God is doing a new thing do you not perceive it? (Is. 43, 19). It's happening now! We are on the edge of a Second Reformation. God is calling us to return to our essential apostolic life; He is breaking down the walls that divide his Church; centralized institutions are giving way to relational networking. Networking of relationships is more important than hierarchical structures. A younger generation is not committed to the institutional church but clearly looks for certitudes of faith, or some sort of meaningful spirituality. Amid the confusion that's evident in mainline churches a massive spiritual vacuum has been created. Unfortunately, this has paved the way for the emergence of natural, New Age religions that capture the hunger of a spiritually-minded generation. But, amid the confusion of a stressed and confused generation, there is an Emerging Church that refuses to change the message. However, it is very eager to change the method. Jesus Christ is Lord of all to the glory of God the Father. But how is that declared in a prophetic community desiring to live in the integrity of a prophetic life?

In orthodox churches, we have lived for at least 1700 years with forms of ministry that may, or may not, have been effective. Now we have to ask, "is there a better way to proclaim and demonstrate the Gospel of Jesus Christ"? "Is there a better way to recover our essential apostolic focus?" There has never been a golden age for the Church, but there are apostolic principles that need to be recovered in a church that has become increasingly institutionally minded, maintenance centered, and whose structures are wide open to the abuse of power.

Institutional life will always be with us, but what kind of institution best gives integrity to apostolic life? We are not in the business of survival, but of resurrection in the power of the risen Christ. What apostolic principles do we learn from the Primitive Church that enables us to live as Easter people? Its primary focus was apostolic:    from the Great commission in Mt. 28, 19-20 (and other places) we see the essential "otherness" of the Gospel. Try this apostolic test relating to your congregation, What percentage of the time, energy, money and resources is spent for the benefit of the congregation in comparison with that spent on needs and mission beyond the congregation? An apostolic community chooses leadership that is consistent with certain biblical principles: 1.  Ability and willingness to defend the faith once delivered to the saints (Jude 3).

2.  Ability to demonstrate the power of the Word in signs and wonders of the Spirit (1 Co. 2, 4-5; 2 Co 12, 12). In other words, it requires both Word and Spirit to reach out to the lost, the broken, the hurting and the abused. 3.  A proven ability to raise up and encourage new communities of the faith (more than an ability to maintain and administer existing systems). Its primary method was diverse:    Clearly, we cannot find one methodology in the ordering of the life of the Primitive Church. It would require a much larger paper to demonstrate this. But it is easy to see that the Church of Jerusalem did not operate in the same way as the Church of Antioch, the Church in Philippi or the Church in Ephesus (see Ac.13, 1-3; Ac. 15; Ph. 1, 1; Ep. 4, 11-13). Its primary nature was relational: A hierarchical system eventually emerged in the Early Church. For political and theological reasons we may well understand why. In fact, it was the diverse sense of thinking that actually allowed this to happen. The real question is, "for how long should

this have been allowed?" The Head of the Church would not allow for status of position within His community (Ph. 2, 5-8). Jesus washed the feet of his disciples (Jn. 13) and he reversed the pride of position that is found in the kingdoms of the world (Mk. 10, 41-45). RECOVERING APOSTOLIC PRINCIPLES After thirty years of parochial ministry, and through the auspices of The Timothy Institute of Ministry, I have attempted to tackle the recovery of these important areas. Often, I go to churches that easily produce a statement of vision. However, when I ask basic questions such as, "How do you go about achieving this vision?" or "How do you go about the business of actually making disciples?" I am often left with vague replies. Over the years I have seen a basic principle at work; if we don't take hold of the ministry then it takes hold of us. Most leaders are very busy, but doing what? Is our worth in business? How does the average congregation take hold of ministry? Is it apostolically proactive, or is it simply engaged in keeping its head above

water? People have the right to ask a congregation what they are doing and how they go about it. When conducting conferences in churches, I often introduce them to a process (it's not the only one) but it helps them to know where they are going and how. It's a simple acrostic: - METRE: M = MOTIVATION - How are people brought to: a personal relationship with Jesus Christ; the anointing power of the Spirit; the need of be committed in the Body of Christ? We have a very powerful 7 session video series (a perfect supplement to Alpha). It has helped hundreds and hundreds of people to come to new life in these ways. It's called Growing in Christ (now revised). E = EDUCATION - Peter tells us to have a defense for the faith within us (1 Pe. 3, 15). The workbook, Basics of Christian Growth, may be used in the home group setting or in a teaching context. In reality, the most effective basic teaching is done in

the context of an effective home group where Christian teaching can be connected to real life experience and concerns. T = TRAINING - The home group-based church (not a church with home groups) is demonstrably a very effective way to enable people to do personal ministry in a non-threatening context. The vision and goals of the congregation are best served from; the home group base and more extensive training may be done in a formal setting on alternate weeks. The home group prepares people for ministry in the larger context. The workbook, Forming and Leading Home Groups, is a weekend seminar designed to get a church started in forming home groups - in the best way!

R = RELEASING - When the most significant ministry (internally) takes place in the home group, then people are allowed to take risks and be released to develop particular areas of ministry. The primary purpose of the home group is evangelism. I have seen uneducated street kids and ex-cons lead people to Christ many, many times. They wouldn't have shown up at church to learn how! E = EVALUATION - Every congregation needs to evaluate where it is going - probably every two years. The workbook, Leading the Leaders, is obviously to be used by a leader to encourage other leaders, but it is

also useful to help a congregation look at where it is going, and what it needs to get there. THE MOST PRESSING NEED for orthodox churches today is to recover their apostolic focus, methodology and nature. In some small way, the Timothy Institute of Ministry is helping in this recovery. For further information on how to reach us please read our web page: members.shaw.ca/tiministry Sincerely in the love of Christ, Charles Alexander founding chair of ARM currently Teaching Director of The Timothy Institute of Ministry, and conductor of Conferences - Canada & abroad.