Wow. They are sheep John. Sheep. They are not your infantry. Sheep do not know how to feed themselves. They need a shepherd, not a drill sergeant who knows less about the bible than they do. I am not even advocating for more programs or side ministries. That is not the issue. The issue is your insistence that the church you have helped ruin is now going to saved by you. Just pass me the power, salary and influence. Right John.
"The Culture
The shift: Most services will look more like prayer meetings than anything else. Everybody will spend the bulk of the service ministering to God in intercession and community will surround that emphasis.
The difficulty: The desire to be entertained and overfed will no longer be met. Mostly receiving will change to mostly giving. Rapid maturity will be required as apostolic leaders move ahead aggressively in a rapidly and ever changing culture of ministry to the nations. Those resistant to growth or to change won't easily find a place to connect. Additionally, relational community will occur only around the mission. The prayer meeting will be the gathering point for friendships to develop. People looking for these types of connections will be disappointed if they aren't willing to jump in the bunker in a risky mission with their fellow soldiers. Gladly, the pastors will be in the bunkers with them." -- John Burton
If a church service looks like a prayer meeting then we can assume there will be no dividing of the word of truth. That is so unbiblical I am amazed he is trying to advocate for it. Intercession is not ministering to God. Get over yourself John. Overfed? Is that what you think has been happening in church today John? Do you even read the bible? As the key verses from Part One pointed out maturity is only gained through unity of doctrine. DOCTRINE John. Apostolic leaders can move as rapidly as they like, maturity cannot be sped up. It is different for everyone and contingent upon a myriad of factors. What is the point of reaching the nations or anyone if you have stripped out the only weapon that matters? The Gospel. Do you remember that because I have not heard it referenced one time in your grand scheme.
"The Lost
The shift: Seeker churches will quickly fade away as the fire of the Holy Spirit rages in the houses of prayer. The lost won't be relationally converted as much as they will be converted by fire. We will trust God's wisdom as in Acts 2 and allow the fire of God impact a region. The prayer room will become the place of choice to bring the lost.
The difficulty: Everybody will have to drop most everything and tend to the fire in the house of prayer. To ensure the atmosphere is supernaturally charged, everybody in the church will be spending hours a day in the prayer room together. False salvations will drop to near zero as they won't be based on a simple prayer but rather on an encounter with the God of fire." -- John Burton
