is
impossible for ten elders to take care of two
thousand people in a friendship contextit is
impossible. Somebody else has got to pick up the
baton. I will keep preaching it and you guys must
pick it up. If the people dont pick it up, I cant
always come back and tell the people that they
are not keeping these values.
The Bible says, Enlarge the tent. When you
enlarge the tent you need to strengthen the
stakesweve got to make sure that we fight for
those values. So, the next months family camp
has changed to a deacons camp. We are taking
the deacons away so that we can strengthen the
stakes of relational values. God is stretching us
nowhe wants the home groups to grow, he
wants the church to grow. He needs us to
become a little tighter so we are going to spend
some time together picking up the values. Then,
as God brings increase, we will be able to stand
under growth. Im telling you now that we will not
turn the church into a preaching centreunder no
circumstances. Even if it becomes 3 000, 5 000
or 20 000 people, this will not become a place
where people can come on a Sunday to fulfil their
spiritual obligations and walk out the door. We will
make it as difficult as possible for them because I
dont see that biblically. They worked things out:
fellowship with the Father and fellowship with one
another. Privilege and responsibility go together.
It has to be the whole thing and we keep
preaching the thing over and over again.
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One of the values that we have is the nations.

People come and say, There he goes again!
Rory flies off again. Our task is to make sure that
those values get into peoples hearts so that we
can stand under pressure. If I go for six or eight
months it will make no difference to the life of the
churchthats why I believe that God doesnt
highlight a particular person.
3. Keep the Whole Biblical Picture in Mind
This is a list that Chris preached when he was
here:
Passion;
Praise;
Prayer;
Purpose;
Power;
Pattern;
Proclamation;
Pastoral Care;
Priesthood;
Piety;
Prosperity;
Partnership;
Participation;
Poor;
Prophetic;
Presence.
So, how was Sundays meeting? There was

passion and the praise was good. There was a
clear purpose but there could have been more
power. The pattern was that there was a good

family time. We should be able to go through this
list and ask, Are we as a leadership fulfilling all
these things? Is there every aspect of this in the
life of the church? How was the worship at the
back of the building? How was the worship at the
front? Weve got to take the overall perspective.
One of the things that I think we do lack is power.
We need the power gifts to come throughwe
cannot manufacture it and we will not get into the
fleshit requires time in the presence of God and
in the Bible. I read the book of Acts today and
realised that the Spirit of God was upon those
men and they were doing incredible things. The
busyness of our lives is stopping the power of God
from flowing fully through our lives. Some of you
with prophetic voices need to start to speak. My
task is to constantly go before God and say, Lord,
are we reflecting your full church? Together with
that, do we reflect the army and do we reflect the
bride? Is it always militantbang, bang, bang,
bang? I remember a situation where an apostolic
team member came here and said, Rory, every
time I come here your worship is loud and
forceful. I realised that as an eldership we had
slipped up. We needed to bring in some of the
older songs. So, we brought back the hymns
again just to make sure that there is a full
expression of the church all the time. It is the
elders responsibility to direct the affairs of the
church.
4. Do the Basics Well
My illustration is of a dairy farmer. My next door
neighbour was a dairy farmer. Every day I used to
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ride down to his house on my motorbike and the

cows were either coming into the dairy or else they
were going out of the dairy. The truck used to go
there and fill up. On my dining-room table would
be milk, yoghurt, cheese, feta and the whole lot.
One day when I was praying God said to me, The
only reason that you have all these products on
your table is because the farmer did the basics
wellthats the only reason.
What are the basics for an elder? Its simple
prayer and the word of Godthose are the basics.
If we do the basics well we can have the
multifaceted product in the life of the church. I
want to tell you that every single thing prevents
elders from doing the basics well. Im telling
youask my wife. This is true for all of us and the
enemy laughs. When your daily devotions go Im
telling you that your effectiveness in the kingdom
of God goes way down with it. You become tired,
you become irritable, and you start to operate in a
fleshly way. This thing that God has called us into
is a spiritual call not a fleshly oneit cannot be
done in the power of the will. How do I know? I
tried and I got tired.
5. Convert Ingredients into Strategy
I look at what God is doing across the life of the
church and I see the pre-school blossomingwe
nearly closed that school down a couple of years
ago. Gods Spirit has always been upon the
school but it went through some rocky days. Now
I see that the school is bursting at the seams. I
see the Sunday kids ministry growingI look at
the ingredients and I ask myself, How can I
convert this into strategy? Not in the flesh but a

God-given strategy. Today we had a planning
meeting to increase the kids ministry facility. We
need to take the ingredients of what is happening
in the kids ministry and convert them into
strategyweve got to extend the building out and
put things into place. We are trying to facilitate
what God is doing and put it into place.
6. Assess the Additions and Prunings of
Ministry
Some ministries have a season of effectiveness
and then God tries to shut it down by drying up the
resources.
Some people, however, have a
misguided emotional loyalty to it and so they flog
it because it has become their identity in the life of
the church Thats my ministry so I will hold on to
it. Friends, none of this is our ministry, we hold it
lightly. When God says, Up and move, we just
up and move. Or, if God says, Leave it, we just
leave it. We dont flog dead horses. A part of the
task of the elders is to see if there is no life there:
For a season it was awesome but now it is not
working. Either Gods Spirit has lifted off itor
whatever it iswe will then prune it back or
assess it. We need to be constantly looking for
what God is doing.
7. The Tension of Church, Calling and Home
The calling for many of you is to be in fulltime,
secular work right now. To help people through
that is a part of the way that I administer the
church. Many people are called to be deacons,
and are also holding down top jobs. I see Rugby
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coaches, architects, business guys, business

women and academics. How do you hold these
things together? You have responsibilities in the
church and now you also have this big job that
God has opened the door for. You also have to
look after kids, clothe them and try to feed your
family.
How do you juggle all these things
together without dropping anything? If we will
actually allow the Spirit of God to come upon us,
we can hold these things in tension. This is an
ongoing battle. It is part of the elders task to help
people through these things and to help them to
make good decisions.
8. Finances
It is the elders task to be accountable first to God
and then to the taxman. As you can see, the
taxman is nailing the churches now. Whenever
you see some of the big churches being audited
they start to reveal the personal assets of some of
the preachersyou saw that in the newspaper
recentlysome of the preachers beach cottages
and all those things. When that happens, youve
got to know that auditing is going to happen to us.
Theyve taken our old tax-exempt status away. It
is difficult because you cant tax a church because
all the money that comes into a church has
already been taxed. But now, every year we have
to re-apply for itthe squeeze is coming upon us
all the time. Weve got to make sure that we are
beyond reproach with the taxman so, we have a
chartered accountant running our financeshe is
a tax expertjust to make sure that all is in order.
This building is in a trust. Weve got to make sure
that the trust is in place. That means that
however many houses you own, you own another

one, we own this together as a local church.
Elders need to teach the Word about finances and
the Word is clear:
Tithes;
offerings;
almsgiving;
apostolic; and
general generosity.
How do your finances work? Do you still just

tithe? Your wives are possibly digging their heels
in just by you giving your 10%. Tithing is the level
for babies. You think that you are just coping now,
well, let God grow youit is little by little.
Scripture is clear: tithes and offerings. Tithes
protect and offerings produce. Thats the way the
Bible works. Apostolic giving takes care of all my
needs. I want to tell you that one of the reasons
why our churchs needs have been met
financiallybuildings, trips and all those thingsis
because we sow apostolically. The first cheque
that we write out every month is a tithe of our
income to the visions and ventures of the NCMI
team. It gets ploughed into Africa or wherever
we dont know exactly where it goesour task is
just to release it.
Almsgiving is to the poor. When Dudley preached
on alms in Australia some mistakenly thought
that we were taking up money in Australia and
sending it back for the arms struggle in South
Africa. Alms is money for the poor.
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9. Administering Apostolic Ministries

Elders administer apostolic ministries. This has to
do with which of the apostolic team members we
have into the church and at what time. Who do
we get in and what do we do with that? We dont
invite these guys in as guest speakers, we invite
them in to come and speak into the life of our
church, to build the foundations and to address
that which is lacking.
10. To Gather the Team
Elders gather the team (the church).
(What you should actually do is take 1 and 2
Timothy, and Titus, write it down verse by verse,
and ask God to show you what the full orb of
eldership responsibility is all about. They are
three incredible books.)
11. Fight the Good Fight
Timothy, my son, I give you this instruction in
keeping with the prophecies once made about
you, so that by following them you may fight the
good fight, holding on to faith and a good
conscience. Some have rejected these and so
have shipwrecked their faith. (1 Timothy 1:18-19)
Christ Jesus. No one serving as a soldier gets
involved in civilian affairshe wants to please his
commanding officer. (2 Timothy 2:3-4)
The role of a soldier is not necessarily the one we
particularly like. It is an amazing thing that when
people have been hurt in ministry the role that

they hate to submit to is the soldier. They love the
leader as the bridegroomwhen he comes and
speaks loving words into their ears and everything
is beautiful. And they love it when a father comes
and speaks to them as childrenthey like those
things. But as soon as you get up with an
aggressive roar in your spirit, those guys that have
been hurt back down and say, I will not be
dominated by this thing. Youve got to get people
healed so that they can take all aspects of
leadershipit is absolutely vital. A leader must
have all four of the faces: a lion, an ox, a human
and an eagle. There has got to be a time when
there is a roar inside of the leader. There doesnt
have to be shouting but there has to be a roar.
I felt some of that when I spoke to the deacons
about their passivityI have to have a roar inside,
saying, Guys, God is sending people to us that
we are letting slip through the cracks. We have
to roar over that thingwe have to fight for the
people that God is sending to us otherwise we will
be comfortable with the current situation. We will
just be happy to just kind of connect. Friends, we
are fighting for the souls of men. A parking issue
is not just a parking issueit is for the souls of
men. That is what we are fighting for! When
parking opens up there will be many more people
getting saved and being added to the church. The
reality is that man looks at the outside and God
looks at the heart. Man is convenience based so,
if it is easy to park it is easier to come to church.
We are fighting for the souls of men but there is a
roar that needs to come up inside here.
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In one country, at an LTT, I once felt prophetically

that they needed to rise up with a roar of authority
so I got up there and I started to roar. Many
things were broken over peoples lives but the
offence that it caused to their culture of
conservativeness was unbelievable. Someone
had to get up there the next day and teach that
thing right and try to resolve the issue. I said to
the guy who was leading, You dont need to
resolve the issue because God has spoken.
Many people dont like the leader as the lion
because of abuse. That is why you have to
teachthere is no abusive structure but there is a
place where the man has to stand up like a lion
and a soldier.
The amazing thing is that when the leader stands
up as a soldier it is a command not a request. It is
a command and weve got to be comfortable with
those things. But then we also have to hold it in
tension with the Scriptures that say that we are not
to lord it over people. The roar of authority is to
move things forward, not to break people. The
Scriptures speak about enduring hardship and
pleasing the commanding officerthats Jesus.
We have to understand authority.
In the army, when the command would come to
turn left, one of my friends would turn right and
vice versa. The corporal asked him what his
problem was and he said that he was a little deaf.
The corporal told him, I will help your deafness by
putting you into a group of people who do
understand how to obey commands and when you
see them turn, you turn as well. If God has

spoken to us about a church building and
extending the facility to cater for what he is doing
with the children then you cant say that you are
going to just give your finances everywhere else.
No, you need to come into the army and we need
to march together in this project. Dont say that
because you dont have kids youre not going to
give to the kids ministrywere not divided into
sections. Were one church together. If you are
single then just get into the ranks. If as a wife you
dont know how to submit to your husband then
get amongst a group of ladies who do understand
authority and be a soldier for Jesus.
Our battle is not against flesh and blood. Dont
get distracted. Be guardians. Fight the right
battles. We know the story of Josiah who brings
in all those reforms. He is on his way to some
place and he just takes a detour. The other guy
the Pharaohsays to him, Dont fight with me.
Youre not meant to be here. Youre on the wrong
road. Josiah says, Well, Ill fight with you
anyway, and he gets killed fighting the wrong
battle. (2 Chronicles 35)
What battles has God called us as elders and
deacons to fight? I ended up in a situation where I
was counselling two guys in the life of the church:
two businessmen, meeting after meeting after
meeting. An elder came to me one day and said,
Rory, you shouldnt be fighting these battles. The
Bible says that we should go to a believer when
we need a judgement on an issue, it doesnt say
that we have to go to the lead guy. I realised that
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I had spent lots of time and lots of energy on it

and I should never ever have been fighting that
battle. It was quite a thing to try and pull out of
that battle. When you get back to the Bible it says
that believers sort that kind of thing out, even
babies sort that kind of thing out. There is such a
mentality that everything has to be taken care of
by the elders, especially the lead elder. Biblically,
most of the growth problems get taken care of by
the deacons not the elders. We need to get back
to the Bible.
Watch out for the wolves. There were two wolves
here on Sundayone of them came and
attacked us all in the front of the church on
Sunday. He is a wolf, and he is not coming back
to this church! There is also another one who
hangs around the back who is also a wolf. A
shepherd can smell a wolf and we do not let them
get in amongst our people.
There will be
casualties in war.
We probably wont be able to go through all the
points together in this course. You should go and
take the points given in the first section and study
them in a similar fashion.
Now, to end, what is the difference between
preaching and teaching?
One is proclamation and the other is explanation.
Weve got to do bothpreach and teach the
Word. Proclamation is to just state the facts as
they are, and explanation means to explain those
facts.
Questions and Answers

1. Casualties in Leadership
What do you mean by casualties?
People get hurt in warthe bullets are flying.
Basically, when I become a soldier for Jesus, I get
hit. When I took over the role of leading this
church, the guys that used to criticise the previous
leader just changed their aim onto me and started
doing exactly the same to me. I thought, Where
did that come from? There are casualties in war.
I remember a guy getting burnt out in ministry and
he came to this church. After five or six weeks he
just threw it all up and said, Im sick and tired of
this whole thing! He has an incredible anointing
on his life and he had an incredible ministry. Now
hes in America making lots and lots of money.
Hes driving a Mercedes Benz and he is a very
wealthy man. I asked someone, What happened
there? He said, He wasnt prepared to get
restored from his hit. We all take hits, guys. We
take hits in our home groups and guys disappoint
us. We all take hits and we have to get restored.
Endure the hardship, let God deal with our
character, stand up stronger and go again. Its the
nature of the call.
2. Elders Not Being Recent Converts
What does the Bible mean when it says that an
elder must not be a recent convert?
Consider a guy who got saved a few months ago
at our mens campI think that he has read the
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Bible through twice already. I phoned him the

other night at 10 oclock and said, Sorry to wake
you up. He said, No, I make sure that I finish
work at 10 oclock so that I can spend an hour
praying until 11 oclock. He has been baptised in
the Holy Spirit. His wife was struggling so he lead
her into the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Hes only
been saved for 2 months so I dont know what a
recent convert is. I think that it can be different
things in different circumstances. To me, an elder
has to be a man who has his roots ina recent
convert doesnt have solid roots yet.
The text speaks about being puffed up with
spiritual pride and getting distracted by the devils
schemes. The amazing thing is that the pulpit is a
very dangerous place for a son of Adam. Leading
people is a dangerous place because you can get
puffed up if you dont have the heart of a true
shepherd. You need to have your heart sorted out
so that you know that you are not in this thing for
your own ends.
3. Testing Deacons
How do you apply a period of testing for deacons?
The Bible says that a deacon must first be tested.
The way that we test our deacons is that we give
them a home group to run and, if there is
fruitfulness there, we ordain them. Now, some
guys are not called to that. Some guys have done
that but havent grown the home group and so we
say, Maybe there is no reality to them running a
home group so let them try something else. If
they do something else and there is fruitfulness

there we lay hands on them and ordain them.
4. Decision Making in a Church
Will there ever be a time where the whole church
will be involved in the decision-making process?
It is impossible with 2 000 people. In the Acts 15
context it was possible, where they were a small
group of people, but it is normally impossible. I do
think that it still needs to be our desire. Take this
example: try and make a decision about where we
should have our family campwe will never come
to an agreement. Sometimes we have to actually
just stand up and say, Okay, cut the nonsense
and lets go to such-and-such a place.
The elders set the three things of doctrine,
discipline and direction in the life of the church.
That is not open for everyone to partake in and to
try and chat through. Doctrine, discipline and
direction are set by the eldership team. When I
took over the church, there was a lady who
thought that she heard God on everything so she
came to me and said, Dont build. God said to
me that you must not build. You must not build.
You definitely must not build.
Eventually I said to her, Thank you very much,
maam, but it is actually not your mandate to do
that. It was a directional issue.
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5. Relationship with an Apostolic Team

If a church relating to NCMI has a pastor who falls
into an adulterous affair, what happens? Does
NCMI say that the church no longer relates to the
team?
Not at all. One of the ways that you test whether
there is a true relationship and commitment to the
vision and values is by asking, Are they at the
things that we do? If we are in a relationship we
will do things together. Thats one of the ways
that we outwork that thing. We wont drop guys
when there is pressurewe will try and help them
as best we know how. But if guys wont heed
counsel
then
the
relationship
effectively
terminates. We have had that, where guys will not
take what we say. Then there is just no reality to
the relationship. There is no signing on the dotted
line, it is just a relationship. If it doesnt work then
we just choose to walk apart. Recently, a man
who has been walking with us for 20 yearsand
hes lead a church for those 20 years just came
to us the other day and said, I no longer want to
walk with you guys. We have no ownership of
that, he just walks away.
6. Restoration of Morally-Fallen Leaders
Consider a guy that has led a church (or has been
on eldership) who commits adultery, gets broken
and goes through a process of restoration. Can
he pick up the call again?
Yes, of course, if he gets restored properly.
Absolutely. Gods discipline is always restorative.
Discipline is always in the context of bringing the

person back to wholenessalways. And that
includes their call etc.. But most guys, especially
in leadership roles, dont walk through discipline
especially lead guys. The reason is because the
anointing doesnt stop and the call is without
repentance.
So, their gifting still wants to
operatethe prophets still get prophetic words
and the singers still get songs. A part of the
discipline is learning how to deal with the
frustration of that thing, and seeing what God is
dealing with in your character. Instead they say
that God is speaking to them and so they just blurt
it out. It happened with a big prophetic voice in
America a little while ago. He was put under
discipline and he started prophesying again and
he has just fallen again.
7. Practical Prayer
When it comes to practical praying, how much do
we need to go into each point that you mentioned?
Jesus just seems to mention many of them in the
Lords prayer. Do we also do that or do we
expand on those things?
I think that it is a bare minimum. You can take the
Lords Prayer and you can spend an hour praying
just on Our Father. When it comes to Who is in
heaven, it sorts out my perspective from an
earthly point of view. Hallowed be your name, is
praising him and worshiping. Your kingdom
come: what does that mean for my finances and
what does that mean for my home group etc.?
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3: The Biblical Shepherd

Shepherding
Key texts are John 10, Ezekiel 34 and Psalm 23;
and there is mention in 1 Peter 5 and Acts 20. We
will look at these texts shortly.
1. The Heart
Lets start with Ezekiel 34:1-10: The word of the
LORD came to me: Son of man, prophesy against
the shepherds of Israel; prophesy and say to
them: This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Woe
to the shepherds of Israel who only take care of
themselves! Should not shepherds take care of
the flock? You eat the curds, clothe yourselves
with the wool and slaughter the choice animals,
but you do not take care of the flock. You have
not strengthened the weak or healed the sick or
bound up the injured. You have not brought back
the strays or searched for the lost. You have
ruled them harshly and brutally. So they were
scattered because there was no shepherd, and
when they were scattered they became food for all
the wild animals. My sheep wandered over all the
mountains and on every high hill. They were
scattered over the whole earth, and no one
searched to look for them.
Therefore, you
shepherds, hear the word of the LORD: As surely
as I live, declares the sovereign LORD, because
my flock lacks a shepherd and so has been
plundered and has become food for all the wild
animals, and because my shepherds did not
search for my flock but cared for themselves
rather than for my flock, therefore, O shepherds,

hear the word of the LORD: This is what the
Sovereign LORD says: I am against the shepherds
and will hold them accountable for my flock. I will
remove them from tending the flock so the
shepherds can no longer feed themselves. I will
rescue my flock from their mouths, and it will no
longer be food for them.
Lets consider two scriptures that will show both
Pauls and Jesus feeling toward the Church so
that you will realise why there is such a strong
word against people who dont look after his flock.
Ephesians 5:25-26 says, Husbands, love your
wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave
himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her
by the washing with water through the word .
So, he gave himself up for her.
2 Corinthians 11:2 says, I am jealous for you with
a godly jealousy. I promised you to one husband,
to Christ, so that I might present you as a pure
virgin to him.
So, you see this incredible passion for Gods
people coming both from Jesus and from Paul.
So, when Gods shepherds abuse the people it
irks the very nature of God. If God loves his own
so much that he will call people out of successful
jobs, out of schools, out of universities to
shepherd his people, then the issue is not the
Shepherd. Its the peopleGod wants his people
looked after and he will not allow people to abuse
his sheepit is absolutely against his nature and
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character. So, we shepherd with the view of how

Jesus shepherds his people.
2. The Standard
The situation goes wrong in Ezekiel 34 and then
God says how he will shepherd his people. This,
then, is the standard of shepherding. Verses 1131 say, For this is what the Sovereign LORD says:
I myself will search for my sheep and look after
them. As a shepherd looks after his scattered
flock when he is with them, so will I look after my
sheep. I will rescue them from all the places
where they were scattered on the day of clouds
and darkness. I will bring them out from the
nations and gather them in from the countries, and
I will bring them into their own land.
Notice, I will bring them out and I will bring them
in.
I will pasture them on the mountains of Israel, in
the ravines and in all the settlements in the land.
Notice that: on the mountains and in the ravines.
I will tend them in a good pasture, and the
mountain heights of Israel will be their grazing
land. There they will lie down in good gazing land,
and there they will feed in the rich pasture on the
mountains of Israel. I myself will tend my sheep
and have them lie down, declares the Sovereign
LORD. I will search for the lost and bring back the
strays. I will bind up the injured and strengthen
the weak, but the sleek and the strong I will
destroy. I will shepherd the flock with justice. As
for you my flock, this is what the Sovereign LORD

says: I will judge between one sheep and another,
and between rams and goats. It is not enough for
you to feed on the good pasture? Must you also
trample the rest of the pasture with your feet? Is it
not enough for you to drink clear water? Must you
also muddy the rest with your feet? Must my flock
feed on what you have trampled and drink what
you have muddied with your feet? Therefore this
is what the Sovereign LORD says to them: See, I
myself will judge between the fat sheep and the
lean sheep. Because you shove with flank and
shoulder, butting all the weak sheep with your
horns until you have driven them away, I will save
my flock, and they will no longer be plundered. I
will judge between one sheep and another. I will
place over them one shepherd, my servant David,
and he will tend them; he will tend them and be
their shepherd. I the LORD will be their God, and
my servant David will be prince among them. I the
LORD have spoken. I will make a covenant of
peace with them and rid the land of wild beasts so
that they may live in the desert and sleep in the
forests in safety. I will bless them and the places
surrounding my hill. I will send down showers in
season; there will be showers of blessing. The
trees of the field will yield their fruit and the ground
will yield its crops; the people will be secure in the
land. They will know that I am the LORD, when I
break the bars of their yoke and rescue them from
the hands of those who enslaved them. They will
no longer be plundered by the nations, nor will wild
animals devour them. They will live in safety and
no one will make them afraid. I will provide for
them a land renowned for its crops, and they will
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no longer be victims of famine in the land or bear

the scorn of the nations. Then they will know that
I, the LORD their God, am with them and that they,
the house of Israel, are my people, declares the
Sovereign LORD. You my sheep, the sheep of my
pasture, are people, and I am your God, declares
the Sovereign LORD.
What an incredible scripture! Lets have a look at
Psalm 23.
The LORD is my shepherd,
I shall not be in want.
What do you know when you meet a needy
person? The Lord is not his shepherd, simple as
that.
He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,
he restores my soul.
He guides me in paths of righteousness
for his names sake.
Even though I walk through the valley of the
shadow of death,
I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
they comfort me.
You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
Surely goodness and love will follow me
all the days of my life,

and I will dwell in the house of the LORD
forever.
John 10:1-18 says, I tell you the truth, the man
who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but
climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a
robber. The man who enters by the gate is the
shepherd of his sheep. The watchman opens the
gate for him and the sheep listen to his voice. He
calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.
When he has brought out all his own, he goes on
ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because
they know his voice. But they will never follow a
stranger; in fact, they will run away from him
because they do not recognise a strangers voice.
Jesus used this figure of speech, but they did not
understand what he was telling them. Therefore
Jesus said again, I tell you the truth, I am the gate
for the sheep. All who ever came before me were
thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen
to them. I am the gate; whoever enters through
me will be saved. He will come in and go out and
find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill
and destroy; I have come that they may have life,
and have it to the full. I am the good shepherd.
The good shepherd lays down his life for the
sheep. The hired hand is not the shepherd who
owns the sheep. So when he sees the wolf
coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away.
Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it.
The man runs away because he is a hired hand
and cares nothing for the sheep. I am the good
shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know
mejust as the Father knows me and I know the
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Fatherand I lay down my life for the sheep. I

have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I
must bring them also. They too will listen to my
voice, and there shall be one flock and one
shepherd. The reason my Father loves me is that
I lay down my lifeonly to take it up again. This
command I received from my Father.
Great scriptures, arent they?
reminded of them.
Its good to be
3. The Equipment
C W Slimming in his book, He Leadeth Me, tells
us what the eastern shepherds equipment is. He
has six different types of equipment.
1. He has a sheepskin coat for warmth for
himself. Jeremiah 43:12b says, As a shepherd
wraps his garment around him . So, the
shepherds take care of the sheep, and the sheep
take care of the shepherds.
2. He has a pouch and a wallet. Consider 1
Samuel 17:40. David dug into a pouch and a
wallet for two reasons: one, for stones; and the
other one, for food. So, he would keep a bit of
food in there and a couple of stones. A shepherd
had to have stones on him and food on him all the
timestones and food. So, if you come to the
sheep and there is a wolf there you pull a stone
out. If youre hungry you grab something to eat.
Stones and food. When I was preparing this
particular section I remembered meeting a
Vietnam veteran in America who runs a big church
there. He told me of an occasion in Vietnam when
he had fallen asleep on guard duty. As the

Vietnamese people approached them someone
stood on a twig and he woke up with his finger on
the trigger and killed 5 people. Because he was
meant to be on duty guarding but woke up with his
finger on the trigger, he went mad and they sent
him back to America. He got saved through that
process and now he runs a very successful church
and hes quite an amazing guy. Its an amazing
thing that as the twig snapped, his natural reaction
was to pull the trigger. I think, friends, that when
the enemy comes into our ranks we should not
wait to observe him, look at him, smell him and
touch him. As the twig breaks we should have our
hand on the triggeras the twig breaks. When
you know guys are coming, its just the breaking of
a twig and we should put our hand on the trigger.
There is a guy here who was operating on Sunday
and we werent happy with him. Next minute he
stood on somebodys cell phone, ripped it up,
threw it on the ground and we had to march him
out of here. We have to be perceptive; shepherds
are perceptive, have stones in their bags, have
food in their bags, and, as the twig breaks, we
launch the stone: you hit that thing so that you
guard the sheep.
3.
A sling and a staff.
4. A bottle of oil. They always carried a bottle of

oil with them. It was for protection and healing
against parasites. We anoint people with oil for
healing.
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5. A reed flute for music and song, which the

sheep liked.
6.
A lamp for the dark.
4. The Method
Shepherding is:
a mindset, not a title;

a verb, not a noun;
a passion, not a promotion; and
a conviction, not a convenience.
I dont shepherd when its convenient for me, I

shepherd because of conviction.
I always
shepherd. I dont shepherd only when I am on
dutyI always shepherd. Conviction.
The Good Shepherds Purposes

1. Search for the Un-churched
Consider Ezekiel 34:16. Whats the difference
between the lost and the strays? The shepherds
task includes both: the unsaved and the exchurched. Every one of us guys should be
reaching out to the lost all the time if we are
shepherds by passion not position. If we are
shepherds by verb, not by noun, then we should
be speaking to people about the lost all the time.
The other day I sat next to a Jewish man on the
aeroplane and today I had a meeting with one of
the deacons who is in the financial world. I told
him about this guy and he said that he is probably

one of the most successful businessmen this
country has ever known. He owns his own
financial house, hes listed on the stock exchange,
and yet I found him a very humble man. He asked
me a lot of questions and there I was talking to
this important guy about Jesus. He was talking to
me about the messiah who hadnt yet come and
we had a good debate. Its good for us because it
makes us sharp.
Later I sat next to a homosexual and I needed to
speak to them both about Jesus because they are
both lost. One is lost in religion and the other one
is lost in sexuality, but they are lost. The heart of
the shepherd has to keep reaching out. Its not
always comfortable but the heart of the shepherd
must constantly be reaching out. I didnt get them
saved but hopefully planted a seed in their hearts.
The homosexual guy that I sat next to on the
plane had a meeting with one of the people in the
church and told her everything about the
conversation we had on the aeroplane.
Constantly, guys, its not just the task of
evangelists to get people saved, its also the task
of the shepherds to tell people about the lost. Are
you a shepherd? Thats why youre here, to get
trained. Is there an arm of you that reaches out to
the lost?
2. Search for the Ex-churched
There are guys that have just strayed off but I
think there is a difference between a rebellious
sheep and one thats strayed. But I look at that
story in Luke 15 and look at the lost coin, the lost
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sheep and the lost son. It says that he leaves the

ninety-nine and he goes and finds the lost one.
But the son he doesnt go after, he stays exactly
where he is. The father doesnt move, he stays
there and waits for the son to come to his senses
and come all the way back home. Do we go after
the guy when he has wilfully disobeyed and hes
chosen to go or do you leave him until he comes
to his senses? Regarding the other guy that has
just strayed off, do you actually leave the ninetynine and go find him? I think there is room for
both because in the heart of the shepherd are the
lost and the strays.
3. Rescue Scattered Sheep
I will rescue them from all the places they are
scattered on a day of clouds and darkness.
(Ezekiel 34:12b)
Whats the
darkness?
difference
between
clouds
and
Clouds speak of storms, friends, thats what

clouds speak about. I dont know if you were
around here yesterday when those storms hit. I
have a veranda with couches and the couches
have been there for 18 months and they have
never got wet. However, with that rain everything
was just drenched. Now what happens when a
storm hits the sheep? Thats what hes talking
about. He says that he will rescue them from the
clouds and the darkness. Now the reality is that if
a storm hits and the sheep are not integrated, they
wander, they get wet, they get bedraggled and
they go and find themselves a nice little place to
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hide, and most times its not the church. Thats

what happens, especially to fringe people: under
pressure they withdraw. We have got to teach
them to come in when they are under pressure.
So, we have to go and find them.
I have seen elders go out to plant a church; the
guys that have been shepherded by them go
through a transition, they go through storms. I am
watching the people who were looked after by an
elder who has left to plant a church. I am
watching them closely so that when the next storm
hits they are coveredsomebody is looking after
them. I have my eyes open to see who is meeting
with who because storms hit and its a group that
is shepherdingall of us togethernot individual
shepherds. A shepherds heart says that when
the storms hit we have to take care of the sheep.
Darkness, friends, is sin! A shepherds heart
says, These guys are getting close to danger, I
have to go warn them, I need to make sure they
dont get involved, I need to go and pull them out
of that place. When the twig snaps we have to
speak. I have been too gracious at times. I have
known guys were getting into dangerous places
but I didnt speak. The other day an incredibly
generous man wanted to do something for this
person and something for that person. He just
wanted to bless guys because God has blessed
him and his family but, I just felt the danger and
told him so. We have constantly got to bring guys
out of cloud-storms and darkness and put them on
a path of light. Psalm 23:4a says, Even though I
walk through the valley of death, I will fear no evil.
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4. Bring Out and Bring In

I will bring them out from the nations and gather
them from the countries, and I will bring them into
their own land. (Ezekiel 34:13)
Effective leadership brings out and it brings in,
friends. We have to be able to do both. Moses
could bring out but he could never take the people
in. Gods intention was that Moses would bring
the people in but Joshua took the people in. We
have got to bring people out and take people in
most times we lean towards one or the other. An
evangelist knows now to take people out but very
often doesnt know how to bring them in. He
knows how to get them saved but then he doesnt
know what to do with them. I sat with a man in
Holland recently who wanted to go and plant a
church. He said, I can get people saved with the
Spirit of God. I just speak to them and they get
saved I said, Then what are you going to do with
them? He said, Well, then I will just hand them
over to the church and give it to somebody else.
Well, thats one way to do it. The other way is to
actually develop your ability to take people into
something. God wants bothtake them out and
take them in.
Out of what? The first thing is out of slaveryI
take them out of slavery and I bring them into
sonship. One of the things a son does is handle
correction, criticism and praise.
A survivor,
however,
has
highly developed defence
mechanisms. You have to take them out of that
place and bring them into sonship where they can
be corrected, changed and dealt with.
The
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difference between a goat and a sheep is but. A

goat buts all the timebut this and but that
they havent been taken out; they havent been
taken into what God has for them.
The second thing is that you take them out of
sonship and you bring them into slavery. You
have to bring them under the care of the
Shepherd. We take them from slavery to sonship
and from sonship to slavery. Paul said that he
was under the yoke of God and a slave to Christ.
Why do we have to bring them back to that place
again? Because then they dont just wander
where they want to wanderthey are back under
the government of God. I take them out and bring
them into sonship. Trust God to bring them out
and put them back: under the government of God
and a slave to Christ.
The third thing is that you bring them out of
brokenness and take them into wholeness in
every area. We have to trust that the Lord is our
shepherd, we shall not want. Sexual brokenness:
we have to take them from sexual brokenness,
connect them with the Shepherd and bring them to
sexual wholeness. We have to take them from
emotional brokenness and lead them to the
Shepherd who brings emotional wholeness. Its
one thing to bring people out of but we have to
bring people in to. A broken person in the desert
is no better off than a broken person in Egypt.
You have to take them in, sit with them, love them,
council them, shepherd them and take time with
them.
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John 10:4b says, They know his voice. How do

people get to know your voice? Only one-on-one!
Its not from a pulpit; its spending time in their
homes, spending time at the coffee shop,
spending time before and after meetings. Thats
how people get to know your voice. John 10 is
talking about an intimate knowledge of a voice.
You know me around the dining-room table and
you know what I am like. Thats how you get
people healed, guys. Its a healing community
and we heal people around dining-room tables in
our homes.
Brokenness to wholeness, from
wounds to healing, from bondage to freedom! We
bring them out of bondage and into freedom.
I had a meeting this afternoon with a man who has
just joined this church He had been living in
freedom for years and then an American guy
came into town and said that you have to call the
pastor, Pastor. Then the pastor got up and said,
You have to call me, Pastor. The man said
that he couldnt do that. We are not meant to take
people back into religious bondage but rather to
bring people into freedom all the time. God died
for his sheep!
From confusion to calling: take people out of
confusion and bring them into their calling.
Take people from the outskirts and bring them into
the inner circle: not Rorys inner circle but Jesus
inner circle. Jesus had circles. Its a reality.
There were the 500, there were the 72, there were
the 12, there were the three and there was one
guy who was the leader of Jesus church.
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Ultimately, Jesus wanted the crowd to come

closer and closer to hear his heartbeat and pray
with him.
What does a shepherd do, guys? A shepherd
comes to church on a Sunday and he looks for the
guys on the outskirts and tries to help them. One
of our elders was absolutely brilliant at thishe
would just take guys from the outskirts and bring
them in towards Jesusconnect them with the
Good Shepherd.
From passenger to priesthood: bring them out of
reluctance and bring them into radicalness. Bring
them out of a place where they have reservations
to a place where they are wholehearted. Bring
them out of a place of grumbling to a place of
encouragement. These are all signs of a good
shepherd. Bring them out of mediocrity to a place
of passion.
How are the guys doing in your home group?
There is a guy here that has a call of God on his
life and, when he started his home group, all the
strays, the lost, the grumblers, the mumblers, the
groaners and the moaners all got sent to him.
Why? Because God was preparing his heart to
shepherd his people. God wanted him to take
these guys and bring them to wholeness, to deal
with them, to work with them, to move them from
reflection to revelation.
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5. Gather the Flock

To gather the assembly, blow the trumpets,
says Numbers 10:7a. A shepherd gathers his
flock.
6. Pasture Them Widely
I will pasture them on the mountains of Israel, in
the ravines and in all the settlements in the land.
(Ezekiel 34:13b)
A shepherd has to make sure he doesnt feed the
sheep one type of food. There are all kinds of
diseases that sheep get. Included are grass
tetany disease, bloating and foot rot.2 What is foot
rot? Foot rot is caused by living in moisture for
too long: their feet go rotten. We have to be able
to take people through dry places without them
moaning and groaning and asking where the Holy
Spirit is. This is getting your feet healed! Grass
tetany disease is when you feed them too much of
the same type of food and they get diseased. You
cant just feed them the same thingmotivation,
motivation;
teaching,
teaching;
preaching,
preaching; revelation, revelation. You have to
give people a varietyfeed the sheep. Bloating is
when a sheep eats too much and doesnt do any
exercise. We have some bloated people in the
church who have sat here for years. We have to
pasture them with many different types of food.
What do you do at your home group? Have you
become one dimensional? Do you do the same
thing all the time or do you feed them on the
mountains and the ravines? The home-group
2
These sheep diseases are covered in more detail in the Nehemiah series.
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leaders are not shepherdsGod is preparing

them to shepherd by helping the shepherds take
care of the people. Is what do you do in the home
group the same every week? Some guys teach
week after week after weekthis will make the
people sick. Some guys just fly by the seat of
their pants every weekthis will make the people
sick. Youve got to have prepared food! You cant
bring a can of food to the table, put it down and
say eat. A sheep doesnt know how to open it
and doesnt know how to heat it. You have to
prepare it. I will pasture them in all these
different places.
I will tend them in a good pasture, and the
mountain heights of Israel will be their grazing
land. (Ezekiel 34:14a)
I will tend themremember the Word says, my
cup overflows. (Psalm 23:5c) People should be
doing well under our carelooked after and loved.
7. Have Them Lie Down
And have them lie down. (Ezekiel 34:15b)
I tell you, friends, one of the things that has really
come to me over the last while is the issue of rest.
A prophetic church constantly hears the words,
You have been at this mountain long enough,
break camp and move in, so the cloud moved and
people followed. But then I look at Jesus
leadership style, Lie down in green pastures.
You lie down, you stop, you rest.
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Now many times, friends, the rest is on the

journey because Jesus displayed that in his own
life. In the boat in Mark 4, as the storm came and
they were busy, Jesus was fast asleep on a pillow
amidst the storm. Jesus knew how to rest amidst
the storm. We have to learn how to listen to the
voice of the shepherd to lie down. If we as the
shepherds of this church tell you to break camp
and move on, we will eventually kill the sheep if
we just drive them and drive them. There has got
to be a time where we actually say, Lie down.
Stop and lie down. The prayer meeting is not
going to be about the nations, its just going to be
on your knees glorifying the Father. It has got to
be both! Now, for some people who just lie down
all the time you need to go the other way: Break
camp, you have been lying down long enough!
Make the sheep lie down, rest, then redirect and
go again.
8. Bind Up the Injured
I will bind up the injured and strengthen the
weak. (Ezekiel 34:16b)
Psalm 23:3a says, He restores my soul. What
causes injury? Things such as hope deferred,
disillusionment, scepticism, injury, cynicism, pain
or dashed dreams. These are difficult people to
lead and we have to restore them again: restore
their confidence in God, bind them up, get that
broken limb healedand then they can go again.
Strengthen the weak. How do you strengthen
the weak? The first way you do it is through
theologystrengthen them with theology. We
take them back to the Bible. I saw one of the
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elders today sitting at the coffee shop with a

young man and he had his Bible open and he was
making him strong. He was just sitting there
saying, This says this and that says that. Not
lecturing him but making him strong with the word
of God. Thats what we do first, friends, we pray
and prophesy the word of God, we show them
their destiny, from the Bible, as sheep in Gods
sight; not from my opinion, not from my
experience, but from the Bible. We relationally
get around them. Its a healing community. We
teach them to dig their own wells. When you
make people dependant upon you, they will
eventually bite you. I said this to a man who is
joining the church now. He needs to be prepared
for disillusionment because we are not going to be
around every time he needs us to be around. He
has to dig his own wellthats how you strengthen
the weakteach them to dig their own wells.
9. Shepherd with Justice to Bring
Righteousness
I will shepherd the flock with justice.
34:16d)
(Ezekiel
Psalm 23 says that he will guide us in paths of

righteousness. Its about taking people into a
behavioural pattern. Its about teaching them the
truth and showing them the way to live. We are
not here to entertain people but we are here to
instruct people. There is a difference: this is not a
preaching centre, this is a training centre. Its
people being trained and instructed in paths of
justice and righteousness, the way to live.
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10. Judge Between Sheep, Rams and Goats

I will judge between one sheep and another, and
between rams and goats. (Ezekiel 34:17b)
In John 10:18b Jesus says, I have authority.
Friends, he is the Chief Shepherd and we are the
under-shepherds. In the life of the church God
has given the shepherds the ability to judge in the
context of corporate mattersto judge the fat ram
and the lean ram.
Therefore this is what the Sovereign LORD says to
them: See, I myself will judge between the fat
sheep and the lean sheep. Because you shove
with flank and shoulder, butting all the weak sheep
with your horns until you have driven them away, I
will save my flock, and they will no longer be
plundered. I will judge between one sheep and
another. I will place over them one shepherd, my
servant David, and he will tend them; he will tend
them and be their shepherd. (Ezekiel 34:20-23)
One flock, one shepherdwe have been speaking
about the lead elderone flock, one shepherd.
We are a plurality of eldership but there is one
lead manwe cant have ten shepherds telling the
sheep which way to go. This is one flock with one
shepherd who rules in plurality with other
shepherds.
11. Bless the Sheep
I will bless them and the places surrounding my
hill. (Ezekiel 34:26a)
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Scripture has about 8 000 promises in the Bible

for us. People ask me why Sunday after Sunday I
stand up and pray over the people. One of my
tasks as a shepherd is to bless the people of the
church. I can bless them with Gods protection by
the name of Jesus. Our task is to bless people,
prophesy over them, take the word of God and
pray it over people. Take your Bible and your
devotions and just bless people with them. I feel
God has given me a strategy that on Tuesday
afternoons I should pray for the home group
leaders. I am going to take that list and I am
going to pray Gods blessing over themthats
what I am going to dotake that list and before
they meet on a Tuesday night I am going to pray
Gods blessings over them. Just bless people!
There is enough cursing in the world, there is
enough cursing in the work place, there is enough
criticism, there is enough of all those things. Just
bless themnot falsely accuse thembless them
with the word of God. Bless them with their
destiny, their purpose and their desires of God.
Speak life over the people.
12. Break the Yokes
The trees of the fields will yield their fruit and the
ground will yield its crops; the people will be
secure in their land. They will know that I am the
LORD, when I break the bars of their yoke and
rescue them from the hands of those who
enslaved them. (Ezekiel 34:27)
Will break the yoke over them. We know,
friends, that the only thing that breaks the yoke is
the anointing. If you run your home group, if you
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run a church, by the seat of your pants without the

Spirit of God then you will never break a yoke off a
persons life, never! I had a meeting with a man
today and he said his young daughter had had a
hard heart and while worshiping a couple of
Sundays ago the Spirit of God touched her and
she wept for 45 minutes. He said that she was
different now. Why? The bars have been broken
off her. How? By the anointing of God. Break the
bars, break the curses over peoples lives, break it
by the power of the Spirit. This is the task of a
shepherd.
Failure! Successful people tell you about their
successes whereas failures normally tell you
about their failures. Break it off peoples lives:
God hasnt called us to fail.
Thats not a
prosperity message, God has not called us to
fail. Yet we see people going around in circles of
failure. Why? We need to have shepherds to
take them in. Old yokes of self: self-pity, selfrighteousness and self-interests are to be broken
off people.
13. Help Them Live in Safety
They will live in safety, and no one will make them
afraid. (Ezekiel 34:28b)
Conclusion
Where are we doing well in our church and where
are we doing badly in that list of things? How are
we doing? Have we missed some out?
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You can go through John 10 and Psalm 23 in the

same way we just went through Ezekiel.
Questions and Answers

1. The Elders Wife
How do you see the role of an elders wife?
Eldership is male but husband and wife are one so
the function is to elder together, to shepherd
together. To me the function is both, although the
elder is male.
I think elders wives add a
wonderful shepherd heart into an elders meeting.
Most times ladies see the injured and the
brokenhearted before men see them. They add a
wonderful dimension therefore they are included in
every way, except those few areas of discipline,
doctrine and direction. I believe they can teach on
them but they cant set them. A woman can speak
on discipline but she cant set the discipline, she
can speak on doctrine but she cant set the
doctrine.
2. People Moving Between Churches
How do you feel about people coming from other
churches to this church?
You look at all the people coming in and you say,
God, are you sending them to this flock? and
Are we are called to shepherd them? Its quite
an awesome task.
I think there are a number of things to consider.
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Its not the ideal because we are trying to build a

citywide church. One person always worked on
the principle of sending people away until God
said to him, Why are you sending the people
away that I am sending to you? I think he was
shocked by that because he had sent many away
upset. I met with a couple recently and I made it
very difficult for them to join, although because I
had seen their character part of me wanted to say
welcome. Because I wanted to make sure God
sent them here, I told them that they were not to
come here because of their kids or because its
more convenient or because the church they
came from is becoming more multi-cultural. If a
guy says, I am coming here for my kids, I say,
Well, youre the father, you should be leading
your kids not the kids leading you. So, we go
through all those types of things. But, ultimately, if
a man leaves because he has got to run from that
place (because its not biblical or effective) you
cant stop him coming.
As long as you leave properly its fine. Theyre to
leave for the right reasons and God has to have
told them to leave. We welcome them but we chat
through all the issues first. Some guys leave
because they dont like the discipline, they dont
like the pastor, they dont like this or thatall the
wrong reasons. The reasons have got to be right;
it cant just be for the buzz. If God hasnt sent you
here then the first time you get confronted, you will
leave. But if God has said to join this community
then we can actually walk through the valley of the
shadow of death together.
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Its the same as being a deacon in that you cant

just be a deacon when you feel like being a
deacon. You are a deacon because God has told
you to be a deacon. There are many Tuesdays
when some think, I wish I wasnt a deacon but
God told me to be a deacon so I will walk through
it. We cant stop guys coming because theres
lots of life, activity, young people and all sorts of
things.
When the crisis hits they will leave
because they actually havent joined properly
they have just come for the buzz. When that
wears off or the buzz goes to the next place they
will move again. The reality is that I think God is
going to send us leaders, already-trained leaders
from others churches or other places. We have
lost people to many churches, guys have left us
and gone elsewhere. But I think you have to leave
for the right reasons.
How do you feel about people leaving the church
because of a change of suburb, even if the other
church is relating to NCMI?
When we move because of convenience rather
than convictions, its a frightening thing. I saw one
couple that were on our team of deacons that
moved within 30 kilometres of Durban. They
came off the deacon team and today they are not
counting for God because they moved for
convenience. I think it is horrific.
In what way do you mean that people should
leave other churches properly?
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This particular couple I met with today actually had

a letter addressed to me: Dear Rory, they go with
full recommendation from us. We prayed for them
at the front of the church and released themwe
feel their season has come to an end so I release
them .
Other guys just pop up on our door step here
because they are rejecting discipline.
One
particular couple had come from another church
because they were put under discipline and they
said, We are rejecting the discipline, and they
arrived here. A guy phoned me and asked if they
were here as he was looking for them and hadnt
found them yet. They are here undercover! They
say, We love this church, but actually they are
rebelliousthey just didnt want to live under
discipline.
So, to the one couple we say, Yes, and the other
couple we say, No, we dont want you.
3. The Question of Denomination
How do we handle the question of what
denomination we belong to?
All New Covenant Ministries is is a group of
people made up of couples and singles on an
apostolic team. They travel around the world, not
floating, but like direction-shot arrows with
purpose and precision. Then there are local,
autonomous churches governed by elders who
chose to relate to that team and their vision and
values. So, this NCMI team relates to Victory
Faith Centre and Hillcrest Christian Fellowship
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and many others.

They are all completely
different in their makeup as there is no such thing
as a New Covenant Church. There is a body of
elders that are outworking their conviction of
Scripture through an apostolic team. We are not a
denomination so you cant leave here and join our
branch up in Pinetown. It doesnt work like that.
Our values (for example, the nations) will be the
same and when a person has got those values
inside they will probably want to go again with
someone who has a similar vision. To plant
churches, impact nations, raise up leaders, are
kind-of universal values in our ranks so they might
want to move within that. If I move to Cape Town
I would like to join an NCMI-relating church just
because I have the same heart.
If people cant travel more than 30 minutes to go
to church because of the call of God then I think
we are producing babies.
They devoted
themselves. My task is not to devote them. We
are not a heavy-handed team and my task is not
to rule peoples lives with, You cant, you can, you
should, you stay, I told you. They are adults and
they dont have to be told. Most times they come
and tell me that God has told them. If God has
told them, let me not get involvedI would hate
to be fighting against God!
We dont belong to a denomination. 1 Corinthians
3:4 says, For when one says, I follow Paul, and
another, I follow Apollos, are you not mere men?
We are an eldership-governed, autonomous
church relating to an apostolic team called New
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Covenant Ministries, thats it! People think New

Covenant Ministries is the group we belong to but
New Covenant Ministries is a group of people.
Thats all it is, its an apostolic team and its just
got a name for names sake.
4. Accountable to God
Do elders have to give an account to God for the
people in the church if people choose to go off and
sin?
I have to give an account for your behaviour as it
says in Hebrews 13:17b. Thats why we have to
interfere in peoples lives: because we are going
to give an account for them. If people choose to
submit themselves to this church then they are
inviting the churchs authority to speak into their
lives, into their marriages, into whatever it may be.
So, those things do get addressed and people
shouldnt get offended by that. They have chosen
to submit to us and so are trusting us as a
leadership to speak into their lives. But they still
have a free will and can still do whatever they like.
5. Home Group Issues
What do you think of people switching and
changing home groups in the same way people
change churches unnecessarily?
God still wants us to be part of a family and you
cant force your convictions on another person.
When I send someone to a home group I
recommend that they stay for about 3 or 4 weeks
and see if they can fit in. If not then they are to
come back and we will try find them another place.
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The reality is that God wants us to outwork this

thing relationally so you have to have some kind of
group of people that you can work it out with
relationally. On the one hand we are not meant to
be square pegs in round holes all the time. On
the other hand I think people should be able to
work anything out relationally. In any group of
people where Christ is the common factor,
because in the Bible it says that there is no Greek
or Jew, I think that he overrides all our differences.
So, we keep preaching the ideal but we live in the
real world.
What do we do if someone joins our home group
because there are no home groups in the church
that they belong to?
The difficulty is one shepherd, one flocktwo
visions lead to division. You have heard me
speak on this thing so many times.
Also, who is paying? It takes valuable time from
the guys to counsel and pray for these people but
they are not adding any value. I was just thinking
that we are probably going to have to extend our
building because we are having 200 visitors on
Sunday nights, but they are not adding any value
to the life of this church. Grace says, Yes, they
can come. We cant stop them coming but we
are going to have to extend our building. This is
partly because of the 200 visitors who just come in
and breeze out, never contributing to the life of the
church or anything like that. In Ezekiel 34:3 the
shepherd wore a woollen coat that was provided
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by the sheep. Know the condition of your flock for

they provide wool and all sorts of thingsits a
reality, its a mutual relationship that takes place
between a shepherd and the sheep. You cant
stop visiting but you need to encourage them to
make a decision some time. They cant sit under
a preacher on a Sunday morning (who is hopefully
preaching vision and enthusiasm and the word of
God) and come here on a Sunday night and sit
under a different preacher and not be confused.
You are going to get confused because they are
two bodies going in different directions. Arent we
all the body of Christ? Yes, but our emphasis is
different. Being part of two bodies gives you
licence to leave out of the back door, leave out of
the front door, leave because you are miffed,
leave because you dont like the counselor you
dont like the whatever.
6. Problems in the Church
When you say, Have your finger on the trigger,
does it come with a caution? What did you mean?
In the illustration used, they were in enemy
territory and that man was on dutyhe was meant
to be guarding his people, and he slept. So,
basically, dont sleepwhen the twig breaks you
can shoot immediately. There is an old poem
called The Moth and the Candle. It is about a
candle and a moth that flies around and around
and it gets closer and closerand eventually it
burns up. The reality, guys, is that wherever
theres a light there are moths and bugs; we
attract bugs. How does a guy walk in and smash
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a cell phone? Thats robbing one of our guys of a

lot of money.
Do you think elders have an anointing to spot
wolves?
Wolves come in sheeps clothingthats the
reality. Sometimes it takes a bit of time to see
that, but I think that as a shepherd we will
eventually pick that thing up. But all of us, guys, if
we are under the Great Shepherd, should be able
to see what is happening and what is not
happeningwhos lost, whos straying and whos
injured.
Do weird people in the church always need
deliverance?
Well, you cant put that into a box as it has caused
much heartache in the Church all over the world.
We cant say that this person or that person needs
deliverance when they probably just needed to be
loved.
What do you do with weird and violent people?
About 2 years ago we had a guy come who was
called to be a prophet. We literally waited and
watched him because he had come in with some
not-so-good credentials from another church.
This guy then walked into our church and he
waited until I travelledthe first Sunday I was
away he started prophesying here.
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They come in all forms, shapes and sizes and

sometimes they need help, sometimes they need
deliverance, sometimes they just need to be
loved. So, you cant put a person into a box. I
think our task is to know the difference. The task
of the shepherd is to protect the sheep. Guys just
cant come in here and cause havoc. The enemy
comes to rob, kill and destroy, and our task is to
take care of the sheep.
7. A New Lead Elder in a Church
What happens when a new lead elder leads a
church? Do all the other elders step down?
When we took over Glenridge I was the youngest
elder on the team. So, I went to Chris and said,
Hey, bud, please ask these guys, because I dont
know if they will be able to switch allegiance.
Chris went to the guys and asked if it was possible
to change allegiance and they said, Yes,and
so there was no problem. The styles are different
and you have to be able to change allegiance
because there is still only one shepherd. We have
seen handovers to churches that have been an
absolute disaster. One of the big churches was
an incredible disasterjust back biting and back
stabbing. In some of the churches we have
actually recommended that the whole eldership
team stand down. God chose Moses, Moses
chose the elders; thats the reality. So, there is
actually some place where the leader actually
chooses the men he wants on his team. There
are guys here, even in this room, that are called to
be elders. They wont necessarily be elders while
I am here, or while the next guy is here, or in this
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church, because God hasnt called them to be

elders here. God always does the promoting.
If Im called to be an elder, am I always an elder?
is a difficult theological question to work out.
8. Deacons
To what extend do deacons keep a look out for
problems on a Sunday?
I think to the full extentits having an awareness
of what is going on. Genesis 4:7b says that the
enemy is sitting at the door, lurking at the door,
crouching at the door, just waiting to nail us. So,
we have to be wide awake every Sunday. We
need protection, the presence of God, the gifts of
wisdom and discernmentall those things.
Father, we thank you for the privilege of being

able to gather around your Word and yet also
have fun and laugh. Lord, we thank you for this
community of peopleyou really have blessed us
abundantly. I ask, Lord God, that you would bless
these people, that your hand would continue to be
upon them. We know, Lord, that when we abide
in you there will be fruit, and fruit that will last. I
pray that every person here would produce
wonderful fruit for you, for the healing of the
nations. I pray for the marriages here, I pray for
the singlesthat you would give them strength
and power. I pray, Lord God, for the jobs that
these people hold, some high-demand jobs, some
jobs of real service, that you would empower
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them, that you would strengthen them, that you

would encourage them and, Lord God, that we
would have your presence go with us; the same
prayer as Moses prayed, Unless your presence
goes with us, how will people be able to
distinguish ? We pray that people will be able
to distinguish that our lives are different; that they
will be able to know there is something different
about our relationships, whats on our tongues and
the language that we speak; that there is
something different because your presence is with
us. And, I pray that your presence would be with
us this next week, these next few months, Lord
God, that your hand of grace would be upon us, in
Jesus wonderful and mighty name, amen.
God bless you guys!
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4: Gods Call to Leadership

Introduction
1. We Are to be Radical
Let me read to you something written by Dudley
Daniel on how NCMI was birthed. We as NCMI
were birthed to be radical. If I look at tonights
prayer meeting then I think God is challenging a
settler mentality. Honestly, one of the things that
is very concerning to me is to see how long people
can actually be in this church without giving
themselves either to an understanding of the
apostolic or giving themselves physically to
travelling.
We are called to be radical, on the edge,
pioneers, trusting God for things; to model a
people committed to God, sold out to truth
uncompromising truththe truth of the entire word
of God. We are not given to the pressures of the
unbiblical Church, the preferences of the saints,
the preconceived ideas of the preachers, the
prejudices of the legalists or of the licentious or
the politically-correct humanists. We will not just
sing about or speak about or sermonise about or
shout about the King and the Kingdom but we will
submit to the Kingdom, we will submit to the
government of God and surrender to the King.
We will not rip off the sheep, settle down in our
comfort zones or convenient churches but we will
go to the nations, pastor our people, stretch them
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to become the best that they can be for Godfull

of the Holy Spirit, obedient to the word of God,
building according to the biblical pattern. We will
dance,
run,
be
passionate,
zealous,
uncompromising and pleasing to our God in all our
ways and all that we do for Jesus.
2. We Are to be Apostolic and Prophetic
One of the things you have to understand as a
leader here is the apostolic and the prophetic.
What does that mean?
It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to
be prophets, some to be evangelists and some to
be pastors and teachers, to prepare Gods people
for works of service, so that the body of Christ
may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith
and in the knowledge of the Son of God and
become mature, attaining to the whole measure of
the fullness of Christ. Then we will no longer be
infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and
blown here and there by every wind of teaching
and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their
deceitful scheming. Instead speaking the truth in
love, we will in all things grow up into him who is
the Head, that is, Christ. From him the whole
body, joined and held together by every
supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in
love, as each part does its work. (Ephesians
4:11-16)
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The Purpose of Apostolic Ministry

1. To Prepare Gods People for Works of
Service
To prepare Gods people for works of service
thats why we insist that when apostolic men come
into town that you are at the meetings. It takes
precedent over your grannys 80th birthday party.
These are all things to see whether a person has
got the heart. People make all sorts of excuses
when apostolic guys come into town but the
apostolic ministry is given to the Church to
prepare Gods people. So, as a member of Gods
Church I come to get myself equipped.
2. To Build Up the Church
so that the body of Christ may be built up .
They come to build up the church.
3. So We All Reach Unity in the Faith
They come to bring unity into the church.
4. To Become a Mature Church
The apostolic ministry is given to the Church to
make it mature. This is one of the most amazing
things. There are many independent churches
around (and there are some in this city) that dont
relate to apostolic teams and one of the signs of
them is immaturity. They keep running off after
every wind and doctrine; whatever the latest trend
is, they go with it; whatever the latest book is, they
go with it. I sat with a man this afternoon and I
asked him what his pastor was preaching on and
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he told me, so, I asked him where he got it from.

He named a book that is the latest book that I
have seen in the Christian bookshops. What he
has done is taken this book and preached it. He
needs the apostolic because we dont preach the
latest American trendwe preach what God has
said to us. That is why the apostolic comes in. I
hope I have explained the importance of this thing.
5. To Attain the Fullness of Christ
Attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of
Christ. The ten elders on team, with different
giftings, have got limitations. That is why we need
the apostolicso that the whole measure of
Christs fullness is being preached. So, when I
travel to Australia, my job is not to preach my
favourite message so that people will think I am
clever. That is not what the apostolic is called to
do. I have to go to that church and help in the
context there with their particular needs. We need
to understand this, guys, because if Gods going
to bring you through to an eldership you need to
understand that the apostolic is absolutely vital to
the wellbeing of that church. I believe that without
our relationship with NCMI this church would be
nothingI firmly believe that.
6. In All Things To Grow Up
To grow up. we will in all things grow up .
All things.
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The Nature of Apostolic Ministry

1. Governmental Authority in the Local
Church
It involves governmental authoritywhat the
apostolic guys say is more than a good
suggestionit is to be obeyed. God has given the
apostles to the churches to take care of them.
2. A Going-Not-Gathering Mindset
Second, it is going and not merely gathering. I
say this over and over again yet we have got
deacons on this team that do not understand the
apostolic. Guys are starting to ask me when I am
going to hand over the churchfive guys in the
last few weeks. My immediate thought is that they
dont understand the apostolic. They see me
travelling more and more, and in their minds the
local church is being affected by my travels. Our
church should cope for six months without me
being hereno problem whatsoever. Do you
understand that? Our job is to go not gather. I
think there will be growth here because that is part
of the blessing of being in covenant with Godbut
our task is to go. Let yourself be challenged by
this, guys, because the apostolic is caught not
taught. We have taught this over and over at
different meetings and people havent caught it!
You have to actually say, God, you show it to me,
you reveal the nations to me.
3. A Sending-Not-Staying Mindset
It is sending not staying.
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4. A Giving-Not-Merely-Getting Mindset
It is giving not merely getting. So, one of the
things we give is our leaders. Right now four of
our elders are going. It is part of giving to the
nations.
We have to release them to the
apostolic. If there is anything inside of you that
says I want to keep, then you havent understood
the apostolic. Jesus is the King of this church;
people are not the king. Its giving, guys, all the
time.
5. Gifts Working Into Existing Local Churches
It is gifted trans-local ministry working into existing
churches.
What It Means to be Prophetic

Part of the prophetic is:
the ability to see the future, plan for the future
and become the future;
living in the realities of Jeremiah chapters 1 and
15;
living in the challenge and tension of perpetual
change;
being amongst those who stand in the council of
God.
We think that the prophetic is when some strange
person comes here with a word for our lives. That
is only part of the prophetic but allowing the
kingdom of God to come now is the major part.
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1. We See Ahead and Live it Now

Prophets encourage the community and they see
the future and guide us to become it. For us to be
a prophetic people we need to see the future and
become it! So, we pull the future towards us with
the ability to see the future, plan for the future and
become the futureeffectively it is history spoken
in advance. Brothers, I can tell you confidently
that the patriarch David died and was buried, and
his tomb is here to this day. But he was a prophet
and knew that God had promised him on oath that
he would place one of his descendants on his
throne. Seeing what was ahead, he spoke .
(Acts 2:29-31a)
So, a prophetic church, friends, is to see what is
ahead and to speakour task is not to follow the
flow. What is happening right now is that the
Church is seven years behind the trends of the
worldthe Church is constantly playing catch-up.
Our task is to reveal to the world where God is
atto see what the Church looks like in the future
and to bring it forward right now. Thats why I am
addressing this local church thing of fellowship
with God and fellowship with one another. I have
been hitting it since before we started the Exodus
series. I have been talking about fellowship,
fellowship and getting the relationships right.
Why? Because one day God is going to have a
united body. We have got to see it and we have
got to drag it back to us in a sense and we have to
become it now. Then, when people say, Is this
what the Church is going to look like?, we can
say, Yes, this is the prophetic Church.
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Apply this to your own lives. If you see in your

future the call of God upon your life then you have
to drag it into the present time and you have to
become it.
Literally, friends, from time
management to eating habits to spiritual
disciplines to whatever it might be you have got to
drag them into the present and you have to
become them now. The reality, friends, is that we
have to become the future, and our behavioural
patterns take their cue from what God has called
us to beprophetic.
The word of the LORD came to me, saying,
Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,
before you were born I set you apart;
I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.
Ah, Sovereign LORD, I said, I do not know how
to speak; I am only a child.
But the LORD said to me, Do not say, I am only a
child. You must go to everyone I send you to and
say whatever I command you. Do not be afraid of
them, for I am with you and will rescue you,
declares the LORD.
Then the LORD reached out his hand and touched
my mouth and said to me, Now, I have put my
words in your mouth. See, today I appoint you
over nations and kingdoms to uproot and tear
down, to destroy and overthrow, to build and to
plant.
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The word of the LORD came to me: What do you

see, Jeremiah?
I see the branch of an almond tree, I replied.
(Jeremiah 1:4-11)
This is an incredible prophetic call given to the
Church, friends, through Jeremiah to see
something of what God wants to do, to pull it
forward and to deal with those thingsuproot,
plant, pull down, build. It starts with our individual
life first and it goes into a corporate mandate.
What I did on Sunday night was just rip down
every idol that prevents us from building the
kingdom of God. Otherwise we will continue to
have all these idols that go with us as we build the
kingdom of God, and we are going to be
disappointed one day when we realise that we
didnt do the work now that God wanted us to do
with the prophetic mandate upon our lives. It is
never, never comfortable to be prophetic.
2. We Persevere Though it is Demanding
When your words came, I ate them;
they were my joy and my hearts delight,
for I bear your name, O LORD God Almighty.
I never sat in the company of revelers,
never made merry with them;
I sat alone because your hand was on me
and you had filled me with indignation.
Why is my pain unending and my wound grievous
and incurable?
Will you be to me like a deceptive brook,
like a spring that fails?
(Jeremiah 15:16-18)
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He is starting to moan because of the mandate of

God on his lifeGod called him to be a prophet
and he is prophesying and taking a little bit of
pressure through the process, so he is moaning
and groaning to God.
Therefore this is what the LORD says:
If you repent, I will restore you
that you may serve me;
if you utter worthy, not worthless, words,
you will be my spokesman.
Let this people turn to you,
but you must not turn to them.
I will make you a wall to this people,
a fortified wall of bronze;
they will fight against you
but will not overcome you,
for I am with you
to rescue and save you, declares the LORD.
(Jeremiah 15:19-20)
It is an incredible picture, friends. Dont turn to the
ways of the world. The Church is constantly
getting seduced by the ways of the world. God
says we are a prophetic people so do not turn to
the ways of the worldlet the world turn to our
ways. Be a prophetic people and understand it.
3. We Persist in Preaching Holiness
Last night at the Foundations training course the
statement, This church has a reputation of being
strict, was made. The lady was talking about
moral issues and we thank God that we have that
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reputation. We are a prophetic church and we will

be holy. You might ask why we keep nailing this
thing week after week. It is because the Church
prophetically is going to be holy and we have got
to see it happening now.
I received a phone call about a 16 year old girl in
one of our relating churches who has just fallen
pregnant to a 24 year old man. We have to live
with realities but we must bring the holiness in
closer and closerbring it in, bring it in. This
thing of dress code absolutely grieves me but I
wont become legalistic and say that you cant
wear this and that, but I am telling you that to be a
prophetic people means that my body belongs to
God and my partner, and that is it. When you
come here and show it off and it draws the
attention of everyone else, we will lose our
prophetic edge and we will no longer be uprooting
and tearing down but we will be uplifting the idols
of this world. We have to keep preaching it and
preaching it even if people dislike us. The text
says that he will make us as a wall of bronze:
keep preaching it, preaching it. We are here to
maintain a standard of truth, not compromise and
let everybody come in with every whim, teaching
and doctrine. Friends, that is when the church
gets watered down and we lose the prophetic
edge.
4. We Keep Changing and Remain
Changeable
No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old
garment, for the patch will pull away from the
garment, making the tear worse. Neither do men
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pour new wine into old wineskins. If they do, the

skins will burst, the wine will run out and the
wineskins will be ruined. No, they pour new wine
into new wineskins, and both are preserved.
(Matthew 9:16-17)
This wineskin that God has is changing all the
time, until one day we will have a wineskin that
looks like the wineskin of the Bible. When people
stop changing because they become traditional in
their mindsets, the wineskin pops and we lose our
prophetic edge. The reality is we are caught up in
our ways as much as the other churches and
denominations. Why? Because we dont like the
new wine to come and we dont like the stretching.
I honestly feel the heavy hand of God coming
upon me and upon issues. While I am away on
this next trip I know God means to speak to me
about some of the ways we do things here in this
church. We become comfortable with 2 000
people and the way we do churchbut God says
that he wants us to be prophetic. We need to put
oil on some of the areas so that when the wine
comes in we can stretch.
Look at your own lives, guys: your giving, your
contribution on Sundays, your worship, and ask
yourself if you are prophetic. Is God changing
you, fashioning you and shaping you; perpetual
change all the time.
An amazing thing is taking place in our ranks: the
next group of leaders are running with the baton.
In a sense, God has placed aside some of the
guys who have run the race and the new
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generation is running. Is there enough room in the

wineskin to handle that? It is all a challenge as
history repeats itself. My generation is carrying
the baton right now but there will come a time
when God says, Step aside as the new
generation is going to run. Can our wineskin
handle that? Some of you have been at this
church for years and years but will you handle it
when someone new runs past you with the
batonif you can you are prophetic.
Are you apostolic and prophetic with some stretch
inside of you?
5. We Fill Ourselves with Gods Dream
This is what the LORD Almighty says:
Do not listen to what the prophets are
prophesying to you;
they fill you with false hopes.
They speak visions from their own minds,
not from the mouth of the LORD.
They keep saying to those who despise me,
The Lord says: You will have peace.
And to all who follow the stubbornness of their
hearts
they say, No harm will come to you.
But which of them has stood in the council of the
LORD
to see or to hear his word?
Who has listened and heard his word?
See, the storm of the LORD will burst out in wrath,
a whirlwind swirling down on the heads of the
wicked.
The anger of the Lord will not turn back
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until he fully accomplishes the purposes of his

heart.
In days to come you will understand it clearly.
(Jeremiah 23:16-20)
The prophetic is being amongst those who stand
in the council of God, who listen to and see the
word of Godnot just listen but also see.
What does it mean to see the word of God? It
means to see into the future and bring it forward
and seeing it outworked. What dream do you
have for the local church? You feel that God will
bring you through to eldershipso what dream do
you have for this church? Every one of us has to
live with a dream in our hearts of what this church
will look like.
That is the propheticstanding in the counsel of
God, hearing his word and allowing that word to
take root.
When people of other races say they feel culturally
alienated in a church, that is not propheticthe
church has to be open to all nations. We have got
to preach it, pray for it and get before God for it.
We cant have a separate church for each culture.
We have to have a dream for a multicultural
church because that is the future. We have to
dream it!
What is the dream that you have?
bumble from Sunday to Sunday.
Dont just
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6. We Live Radically Without Compromise

Sometimes it becomes tiring because it is
exhausting to be propheticbecause you feel that
you are constantly going against the flow. So, we
compromise and just go with the status quo. The
prophetic is not the status quo. When last did you
do something different in worship or is it just the
charismatic shuffle? One of the greatest lessons
that I have learnt was from one of our lady worship
leaders. She came to me one day after worship
and she told me that I was so busy looking around
that I had stopped worshiping. I had stopped
being propheticmy job is to lead worship and
take people in. It was like a rebuke to meGod
has not called me to manage but to lead. I am
very encouraged when a home group leader tells
me that they are handing over their home group to
go and start a new one. That is prophetic
because God told us that we will have a home
group in every suburb of this city.
7. We Travel, Sow and Pray
Be prophetic and dont get caught upuproot and
tear down, dont put in rootskeep your prophetic
edge. When last did you travel? When last did
you give apostolically? When last did you sow into
the nations?
Please pray for the leaders and their family when
they go away. A man came to me and he said
that he saw a picture of me and my little girl
walking along and she was wobblingjust taking
a little bit of strain. He saw himself in the picture
taking her hand and saying that she was not to
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worry because he was a lion and he was going to

roar over my family. He says that he is going to
pray over my family while I am away. That is
prophetic!
He understood the apostolic and was responding
propheticallyare we apostolic and prophetic?
8. We See Gods Word as Effective and
Powerful
Let the prophet who has a dream tell his dream,
but let the one who has my word speak it faithfully.
For what has straw to do with grain? declares the
LORD. Is not my word like fire, declares the
LORD, and like a hammer that breaks a rock in
pieces? (Jeremiah 23:28-29)
He already has Gods word and that word breaks
like a hammer. That is the prophetic, friends,
when I have already received the word and I
speak that word and it breaks.
I looked at the sermon series on The Cross that
the media guys have put together into a book
format: I remembered that this word was what
God spoke to me when I was in a time in my life
when I was feeling absolutely exhausted. I felt
tired and burnt out and no one knew how to help
me. Then God said, Go and study the cross. I
remember being on my knees in my study with
Isaiah 53 and allowing the word of God to enter
inside of me, then getting up and preaching the
word. The lives of people were changed in the
preaching of the cross. God even ministered to
the people that were typing the manuscriptthat
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was because that word was seen, spoken and

became a fire and hammer that breaks things
open. A prophet takes the word inside of himit
is no good just quickly taking a scripture and
jotting it down and preaching on itthat is not
prophetic.
Biblical Leadership Requires Authority

When Jesus had finished saying all this in the
hearing of the people, he entered Capernaum.
There a centurions servant, whom his master
valued highly, was sick and about to die. The
centurion heard of Jesus and sent some elders of
the Jews to him, asking him to come and heal his
servant. When they came to Jesus, they pleaded
earnestly with him, This man deserves to have
you do this, because he loves our nation and has
built our synagogue. So Jesus went with them.
He was not far from the house when the centurion
sent friends to say to him: Lord, dont trouble
yourself, for I do not deserve to have you come
under my roof. That is why I did not even consider
myself worthy to come to you. But say the word,
and my servant will be healed. For I myself am a
man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell
this one, Go and he goes; and that one, Come,
and he comes. I say to my servant, Do this, and
he does it. When Jesus heard this, he was
amazed at him, and turning to the crowd following
him, he said, I tell you, I have not found such
great faith even in Israel. Then the men who had
been sent returned to the house and found the
servant well. (Luke 7:1-10)
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To understand leadership in the context of the

apostolic-prophetic ministry (and work with them)
we have to understand three things:
what it means to be in authority;
what it means to be under authority; and
what it means to exercise authority.
1. Be In Authority
The authority has to be God-given. Why do most
church splits not work? Simply because God has
not given them authority.
I am incredibly
comfortable with leading Glenridge Church without
feeling threatened in any way by any of the elders.
Why? Because God has not given any of them
the authority, he has given it to me. One day God
will say, Now I am changing that and I am giving
somebody else the authority. The Bible says that
you can only receive what is given to you from
heaven. Why can we accept Tyrone taking over
the leadership of NCMI? Because God has given
him the authorityit is obvious to see. I was with
him in Holland recently.
When he finished
preaching I went to my room and phoned my wife
and I told her that we would easily be able to
follow him. Why? Because authority has come on
his lifeGod has given it to him.
It has to be recognised by people.
The motivation must be servant hearted.
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2. Be Under Authority
Have faith in authority. The centurion says to
Jesus that he gives commands because he is a
man under authorityhe understands authority.
Jesus says that he does not find this sort of faith
in authority anywhere else. Do you understand
authority? That is how we work in an apostolicprophetic modelyou need to understand this
thing.
Authority is not dictatorship. If you are in authority
without being under authority you will be a dictator.
That is why God will always allow us to captain
teams and to play on teams. I say this over and
over and over again and people just still look at
me with a blank stare on their faces. The way that
you treat your team that you captain and the
expectations that you put upon them should be
being fulfilled by yourself in the exact same
manner on another persons team. In exactly the
same manner! I am telling you, guys, your staff at
the office are late for meetings and some of you
freak out, and yet week after week you walk in
here late for meetings. That is what prevents me
from being a dictator in this contextI am in
authority but I am also under authorityboth to
this eldership team as I have submitted to them,
and to the apostolic team. God puts these things
in place. God does not want ministries where one
anointed man will take glory for himself. No man
is strong enough for that because people cannot
handle fame.
Authority is accountable. Consider:
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When Jesus had called the Twelve together, he

gave them power and authority to drive out all
demons and to cure diseases, and he sent them
out to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the
sick.
He told them: Take nothing for the
journeyno staff, no bag, no bread, no money, no
extra tunic. (Luke 9:1-3)
Now Herod the tetrarch heard about all that was
going on. And he was perplexed, because some
were saying that John had been raised from the
dead, others that Elijah had appeared, and still
others that one of the prophets of long ago had
come back to life. But Herod said, I beheaded
John. Who, then, is this I hear such things
about? And he tried to see him. When the
apostles returned, they reported to Jesus what
they had done. (Luke 9:7-10a)
To be under authority involves accountability.
Jesus sends them out and he says, I am giving
you authority now to go and drive out the
demons. But they came back and they reported
to Jesus what they had done!
Your home group does not belong to you. You
have been given authority and with that authority
comes accountability. What you do in that home
group should be accountable to the people who
have given you authorityyes God, but also
elders. Every single time that I travel apostolically
I phone Dudley and I tell him where I am going
and what I am planning to preach on. When I get
back again I phone him again. Is that stupid? No,
I am under authority. That platform has not been
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created by my ministry but because a man has

invited me onto his team. Yes, God first; but also
the leader of the team. I must be accountable to
him on what I preachI am under authority.
Thats why, friends, if you want to be brought onto
a team you cant be preaching your own gospel or
values in your home groupyou have to be under
authority.
So, part of being accountable is that one side of
you is accountable to those who have given you
authority and the other side is releasing those that
you have given authority to.
3. Exercise Authority
You cant be given authority and not use it. That
is why we dont check up on the home-group
leaderswe cant give authority and then not
expect them to exercise it.
You have to confront issues. When a man will not
confront he will never govern for a long period of
timeyou have got to exercise authority although
doing so can make you unpopular. I watched
some guys in the prayer meeting tonight who were
just talking throughout the prayer meeting. I have
to confront that and become unpopular as other
people are watching them and cant prayI must
exercise authority because God has called us to
pray. I have to confront dress code. I do not care
what the dress codes are in the world; do not
come to church with your stomach showing. I
dont care how good your body looks, you dont
come to church like that and I will keep addressing
that even if it chases people away. A man spoke
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to me today with incredible sentiment about one of

his spiritual habits. He is a man after Gods heart
but theologically he was wrong and I had to
challenge that. I didnt want to pop the bubble of
this guys commitment to God but if I leave him it
becomes unhelpful because he has an authority
on his life and will start discipling people. I had to
address the issue and let the government of God
come.
The Nature of Authority

You have to understand what authority involves.
Authority involves four things.
Privilege. Here is a trustworthy saying: If
anyone sets his heart on being an overseer,
he desires a noble task. (1 Timothy 3:1)
Pleasure. Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in
view of Gods mercy to offer your bodies as
living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God
this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not
conform any longer to the pattern of this
world, but be transformed by the renewing of
your mind. Then you will be able to test and
approve what Gods will ishis good,
pleasing and perfect will. (Romans 12:1-2)
It is a pleasurable thing to be in authority
when we lay ourselves down for the will of
God.
Pain. Consider Hebrews 12:1-13 and
Galatians 4:19-28. It also involves pain. To
be in authority involves privilege, pleasure
and pain.
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Discipline. In Hebrews 12 it says that

authority also involves issues of discipline
endure hardship as discipline. God
disciplines his sons.
There are various types of biblical authority.
1. Governmental Authority
Governmental authority is towards people, it
involves the wineskin, bringing order into their
lives; healing, whether physical, emotional,
psychological or relational.
Consider 2
Corinthians 10:4, Isaiah 53, Luke 7:21 and Luke
5:17.
2. Liberating Authority
Liberating authority is towards the demonic, for
those who are in bondage, and it involves the
wine; toppling strong men, principalities and
powers. Consider Matthew 12:29, Ephesians
1:21, 3:10 and 6:12. When you minister in the
name of Jesus, you allow the Holy Spirit to come
in and take on the principalities and powers. The
liberating authority involves deliverance to the
oppressed, the obsessed, the depressed and the
possessed.
Consider Luke 4:18-19 (Jesus
mandate). When a person understands authority,
they dont have to shout and scream.
The first deliverance session I had was when I first
came to understand authority. A man walked into
the house and took a kitchen knife and started
tapping it on the table. I said, Why are you
here? He said, Beelzebub told me to be here.
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There was a leadership meeting upstairs and a

training course downstairs. So, I thought what I
would do is take my mate with me and take this
guy outside. We tried all sorts of things and then
we thought we had better call someone who
knows what he is doing because we didnt have
authority for this thing. He basically said, Jesus I
know, Paul I know, but you guys I am not all that
convinced about! So, this other guy sat him on a
chair. I was behind that chair and I opened my
Bible and he literally turned around and karate
kicked my Bible out of my hands. I thought,
Wow, this Word has got authority! That is how I
learnt that the Word has authority. I realised that I
didnt have to scream and shout, I just had to
know the Word.
Your Personal Call and Gifting

1. We Must Contribute with Our Gifts
To have a wineskin without wine is powerless. To
have wine without a wineskin is perilous.
One of the great criticisms in our ranks is, Where
is the wine? I think we need to ask where the
wine is. Many times the people who are asking
where the wine is dont want the government of
God upon their lives. I think we saw some wine
poured out in the 70s and 80s, but there was no
wineskin in place and it just made an incredible
mess. God has put the apostolic and prophetic in
place to build the wineskin so that we can handle
the wine with the bit of stretch involved in it.
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So, we have to ask ourselves where the wine is.

We want to see demonic people set free in our
services on Sunday while we are worshiping God
and singing about the nations. We should be
hearing screaming and shouting without people
getting overly concerned and leaving the church.
It should be natural to us. Where is it? People
look at me and say, Where is it? and I look at
them and ask the same question: it is the
priesthood of all believers. Some of you guys
have such a sharp prophetic gift on your lives but
you allow busyness, tiredness and all those things
to stop you releasing those gifts. I am open in the
front to the giftings being released but first you
must eat the Word like Jeremiah. You must have
the Word revealed like Jeremiah.
Not your
favourite scripture of the week but what God has
said. Release it.
2. We Must Identify Our Call and Gifts
Simon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus
Christ,
To those who through the righteousness of our
God and Saviour Jesus Christ have received a
faith as precious as ours:
Grace and peace be yours in abundance through
the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.
His divine power has given us everything we
need for life and godliness through our knowledge
of him who called us by his own glory and
goodness. Through these he has given us his
very great and precious promises, so that through
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them you may participate in the divine nature and

escape the corruption in the world caused by evil
desires.
For this very reason, make every effort to add to
your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge;
and to knowledge, self control; and to self control,
perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness;
and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to
brotherly kindness, love. For if you possess these
qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you
from being ineffective and unproductive in your
knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. (2 Peter 1:18)
What incredible things about the call of God and
leadership in our lives!
But if anyone does not have them, he is
nearsighted and blind, and has forgotten that he
has been cleansed from his past sins.
Therefore, my brothers, be all the more eager to
make your calling and election sure. For if you do
these things, you will never fall, and you will
receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom
of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
So I will always remind you of these things, even
though you know them and are firmly established
in the truth you now have. I think it is right to
refresh your memory as long as I live in the tent of
this body, because I know that I will soon put it
aside, as our Lord Jesus Christ has made clear to
me. And I will make every effort to see that after
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my departure you will always be able to remember

these things. (2 Peter 1:9-15)
Remind, refresh, remember. We are just going
over again the leadership issues: remind, refresh,
remember. Re-look at them. What does it mean
to be a deacon? What does it mean to be an
elder?
We did not follow cleverly invented stories when
we told you about the power and coming of our
Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of
his majesty. For he received honour and glory
from God the Father when the voice came to him
from the Majestic Glory saying, This is my Son,
whom I love; with him I am well pleased. We
ourselves heard this voice that came from heaven
when we were with him on the sacred mountain.
And we have the word of the prophets made
more certain, and you will do well to pay attention
to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the
day dawns and the morning star rises in your
hearts. Above all, you must understand that no
prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophets
own interpretation. For prophecy never had its
origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God
as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit. (2
Peter 1:16-21)
The first issue of leadership is that you must
understand the call. And, the first part of the call
you have to understand is your capacity. There
are captains of 10s and captains of 50s, captains
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of 100s and captains of 1 000s.

reality.
Thats the
You dont choose. Gifting is God-given (Romans

12:6-8). You should know whether you are a
pastor, an evangelist, a prophet, a teacher, an
apostle, a deacon, an administrator, an elder or
whatever. If you dont settle that in your heart you
will live frustrated for your whole life. Some of you
are here because of a desire to be eldersbut are
you called to be elders? While you have that
mindset you will be frustrated when another
person comes onto eldership. Friends, the call of
God on my life is good, pleasing and perfect. The
mindset of the world says that we must get to the
highest position possible. We cannot live with the
expectation of men and of our own hearts. Rather
get on and do what God has called us to.
You must be honest about your capacity. Identify
your capacity otherwise you will be frustrated. I
had a friend whose capacity was not the same as
mine and he was constantly fighting with me until
we nearly lost our friendshiphe was competing
with me all the time. We are called to different
things. I look at Dudley and I might wonder if I will
ever catch up with himbut I dont have to
because we are different. How is it that when one
person sings a song in a prayer meeting that the
whole church erupts; but when another sings,
nothing happens? I dont know, but dont try and
make the prayer meeting eruptjust bring a
contribution and leave it. It is vitally important to
understand the call of God on our lives. When we
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dont, we start shouting and we lift our voices and

start making it happen artificially.
Never limit yourself. God says that if we are
faithful with little he will make us faithful with
much. Settle with your capacity and dont limit
yourselfwe have to preach both. God can and
will give you more if you are faithful with what you
have.
One of the things that amazes me is the
evangelist. They can talk about Father Christmas
and the Easter Bunny and they can mention the
cross in that whole thing and then they give an
altar call and 15 or 25 people respond. Yet others
get up and give an exposition of the cross with
references from all over the Bible and only one
person at the back responds. I wont stop trying to
be an evangelist but I am not an evangelist.
Settle it in your hearts, guys. Has God called you
to be an evangelist, a pastor, a deacon? He can
use you in many things but what are you called to?
What are your talents? How many gifts do you
have (a combination of both natural and
supernatural talents)? Consider Matthew 25:1430. To list a few of the talents:
discernment (what is of the flesh and what is
of the Spirit);
administration (administrative skills);
communication skills;
people skills;
perception skills; and
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preaching skills.
Are you going to invest that talent and make it
grow or are you going to bury it (like the wicked
servant)? If you are faithful with your two or five
talents then God will give you more; if you arent,
you will lose what you had. God has given you
talentsexercise them, guys, exercise them!
Now, do only the talented sing or does everyone
sing? I remember singing a prophetic song at an
England LTT with a musician standing next to me,
probably wanting to close his ears. I think you
have to be honest with yourself and not do it to
seek attention but rather to take a bold step for the
kingdom of God.
3. We Must Identify Our Anointing
Anointing involves the following.
Your capacity for his presence and power in and
through your life.
Your willingness to allow him to get the job done
through you; the degree to which you will allow
him to do this without getting in his way.
His leading and guiding and teaching you (see 1
John 2:27). The anointing is upon me and he
teaches me all things (Isaiah 48:17-18).
The three things of calling, gifting and anointing
determine to a large degree your gathering-power
and your keeping-power in a church. One guy ran
a home group but it never grewthere was a call
of God upon his life but there was something
between that call and the outworking. He went
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and joined another group and I had said to him,

You need the ability to gather. He went and
planted another home group and it just boomed.
The anointing must gather and keep.
To attempt to lead a church or lead anything
without calling, gifting and anointing is dangerous.
Knowledge must not just pass from my head to
your head, my notepad to your notepadthis
never changes lives. It is the anointing that
breaks the yoke. Many big churches in America
are run on humanism, marketing ideas, good
thoughts
and
motivational
speakersno
anointingso nothing is getting broken over
peoples lives.
4. Our Character Must Match Our Call and
Gifts
This is the one I esteem: he who is humble and
contrite in spirit, and trembles at my word. (Isaiah
66:2b)
Dont allow yourself to become impressed with
yourself. Anything you succeed in, he did it and
not you. If you are going to boast or glory, then
boast in the Lord. Dont allow people to make you
their king. The greatest fight that I have had over
these last two weeks is a kingly mentality. 1
Samuel 8 is the cry of peoples heartsthey want
a king. If you grow a home group to 20 or 30
people then dont let them make you a king. Just
do your job! Dont allow people to give you a title
or to serve you or treat you in some special way.
Show humility and integrity.
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Teacher, we know you are a man of integrity.

You arent swayed by men, because you pay no
attention to who they are; but you teach the way of
God in accordance with the truth. (Mark 12:14a)
Consider the following. Your
prayer-life;
faith-life;
patience;
value system;
perseverance;
discipline; and
true team-player ability.
You can study each of these topics.
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5: I Have a Dream
This sermon was preached by Dudley Daniel at a
Durban City Celebration hosted by Glenridge
Church during 1996.3
Dudley starts by reminding the people why they
are there: to be adjusted by the gift of apostle; he
is going to bring the vision and focus of God to its
rightful place. He then:
shows them that God has a plan (dream);
reveals that we have not attained the plan;
warns them that time erodes what they have
of the plan in their minds;
invites them to ask God to reveal this plan for
the Church in a personal wayand to believe
it;
uses illustrations from the Old Testament to
clarify his point;
explains that the plan is a good plan;
shows (theologically and logically) how the
plan must apply to us now (its not just for
heaven);
shows that we need to get involved in itand
hold to it wholeheartedly; and then
reveals something of Gods plan (dream) for
the Church worldwide.
He concludes by showing that the devil is
attempting to abort the plan (and how we can
3
When Dudley preaches he is always careful to model something for others to follow. As
such, additional notes and footnotes have been included to highlight some of the modelling
that may not be obvious to those who were not at the event.
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unwittingly be a part of that abortion attempt) but

that Gods power is there to help us be part of the
dream of God.
Preamble: The Apostolic Mandate

1. Keeping the Churchs Focus Right
You have to find out what God wants you to talk
about and I am convinced that what I want to
share with you is what God wants me to talk about
this evening. Part of my mandate in Jesus is to
keep the Church with its focus right: that God, by
the Holy Spirit, while I am speaking, begins to
once again help us to get a vision, to have our
lives refocused and adjusted with a little bit of
spiritual physiotherapy.4
I have some favourite messages and there are
some that burn in my heart each time I come but I
have never had the opportunity to preach them. I
have gone to different parts of the world with
messages that I have spent weeks and months
just praying and soaking myself into and yet I have
never preached them anywhere in the world.
Never! I have, my wife will tell you, just stacks and
stacks of messages (I dont find it a problem to
speak). I can go on and on, world-without-end;
In this section Dudley reminds the people of their dependency on God, as well as the
apostolic task at such an event, and then prepares them to be receptive to his message.
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but you have got to find the right message.5 And

what I feel I have to say this evening is something
we need to hear tonight in this city. Get a copy
and play it over and over until it saturates and
soaks right into you and God does some adjusting
in our lives, some precious adjusting.
God Has a Dream

How many of you have heard the word
predestination? To some people it is a swear
word, a dirty word. To others it is a precious
word.6
In the one extreme, predestination is that God in
heaven looks down on earth. A person that God
has predestined to go to heaven is going to go
there whether he likes it or not, immaterial of
whether he wants to love God or not (even if he
would rather go to hell and is not interested in
heaven).
Also, if there is someone who is
yearning to be holy and know God but God
predestined them to go to hell (I am slightly
overstating to make the point) then no matter what
that person feels and what that person desires,
that person is going to go to hell.
The other extreme is that some people believe
that God is not in the picture and that God has
nothing to do with it. It is the decision of all of
5
In saying this Dudley is modelling preparation and being flexible: hearing God for each
circumstance. He brings a message appropriate for the particular situation: the right
message at the right time in the right way.
6
Dudley intents to use a text that contains the word predestination. Because he is
preaching to a group of people with various convictions (some of whom do not know
Dudley or his heart) he shows them he is aware of the tension surrounding the word and
the theology of the word, and then he brings them to a point that they can agree on so that
the message can be accepted without hindrance.
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humanity crying out to God.

nothing of God.
All of man and
Then you have got between those posts all sorts

of varying degrees of what predestination means.
I am not here to preach on predestination in terms
of eternity: where you spend eternity (I have my
own convictions).
1. God Has Predestined a Plan for All of Us
But one of the things that all of us can agree with
when it comes to predestination, is found in
Romans 8:29. For those God foreknew he also
predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his
Son, that he might be the firstborn among many
brothers. It tells us that God has predestined
everyone of us to be conformed to the image of
Jesus his Son. That we can all agree with! God
has purposes, God has plans. Every person that
claims to know Jesus; every person that has a
valid experience of the new birth when God by his
Spirit comes and changes you from within,
translates you out of the bondage, the defeats, the
despair, the dirtiness of the kingdom of darkness.
God comes and translates you, transforms you,
changes you and places you in the kingdom of
light and all that goes with that. Every one of us
that has had that experience that the Bible calls
the new birth is predestined as in Romans 8:29.
Without it we are not born again, no matter how
religious we are, we are on our way to hell
eternallysomething that most people dont
preach about but the Bible is clear on.
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2. Our Initial Vision was of a Perfect Church

The beauty is that for every one of us that has had
a valid experience of the new birth, God has
predestined, God has purposed, God has planned
that we should be like Jesus, every one of us. I
am saying that for a very important reason
because if you look around tonight, you look up at
the pulpit and you see me, you look around at the
people around you, you as husbands look at your
wives and you as wives look at your husbands,
you as children look at your parents, you as
parents look at your kids, some of you look at your
pastor, then you may say that if God has
predestined us to be like Jesus, surely Jesus is
better than what I see? Surely Jesus must be
more loving, more powerful? There must be more
glory about Jesus than what I see in others.
My point is simply this, If you only believe what
you can see, then you only see what you can
believe. Does that make sense to you?
When I came to believe in Jesus in February
1968, within a week or two of my conversion one
of these men that claim to be Jehovahs
Witnesses (that arent Jehovahs witnesses)
knocked on my door. I saw a man with a religious
uniform on, black suit, tie and white shirt, and a
Bible under his arm. Now, I had only been saved
a week or two and I had already begun to realise
that there are religious uniforms. In my naivet I
saw a Bible. I had only just got saved and
delivered from alcoholism. I had just got delivered
from a polluted, dirty mind. I had just been
delivered from swearingno more dirty jokes. I
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had just been delivered from all this cesspool, and

I just wanted to be pure and holy, and I wanted my
life to please Jesus, and now there was a man
knocking at the door of my home and I just said,
Come on in!
I was nave and I just saw everyone with a Bible
as a Christian and anyone who spoke about Jesus
as saved. So, he came in and we sat down and
he began to talk to me about the 144 000 and I
had never heard of it. He ran through the little
parts that they know about in the Bible and all I
was doing as he told me was saying, Praise God,
praise God! He told me another bit of junk and I
said, Praise God! For an hour and a half we
went on like that and this guy was absolutely
desperate because he was used to fighting. He
was used to getting resisted at the door but I had
invited him in. He was used to people arguing but
I was saying, Praise God! I was thinking to
myself that if it is in the Bible it must be true! I
didnt know that he was misquoting and taking
things out of context.
What is the point of all this? When I got saved I
thought that all people who talked about Jesus
were pure and holy and truthful.
3. We Lose Sight of Gods Plan
Then you begin to have your eyes opened and
suddenlythese people that you think are full of
loveyou find that they can be bitter and
resentful. You find that they can actually criticise
you and be judgmental. You find that some of
them are unfaithful, and slowly but surely the devil
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begins to whittle away what you thought in the

beginning and it is now called maturity. You are
maturing, you are growing up and you are not as
stupid as you used to be.
Maybe there is a small element of maturing but
there is something more devastating that is
actually happening. The devil is trying to kill
something that was birthedsomething that you
had of what the church should actually be like
until, eventually, we only believe what we can see:
things like preachers who rip people off and so on.
4. We Need to Believe in Gods Plan
But, if you only believe what you can see then you
will only see what you believe! God wants us to
see not just what we see but to really see: to have
vision. And, what we see there, to believe that,
and not just what we see now! I can guarantee
that any one of us that has been saved more than
three or four days have lowered our sights as the
devil has whittled away at what we thought the
Church was really like when we first got saved.
Yet God is saying, Dont let the devil winbelieve
for the best!
God Wants to Reveal His Dream

Then, as the LORD our God commanded us, we
set out from Horeb and went towards the hill
country of the Amorites through all that vast and
dreadful desert that you have seen, and so we
reached Kadesh Barnea. Then I said to you, You
have reached the hill country of the Amorites
which the LORD our God is giving us. See, the
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LORD your God has given you the land. Go up

and take possession of it as the LORD, the God of
your fathers, told you. Do not be afraid; do not be
discouraged.
Then all of you came to me and said, Let us
send men ahead to spy out land for us and bring
back a report about the route we are to take and
the towns we will come to.
The idea seemed good to me; so I selected
twelve of you, one man from each tribe. They left
and went up into the hill country, and came to the
Valley of Eschol and explored it. Taking with them
some of the fruit of the land, they brought it down
to us and reported, It is a good land that the LORD
our God is giving us. (Deuteronomy 1:19-26)
1. God Shows Us the Goodness of His Plan
Catch the picture here: consider Deuteronomy 6
and Exodus 3. You will find that it says in the
Bible, very clearly, that God brought the children
of Israel out of Egypt that he might bring them into
the promised land. God doesnt bring us out to
leave us wandering around in the wilderness for
40 years. God brought them out of bondage to
bring them into the promised land. That was his
purpose! He brought them out that he might bring
them in.
But, the thing is, that God in his grace, mercy,
loving-kindness and patience gave the people he
was bringing out a picture of what the promised
land was like. He even condescended to allow
some of those spies to go in, see the land, take
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some of its fruit (this is what we have just read

about), bring the fruit back, and tell them how
wonderful the land was. So, I believe that God the
Holy Spirit was beginning to paint pictures in their
minds, on their hearts, in their memories and in
their imaginations: pictures of what God had for
them.
2. The Good Plan is for Now Not Later
Please understand this, folk, that the promised
land is not by typology a picture of heaveneven
though some of the hymn writers wrote that it is a
picture of heaven. In the promised land the
people of Israel fought enemiesin heaven there
will be no enemies. In the promised land the
people of Israel got defeatedin heaven we will
never experience defeat. There is something here
in our time that we can live in, right now. There is
a people of God for the nownot only when we
get to heaven will we all love properly and not
criticise.
3. We Must Ask for His Plan for the Church
Now, on this planet Gods plan and Gods purpose
is that we as a Church live as if it were the
promised land. God is able to paint pictures and
now I want you to ask the Holy Spirit, Please,
Holy Spirit, while Dudleys preaching, wont you
once again paint broad, thick strokes upon my
imagination, upon my heart, upon my mind, upon
my memory.
Why upon my memory? Because there are things
that have gone wrong, that keep forcing
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themselves to the forefront, because of the

memories of the past. We need the Holy Spirit to
paint a picture again, but broad, thick strokes, and
he needs to come and do that on the canvas of
our hearts. He needs to do it afresh now. So,
wont you just cry out right now, right where you
are now.
Do this, Holy Spirit, make them broad and thick
so that nothing can take them away again; nothing
can wash them away; let them be indelible; let
them be burned into my heart, into my mind and
into my imagination.
4. We Can Choose to be Out of the Plan
In spite of this, you did not trust in the LORD your
God, who went ahead of you on your journey, in
fire by night and in a cloud by day, to search out
places for you to camp and show you the way you
should go. When the LORD heard what you said,
he was angry and solemnly swore: Not a man of
this evil generation shall see the good land I swore
to give your forefathers, except Caleb son of
Jephunneh. He will see it, and I will give him and
his descendants the land he set his feet on,
because he followed the LORD wholeheartedly.
(Deuteronomy 1:32-36)
Later on you see that God says for the rest that
they cant go in, they have got to die. The children
of Israel, that God purposed to bring out that he
may bring them in, wandered around for 40 years.
An entire generation died. I am saying, My God,
surely I can be part of the generation that goes in.
Have I got to be another one of the generation
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that has to die?less than the best? You see, if

we wont believe, if we are fearful, if we groan and
grumble and mumble, we wont get away with it.
5. We Need Wholeheartedness for the Plan
If you read on, you see that he allowed Caleb and
Joshua to go in because they followed him
wholeheartedly. Do we have to be a generation
that just compromises?a generation that lets the
word of God come to us, lets the Holy Spirit paint
pictures, and then, in spite of that, just
compromises,
doesnt
give
wholehearted
commitments and wholehearted attention? You
see, that generation will not be what God wants
manifested in our day, today. Dont let it be so!
Lord, that is what I am crying out. Let this be the
generationthe
Church
generationthe
generation of the Church that reflects and
manifests Jesus; that shows a hungry world what
he is really like, that doesnt let them down
through our lack of commitment, our mumbling
and our moaning, our grumbling and our groaning,
our fear and our unbelief.
6. We Must Commit to Gods Plan
You see, when the Holy Spirit begins to paint the
true picturethis is a very important statement
when the Holy Spirit is allowed to paint those
pictures unreservedly and people lift up their
hearts and say, Do it, Lord! Whatever you paint, I
will take hold of it! I will take it and I will press into
it; when true Bible-vision begins to give birth (not
when somebody stirs you up with emotion but
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when the Holy Spirit paints the pictures), we catch

the vision! And, folk, when you catch the real
vision, then you are prepared to pay the price.
You see, saying that you want to have a church of
2 000, 5 000 or 50 000 isnt visionthose are
goals.
7. God is Committed to Making the Plan Clear
Vision is when the Holy Spirit comes and paints
the word of God in its reality into our hearts, onto
our minds and into our imaginations.
What
happened with Abraham? God said to Abram,
Your name is Abraham. Abram means exalted
father. God comes to him when he is about 90
years old and says, Abram, I am going to change
your name from Abram, exalted father, to
Abraham, father of many nations. Abraham
knew that at age 90and 80, his wifes age
there was very little likelihood of birth, and Sarah
even laughed the laugh of unbelief. But, what did
God do? God came and told them and the Holy
Spirit began to paint pictures. They had been
married for decades without kids but God said that
he would make him a father of many nations. God
wanted his wife to start calling him that. Imagine
the joke when she walked outside of the tent after
making his tea, and her eyesight being bad, she
calls out loudly, Father-of-Many-Nations! People
would wonder if she was senileshe has no kids
yet she is calling her husband the father of many
nationswhat is going on here? But, God had
spoken and he wanted his wife to help paint some
pictures in thick brushstrokes. So, every time she
called him for supper, Father-of-Many-Nations,
the Holy Spirit was painting.
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On two occasions God came and encouraged

Abraham. The first time, to look up and see all the
stars in the skythe Holy Spirit was painting
God said that he was going to have more kids
than those (You cant count the stars and you are
not going to be able to count your kids). The
second time, to look at all the sand on the
seashore (You cant count all those grains and
you are going to have more kids than that). What
is happening?
The Holy Spirit is painting,
paintingpainting on the heart, the mind, the
memory and the imagination.
Even the memory of defeat is painted over by the
Holy SpiritSarahs childlessness in her 80s.
The Holy Spirit has got to paint not only in the
imagination for the future but also on the memory
of the past.
8. We Should Believe Despite Circumstances
Therefore, the promise comes by faith, so that it
may be by grace and may be guaranteed to all
Abrahams offspringnot only to those who are of
the law but also to those who are of the faith of
Abraham. He is the father of us all. As it is
written: I have made you a father of many
nations. He is our father in the sight of God, in
whom he believedthe God who gives life to the
dead and calls things that are not as though they
were. (Romans 4:16-17)
God wants us to speak the things that are not, as
though they were. God wants us to see a Church
that we dont see now as if we saw it.
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Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and

so became the father of many nations, just as it
had been said to him, so shall your offspring be.
Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact
that his body was as good as deadsince he was
about 100 years oldand that Sarahs womb was
also dead.
He faced the fact.
Yet he did not waiver through unbelief regarding
the promise of God, but was strengthened in his
faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded
that God has the power to do what he had
promised. (Romans 4:18-21)
9. We Must Have Faith in the Plan of God
On one occasion he was tested: Take your son
this is the son that is part of the father of many
nations promisetake him and sacrifice him.
The book of Hebrews tells us that Abraham took
his son and when he was about to kill him he
believed that if he killed him then God would raise
his son up from the dead because God had said
that he would be a father of many nations. You
and I have got to get back to where we see what
God sees! In spite of how hopeless it looks, in
spite of what looks like the death of it, God said it
and God is able! I am fully persuaded that God is
able. We have got to lift our vision. Stop talking
the negatives about the Church. We have got to
rise up and see what God sees. We must begin to
put our faith out for what God sees, what God
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shows, what the Holy Spirit paints. Stop putting

our faith out for what we see today.
I Have a Dream of a People

A while ago Ann and I were on holiday in Australia
and when I opened my Bible to have my quiet time
I discovered that instead of listening to God talking
to me about myself, I was preparing sermons for
you. Preachers face this terrible dilemma all the
time. Some of the team had emphasised the fact
that I should go away and have a holiday They
said, We dont want you preparing messages, we
dont want you preaching and we dont want you
counselling. We dont want pastors contacting
you, we want you to have a break. Ann and I
were really trying, we were giving it our best shot,
but my mind wouldnt switch off. I was resisting
when God was speaking to me and trying not to
get involved in all the happenings of the Church. I
was rebuking the devil and saying, Dont try to get
me involvedgive me a break, give me a break.
Just then, Chris Weinand and I made contact and
he asked me to preach. I put the phone down and
I thought that at last I had an excuse for preparing.
I felt like God just said, Sit down, sit down. I just
picked up my pen, took out some paper and I
began to write. I felt like God said, I want to give
you my dream again. I got something from God
and as best as I can I want to share it with you. I
dont want to make out that I got it all but I got
something from God. The section of the dream
that I want to share with you is comprised of three
partsa people that love, a people that care, a
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Church with integrityget the CD and listen over

and over and over as the Holy Spirit paints.
The word of God tells us that old men shall dream
dreams and young men shall see visions. The
patriarchs dreamt dreams. God spoke to so many
people in dreams. I felt that God gave me a
dream without me falling asleep. Martin Luther
King stood up one day and said, I have a dream.
Today, I want to tell you, I have a dream. I want
to use the first part of his statement over and over
again.
1. Who Love Like Jesus Loved
I have a dream of people who love like the New
Testament church loved, like the early church
loved. Jesus showed this love in Matthew 25:3140. I feel the Holy Spirit saying, I want reality. I
want biblical reality. I want your dream to have its
foundation on the Bible and in Matthew 25, at the
throne of God and at the throne of Jesus.
Matthew 25 says,
When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all
the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in
heavenly glory. All the nations will be gathered
before him,
And may it be that we touch them before that
happens, that weve brought them Jesus before
that happens, that they have found Christ as
Saviour, Deliver and Friend before that happens.
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and he will separate the people one from

another as a shepherd separates the sheep from
the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and
the goats on his left. Then the King will say to
those on his right, Come, you who are blessed by
my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom
prepared for you since the creation of the world.
For I was hungry and you gave me something to
eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to
drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I
needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick
and you looked after me, I was in prison and you
came to visit me. Then the righteous will answer
him, Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed
you, or thirsty and give you something to drink?
When did we see you a stranger and invite you in,
or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we
see you sick or in prison and go to visit you? The
King will reply, I tell you the truth, whatever you
did for one of the least of these brothers of mine,
you did for me. (Matthew 25:31-40)
You see, Jesus wants reality. Jesus doesnt want
people to say, God bless you, be warmed, and
then turn their backs on the people who are in
desperate need. So, I have a dream of a church
that loves like Jesus loved and like the early New
Testament church loved.
With many other words he warned them; and

pleaded with them, Save yourselves from this
corrupt generation. Those who accepted his
message were baptised, and about three
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thousand were added to their number that day.

(Acts 2:40-41)
If you have put your faith and confidence in Jesus,
you have repented of your sin and put your faith in
Christ and his finished work you need to be
baptised. Dont expect God to accept what your
parents did when you were a little baby: sprinkling.
Dont expect God to violate his word and accept
that as a valid baptism, because it isnt. If you say
that you know Christ and you have not been
baptised the Bible way then please get baptised
immediately.
2. Who Care for Others

I have a dream of people who care for others.
They devoted themselves to the apostles
teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of
bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with
awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs
were done by the apostles. All the believers were
together and had everything in common. Selling
their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone
as he had need. Every day they continued to
meet together in the temple courts. They broke
bread in their homes and ate together with glad
and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the
favour of all the people. And the Lord added to
their number daily those who were being saved.
(Acts 2:42-47)
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All the believers were one in heart and mind. No

one claimed that any of his possessions was his
own, but they shared everything they had. With
great power the apostles continued to testify to the
resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and much grace
was upon them all. (Acts 4:32-33)
3. Who Care for the Underprivileged
I have a dream of a Church who care for the
underprivileged, for the homeless, for the hungry
and for the unemployed; who care like the Bible
says we should care.
4. Who Care for the Widow and Widower
I have a dream of a people who care for the
widow, the widower and the lonely.
I have often wondered if am I being selfish when I
think that I would like to be the first to go, if either
Ann or I had to go, because I dont know if I could
live without her. We have talked truthfully before
God about it and I know how lonely it can be. Do
you know how lonely it can be? I have a dream of
a people who care for the widow and for the
widowerwho really carefor when the widow or
the widower or the lonely come into the Church
they should know they are loved, noticed and
cared for. I have a dream of such a Church. Do
you belong to it?
5. Who Care for the Divorced
I have a dream of a Church of people who care for
the divorced, who dont make them feel second
class, who dont prohibit them from the
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communion table, who understand the pain, who

know that it is possibly worse than death because
you can still see the one that you loved walking
around with someone else. I have a dream of a
people who care for the divorced.
6. Who Care for the Unmarried
unmarried; who dont make them feel like they
have missed something, who dont make them
feel like second-class citizensthose who have
never had the privilege of being married. I have a
dream of a people who care about them.
7. Who Care for the Orphaned
orphans. Orphans dont know what it is like to
have a mother or a father, even a bad mother or
father. They would long for even a rotten mother
or father. They just dont know what it is like to
have had one. I have a dream of a people who
care for orphans.
8. Who Care for the Imprisoned
imprisoned.
9. Who Care for the Aged
I have a dream of a people who care for the aged
and dont make them feel like they are senile and
that they have Alzheimers.
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10. Who Care for the Street People

I have a dream of a people who care for the street
kids, for the hobos and for beggars.
11. Who Care for the Nations
nations who have never heard of the name of
Jesus or the good news, or who have never seen
the true Church operatehere in South Africa and
everywhere else on the earth.
12. Who Care for the Religious
religious who are lost in their rituals, regulations
and rulesa people who care for them!
13. Who Care for the Church
Church, the people of God; a people who care for
the reputation and the name of God.
14. Who Care about Integrity and Truth
I have a dream of a people who care enough to be
able to say, My word is my word. When I have
said it then that is it! You dont have to wonder
what is behind it or what is not being disclosed.
She said it or he said it and that settles it.
15. Who Care Enough to Set Captives Free
I have a dream of a Church that knows how to set
the captives free; a Church that cares enough to
see the captive alcoholic, the captive drug addict,
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the captive homosexual, the captive perverted,

polluted, abused and the misused free. Not just
that I will pray a 30-second prayer and then I will
hurry , but who care and say, I want to see you
come through. I have a dream of a Church where
homosexuals dont have to be dead scared that
they are struggling and fighting and resisting the
temptation to give in. I want to tell you that the
Church of Jesus is full of people who are battling
and cannot even let someone know that they need
help because they know that we dont care! Folks,
homosexuality is wrong. The Bible says so but
the same Bible says lying is wrong! I have a
dream of a Church that cares for these people and
wants to see them set free, that is willing to give
them some time. Please dont go off and say that
Dudley said lying is alright and homosexuality is
alright. They are both wrong as the word of God
saysI am talking about caring for them.
I Have a Dream of a Church

1. That is Real
I have a dream of a local, corporate church that is
real and has integrity.
2. That is Un-religious not Irreligious
I have a dream of a church that is not religious but
is also not irreligious. So many of us, when we
broke with religion, went to the other extreme to
prove that we were freebut we are in bondage.
Our jokes have two meanings. We act unreligious but are irreligious. I have a dream of a
church that is un-religious but not irreligious.
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3. That is Obedient to the Word of God

I have a dream of a church that is obedient to the
word of God. There are scriptures for all these
things!
4. That is Operating in the Ways of God
I have a dream of a church that is sacrificial, that
is sold out to the will of God and that is operating
in the ways of Godthat doesnt have one healing
and then make it a method, but picks up the ways
of God: that God may do it differently another time
and differently another time . This creative God
with all his creativity wants to move in ways, not
methods and formulas. I have a dream of a
church that wants to catch the ways of God.
5. That is Functioning like a Priesthood
I have a dream of a church that functions like a
priesthood: where it is different to a man standing
up here and from the first row backwards there is
silence. I have a dream of a church where the
priesthood functions! As much as I believe in the
preaching of the word of God I have to find some
measure of difficulty to preach because the
priesthood is operating; it isnt nodding its heads
as the only extent of participation in the meeting
on a Sunday evening. I have a dream of a church
where the priesthood operates, where people love
each other enough to speak even though they feel
a little embarrassed, scared, threatened and
insecure to move out. They care enough to do it.
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6. That has No Idolisation

I have a dream of a church where there is no
preacher-pastor idolisation, where we take our
preachers and pastors, and we stop making idols
of them.
7. That is Zealous for God
I have a dream of a church that is fervent, that is
zealous, that is excited.
I am South African and have a South African
passport. I am also an Australian and have an
Australian passport although I live in America with
a green cardno American citizenship yet, but
residency. When South Africa (that had been
excluded from all sporting activities) was suddenly
allowed back into the arena of Rugby, I was living
in the country that had the best Rugby side in the
worldAustralia. When they allowed South Africa
back in, I dared not dream of South Africa winning.
I was living in this kind of little tension of who
should I shout forknowing that I was leaning
very heavily towards South Africa. South Africa
was playing Rugby (for us it was one, two or three
in the morning if we wanted to watch it on the TV,
live) so, Ann and I sat down with biltongto make
it a South African thing in Adelaide, South
Australia.
Something exciting happened and
South Africa broke through and scored a try, then
converted. I picked up the phone because I knew
that up the road friends were sitting. I said, Did
you see that? We screamed and shouted and
put the phones down. We carried on watching
and then they phoned me. Dudley, did you see
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that? What was happening? We were fervent,

excited over two teams fighting over a ball!
I have a dream of a church that is excited about
Jesus. Excited about Jesus! South Africa, do you
know how you carry on when South Africa wins
cricket or Rugby? Do you know how discouraged
you get when the New Zealanders beat you? You
are fervent. You can get excited. You are
zealous.
I thank God when I see young people doing what
they are doing. I am standing here and I watch
these crazy people just run out and dive into the
crowd.
I watched in Pietermaritzburg this
morning, a few guys just dived out and others
caught them and flipped them and one guy came
straight down on his headunderneath are the
everlasting arms of God, I trust. I want to tell you
that I am excited when they do it even though I
wont do it. I want to see fervent, excited people
zealous for Jesus.
I thank God that to my knowledge I have only
once fought a move of God: not when Pentecost
was making its move in 1906 but when the
Charismatic movement started to put the
emphasis back on the baptism of the Holy Spirit
speaking in tongues etc.. I fought it for a while but
to my knowledge, by the grace of God, it is the
only time I have ever fought what Gods doing.
Sometimes I have not been too sure but I havent
fought it. I fought once and I dont ever want to
fight again. I could have enjoyed the good things
that come with what God provides for years and
years more if I hadnt fought. Folk, dont fight what
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God is doing. Dont sit and criticise young people

getting excited. If the teenagers can run out there
and do this for their idols, their pop-stars, then we
can do more for Jesus.
I have a dream of a church, that if its people do
stage-dives then when the music becomes more
intimate those same people will become lost in
wonder. I want to say to you young people that
the way you are going to get more and more
credibility from older people, the cynics, those who
like to criticise and judge, is when you put the
same sweat into love. I just want to encourage
you: dont let the devil put to death the baby in the
hearts and minds of the older people. Go for it,
everyone. I get blessed when I see someone
older do it, friends. I am 53 and I still bounce
around and run around. When you are preaching
it gets a little harder. You are tired and sweaty but
those are not excuses. I know that I will, with
passion, get involved and excited about Jesus. I
could sit back and stand back and say that I am
53 years old, with a little more grey hair, and that I
am dignified and mature. I dont ever want to be
mature if it means that I am not excited about
Jesus!
8. That is Transparent before God and
People
I have a dream of a church that is transparent. I
have a dream of a church that is madly in love
with God and with his Son and with his people,
madly in love with one another. I have a dream of
a church that fears God, that doesnt judge, that
doesnt criticise, that doesnt spread rumours. I
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still have a dream of such a church in spite of the

fact that I see judgement, criticising and rumourspreading. I still have a dream and that is what I
am believing fora church that doesnt judge,
doesnt criticise and doesnt spread rumours.
The Holy Spirit is painting once againpainting
what it was when you started out in him. You
have lowered your sights and are believing what
you see instead of believing what you see.
9. That Insists on Integrity in Leadership
I have a dream of a church that is different to what
it is right now, a church that wants its preachers
and pastors to be faithful, that wants their pastors
to stop ripping the sheep off, that doesnt want its
pastors to use and abuse and manipulate the
sheep for their own ends. I have a dream of a
church that requires of its pastors that they be
secure enough to stop criticising other preachers
in order to get people from that church to theirs,
that are secure enough in the call of God and
Gods ability to stop sheep-stealing. I have a
dream of a church that is bold enough to want its
pastors to say it like it is but with love. I have a
dream of a church that wants its preachers to stop
being self-promoters and reputation-seekers, who
want its preachers to operate in team and reality
not to have a team but to be part of the team
who want its preachers to be pure in their speech
and their jokes and their interaction. I have a
dream of a church where people can love and hug
one another in the love of Jesus without their
being one single vibe of flirtation coming from
people, but a trust, in God, of purity. I have a
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dream of such a church in spite of what I have

seen (people falling morally). I still have a dream
of such a church that requires this of its
preachers.
10. That is Committed to the Commission
I have a dream of a church that is committed to
the Great Commission. God said he wanted us to
make disciples of all nations. Everyone in the
church should encourage others who are going to
the nations and not hold them back or criticise
them. Thank God that the packing for Perth
mentality is breaking over this nation. Thank God
for that! But that has not happened in its entirety
yet. Thank God in our circles it is beginning to
break more and more. But I still have a dream of
a church that says, You have proved it, you have
established it, you have done something for
Godgo and do it again and we will let you go.
We believe that God can look after us and can
raise up leaders and keep us on the go and on the
boil for Jesus. I still have a dream of that.
11. That is Planting New Churches
I have a dream of a church that is helping to plant
new churches.
12. That is Equipping Itself
I have a dream of a church that is getting itself
more equipped to be more effective and isnt
waiting for everyone else to provide thingsbut is
getting effective for God. I came to know Jesus in
a Presbyterian church. I found Jesus there and he
found me and I will go into eternity thanking God
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for that Presbyterian church where I was radically

converted, supernaturally transformed by the
power of God.
I found my wife in that
Presbyterian church. God called me to fulltime
ministry in that Presbyterian church and I thank
God for that Presbyterian church, and yet that
same Presbyterian church never provided
anything to equip me. But I found ways. I was on
fire and I loved God and I knew that there were
serious weaknesses and gaps in my effectiveness
for Jesus. I started buying books on how to lead
people to Christ, how to get people delivered.
Even though some of the stuff wasnt very helpful I
still read it. I wanted to find out how I could be
better for Jesus.
I have dream of a church that isnt waiting for us to
provide everything. We are trying: we have got
the Church Planters Course and the International
Theological Correspondence Courseanyone
can enrol in that correspondence course. But folk,
dont just wait for usget equipped! I have a
dream of that kind of church.
13. That is Generous Together
I have a dream of a church that is tithing, where all
the members are tithing, where all the members
are giving, where all the members are sowing out
seeds, where all the members are worshiping,
where all the members are fellowshipping with one
another and not looking for excuses not to be
there but looking for excuses to be there.
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14. That is Spreading the Good News

I have a dream of a church where all of the people
of God are trying to introduce people to Jesus.
Can I call it evangelising without evangelists?
15. That is Dressing Morally
I have a dream of a church that dresses morally
but not religiously. I want to say this emphatically
to you: what the New Testament says is that we
should be dressed morally but not religiously.
Morality is the issue. I have never found the
boldness and the courage to come to a Sunday
meeting and preach in shorts but I dont believe it
would be wrong. It is not how much you sweat
that makes you holy, and yet 90% of the
preachers in this nation that love Christ and are
born again wear a three-piece suit on Sundaysit
is religious! I have a dream of a church where
people dress morally and not religiously.
16. That is Worshiping Unashamedly
I have a dream of a church where we all worship
God unashamedly and demonstratively.
17. That is Caring for Widows and Orphans
I have a dream of a church that will take care of
my wife and kids if I had to dieand the children
that were too young to work; a church that would
see that my wife had a roof over her head:
anything less in your church and you have lost the
plot. I want you to let this sink deep into your
hearts: of a church that will take care of wives and
kids in the event of the death of the husband.
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18. That is Exercising Dominion

I have a dream of a church that is not scared of
exercising its dominion in the earth. I have a
dream of a church that is not scared of taking on
the devil, taking him on and taking back from him
what belongs to Godinstead of being dead
scared; a church that says, That belongs to God
and you have no right to have it. Give it back!
Every year we used to take a group of people up
to the Feast of Tabernacles in Israel. When we
would get to Jerusalem we would go to the Feast
of Tabernacles and do all the good things and
then a little of the tourist stuff. Part of doing the
tourist stuff is to go to the mosque, the Islamic
mosque. There you would see some of the
Christians panic. They could go into the Roman
Catholic abomination that held the evil eye in
amongst the saints (it is of the occult). All the
Christians go there and look at the architecture
but when we go to this Islamic mosque some of
them start hiding. Now, I dont mind if people
dont want to go in there because it stinks of dirty
feetthousands of dirty feet. But, I began to ask
people why they didnt want to go in and they said,
There are demons there. Scared of demons? I
have a dream of a church that says, I am not
scared of any demongreater is he that is in me
than he that is in the world!
19. That has No Generation or Colour
Issues
I have a dream of a church where there is no
generation gap and there is no colour bar. I have
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a dream of a church where there are elders that

are youngers. I have a dream of a church where
young people dont look at old people as if they
are doddery and from another planet and where
old people dont look at young people as if they
are all immature and wet behind the ears. The
man who lead me to Jesus, Mr Will McFarland,
was in his 70s when he lead me to Christ; I was
23 and I was wild. My mother is sitting here, she
will tell you that I used to jol and kraak and waai.
I used to make a las and I used to dos at my
connections possie. That is how I talked. I was
never a drug addict but I knew how to smoke it. I
was an alcoholic and I was wild. I dressed
outrageously. Ann could not believe how I came
to visit her parents. You guys that are wearing
baggies dont know if they are short longs or long
shorts. I was doing that when I was a teenager,
one luminous green sock and one luminous pink
one; huge shoes with horseshoes on them: clack,
clack, clack down West Street, everybody looking
at me and when I noticed them I challenged them,
What are you looking at?; thin hair all over the
place that looked ridiculous. But, a 70 year old led
me to Jesus and that man became one of my
closest friends. With all of this I still said, Howzit
ek s? and then Id remember that I was
supposed to say, How are you? I was wanting to
be with himno generation gap. I have a dream
of such a church.
I grew up in this country not knowing that a
different colour skin in this country was inferior to
white. I stayed in Umbilo and we would go down
to the sports field across the river to where the
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Indians and some Blacks livedand we would

play soccer together on the sand next to the river.
We had a wonderful time, and if we Whities won
we fought the Blackies and vice versa, just a bit of
fun wrestling, and then we would shout, I give
up! Then as we grew up we picked up that it was
wrong to have a different colour in the
neighbourhoodthe neighbours were looking! I
have a dream of a church that makes no issue of
those things. We didnt make an issue and we
were unsaved little kids. Surely the power of God
is big enough to bring us together as a church!
The Devil, Too, Has a Dream

Folk, I could go on and on about the dream. But
what do you think the devil thinks when he hears a
people responding, when he hears the preacher
painting and allowing the Holy Spirit to work in the
hearts of people? Do you think he says, Praise
God!? Do you think the devil says, I had better
give up? No! The devil and all his demons saw
what happened in Colossians 2:15 where it tells
us that Jesus made a public spectacle of the devil,
triumphing over him by the cross. Every demon
knows that they are beaten but they wont give up.
So, what do think the devil and his demons will do
when they see a people like this listening while the
Holy Spirit is doing the painting? The devil always
tries to kill the kid, kill the baby. He did it when
Jesus came into this worldthere was a decree to
kill all male children. He is still doing it, even
today, with abortion: kill the kids. He does it when
something like this is being birthed afresh in our
minds. He says, Put it to death before they catch
it and I am in more trouble.
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Listen to me, the devil wants to do three things

with a dream and a vision that makes us say, I
will pay the price! He wants to do all three of
these, and in any order, but it is the last one that
he is ultimately after. The devil wants to distort
the dream as it gets birthed and the Holy Spirit is
painting with thick brush strokeshe wants to
come in and distort that: get if off centre, off
course, off Christ and off reality. Then he wants to
dilute it: if he cant distort it then at least dilute it.
But his ultimate aim is to destroy it.
How does he do it? Now, listen to me. The devil
is the lowest form of life in the universe. Why do
you say that, Dudley? Because the devil has no
depth that he wont stoop to to kill us. You see,
God in Christ made us in his image, we belong to
him and through Adam that image was absolutely
destroyed. And, so, God in Christ came again and
he redeemed us so that we belong to him twice.
Every person in this meeting tonight who knows
Jesus is twice Gods. Now the devil takes the
twice Gods and he uses them to fight, to distort,
to dilute and to destroy the twice-Godss vision.
How low can you go?
What I am saying is that the devil uses even other
believers to distort, dilute and destroy the dream.
How does he do it?
1. He Uses the Religious
He uses the religious. I am talking about bornagain religious people: the people who strain at a
gnat (they major on a minor) things that arent
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heaven-and-hell issues. There are believers that

are born-again and yet are so religious that they
get offended when somebody finds the liberty to
dress differently, to speak differently, and not get a
religious voice while they preach. I can go on and
on. When people criticise in the name of biblical
purity they begin to dilute, distort and ultimately
destroy the dream. How many of us are still like
that?
2. He Uses the Gossips
He uses the gossips: people who hear a little
something that has nothing to do with them and
then pass it on. This dilutes, distorts and destroys
the dream for some people who saw and believed
for a church like this, and they suddenly begin to
lower their vision again.
3. He Uses the Critical
He uses the critical: those that criticise everything
that is happening.
4. He Uses Our Hurts
He uses our hurts. This is the second-worst group
of people, not because of who they are, but what
they are doing. He uses the hurts that they are
harbouring. I want to tell anybody seated here
that is harbouring hurts what the Bible says in
Hebrews 12:15: To beware of a root of bitterness
that may spring up and thereby defile many. Folk,
I am telling you that you can be hiding behind the
curtains because of your hurtsno one can see
you but you will be polluting people with your hurts
and your bitterness; they will pick up by radar that
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there is someone else who is hurt and wants to

discuss and be critical. Another person who is
harbouring hurts wants to get together to discuss
them: they split the church and hurt the people of
Godthe dream gets diluted and destroyed. You
need to get your hurts healed now. I dont care if
you have hurts even though I know the pain
caused by hurtsthere is no excuse to sit here in
this meeting with your hurts unhealed. The devil
will use you to destroy the dream.
5. He Uses the Cynical
The devil uses the cynical: those who sneer and
wait to see it all fall apart.
6. He Uses the Insecure
The devil uses the insecure: those who are
unwilling to be stretched, are not open to change
and unable to open the circle of their friends to
accommodate and embrace growth. The devil
uses the insecure who are unwilling to
acknowledge when they are wrong.
7. He Uses Those with Wrong Commitments
The devil uses those who are more committed to a
movement than to a move of God: no matter what
God is doing, their movement is not looking good
so they become more committed to it than the
move of God. I have seen this over and over
again! I have only once fought the move of God.
Since I have known Jesus I have seen the
discipleship movement and although I saw its
excesses I never fought it. There has been the
positive-confession movement and I never fought
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it; the hyper-faith movement and I never fought it.

In more recent times there have been people
falling under the power of God and some people
laughing. I dont always understand it all and
sometimes I have been threatened by it but I wont
fight itbecause when you begin to fight it you are
more committed to a movement than to the move
of God. Folk, New Covenant Ministries is not a
movement in case some of you think it is. If God
is doing something and it is not happening in our
circles then dont fight it.
8. He Uses Those Who Want a Club
He uses those who want a club more than a
biblically-operated church: those who want the
preacher to be at their beck-and-call, those who
want the preacher to hear from God because they
dont want to hear from God themselves, those
who want the preacher not to challenge them but
just to leave them where they areto tickle their
ears.
Conclusion
1. God is Moving in Increasing Power
Well, we are living in a new day, praise God! We
are living in a day when there is a new move of
the Spirit of God: there are fresh winds of change
that are blowing, the intensity of the power of the
Holy Spirit is increasing. Some of the stuff that we
are seeing now is so gentle compared to what he
will be doing in the future. There are winds of
change blowing now in the Churchit is a new
time and a new moment. There is going to be a
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new model of church come throughchurches will

be lighthouses; signs to others around them.
2. God is Restoring Organic Church Life
Churches will not operate organisationally but
organically. A few months ago I was teaching in
the Walnut Chapel7 where Chris is, and I said to
the folk there that if I was their pastor I would take
a few sticks of dynamite and blow the pews apart.
I said that I was serious because we are living in a
time of organic life. That means that we might all
come to church on a Sunday morning and the
preacher might have prepared his message and
you may have come to hear the message but as
we are going along God begins to tell us, I have
another agenda this morningI want you all flat
on your faces,but pews dont allow God to be
God as we cant get flat on our faces! Or, God
might say that we should go marching around
claiming, confessing, and fighting the devil. Or, he
might want us to break out into jabulani: a
celebration of dancing and running around. How
can we if the pews are bolted down? You see, we
need organic life that says, God, we are not
organising anythingwhatever you want to do we
will do! When we begin to move into organic life,
and a Friday prayer meeting gets cancelled
because God doesnt want it, then it is no good
half the church leaving because they think you are
backsliding. The organic life says that God is
finished with thatGod wants to do something
elsebut organisation mentality says that is the
end.
7
Now called Southlands.
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3. God Will Help Us as We Respond

It is a new time, a new move of God, a new
momentum. What do we need to do now? We
need to say that now, God, I lift the vision; I am
going to call what isnt as if it were; I am going to
believe what I see and not what I see; and, Lord, if
I have become part of the problem, the critical and
the religious, those straining at a gnat, the
gossips, the rumour spreaders, those with hurts
unhealed then, God, now is the time!
I believe God wants us to add some feet to our
faith. If you realise that the devil has been using
you to dilute, distort and destroy the dream then
you can tell God that you are finished with that.
Realise that the picture has been painted again.
With one quick prayer God will refresh and break;
and you are actually putting feet to your faith.
Father, for those who want to put feet to their

faith, I pray in the name of Jesus: Break off of
them whatever it may have been that has caused
the vision and the dream to get distorted, to get
diluted or, if it has happened, what it has been that
destroyed it for them: if they have been
disappointed; if they have been disillusioned; if
they have looked at the church and lowered their
vision and the faith. God, in the name of Jesus,
burn your vision into our hearts, minds and
imaginations and let faith rise up in each one of us
to go out believing that God is able, that what God
has said God is able to perform. We want to be
like our father of the faith, Abraham, who against
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hope believed. We declare tonight and we believe

that the Church of Jesus in this generation can be
the Church that is predestined to look like Jesus.
Hallelujah!
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6: Leading Prayer Meetings

Introduction
I want to look at the topic of praying together as a
church.8 I would like to speak first about why we
should pray together and then focus even more on
how we can lead those prayer meetings. I am
hoping I can give you some real, practical tools on
how to lead prayer.
1. The Apostolic Church9 was a Praying
Church
In Acts 1:14 we read that the church was
constantly joined together in prayer. In Acts 2:1
we see that they gathered together in the upper
room (they werent there for coffee and
doughnuts) and although it doesnt actually say it,
they were there to pray. Then Peter preaches the
first sermon on the day of Pentecost. Acts
describes or summarises the acts of the early
church and it says in Acts 2:42 that they devoted
themselves to pray. That word devote is a very
strong word: it means giving yourself over to
something completely, dying to self. Chapter 4
goes on and says they were in prayer. Constant
prayer was the hallmark for the early church.
2. The Church is Like a Battleship
I like to think of prayer as the engine room in a big
battleship. If we could liken the life of a church to
8
This is a transcript of a Leadership Training Time session from Germany. It was being
translated into German while Nigel was speaking.
9
That is, the Church in the time of the first apostles.
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a battleship, we might say the bridge is like the

eldership: making decisions for the boat. We
might say that all the rest of the crew, above and
below deck making things happen, are the
deacons. We might say the deck that you see
first, and where everybody meets, is like a Sunday
meeting in the churchthats where everybody
first comes on board and meets together. But,
deep down in the bottom of the boat is the engine
room that gives the boat the power to move it
forward: and thats the prayer meeting.
3. The Church is Like a Body
We may even liken the life of the church to a
human body. You could say Jesus is the head of
the churchhes the brains, if you like, making the
decisions. The elders, you might say, are the
nerves in the body that take those decisions and
commands from the head through the rest of the
body. You could say the hands are those involved
in practical service in the community. The feet are
the witnesses, the evangelists that go out and take
the good news. But, the prayer meeting is the
heart of that body. It pumps and makes the blood
go round the whole body to keep it alive and
healthy.
Reasons Why We Pray Together

1. Because Theres Work to be Done
When we go out and plant a church there is hard
work to be done in the spiritual realm and in the
human realm. There is opposition and there are
obstacles, and if we dont put in some hard work in
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the form of prayer then its very difficultprobably

impossibleto plant that church. Just like the
farmer has to plough up fallow ground before he
can plant the seed, you have got to plough up that
new ground through prayer before you can sow
the seed and start to see it grow. Everything we
have managed to achieve over the last few years,
I believe, is because we have joined together in
prayer. We have got to win ground in the
heavenly realm before you can take it on the
earth. There are many people who want to be
part of the church and want to be able to enjoy the
fruit of your ploughing without putting in that hard
workthey want the fruit without the farming.
They come to everything else but they dont come
to the prayer meeting! We need to pray because
theres work to be done.
2. Because Community is Encouraging
It may be different for you but I find it much easier
to pray when there are other people praying with
me. When I am praying on my own it is more hard
work to keep my thoughts focused, I can get tired
quite quickly. (Of course, I have to grow in those
things.) But, when I have a whole room of
brothers and sisters around me praying it helps to
keep me focussed on what we are praying for. It
raises my faith for the things we are praying for
because some of them at that moment may have
more faith than I have. Their praying stimulates
my imagination as they think of things to pray for
that I may not have thought of. They help me
keep going for longer; they carry me and I help to
carry others. Now, you might pray wonderfully on
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your own but I know I find it easier to pray for long

periods with others around me.
3. Because Theres Power in Agreement
Again, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree
about anything you ask for, it will be done for you
by my Father in heaven. For where two or three
come together in my name, there I am with them.
(Matthew 18:19-20) So, there is the power of
agreement when we pray together.
4. Because it Fosters Comradeship
Praying together fosters a sense of family in the
churcha sense of comradeship. Men who have
fought together in battles have a much closer
sense of being comrades and pulling together
than if they just sat round the table talking and
eating. And, theres nothing that brings a sense of
family to the church like doing battle together.
They were of one heart and one mind and later
in Philippians Paul says, you of one spirit and one
purpose. That begins to happen when we pray
together.
5. Because it Brings About Ownership
The best way to get your people to own the
churchto make the churchs visions and values
their visions and valuesis to pray together as a
church. Until they own them, its just the leaders
vision and valuesbut when they have expended
effort praying into those things, they begin to feel
like its their vision and values, its their strategies
and goals too. When you pay the price for
something, you own that thing so much more.
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When we pay the price by praying week after

week, year after year, the people will say, These
are our visions and valueswe are part of it.
6. Because a Heart for the Nations Grows
There is no better way of giving your people a
heart for the nations than praying together for the
nations. When week after week you pray for a
nation, pray for a new church plant, pray for some
team member going or for some work in a
continent, and you give the people feedback about
how the prayers are working and how God is
answering, then people begin to feel like this is
their vision too. They feel that it is not just a
theory or theology being taught but that they are
paying a pricenot only in things of their own
church but in things of the nations and it really
begins to develop the heart and involvement of
your people.
7. Because We Can Change the Future
This, to me, is the greatest motivation we can ever
have for any kind of prayer. When we pray we are
rewriting the pages of history, not the history of the
past, but the history thats going to be written in
the future. I believe God has given us the power
in prayer to change the way things are going to
work out, the things that are going to happen.
When we pray we move God to move men! We
move God to act upon principalities and powers,
we appeal to God and move his heart to affect
events around the world for his kingdom. If prayer
was not actually going to make a difference, why
would God ask us to pray? We pray because it
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does make a difference, it changes things, it

makes things happen and causes certain things
that would have happened not to happen. You
see, history isnt just some blueprint that God laid
out before the world started. God gave people the
ability and mandate to write history. He told Adam
and Eve to rule over the earth, to have dominion,
to name the animals: they were able to affect the
world they lived in. Not everything that happens in
this world is Gods will, although ultimately he is
in control of everything and will bring the earth to
its promised end. But, along the way, we can
actually determine how things work out in our
world. So, when we pray we really can change
history. We should envision our people about this:
they are not coming just to perform some ritual
that Christians do because its a nice ideathey
are having an impact upon their world. Its the
highest motivation possible for getting together to
pray and when people understand what they are
doing they will be excited to come and be part of
it.
How to Lead Prayer Meetings

We should lead prayer meetings so that people
leave feeling it was worth coming out to pray; it
was worth the effort, something was achieved;
they leave feeling excited in their spirits and they
want to come back the next week. Many years
back, one of the team said to our church, You
pay the price to be here, now make the price pay!
People must feel that they got a return for their
investment. Here are some points on how to do
that.
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1. Initiate Prayer Meetings as Soon as

Possible
Start meeting together to pray from the day you
plant the church. If your church has been going
for a while and you dont have a prayer meeting
then I encourage you to start one as soon as you
get home. Dudley has said many times, Start the
way you intend to finish! Dont think that you
should wait six months or until you have enough
people. Start straight away.
2. Meet for Prayer Once a Week
I suggest, just as a guideline, that you get together
to pray once a week. Possibly more but not less.
We get together once a week on a Sunday for
worship and for preaching but I think we should
get together once a week also just to pray. Now,
you wont find a day and a time when everybody
can get there but find a day and time when most
of the people can get there. I think its also good
to have not only a starting time but a finishing
time. There is no law about what that period
should be. We pray for an hour although often we
find that its too short. You must be flexible about
this. If God really breaks in then you must have
the freedom to continue on a bit longer but you
dont want every prayer meeting dragging on for
two hours because then people will think that it
went on too long and wont come again the next
week. So, normally aim at an hour and keep to it.
3. Make Prayer a Priority Meeting for All
Make it clear right from the beginning that this is a
priority meeting, equal in importance to any other
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meeting in the church, and that its a whole-church

meeting. You see, when you have some training
in the church not everyone goes to that training. If
you have a youth group, only the youth go, not the
whole church. Not everybody is involved in
childrens ministry and in most churches not
everybody is involved in home groups. But I
believe the prayer meeting is a whole-church
meeting and I think its helpful to try and have your
prayer meeting where you have your Sunday
meeting. Thats not always possible but if it is
possible then do it in the same place because you
are communicating something to the people: on a
Sunday we all get together for preaching and for
worship but theres another day in the week when
we all get together to pray. If you have it in some
smaller side-venue then you are saying to the
people that it is just a meeting for some of the
church so we dont need to meet in this big hall.
We made it clear in our church right from the first
week that our Sunday meeting and our prayer
meeting are our priority meetings. When visitors
come in for the first time on a Sunday we welcome
them, but when they come into the prayer meeting
for the first time I welcome them again. If people
in our church have been away on holiday I dont
wait until the Sunday meeting to welcome them
back, I make a point of doing it at the prayer
meeting because thats a whole-church meeting.
Somebody once said that our church is as large
as our prayer meeting and, of course, thats not
totally true but there is some truth in it. The
people who have really owned your vision and
have given themselves to it are the people at your
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prayer meeting. Perhaps we should think again

about how big our church is.
4. Prepare Well
Prepare well but hold what you have prepared
lightly. You cant just come into the prayer
meeting without being prepared. If youre leading
a prayer meeting you have to prepare just as
much as if you were leading a Sunday meeting.
What is God wanting us to pray about tonight,
what is he wanting to say to the people and what
does he want to do in our midst? Sometimes, if
youre praying about certain situations in the
world, you need to do some research so that you
can give the people some details about the things
theyre praying about, some helpful background
information. A recent report from that church or
that nation, and some statistics if theyre helpful,
but dont over prepare your background
information. I think in a 1 hour prayer meeting, the
bits at the beginning and the bits in-between when
you talk should never be more than 10 minutes
out of the hour. The most common mistake made
in leading prayer meetings is trying to get through
all your points no matter whatand the Holy Spirit
is trying to do something else with the prayer
meeting: there is clearly a flow and anointing to do
something else but you interrupt what the Holy
Spirit is doing, grieve him and he departs. So,
come prepared but hold it lightlybe very flexible
and adaptable about where you are going to take
the prayer meeting.
Some time ago there was a popular TV show
called The A-Team, and at the end of the mission
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the leader would say, I love it when a plan comes

together. But in the things of God it must be
exactly the opposite. Just let the Holy Spirit
invade and take us off on something else and if
the plan doesnt come together at all we have got
to be happy with that even though we have put
hours of preparation in.
5. Give Clear Leadership
A very common shortcoming in prayer meetings is
that there isnt clear enough leadership about what
it is we are praying for. We need to give clear
leadership in prayer meetings by saying that you
believe this is what God has placed on your heart
to pray for tonight, and then give a general
summary of that in the beginning of the meeting.
If you have a number of different areas in that
subject that you want to pray for then before each
one of those periods of prayer you can give
another short statement so they know exactly what
it is you are asking them to pray for. The last
thing you say before you start is a clear one-line
statement of what it is they are going to pray for
because even in 2 or 3 minutes of background
they can lose the point.
Now, there are times where you as the leader are
not that sure and you feel that you should just
begin to worship God and pray together in the
Spirit for a while and together try and hear and
pick up what God is taking us into. Even in those
situations you need to make it clear to the people
what you are doing. When you have done that for
a while and the Holy Spirit hasnt given you any
real clear direction on where to go then there
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comes a point where you need to step back in and

give some directionbecause you cant wander
around for a whole hour.
Leadership also means encouraging and
commending the people when they are praying
well. Dont be dishonest and tell them they are
praying well when they are not because
sometimes people do come in tired after a long
days work and they are distractedthen they
need some encouragement and some focus.
Many times they are praying with great passion
and faith and I think part of leadership is to
commend and encourage them when they are
doing that. Many years ago someone made a
comment to me after a prayer meeting that has
always stayed with me. With real relief in his face
he said, Its so nice to be in a prayer meeting
where you know where it is going. From that I
learned that we need to give leadership and
direction to the prayer meeting or else people will
wonder what they are supposed to be doing and if
it is worth coming out to the prayer meeting.
6. Pray for a Few Minutes at a Time
In most prayer meetings you cant pray for a whole
hour without some kind of break. Sometimes when
the anointing of God is there people just go for a
whole hour, but where perhaps there are younger
believers or the church has just begun to start
praying together, we need to pray for a few
minutes at a time.
In our church we were praying for Germany so, we
prayed for the relating churches in Germany in the
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first half of the meeting, spending a few minutes

on each after a short background. That is part of
the gift of leadership in a prayer meeting situation,
to know how far you can take prayer on any one
thing. When you try and take the prayer longer
than the people have capacity for, they pray well
for a few minutes and run out of fuel and you have
a stop-start kind of prayer meeting. Conversely, if
you try to cut it too short and the people can
actually pray longer then you can also get in the
waytry and pick up the peoples capacity for
prayer.
So, have a number of things you are going to pray
about, a few minutes at a time. On average in our
prayer meeting we would only have at most 4
sections so we can give a bit of background, a
short one-line summary, and pray for 15 minutes
at a time. But you need to pick up the capacity
your people have and the capacity your church
has in prayer.
7. Use Different Styles of Prayer
Use all the different styles of prayer. There is one
style of praying that has become known as African
praying but I have been to Asia, America and
Britain and I have heard people pray like that in all
those places. Its when we all raise our voices
and pray together: we are not really trying to listen
to what the person next to us is saying (or the
person leading), we are all praying together.
Often when you are doing intense intercession
and spiritual warfare you pray like that. I liken it to
an elephant charging: head down, ears back. Try
and make sure you are strong in that kind of
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praying because there are particular things that

that kind of prayer is very effective for. Of course,
some people coming into the prayer meeting for
the first time will think that this is new! Try and be
sensitive about that and just reassure them about
whats happening, but dont compromise on it or
stop doing it. But you know, if that is the only way
we pray then I think we are one sided in our
praying.
Paul said in 1 Corinthians 14:15b, I will pray with
my spirit, but I will also pray with my mind
(understanding).
Normally when we are all
praying together, a lot of us are praying in the
Spirit and I find that when we have done that for a
few months without any change, very quickly
people lose the ability to pray with their
understanding in their mother tongue. The mind
just doesnt click into gear and they pray one line
and then cant think of anything else to pray for. I
think its good to develop praying with
understanding, so I will try and work it into our
prayer meeting by asking that different people
lead in prayer.
So, they pray a prayer of
understanding with their mother tongue and
because we can understand what they are
praying, it encourages us, it builds our faith, it
gives us all sorts of ideas of other aspects we
could pray for and so when they are finished
praying someone else picks it up and takes it
further, and when that person is finished another
person comes in from another angle. Now, we are
not all silent and passive while these people are
praying, we are agreeing and are quietly praying
while they are praying out loud. We might be
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saying, Yes, Lord, or Amen, so its not as

though we are passive and uninvolved but we are
also giving chance for prayer with understanding
that can also be so beneficial in the prayer
meeting.
There is a place for praying in tongues but I dont
think it is the only way we should be praying.
Some people feel that they cant make a
contribution so I think other praying is really good
too.
8. Use Different Kinds of Prayer
Not only different styles but different kinds of
prayer. Theres intercession: pleading with God
about a situation or person, we are petitioning the
King for some favour or request; theres warfare;
theres prophetic declaration.
Prophetic declaration is a kind of prayer that is
often underused. For example, God says to
Ezekiel, Look at those dry bones, prophesy over
them. As he prophesied over them they came to
life. Some of our prayers should be prophetic
declaration, declaring Jesus lordship over our city,
over our nation, over areas of our society, the arts
or the media or any other area we might be
praying into. Thats an important kind of praying.
Then theres worship. This should sometimes (not
every week) form part of our prayer meeting
because prayer and warfare can actually take
place through worship. Through our worship of
God things are happening in the spiritual realm
its a very potent prayer. Psalm 8:2, that is quoted
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by Jesus, says, From the lips of children and

infants you have ordained praise because of your
enemies, to silence the foe and the avenger.
There is warfare taking place and victory taking
place while we worship. Consider Psalm 149:67a. It shows how warfare is taking place as we
worship as it says, May the praise of God be in
their mouths and a double-edged sword in their
hands, to inflict vengeance upon the nations .
There is battle taking place as we worship.
9. Pray for Matters Outside the Local Church
Pray at least 50% outside of the church. It is good
for us to pray for things and people outside of our
own local church and I try and make sure that in
one period of time we have a balance in our
prayer meeting: praying for things in our local
church and area and things outside of the church,
be that our nation or other nations. Now, there are
different ways you can do this. For a season pray
for things concerning your church, and then
another season pray, for example, into Asia and
take a different country in Asia on each of the four
nights of that month. Another way of doing it is
just to alternate: one week pray locally, one week
pray internationally. The third way is to pray in
one single prayer meeting through the model of
Acts 1:8 where Jesus says, you will be my
witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and
Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. Its good
in a prayer meeting because you do need a
number of sections in a prayer meetinghave
something in each of those four areas: Jerusalem
(things regarding the local church), Judea (what
is close), Samaria (what is fairly far), and to the
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ends of the earth. Now, of course, turn the order

around so you start with the ends of the earth and
then work back towards Jerusalem.
Give
feedback to the people when you have prayed
about certain things, local or internationalfind
out what change has taken place and read out the
emails and the faxes at the next prayer meeting.
Essential Ingredients in a Prayer Meeting

This is very important in how to lead a prayer
meeting: ensure that the people are praying with
the essential ingredients for prayer and that they
are doing that at all times. What are the essential
ingredients for prayer?
Three things are
absolutely essential in any praying.
1. Faith
The first is faith. And without faith it is impossible
to please God, because anyone who comes to
him must believe that he exists and that he
rewards those who earnestly seek him. (Hebrews
11:6) You know, if you are not praying with faith
you might as well not pray because without faith it
is impossible to please God.
We need to
encourage and stir up faith in the people when we
pray, and this is part of good leadership in a
prayer meeting. If you pick up that the people are
praying just as a ritual, going through the motions,
tired or distracted, but there is no faith in it, then a
good leader needs to stop the prayer meeting:
encourage and exhort those people, bring them in
a bit and stir up faith, reminding them of the God
we are praying to. Remind them that the prayer of
faith makes the sick man well and moves God to
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move men, and rewrites history. Just envision

them again so they pray with faith and believe
God for it.
2. Passion
The second key ingredient is passion. You cant
really find a chapter or verse for this in Scripture
but I think its just there. People must be involved
in the thing they are praying for. When people are
totally detached from the thing they are praying for
then praying is having no effectthose that are
staring out the window, those that have no heart
for that person or that situation or that nation.
There has got to be heart, got to be involvement.
There has to be sincere praying, not religious
prayingsincere praying from the heart, from the
centre of your being, is so important.
3. Perseverance
The third is perseverance. That is a key, essential
ingredient to prayer. We mustnt be afraid to bring
our people back to something we have prayed the
previous week and to persevere in it.
4. An Example from Scripture
Consider Elijah and Elisha who both prayed for a
dead boy (you can read about these in 1 Kings 17
and 2 Kings 4). You will see these three essential
ingredients of prayer in both of these occasions.
You will agree with me that they had to exercise
faithyou dont just go and pray for dead bodies
just for interest, to pass the time. The very fact
that you go means there is faith in your heart for
God to do something supernatural.
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The second thing you see powerfully from these

stories is the passion, the involvement. They
didnt just stand in the next-door room and pray
from a distance, they came into the room and
closed the door. We read that they moved
backwards and forwards in the room pleading with
God, they felt the thing they were praying for and
then they did something very strange which I dont
know if any of us would do. They both lay on the
bodythats how closely they got involved. In
fact, it says that Elisha lay on the dead body, hand
to hand, head to head, feet to feet and even
mouth to mouth. If you ever pick up in the
meeting that people are just uninvolved or they
have drifted off, push the pause button, pull the
people in together again and stir their heart with
the compassion of God for the situation you are
praying for. Make sure they are praying with
sincere, passionate prayers.
The third ingredient, perseverance, we see when
Elijah lays himself out on the boy three timeshe
had to exercise faith, and then he had to exercise
faith again, and then he had to exercise faith
again. With Elisha it says that he lay on the body
and it got warm but the boy wasnt alive. So, it
says, he lay on the boy again, head to head, hand
on hand, foot on foot, mouth to mouththat is
how closely he got involved and the boy sneezed
and woke up. There was perseverance.
Conclusion
Those are just a few thoughts on why we should
be meeting together in our churches to pray and
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on how as leaders we can lead those prayer

meetings so they are good. It has been very
simple, I am aware of that, and many of you are
probably doing those things already, but I hope
there are some people that now have new vision
for this thing and some tools. Lets pray together.
Lord, we thank you for the privilege of prayer, we

thank you for the opportunity to rewrite history, to
change the course of events, because you, Lord,
in your mercy, you hear our cry and you move in
those situations. Lord, I pray that you take us
forward as churches in our praying together, that
we would all meet with the excitement and the
conviction that we are going to make a difference;
that we leave excited knowing we have achieved
something that was worth paying the price for, and
that we want to come back the next week. Lord,
we pray that our praying will get to be like that of
the early church, that when they raised their
voices together, your Spirit fell on them and the
building shook. Lord, in 26 years of praying I have
never felt a building shake but, Lord, I am waiting
for it to happen when your saints get together to
pray. Amen.
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7: Being Ready to Preach

Introduction
Do you remember what happened on December
7, 1941? Pearl Harbour! Americans remember
that day because it was a day we were caught
unprepared, it was a day when the Japanese army
caught us with our proverbial pants down. That
morning in Hawaii was like any other morning
beautiful! Early in the morning a lone radar
watchman saw all of these blips on his radar
screen and dismissed them as being part of a
training session because hed seen things like that
before. Blunder after blunder occurred in a series
of events that led up to the fact that several ships
were lost, and hundreds of lives as well.
A great uncle of mine, who I knew before he
passed away, would tell me stories about the war.
He was on one of the few floating vessels of the
time and they were going around the harbour
picking up survivors. They were pulling people out
of the water that were cut in twoit was a horrific
scene. That was the launching pad that thrust
America into the Second World War and the battle
cry from that point on was, Remember Pearl
Harbour! There was an anger and an indignation
that rose up within us and President Roosevelt
made his memorable speech in which he said that
it would be a day that would live on in infamy. We
then begin to round up anyone with an Asian
background and send them to detainment centres
because we were so incensed. We did things like
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have people turn off their lights along the

California coastline at a certain hourmy
grandmother used to tell me about thatand they
couldnt drive in the car with their lights on at a
certain time. My other grandfather flew in a blimp,
believe it or not, over the Californian coastline
looking for submarines. We were obsessed with
never allowing such a thing to happen to us again.
At the end of the war it was no accident that we
decided to be so angry at them that we were
willing to drop not only one atomic weapon but
two.
When there wasnt a complete and
immediate surrender after the first bomb, within
just a couple of days we dropped another one and
totally annihilated and devastated them to the
point where they came and made an unconditional
surrender. My point of telling you all this is just to
say: when you are not ready, you are opening
yourself up to a major possibility for the devil to
come in.
Our Need to be Ready

1. Readiness is Your Responsibility
I wanted to say to all of you, that the things youve
heard over the last couple of days are building in
you a state of readiness. There are many parables
in the Bible about readiness. Theres the parable
about the ten virgins: some of them didnt have
enough oil to keep their lamps alight. Ive listened
to that parable many times and Ive thought to
myself that it seemed like such an unchristian
thing that God was rewarding the good virgins for
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not giving their oil to the ones that didnt have it.
He was saying that the ones that had prepared
and brought oil for their lamps to keep them
burning, and who didnt give their oil to the ones
who needed it, were the ones that were right. I
always thought that to be such an unchristian
thing until I realised the oil represented a state of
readiness. You cannot give your readiness to
someone else: because Im ready doesnt mean
that youre going to be ready!
I cant walk over to you and give you my readiness
as its not something thats transferable in that
senseits something you have to catch and
acquire for yourself. Theres the parable of the
wedding feast: the servants are waiting for their
master to return and so on. God wants us to be in
a state of readiness.
2. Readiness When We Dont Seem Needed
Im ministering to you on a topic that is very
difficult to minister for a number of reasons. There
are many of you, I think, that dont really seriously
believe that Gods going to use you in too great a
way. Even though youve been hearing it for days
I still sense that some of you, a good part of you,
dont actually believe that its going to take place.
You are setting yourself up to be hugely
embarrassed or to fail if youre not ready at that
moment when youre tapped on the shoulder.
I cant tell you how many professional athletes
have made a career because they were ready the
moment somebody else was injured.
They
jumped in and played this incredible game and
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from that point on they were stars in the hall of

fame. They would never have been in that
condition if they had not been ready. That means
that even though they never got to play all season,
they had to go to practice and play just as hard
knowing they would probably never get into the
game. They needed to be ready immediately for if
and when the coach called them to contribute, or
they would be pulled from the game. While the
Church and God do not deal with us that way I
think that you are understanding what I am trying
to get atwe have to be ready for when God
wants to deal with us.
Becoming a Public Speaker

Talking to Dudley I said, Dudley, what are the
things we can still touch on or still do to benefit the
people that are here? One of the things he
mentioned was how to put together a sermon, how
to put together a teaching. Im going to teach you,
talk to you and give you some ammunition on how
to prepare a message.
1. Public Speaking is Difficult
The number one fear in America, when Americans
were surveyed, is speaking in front of large groups
of people. It seems an unnatural thing to do and I
want to tell you all (although some of you may
think, looking at me in your inexperience, that I am
a natural public speaker) that I am probably the
most unnatural of all these people here. The
hardest thing Ive had to try and learn and to
acquire in the ministry is how to organise
thoughts, put them down in an intelligent way and
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deliver them with some sort of anointing and

gifting of God. It is a very difficult thing.
2. To Become a Good Speaker Takes Work
A good analogy would be the difficult skill of
learning how to hit a baseball. Its one of the
hardest skills to learn and guys spend their whole
lives (hour upon hour in the batting cages, over
and over till their hands are bleeding) learning how
to hit a 95-mile-an-hour ball thats curving and
dipping all around.
Preaching and ministering is a difficult thing if
youre not a natural at itbut you can acquire
some ability to do it. Ill probably never be a great
speaker, but Ive become a good speaker. You
can become a good speaker even though you
dont think you have a natural tendency to become
a great speaker.
You can become a good
speaker if you just work on itbut Im telling you
right now that you have to work and work and
work. It will not come easilyyou have to work
very diligently and very hard. The word of God
says study to show yourself approved.
3. Your Life Must be Spent in Preparation
The most difficult thing for young ministers is when
they reach down inside their wells, they reach
down and they cant find anythingsome of us
have experienced that. They dont have anything
because they have nothing inside them.
A
sermon is really just a tip of the icebergthey say
you only see less than 10% of the iceberg, 90% of
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its mass is under the waterits really the

culmination of your entire Christian walk.
When you hear a great sermon that moves you,
that calls for you to respond to it, that just
invigorates you and challenges you to the core of
who you are, that sermon was more than likely
born out of great distress, great trial or possibly
even tragedy, great success or great anointing of
Godbut for sure it came out of a basis of a walk
with God that was deepa prayer life, a praise
life, a life of reading the word of God; tons and
tons of Scripture, years and years of sitting under
other peoples teaching, taking notes, listening
and watching how they communicate.
4. Watch Great Speakers Communicate
Watch great speakers communicate by moving
out of the situation for a moment, watching the
room, watching that person communicate with the
room, looking how they read and why they do this
or that at a particular moment. I spent hours
doing this and still do it to this day. Ill be flipping
round the television and Ill stop and hear
someone speaking, even if its someone I dont
enjoy listening to, even if theres someone
speaking on a subject I dont particularly want to
hear about, Ill sometimes just stop and listen to
them for just a few minutes, just to hear what they
are saying and how theyre communicating it. You
get new ideas and new ways of communicating to
the people by doing this.
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I would like to minister two things to you as

guidelines for a good preach. First, begin with the
end and, second, do your homework.
Begin with the End Purpose in Mind

Begin with the end. I would like to just encourage
you that in order to bring together an intelligent
communication that people will understand, you
have to begin with the end. Now, that may seem
illogical to youyou may think that the first thing
you need to do is write down your introduction or
how youre going to open up. Thats usually the
last thing you do because your introduction has to
introduce itself into the message correctly.
Therefore, you have to have the body of the
message developed in such a way that its
complete and its concise, then you can accurately
develop your introduction so that it flows right into
the body of what you are saying.
1. Everything Must Point to the End Purpose
Let me ask you something, If you want to know
what a factory produces, wheres the best place to
go to find out? If you go inside the factory then all
youre going to see are the parts and the pieces
you will get an idea but you wont be able to see
the finished product. The best place to find out
what a factory produces is at the out-gate: the
thing that rolls off the assembly line is the purpose
of that entire building, the thing that comes off that
assembly line indicates what that entire building
does and what all those workers are there to do.
Your purpose is to generate the end of your
messageit then becomes the filter for all your
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ideas and all your stories. It becomes the criteria

to which all of those things must measure up to
before they can be included into that message. If
Im speaking on the love of Christ and Ive got this
funny story that Im just dying to tell, and Im sure
that it will bring a lot of laughs, but it has nothing to
do with getting people to realise the love of Christ,
then its not appropriate for that message. The
end has to be the purpose that draws all of the
points to come to it.
One of the mistakes that young people make is
that they bunch a lot of little pieces from all sorts
of places together the first time they get a chance
to speak. They have heard this out of a sermon or
that out of a message, this moved them or that
moved them and so on. Its like 15 sermons, 15
little anecdotes from sermons, a kind of
conglomeration into one big thing like a snow ball
that just gets thrown out there with the hope that
someone catches something out of it. Thats
really not the ideal way is to put sermons together.
I am asking for a little grace and mercy from my
fellow team members as I say the following: the
manner in which some of the guys minister is
often a bad example to teach you how to minister
and that is because over the years they have
picked up some idiosyncrasies and ways of doing
things that they can get away with. You probably
wouldnt be able to get away with them and if you
tried to pull them off it would fail miserably. But
Im telling you, you have to begin with the end in
mind.
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2. Speak to the Lord About the Purpose

The first thing you do is go to the Lord and pray,
you ask the Lord for the word (that is, the
message). You dont preach a sermon because
you heard someone preach it the other day and it
was a really great sermon.
3. Consider the People and Their Needs
The second thing you do is ask yourself who the
audience is that you are speaking to. Are these
young people? Are these old people? Are they
here for a conference? What countries are they
from? What expectation level is there at this
meeting? What kind of a meeting is this? You get
all that stuff in your mind so you understand the
context into which youre ministering, and then you
go before the Lord and begin to pray and
intercede and say, Lord, what are you saying to
these people?
If I were speaking to a home Bible-fellowship
group it might be different to what Im speaking to
you about. If Im speaking to a Sunday school
class of 3 year olds it would certainly be different
to what Im communicating to you. So, youve got
to go before the Lord and youve got to say, Lord,
what are you saying? As preachers, ministers
and elders at churches, one of the things we do is
go before the Lord and say, Lord, what are you
saying to these people? What are the things that
need to be adjusted, corrected and added into
them?
What are the things they need to
understand and comprehend at this moment?
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Then we get a message that deals with those

kinds of things.
4. Use the Purpose of the Message as a Filter
The third thing you do is make sure that your
purpose (the end) is the filter for everything you
do. If you get one thing out of this section, catch
that, because it will save you from so many
problems. If you just want to crack this funny joke
or add that verse and they dont fit then it causes
you to try and find something that does: and
therein lies all the hours, and therein lies all the
time, and therein lies all the praying and going
before the face of God and crying out before the
Lord and saying, Lord, I need something.
5. Prepare Early so that God can Fine-tune
The fourth thing is to prepare early because you
need to have time to allow the message to just
kind of resonate inside of you, to kind of ferment
and become the wine that God wants it to benot
some kind of sour grape juice. Allow it to become
the wine that God wants it to be! Sometimes Ill
finish sermons two or three days in advance and,
because Ive got bits and pieces that I dont have
(illustrations that are inadequate to prove my
points or to bring my points across) Ill just be
asking the Lord, Lord, just give me some
illustrations; Lord, just show me some things.
6. Use Gods Work in Your Life to Illustrate
The fifth and last thing is just a word of wisdom
regarding some of those books that have a million
illustrations: rarely do I find anything in those
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things that are going to be much help. They are

usually a waste of your money as the best
illustrations come out of your life, come out of the
things youve gone through.
Use those
illustrations: they are the ones Gods given you,
they are the ones that are real to you, and you can
speak with authority in them. Begin with the end
in mind!
Do Your Homework
1. Spend Lots of Time in Preparation
The first thing is to spend time doing it. When
youre preparing a sermon that you havent
preached before, I would say its safe to say that
you must spend at least 20 hours getting ready for
that message. If its something you have already
preached before and its in your notes then spend
less time, but still spend lots of time in getting
ready for that preaching event. Very often, young
ministers ask me to evaluate their preaching and
help them out with some points and I ask them
how long it took them to prepare their sermon.
They answer, I dont know, it must have been like
I was racking my brain for about 3 hours! That
is nothing! Just let me tell you, that is nothing!
Apart from this message here, which the Lord
gave me in about 4 or 5 hours, most of the
messages I do for Sunday mornings on a weekly
basis take me a minimum of 20 hours. I have
watched the hours, added up the hours, and
expended as much as 30 or 40 hours getting
ready for one message that is preached in 45
minutes. Even if youre a person whos graduated
227
from Bible school, or been in fulltime ministry for

15 years, or have lots of experience, you have to
spend that much time to put one message
together that has never preached before. How
much time should I spend preparing? You need
to spend a lot! You need to work out a lot of the
bugs and its takes time to do that. Do your
homework.
2. Preach From Whole Passages
The second thing I can say is, stick with whole
passages. It will keep you out of trouble if you
stick with an entire passage rather than try to go
for a topic. If you go for a topic then you will be
pulling scriptures from all different areas to bring
into your topic. At that point you open yourself up
to bringing in a verse to support the subject that is
not relevant and has been taken out of context10
because you havent done all the studying on that
passage before you pulled it out and used it.
If you preach on one section or one parable and
preach from the passage, you reduce
exponentially the chance of saying something or
communicating something that is theologically
incorrect.
The Lord will give you some
opportunities and you need to be ready for those
opportunities.
Take, for example, Philippians 4. If you were
going to prepare a message to minister at a home
Bible group and you prayed and asked the Lord,
10
The correct use of passages is part of the study of hermeneutics and exegesis. A brief
introduction to this can be found in the manual, How to Read and Understand Your Bible.
The course You and Your Bible also covers this topic briefly.
228
and he wanted you to encourage them, to tell

them that they can do the things that Gods called
them to do, that no obstacle that Satan would
throw against them by any means would be able
to slow them down or stop them from doing what
Gods called them to do, then verse 13 is the end
and purpose of this chapter: I can do everything
through him who gives me strength. You might
begin by saying, What is the context under which
he can make that statement?
Im just going to give you suggestions by taking
this passage as it falls, not superimposing my
belief on it: Im going to try to allow the passage
to teach me about this statement.
Verse 1 says, Stand firm in the Lord. So,
standing firm might be the first point of how to
get to the place where I can do all things
through him who strengthens me.
Verse 4 says, Rejoice in the Lord always.
Paul chose to repeat that phrase twice, so it
must be important in the context of this passage
for the end meaning. If you get discouraged
and downtrodden youre not going to be able to
do all things that Gods called you to do.
Verse 6 says, Do not be anxious about
anything.
Verse 8 says, Think about such things. Let
your mind dwell on good things, guard the gate
of your mind. Keep your mind focused and
pondering on the word of God rather than the
troubles and strife in your life.
Verse 11 says, Be content whatever the
circumstances.
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If you go by these five guidelines that Ive just

taken (in the context of this passage) and call
them your key phrases, then it would set you up to
be able to understand why he would be able to
say at the end of that passage, I can do all
things. We can understand the affirming God, we
rejoice always, we are not anxious for anything,
we allow our mind to dwell on whatevers good,
whatevers pure, and were content in whatever
circumstances we find ourselvesas those things
are working in my life, I can do all things in Christ.
3. Read Commentaries
The third thing is to begin to read some
commentaries11. We dont have to reinvent the
wheel. The men who wrote those commentaries
spent their whole life studying one book, or the
New Testament, or the pastoral epistles, or the
prison epistles, or whatever their speciality was.
You dont have to be a Greek expert in order to
understand everything. All that you do is go to a
commentary and glean those things from it.12
4. Understand that You will Make Mistakes
The fourth thing regarding doing your homework
is, Dont be afraid to make mistakes.
I
11
A commentary is a book that explains a section or book of the Bible. For example, you
may get a commentary on the book of Matthew. It will take the book, usually verse by
verse, and explain the authors original meaning given the historical background with which
we (as the readers) are usually unfamiliar. Some commentaries are better than others
(and some are quite bad). It is a good idea to get advice from someone you trust before
buying one. Old Testament Commentary Survey by Temper Longman III and New
Testament Commentary Survey by D A Carson rate various commentaries that are
available.
12
A list of some of the better New Testament commentaries can be found in the book, New
Testament Exegesis by Gordon Fee. The NIV Study Bible contains a very simple
commentary for beginners. There is also a manual, An Overview of the Entire Bible (Bible
Survey) by Nigel Day-Lewis, that may also be of help.
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guarantee you: you will make mistakes. I have

made some incredible blunders in my life in
preaching and ministering the word of God and
this is something where we as ministers do a
disservice to you: we dont talk enough about our
failures, we dont share enough with people the
things that we have done that have been blunders.
Really, I have learned so much from sitting with
ministers and having them telling me about their
failures, incredible blundersbut God will take
that and God will make something out of it. It is at
those times that people may come to you and they
may say, I got so much out of that, it touched my
heart so much, I was going through this and
through that. Its amazing how the grace of God
just covers us but we shouldnt rely on that to get
us through. We need to study to show ourselves
approved. Do your homework.
5. Be Humble and Correctable
The fifth thing is to be humble and correctable. If
youre humble and correctable, if you seek
correction, if you love correction (the Bible says to
love correction), and if you seek out a pastor in the
congregation and ask him for some pointers, you
will learn a lot more.
6. Listen to Your Own Sermons
The sixth thing is to listen to your own sermons if
they are recorded. Listen to them! It is agonising,
it is absolute torture, but you have got to get these
CDs and listen to them because you must hear
your own voice and listen to the way you arrange
things. You cannot walk away from it, especially if
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people are trying to encourage you, because when

you get the CD you will see that they were being
really nice! Im serious, this is the sort of thing
that brings soberness to your mind.
7. Ensure You Have Conviction
Three ingredients of a great revelation are
conviction, revelation and passion. There are
probably more than this but I have picked these
out as important to a great revelation, message or
teaching. If you have no conviction about the
subject youre about to teach or minister on then
nobody else is going to have a conviction about it.
Theyre going to look at you like youre some dead
stick-in-the-mud talking about some dry, lifeless
thing. If theres no conviction of God in you, no
excitement or enthusiasm, youre heading for
disaster. You say, Well, how do I get conviction
on a thing I dont have conviction about? You
pray, you seek the face of God, you say, God,
give me a conviction about this, give me passion
for this subject, show me the significance of it,
show me what will happen when people begin to
get it, show me what happens in the heavens,
show me what happens in their own lives. Lord,
remind me what it did for me. You start to go
through those things and it wells up inside you and
pretty soon theres an excitement, a passion;
theres conviction and theres life in what youre
saying.
Cautions
Im just going to give you some cautions.
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1. Try Not to Imitate Other Preachers

The first one is, try not to imitate other preachers.
I lived the first 5 to 7 years bouncing around
learning how to speak in public. One week I was
Mario Murillo, the next I was Oral Roberts, the
next I was Billy Graham. I was dressing like them,
trying to sound like them, trying to talk like them
it was ridiculous. Finally, I realised that I had to be
who I am. But Ive also got to remember that who
I am is all Ive gone through in my life. Who I
am is changing all the time as I am being
changed into the image of God week by week,
month by month, day by day, hour by hour. You
have to be true to who you are and who you are in
Christ.
I happen to be a person who finds humour in
things, a person who enjoys things, and I let some
of those interests be my analogies
and
metaphors. Be who youre called to be, dont try
to imitate someone else because it will never
come off right. As we listen to other preachers
that we enjoy and respect, we do pick up things
and we begin to incorporate them into our own
teaching styles and so forth. Im not saying we
repel anything, Im just saying we have to be true
to the core of what God called us to and who we
are in God.
2. Try Not to Develop Bad Habits
The second one is, try not to develop bad habits.
This could be anything inappropriate and
distracting or it could be annoying idiosyncrasies.
Dont distract people from the point you are tying
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to make. You want to do everything that you can

to bring them to the conclusion that youre trying to
bring them to.
3. Dont Live and Die on Successes and
Failures
The third one is, try not to live and die on the
success or failure of your last sermon. This is
something everyone of us needs to hear, including
me. It took me years but it doesnt have to be that
way for you. You can get delivered from that, you
can get free from that: you can make a mistake,
learn from it and go on. Forget about it and go on!
One thing that I do, I press on towards the mark,
towards the prize, towards the high calling set by
Jesus Christ.
4. Dont Use the Pulpit to Get Even
The fourth one is, dont use the pulpit to get even
with people. Dont use the pulpit to get even with
people who are seemingly against you or people
that you have had an argument with. I have had
people in my church that, while I am ministering,
are whispering back and forth and I find out later
that they were degrading me or the church while I
was preaching. These same people will sit next to
a visitor and try to sow their own hurt into that
persons heart who doesnt know anything about it.
I have been watching this person at the back row
and watching the facial expressions and I know
the situation thats gone on, and I am telling you it
takes everything inside of you to fight against your
human nature to not use the pulpit as a bully
pulpit. Allow God to deal with those kinds of
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people. There might come a time where if they

wont stop, you may have to say something during
the service but those times are rare, they are like
a white elephant, and I would suggest none of you
engage in that even if you suspect things are
going on until years have gone by. You need the
maturity and understanding to know how to handle
it.
5. Dont Exaggerate
The fifth one is, dont exaggerate. Dont overstate
something, the truth is usually good enough.
Exaggeration is actually a form of lyingyoure
saying something that isnt true. Now, there are
exceptions to that where we have taken some
truth and elaborated on it and made something
funnier than it actually isthat is what humour is.
Theres nothing wrong in that when its completely
understood by everyone. Im talking more about
the things like exaggerating and embellishing the
truth.
6. Dont Use Inappropriate Jokes
The sixth one is, dont use inappropriate jokes.
How do you know the jokes inappropriate? Try it
on someone before you do it publicly and ask
them what they think of it. If youre married then
your spouse is the perfect person to do that with
because they will be brutally honest with you
they will not want to be embarrassed.
7. Dont be Corrective
The seventh one is, at this early stage of
development, dont try to be corrective. Try to
235
stay away from being corrective. Try to be

edifying, exhorting and encouraging. Dont get
into corrections even if you see things that are
injustices, things that need to be altered or things
that need to be moulded.
Just let that be
something that you work into later when God
grows you and develops you into that place.
8. Dont be Intimidated
The eighth one is, dont be intimidated. I know its
easy to say, Dont be intimidated! but its not an
easy thing to do. The only way I know is to be
secure in who you are, what you have and the fact
that it came from the Lord. You cannot be secure
in the fact that it came from the Lord if you didnt
get it in prayer. Thats the reason why we dont
preach someone elses sermonthats the
beginning of insecurity. If you start preaching
someone elses sermon youre not going to be
sure that it was really from God and that God
really wanted it to be preached at this time and
that its a now word. Please preach something
that the Lord puts on your heart, a conviction that
he gives to you. Dont be intimidated by the fact
that there are older people or people more skilled
or gifted that are listening. When you stop
worrying about your skill and get to the point
where youre more sensitive to what Gods doing
in the people that youre talking too, thats when
preaching and ministering can become fun. Be
sensitive to what God is doing in the people.
Maybe, all of a sudden, you strike the heart of the
people without planning it. Maybe it was just a
footnote but because it struck the heart of the
people you just stay there for a moment and you
236
just begin to talk and minister on that. Be

sensitive for when that begins to play out and
when you dont have anything else to say about it.
Practical Pointers
1. When in Doubt, Give Your Testimony
When in doubt, give your testimony. You have no
idea the value of what I have just told youit will
save you the embarrassment of your life. The
Bible says that they overcame by the blood of the
Lamb and the word of their testimony and they
loved not their lives unto death. You can never go
wrong if you share what God did for youits hard
for people to argue with you, although some
people might try. Its the best three-point sermon
you could ever do. If you could just tell your
testimony, develop it and work it, that could be
your little sermon in your pocket and if any time
you get asked to minister you may not have a
scripture or anything profound to say but you can
say, I used to do drugs, I was living for myself
and I did this and I did that and then one day I met
Jesus Christ here at this conference or through a
message of a person speakingor whatever
and it changed my life. Since that time I have
never had another drink of alcohol, Ive never
done a bit of drugs and Ive tried my best to live
my life to the glory of God.
Maybe your testimony is that you were raised in a
Christian home and never had to go through all
the things other people had to go through. Sure,
those temptations were there but the foundation
237
was laid. You did struggle at times in other areas

and then you made a decision for Jesus Christ on
your own. Now, that would minister fantastically to
this audience right here today. Any one of you
could come up and do that and you would be
powerful, you would be anointed and you would
touch the hearts at this meeting. When in doubt,
share your testimony!
2. The Cure for a Dry Mouth is to Drink
The cure for a dry mouth is to drink. When you
get up to speak, your body goes into a state of a
little bit of panic and all kinds of anatomical things
begin to happen. One of them is that your saliva
begins to dry up, your saliva glands begin to
contract: the normal lubrication within your month
isnt there. That can be compounded by things
you did before you got up like washing all the
saliva out of your mouth by drinking too much.
The only other reason you would have a dry
mouth is because youre dehydrated and you cant
re-hydrate your body orally to quickly produce
saliva again. So, my suggestions to you are:
Try not to drink something thats freezing cold
because it constricts your voice box, and that
tends to make it a little bit more difficult to
minister.
Try to drink something that has somewhat of a
sugar content to it because its that sugar that
stays in your mouth and coats everything and
allows your mouth to have lubrication.
Try not to drink something thats carbonated to
get that sugar because thats just going to
cause problems. Some guys use fruit juices,
238
and they may not realise why theyre doing it,

but it helps because theres sugar content in
them.
Try not to drink things that have acids in them
like citrus drinks as they may affect your
stomach.
You are going to have to find what your own thing
is thats going to work for you.
3. Listen to Your Spouses Criticism
Listen to your spouses criticism. This is probably
the best criticism you will get in your entire life,
dont dismiss it. I would say that my wife and her
criticisms of me over the years have been over
95% accurate. Your spouses criticisms are the
most honest, insightful criticisms you will ever get
from anybody. They may not say it right, it may
not be eloquent and they may not chose the
perfect words to pet your ego but there is a
measure of truth in what theyre saying, even if its
not being said correctly.
Conclusion
I hope this has been helpful to you because there
is so much to say on this. Spend time going over
the examples of how Jesus spoke publicly and
how other people in the Bible spoke publicly and
you will get a lot of insight from your study. We
could go on and talk about some of the different
contexts in which to minister or some more helps
in how to break down a passage. We could talk
for over an hour just on the tools to use to bring
those things aboutbut I believe God wants to do
239
something in our hearts to bring us to a place

where we can be called upon by God to stand up
at that moment and be able to minister at that
instant, in and out of season, sick or well,
prepared or unprepared, at the best of your ability,
and give something that encourages, that exhorts,
edifies and lifts up the body of Christ.
Right now in Jesus name, Lord, I pray that your

anointing, God, would go forth. Father, I pray that
you would touch the hearts of these people. I
pray, Father, that you would allow us to begin the
journey of becoming not just good, but great
communicators of your truth. I believe, Father,
that anyone who is a good communicator can
become great with the anointing and with the
power of God. Lord, I pray that we would become
like Stephen, who stood in front of the Sanhedrin,
and he had the face of an angel, God, and he
spoke things that were difficult and things that
were hard for them to hear and afterward he was
rejected and stoned. God, I pray that we be like
Peter, able to preach one sermon and get 3 000
people saved.
We pray, Father, that there would be that kind of

anointing on us as we go back into our nations
and back into our neighbourhoods, our cities, our
schools, colleges and work contexts. Even in the
coffee room, Father, that we would be able to find
a way to communicate truth. Lord, even in the
240
lunch room, that we could open up our Bible and

minister something profound to the hurting and to
those who need to hear the truth of God at that
point in their lives.
We pray, Father, that you would allow us to
realise that we dont need to be intimidated and
that we dont need to be afraid because we really,
truly can do all things through Christ who
strengthens us. We just give you our talents and
abilities as weak and as limited as they are or as
gifted as they are. We say to you, Lord, will you
take the sum total of those things and begin to
massage them together and work them out in
such a way that they become a powerful weapon
in our hand so that we might minister freedom and
liberty to those that are bound. We pray those
things now with all of our heart in Jesus name,
amen.

Preparing For Eldership

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Preparing for

PREPARING FOR ELDERSHIP

Preparing for Eldership

PREPARING FOR ELDERSHIP

PREPARING FOR ELDERSHIP

God Our Governor _________________________19

Pressures in Ministry ______________________22

The Duties of an Elder______________________24

Questions and Answers ____________________48

PREPARING FOR ELDERSHIP

8. Retirement Planning and Life Assurance _________ 57

2: The Tasks of an Elder _________________59

Questions and Answers About Lead Elders ____62

What Elders Do ___________________________67

Questions and Answers ____________________85

3: The Biblical Shepherd _________________90

The Good Shepherds Purposes _____________98

PREPARING FOR ELDERSHIP

5. Gather the Flock ___________________________

4: Gods Call to Leadership______________125

The Purpose of Apostolic Ministry___________127

The Nature of Apostolic Ministry ____________129

What It Means to be Prophetic ______________130

PREPARING FOR ELDERSHIP

6. We Live Radically Without Compromise_________ 139

Biblical Leadership Requires Authority_______141

The Nature of Authority____________________146

Your Personal Call and Gifting______________148

5: I Have a Dream ______________________157

God Has a Dream_________________________159

God Wants to Reveal His Dream ____________163

I Have a Dream of a People_________________171

PREPARING FOR ELDERSHIP

8. Who Care for the Imprisoned _______________

I Have a Dream of a Church ________________178

The Devil, Too, Has a Dream _______________189

6: Leading Prayer Meetings______________197

PREPARING FOR ELDERSHIP

1. The Apostolic Church was a Praying Church _____ 197

Reasons Why We Pray Together ____________198

How to Lead Prayer Meetings_______________202

Essential Ingredients in a Prayer Meeting_____212

7: Being Ready to Preach _______________216

Becoming a Public Speaker ________________219

Begin with the End Purpose in Mind _________222

PREPARING FOR ELDERSHIP

4. Use the Purpose of the Message as a Filter _____ 225

Do Your Homework _______________________226

Practical Pointers ________________________236

PREPARING FOR ELDERSHIP

PREPARING FOR ELDERSHIP

The reason I left you in Crete was that you might

PREPARING FOR ELDERSHIP

joy, not a burden, for that would be of no

PREPARING FOR ELDERSHIP

which he bought with his own blood. (Acts 20:1719, 25-28)

PREPARING FOR ELDERSHIP

Where has God called me to? When has he

PREPARING FOR ELDERSHIP

off my house and my car so that when the where

PREPARING FOR ELDERSHIP

4. You Must be Recognised by Others

PREPARING FOR ELDERSHIP