Moving in the Apostolic

Pioneering: Back to the Basics

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Apostleship, therefore, is a necessary and indispensable part of the Church. It is not optional, but needed and required. The Lord is raising up a company of apostolic people and churches that will be a core group around which others will gather and function. When the apostolic becomes the principle anointing of the Church, it will set the tone for all that we do. It will cause the Church to be inclined toward fulfilling its commission. It will affect the personality, temperament and disposition of the Church. The Church will begin to have a certain flavor. This anointing will affect everything that we do, setting the tone for our prayer, worship, preaching, teaching and overall ministry. This was true in the book of Acts, and it is true today. "Sing to Him a new song" (Ps. 33:3). We are to serve God in newness of spirit (see Rom. 7:6). To do that we must constantly receive fresh oil. This keeps the Church refreshed, renewed and restored. When the Church does not have this dynamic, it becomes dry, dull and stagnant. The Church loses its freshness and ultimately its appeal. Newness causes the Church to be attractive. • "unshrunk [new] cloth on an old garment" (Matt. 9:16) • "new wine into old wineskins" (Mark 2:22) • "new things I declare" (Isa. 42:9) New moves are apostolic. Someone has to initiate these new moves that have been prophetically spoken. That someone is the pioneer. Pioneering Spirit We have all benefited from pioneers. The Wright brothers were pioneers in aviation. The world has benefited greatly because of their vision. Alexander Graham Bell was a pioneer, and now we have global communications. Henry Ford was a pioneer, and now we don't have to drive around with a horse and buggy. The same is true in the areas of science, medicine, technology, literature and government. America's founding fathers were pioneers. They fought a war, drew up a constitution and established the framework of the