When I was teaching about the apostle I mentioned that an apostle is not a ecclesia planter. But he is one who comes with the blueprint, and demonstrate that blueprint while teaching other people to do the same work. These people become apostolic workers, their job is to go forth and plant ecclesia, nurture the ecclesia and make sure they are strong enough to survive this harsh world. That was what Paul was doing, he took Timothy and some other people with him as he goes about planting ecclesias. He did so in order to practically teach them how the work should be done. Practical teaching involves giving them tasks. So Paul gave them some task, he would send them to certain cities to do certain apostolic work.

The work of an apostolic worker is to set the structure and ensure that an ecclesia grows into maturity, fully functional and healthy. It is like gardening. You will not only plant, but you will also nurture, water, trim, and care for the plant till it is mature enough and start bearing fruit. An apostolic worker is not the overseer of the ecclesia, that is the work of the elders; "From Miletus he sent to Ephesus and called for the elders of the church. And when they had come to him, he said to them: “... the Holy Spirit has made you overseers [bishops]" (Acts 20:17,18,28). Timothy was not the bishop of Ephesus, you will not see that anywhere in Scripture.

Paul asked Timothy to remain in Ephesus and play the role of an apostolic worker, nurturing and caring for them till they come into maturity. An apostolic worker is not the overseer, he is just a minister. Ecclesias are independent entities, like plants. The work of a gardener is not to enter into the plant and start telling it where to grow branch and where not to grow branches. The plant is an independent entity, it has a life of it own, and it is governed by the life within it.

The work of a gardener is not to govern the plant but to watch it grow, give it water when it need it, trim it, do whatever is required so that the plant would grow by itself (independent of the gardener) into what it was meant to be. The gardener does not dominate the plant or control it like a puppet. We human are so possessive and such a control freak. But if you have ever been a farmer you will have been impressed by that feeling of helplessness, knowing that a lot of things are not under your control. An apostolic worker does not try to control the ecclesia. He is not their lord or overseer, he only comes in with his ministry and minister to them

The brother through which ministry the ecclesia in Lagos emerge, he is not our overseer. He has no say in any of our decisions. Although we respect him and we would invite his input in certain things, but the ecclesia always have the finial say. And when things are going bad in an ecclesia, it is wise to invite an expert that knows how to make an ecclesia healthy. It's like going to a doctor, you will do everything the doctor ask you to do because you want to get better, but that doesn't mean the doctor is your king. He is just carrying out a service and you submit to his service because you trust him and you want to get better soon.

The apostolic ministry of nurturing, caring or gardening a ecclesia is like that of a doctor service. Doctors are not our kings, we go to them when we need their service, but after that service we go our way, they have no control over our lives. We can even decide whether to follow their advice or not to follow them. Doctors are not lord over our lives. I have stayed too long on this I just hope you understand. As ecclesia continues to emerge in this generation we would need a lot of apostolic workers, who serve as ecclesia doctors—experts who know how to treat an ecclesia, make it healthy and glorious.

A lot of people have tried to do ecclesia and it broke down. We need to have experts who can be called upon whenever an ecclesia feels they are unhealthy, or they feel they need an upgrade. Ecclesia can be started by novice, and may need an expert to properly organize them together to grow healthy or become more glorious/victorious. Frank Viola and his friends offer such services in America, they call themselves "workers". They've planted several ecclesias and help others to be healthy, yet they are not G.Os (general overseers).

In fact, they have no jurisdiction in those ecclesia outside of the services of nurturing and organizing the structure. And this service can be rejected or embraced by the ecclesia, they cannot force themselves on anyone. Timothy ministry was to nurture the ecclesia in Ephesus. He was not the bishop, the elders were the bishop (the overseers), he was only an apostolic worker with a special ministry that can be likened to that of a gardener. Apart from Timothy Paul trained many other people who went and planted some other ecclesias. Epaphras trained under Paul in Ephesus and he went to plant the ecclesia in Colossae.

So Paul was sending people to different places to carry out certain tasks. They were co-ministers with Paul. And some of them, like Timothy, remain doing the work that Paul assigned them to do even after Paul's death. They were all ministers; apostolic workers and teachers. Bishop is not a ministry, it is a responsibility that a elder carries out as a member of an ecclesia.

A believer can be a teacher in Lagos, and be ministering in the several ecclesias in Lagos. Such a person would be going around Lagos, holding teaching programs in each of the ecclesia, teaching and training them. This was exactly what Apollo was doing, in fact that was how every minister do ministry. They visit each ecclesia, minister to them and go to the next. They were not governing them or overseeing them, that was the work of the elders in each ecclesia. Ministers are in transit in an ecclesia, they never settle in a particular ecclesia and take over it. It does not belong to them, it belongs to the Lord

There was an ecclesia I visited in Lagos, a teacher came to them to minister and they hosted him. We held a 3 days programme in that ecclesia and this teacher ministered. When ministry was done we returned back to normal ecclesia, and this teacher moved on with his ministry. That was how they did it in the 1st century. Timothy probably visited each ecclesia in Ephesus, ministered to them, reminding them of Paul's teaching, exhorting them to remain true to those teachings, and do some nurturing and structuring services before moving to the next. That was his ministry, and an ecclesia can decide to embrace that ministry or reject it. He is not the owner of any ecclesia, they are independent entities.

This post belongs to a series. To fully understand what is being discussed here, check out the rest of the series from my profile or visit:
https://exodus-ecclesia..com

Happy New month people

Hiswordxray:
Happy New month people

And happy Sunday

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