I do not usually hype my writing but this is an important article for believers to read...

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And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.-- Ephesians 4:11-16 (ESV)

https://burton.tv/2013/04/13/the-coming-shift-in-the-church-away-from-senior-pastoral-leadership-the-coming-church/

These are the last days beloved. I firmly believe within a few generations, Jesus Christ will come back for His bride. Those truly saved will be few, as the scripture tells us. There will however be a huge apostate church, which we see being formed and growing before our eyes each and every day. This started over the past few decades fueled on by the perfect storm of the Purpose Driven Church, the seeker friendly schemes of church growth and the New Apostolic Reformation (NAR). The Purpose Driven Church was written in the mid-1990s by Rick Warren and is the blueprint for destroying the church as God intended it to be. It took the pastoral responsibility of the vertical growth of the sheep and exchanged it for the Godly responsibility of the horizontal growth of the church. It took the focus off of feeding the sheep and onto entertaining the goats. It created cult of personality pastors who needed to be vision casting CEOs instead of shepherds. It allowed for blessed subtraction, to remove anyone who objected.

The seeker friendly theories of church growth demanded that the church market itself to the lost; although now we call them unchurched. Think about the devastation just in that change. When you no longer focus on their salvation status and instead focus on the church status, you fundamentally change the desired outcome. Millions will be fully churched, for several decades and stand before Christ saying, "Lord Lord" only to find it is too late for He never knew them. If salvation is no longer a constant and we are trying to draw people who think the things of God are utter foolishness then the first thing that must be compromised is the Gospel. Why? Because the true Gospel divides. Jesus did not come to bring peace but rather -- a sword. Dividing father and children. Mother and Father. The call for repentance of sin to be saved was replaced with a sloppy agape love that deems anything biblical to be legalistic.

The New Apostolic Reformation was the final piece to the puzzle. Founded by heretic C. Peter Wagner in the late 1990's, the NAR claimed God was putting the band back together so to speak. That apostles were being reinstituted and lo and behold, it was Wagner and his friends! The NAR started as just a reorganization to plant a false authority paradigm within the church. Loosely based on mangled scripture, the NAR insisted that the apostles and prophets would lead the church, not the pastor. They set up fake apostolic networks to prop each other up. We started seeing a meteoric rise in false prophets who created false Prophetic Networks for the same purpose. International coalitions were formed to continue to give the appearance of officialness. As the NAR grew it also brought in a focus on false signs and lying wonders as a means to draw people away from the verity of scripture and onto their personal experience as the benchmark for godly truth.

As these three facets learned to support one another and metastasize together, they formed what I often refer to as the Purpose Driven or Seeker Friendly Industrial Complex. They have their own schools to teach their heresies as biblical truths. They have their own international music industry. They have their own itinerant circles for false prophets, apostles and preacher to roam the world spreading their false teachings while making a killing. They target youth so it can be a generational movement. The complex first and foremost job is to protect the brand at all costs. Secondly, it is to spread their power and revenue generation. For example, in 2008 a new fake evangelist showed up in Lakeland Florida named Todd Bentley. His schtick was absurd. He would punch and kick people in the face to impart healing, claiming the Holy Spirit told him to do so. Even the unsaved saw through this ridiculous façade. Not the complex though because Todd Bentley made money. He put butts in the seats and was packing 15,000 a night into tent meetings to watch this demonic activity. So the NAR climbed in their clown car and drove to Lakeland to anoint Todd a prophet. Seriously. They poured oil over his head and everything. I am not talking lightweights either. Major figures of the Complex went, like Bill Johnson and Che Ahn. C. Peter Wagner even went. Bentley would fall from grace within a month for sleeping with his nanny. The Complex needed to protect the brand and not lose his revenue generation so they assigned Bill Johnson and Rick Joyner to oversee a sham restoration that allowed Bentley to divorce his handicapped wife to marry the nanny he was having an affair with. This is just a microcosm of how the Complex works. I say this as a backdrop for exploring the next major plan the NAR appears to have in the works. They are coming for your pastor. Above is a link to a page regarding an upcoming book by NAR adherent John Burton. The title of the page is what caught my eye. "The coming shift in the church away from senior pastoral leadership: The Coming Church." This may run long, so go grab a snack and settle in.

"The church army became a nursery. We want to play all day and cry for our needs to be met. Grow up! ~Isaiah Saldivar

I'm currently writing my next book titled The Coming Church, and I am continually stricken by fear and trembling as I communicate what is about to hit. The coming fire will be consuming everything that is outside of God's design. The coming church will look so different than the church of today that we will find ourselves speechless. Everything man-made is going. Everything that God deems good but outdated is going. The coming church will be a defined by fire and it will repel the lukewarm and religious--as it draws in the hungry and desperate." -- John Burton

I have never heard of Isaiah Saldivar but a quick Google search reveals him to be another in a long line of NAR preachers demanding the church behave outside the boundaries of scripture. This is a recurring and foundational theme of NAR teaching. That the sheep should stop behaving like sheep. Stop whining to be fed and get to work! What is the work? Reaching the lost. The problems here are several. First of all the church is not supposed to be focused on the lost. Sorry but read your bibles! It is supposed to be to build the church up through the maturation of the saints. Why would the church be focused on the lost when they think the things of God are foolishness to them? We want them to come to church because they are supposed to hear the Gospel there and Romans teaches us that only the Gospel has the power of God unto the salvation of men. You see salvation is a supernatural act of God but the purpose driven church teaches that the vision casting CEO dude can convince people through his preaching and the recitation of a vapid and vacuous "sinner's prayer." The Purpose Driven Life actually presents this prayer in only eight words! The Great Commission is not the only instruction in the bible and it has nothing to do with church structure. Evangelism is important if you are presenting the uncompromised Gospel but it has nothing to do with church structure. Burton should be stricken with fear and trembling because what he is communicating is outright heresy. The notion that something in the church is "outdated" is absurd. God is no respecter of person, culture or time. The Gospel that saved the 4^th century serf is the same that saved the 17^th century farmer and 21^st century millennial. God does not change. By fire, Burton refers to the Charismaniacal version of the apostate church he promotes. By religious he means those who insist on the bible as the final arbiter of truth.

"I continually hear people eagerly declaring that they are done with church as usual. Their heart is for God to move in and explode in power. I count myself as one of those people. However, the shift necessary to see this happen will upset what has been setup, and that price may be too costly for most. Consider the radical differences between the United States Marines and a spa. Today, the church structurally has the makeup of a spa that is setup to draw people in via programs and promises of personal attention. The coming church will function like a military that is setup to draw people in compelled by the magnitude of the mission. They will not show up to be served by to serve. People join a spa to be nurtured and enjoy life with themselves in mind. People join the military to serve unto death with others in mind." -- John Burton

The reason why people are done with church as usual is that they can no longer tell the difference with the world. It is because of the purpose driven pastors who make the church about them. It is because without the Gospel, no one gets saved. Look at the anathema Burton states as motivation for going to church! He wants people compelled to come in due to the magnitude of some faux mission. God wants people to come in because they are broken and seriously want to repent. This is the false dichotomy that the NAR presents. If you go to church for yourself, then you are just selfish because its not about you. I am here to remind us that it is about you! Heaven rejoiced when you were saved and they did not forget you so quickly. I would venture to say that 80% of the church is not spiritually mature enough to be bringing the Gospel to anyone! I remember at the height of our small groups at my old church there were 50 such groups with about 10 spiritually competent leaders. Forty of the groups were led by people who had no business leading. I remember counseling one after the fact who said he was amazed that they asked him to lead considering he was having an affair on his wife at the time. He was "guilted" into leading when he should not have. His spiritual needs were not considered as important and as a result he fell out of the church. Lastly here, being broken and needing to be fed spiritual milk while we learn is not having a "spa" mentality and Burton should stop insulting God's sheep.

"False Expectations. After 22+ years of ministry my opinion is that one of the weakest links in the church today is false expectations--expectations perpetuated by leaders who want to fill the pews. Let me explain. In the local church context today, most want to connect in the place that will meet their expectations. There is a predetermined set of expectations that people enter the church with, and If those expectations aren't met, negativity creeps into the camp. So, today, people won't continue in a church if it doesn't offer what they want, and pastors can't imagine the thought of losing them, so they adjust course and focus on giving them what they expect." -- John Burton

What Burton cannot see is that the false expectations are the very unbiblical NAR, purpose driven systems he supports! He is so close to the truth! The expectations set out by pew filling pastors are all carnal. When you present a toothless gospel of compromise and no need to repent, then that is what you will need to keep the people you have drawn. Let's see where Burton takes this rambling thought.

"In the Western church, the pastoral office is the natural office to lead a church that's fueled by people's need for nurture. After all, it's presumed that pastors, by design, are the ones to meet the expectations of the people. They have the heart to do so. Therefore, pastoral leadership is widely embraced by those who are more inclined to receive than to give. Does that sound like American culture? Does a consumer mentality have its touch on most every area of our lives? Absolutely, and, it has nearly overtaken the church, and we as leaders have left that problem largely unresolved. What happens now is that pastors are overwhelmed with connecting with people, feeding them what they prefer and ensuring they are attended to--and that has compromised the strength and outward mission of the church." -- John Burton

In the Western Church? What is he talking about? The Timothy and Titus letters are called the pastoral letters for a reason! Paul was writing to his young and upcoming pastors and teaching them how to operate their churches! We can then hopscotch throughout church history and the same paradigm exists! Why? Because it is how the bible says the church is to organized. Burton is trying to pin thousands of years of biblical church organization on American laziness. Jesus is called the great Shepherd! Was He just selling a consumer mentality? The reason why He uses the shepherd analogy is because that is how the church was to be organized. He calls His followers sheep for a reason! There is no outward mission of the church! This is straight up NAR dominionism. Pastors are not overwhelmed from shepherding. They are overwhelmed trying to do God's job of horizontally growing their church!

"Now, of course, helping people is absolutely appropriate and necessary, and pastors are the ones best equipped by God to do that, but this ministry was never meant to be the primary function of the church! -- John Burton

What???? What bible are you reading??? Read Paul's letters where he outlines church service. Is there any mention of an outward mission? Of course the shepherding of the sheep is the primary function of the church! Read the key verses today. Why did God give the church all of these great gifts? To equip the saints! For what? The work of ministry! What is the work of ministry? Building up the body of Christ! Is this a short-term endeavor followed by some outward mission? No! It continues until the unity of the faith is achieved as well as the knowledge of the Son of God. So the sheep can mature and reach the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ so that we will no longer be tossed to and fro by false doctrine, human cunning, and the craftiness of deceitful schemes. This is how the body of Christ is grown and built up in love.

"Today, churches act much like hospitals. Their key function is to deal with the wounded. In reality, they should look more like MASH units! Soldiers who are wounded in the mission are quickly stitched up so they can get back to the war!

God is raising up people who want to get challenged, not fed. ~Isaiah Saldivar" -- John Burton

God is doing no such thing sir. If He were He would be violating His own word. Stop acting like being fed the word of God is a bad thing. Stop acting like saints desiring to move from milk to meat is a bad thing. It is far more challenging to work on our own lives and our own sin then to focus on the sins of others in your fake war. It is far more challenging to pick up our own cross and deny ourselves than to go into the mission field bleeding and armed with a pop gun. The church is neither a hospital or a MASH unit. Stop using carnal war analogies while you are at it. We are not Joel's end time army.

"Ephesians 4:11-12 (ESV) 11 And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, 12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ,

The nurturing, equipping process is important, but it is not the goal! Notice that the equipping is for a reason! To work! Additionally, we have every opportunity and responsibility to feed ourselves instead of relying fully on the church. Today there are countless teachings online, in books, on CD's and more. There is no excuse for any of us to rely on anybody else for our nourishment. We should not be showing up to the church empty waiting to be fed. We should arrive full and overflowing with the richness of the Word that we have fed ourselves with that week!" - John Burton

First of all, he left out the full context of this beautiful set of verses which I have already addressed. Secondly, he is right that equipping is not the goal; it is the means. The goal however is not some outward war. The work of ministry is the building up of the saints and even when fully built up it is not go out to some imaginary war but rather to attain unity in doctrine! That is the goal! Will some rise up to teach? Yes! will some raise up to pastor? Yes! will some rise up to do the apostolic work of missions and evangelism? Yes! But that is not everyone! Read the passage again! These people are the gifts God gives the church to mature it in doctrine. The bulk of the people are still sheep and they need a shepherd by definition.

"As an prophetic apostle, my focus is over the horizon. It's on just a few narrow topics. I need everybody on their face praying, and I'll do everything I can to teach them how. I want everybody going after regional revival, and I'll teach week after week on how they can do that. I prophetically have a pulse on the church and I'll constantly relay that information to the church so they can respond. But, they will have to take it upon themselves to learn most everything else. Of course, I'm not the only teacher in my context either. Others can and do impart knowledge and revelation, but it is still limited and it's still required that we devour the Word ourselves." -- John Burton

With all due respect, John Burton is not a prophetic apostle, if such a thing even exists. He fails the most basic test in that he clearly cannot properly handle the word of God. What he is however, is a pastor in churchianity for the past 22 years. He is a leader in the apostate church. He is purpose driven, seeker friendly, and NAR. He is part of the complex and as such, he thinks sheep should feed themselves. That is not however what God has said and as such he is disqualified from even being the thing he seems to loathe, a pastor.

"Today, pastor led churches nurture and feed as the goal so much of the time without casting the vision that they are about to call everybody to pick up their weaponry and move out to battle! The coming shift will result in less feeding and a higher bar of committed and focused response. The problem? Pastors are not the ones best gifted or called to lead this transition. The pastor led church is functionally compromised. Simply stated, the church is out of biblical order." -- John Burton

I would laugh out loud if this was not so profoundly sad because this is the coming strategy of the NAR. God has cast the vision John and it is called the bible. We do not need the under-shepherds to override the vision provided by the Great Shepherd. Realize beloved that this coming shift he speaks of may very well be coming to your church too because this is the strategy of the enemy. This is where the apostate church is heading and has been heading for two decades now. Less feeding of the sheep and higher level of outward commitment from people who are simply not prepared to do so. Notice he is laying the groundwork for a shift to the NAR false leadership paradigm by saying pastors are not called to lead this transition, no. It will be the false apostles that rose up 20 years ago through the NAR. The only reason why the pastoral led church is functionally compromised is because they no longer preach the Gospel. Realize this is not all churches either but it is the growing majority. I know local pastors who refuse to compromise. They may have only 200 sheep but those folks are headed for heaven so the shepherd will hear well done my good and faithful servant. Their church is not out of biblical order John -- you are.

Stay tuned for Part Two

Reverend Anthony Wade -- October 10, 2019

Authors Bio:
Credentialed Minister of the Gospel for the Assemblies of God. Owner and founder of 828 ministries. Vice President for Goodwill Industries. Always remember that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose.