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Where Are We Going? Rediscovering Today's Apostolic Church March 10, 2009 By Hiro Nishi As I held a feeble hand of the late Rev. W. E. Gamblin,
a Pentecostal pioneer and legend, my heart was overwhelmed by the
presence of God that filled this small area of the assisted-living
facility. I was amazed by the love that this Pentecostal legend
had for God, and anointing that he carried even when he was on his
death bed. Those were the hands that put up tents, built churches,
and preached camp meetings. I was there to love that legend,
but instead he touched my soul. Then, my mind visited some recent news that has
taken places in the midst of our Apostolic Pentecostal movement.
Some of them made me startled. Some of them got me concerned.
Some of them drove me to pray and fast more. Then, my mind
pondered, “Where are we going? Where is this movement heading
to? Furthermore, where should we go?” As a young minister,
my mind began to search the answer to this question. Where Are We Now? This great Apostolic Pentecostal movement has advanced
beyond building phase, and into growing phase. Perhaps, the
changes that took places in last few decades in our movement have
brought us to the place where many of our pioneers never dreamed.
I wondered how many men of God who stood in the Kiel Auditorium
in St. Louis during the merger conference of 1945 had ever foreseen
where we are, today. As I left Bro Gamblin's residence, and traveled
down the interstate toward my office, I repeated that question in
my mind, “Where are we going? Where should we go?” That was
the beginning of God revealing the rediscovering of the church. In last few years, Apostolic Pentecostal movement
has lost several great pioneers and the leaders who helped to shape
this movement to be where we are today. The deaths of these
great men, S. W. Chambers, N. A. Urshan, W. E. Gamblin, T. W. Burns,
Allan Oggs and many others, marked the passing of that generation
who built and developed this movement for us. Contributions
that these great men and many other ministers have invested are
priceless. Now, the torch has been passed on to our generation,
and we must realize where our churches should head. What Has Happened? In 60 years, we have seen tremendous growth in our
movement:
This is just a short list of great accomplishments
that we have made. There is no doubt that God has blessed
us tremendously and has used us in a mighty way. But, “Where
are we going? Where should we go?” The Direction Surprisingly, the answer to my question came as
I finished listening to the audio book, Rediscovering Church.
The book is co-authored by Dr. Bill Hybels who serves as the senior
pastor of Willow Creek Community Church, and his wife Lynne.
In this book, Dr. and Mrs. Hybels claim that they were driven to
start Willow Creek by their passion to build Christ-centered church
that God intended for the church to be. According to them, that model of the Christ-centered
church is described in Acts 2. What a refreshing thought.
Indeed, they have discovered the genuine form of a church in Acts
2. They may have not had experiences like we do, and may not
match with our understanding. Yet, they were filled with the
desire to build a church of Acts 2. As a result, the Willow
Creek has become the icon of mega church in North America.
Annually, the Willow Creek hosts the church leaders conference,
called A2 standing for Acts 2. They are fully convinced that
the church ought to be patterned after Acts 2 This same concept has been applied by Rick Warren's
Saddleback Church, another fast-growing megachurch. Rick Warren
claims that the church must fulfill five purposes of the church
based on Acts 2. These five purposes became the basic concepts
of the popular church growth book, the Purpose Driven Church.
Today, a great amount of churches in North America follow Rick Warren's
concept of Purpose Driven church. Moreover, Dr. Thom Rainer agrees with Rick Warren's
concept after years of research and study as the former dean of
School of Missions, Evangelism and Church Growth at Southern
Baptist Theological Seminary, and the founder of the Church
Central. Rainer and the team have further researched and modified
Warren's five purposes and added a new one, prayer. From the
viewpoint of the leading church growth expert and after years of
research, Rainer is convinced that Acts 2 is indeed the true picture
of what churches ought to be. Purposes of the church outlined in Acts 2 Rainer's six purposes of the church outlined in Acts 2 are following:
It is outlined in the Word of God as: “ And they continued stedfastly in the apostles'
doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.
And fear came upon every soul: and many wonders and signs were done
by the apostles. And all that believed were together, and had
all things common; And sold their possessions and goods, and parted
them to all men, as every man had need. And they, continuing daily
with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to
house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart,
Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord
added to the church daily such as should be saved” (Acts 2:42-47). Indeed, Christ's vision for the church was programmed
into the first church described in Acts 2. It is time for
Apostolic Pentecostal churches to revisit the unchanging truth.
It is time for Apostolic Pentecostal churches to return to the Acts
2 church. The future of the Apostolic Pentecostal movement
should reflect the past where we have come from. When the group of believers becomes the church After the infilling of the Holy Ghost in Acts 2,
Jesus through the ministry of Peter led the believers into the beloved
truth of Acts 2:38 and the fundamental key to the New Birth.
Then, we must realize that Jesus also led the believers to become
the church in Acts 2. Through Acts 2:42-47, they stepped up
from a gathering to become the church. It is essential
for us to continue to love Acts 2:38, but we must never forget that
the plan of God's church is to take the next verses in our hearts
and to take the next step to truly become the church. It is
time for us to seek to become the church, and not gather a crowd. Where should the Apostolic Pentecostal Church go?
Since that moment in Bro Gamblin's room, he has gone to be with
the Lord. After a few years of searching and praying, I conclude
that we are to go back to our foundation, the Acts 2 church, the
genuine church that God has called us to be. Now I wonder,
“Where are you going?” Works Cited Hybels, Lynne, and Bill Hybels. Rediscovering Church. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1995. Warren, Rick. The Purpose Drive Church.
Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1995. “I've Heard of Church Growth...So, What is Church
Health?” Church Health Survey. Church Central. 10 May 2008;
http://www.churchcentral.com/ © 2009, Hiro Nishi ------- Hiro Nishi serves as the Associate Minister at New Life Tabernacle in Beaumont, Texas under Pastor Treadway. He also serves as the Texas Young Adult ministry director and hosts FUEL and writes "navigate" series. The only reason his article is published at ninetyandnine.com is because he is a good friend of Kent Curry |
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