Good news!
Just yesterday my wife and I were able to buy our plane tickets to South Africa! Our purpose in going to South Africa will be to staff the School Of Apostolic Pioneering.
Now the school’s name is a bit of a mouthful, so, we usually shorten it to SOAP.
I’ve wanted to write something like this for a while now, but yesterday, while reading Psalm 127, it felt like God told me to write it out. So, I’ll attempt to do that; I want to share with you what it means to be apostolic and what it means to pioneer, also, I want to use this Psalm to help explain that.
I hope that this explains what my wife and I will be a part of in South Africa this summer!
Psalm 127
King James Version (KJV)
1 Except the Lord build the house, they labour in vain that build it: except the Lord keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain.
2 It is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows: for so he giveth his beloved sleep.
3 Lo, children are an heritage of the Lord: and the fruit of the womb is his reward.
4 As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man; so are children of the youth.
5 Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them: they shall not be ashamed, but they shall speak with the enemies in the gate.
What is an Apostle?
What does being Apostolic look like?
As far as I can tell, an apostle is simply someone who has been sent with a message and who has been given the authority to deliver that message. Being apostolic is living the life you have been given with that definition in mind.
How often do we choose to live our lives like this?
For some of us this can seem like a really easy thing to identify in others. I have a good number of friends who work in countries that are unreached. Are these people apostles? Yes, I think they are; they have been sent with gospel and Jesus gives them the authority to share that gospel with others. Do we all have to go to the unreached to be apostolic? No, I don’t think so.
Anyone who chooses to live their life in a way that carries the gospel of Jesus to people and places where His gospel is not chooses to live in an apostolic way.
What does this Psalm have to do with that?
The first two verses talk about this: God is the one who empowers us, don’t fret and worry about how things will go – God will take care of it.
When we try to do things without God’s strength in us we are being insecure and only want to prove ourselves. We aren’t willing to say that we are weak and He is strong. When we rely on God for our strength then we are able to be apostolic. Then, we can carry the gospel to people who do not yet have the gospel in their lives.
That is the first thing God has been sharing with me in this Psalm.
What is a Pioneer?
What does pioneering look like?
To be a pioneer is not that different from being an apostle; however, you can be a pioneer of anything.
When I was about fifteen years old I learned a lot about paintball and started a small paintball team with my brothers and cousins. Before we came together there wasn’t any paintball team, after we came together there was a paintball team where there wasn’t one.
That is how simple it can be to be a pioneer.
Now, being a pioneer of things that last is a whole other matter!
Living a life that is apostolic calls us to trust in God and reach out to those who do not know who God can be in their lives. This is going to result in people coming closer to God. Now what? Pioneering implies that we do something with this that is worthwhile and lasts.
What is to be pioneered?
Well, I think that depends on what God tells you to do, though, ultimately, the church is what is being pioneered.
I’m not speaking of a specific denomination or wing of theology, I am speaking of the church that makes up Jesus’ body – the one that He is the head of. Some people who have taken the SOAP school have taken this pioneering up in Phoenix, Arizona, others have taken it up in red light districts in Asia. Soon, we are looking forward to see people pioneering things in Africa.
The church, those who follow Jesus and are committed to Him, are commanded by Jesus to love others as we would have others love ourselves. Pioneering is about doing so in places and in ways that it has not been done before.
The last three verses this Psalm reminds me of this too.
We really only live for a short time and then we’re gone, however, our children go on after us. When we focus on being apostolic we will raise up spiritual children. When we pioneer, we are gathering our spiritual children together to do something great for God – to show off His love.
We can only do so much, but God has spiritual children for us that will out do us. We can trust God that He will be with them and do more with them than we could alone.
Apostolic Pioneering?
Yes, this school is all about Apostolic Pioneering
The message we have been given to give is the gospel of Jesus, He has given us the authority to share it with others. As people respond to this gospel we are pioneering the church in new places and with new ways to share God’s love.
It is very exciting to be a part of the first School Of Apostolic Pioneering in Africa. We have already seen this school be effective in Asia and North America too.
Together, when we live apostolic lives and pioneer things that last, we will see God raise up children who are not ashamed of Jesus and who will “speak with the enemies in the gate.”
Please be praying for this with us!
In Christ,
The Abiding Kingdom
The Abiding Kingdom 