The Heart-Beat of the Apostolic

 

Tomorrow I head off for the weekend for my second ever visit to Namibia. Just two months ago I spent just under a fortnight in the nation's capital with All Nations Church and my heart was so captured by this incredible local church and Her story of influence in the city that I find myself counting down the hours till I am back with them again.
Here is an attempt at explaining why we still prioritize travelling +-1500km's,spending four nights away from the city I love and even missing out on a Sunday at home base

 

 

Friendship before function

 

I am still a firm believer in the above well-worn-phrase. In a fast "developing" brand of inter church relationships, the word "apostolic" has seemingly become tied up with the word "mission" to such an extent that real heart to heart friendships that weather storms as well as sail in the wind are being given less and less value. Questions of whether we gather together primarily around similar theological viewpoints, common tasks and events or firstly around the reality of relationships have held much sway in these types of conversations.

 

My heart's conviction holds all three elements as valuable, but it is my natural bent,reading of the scriptures that conveyed Paul's heart, as well as seeing the present prevailing wind of self-interest and emperial thinking that leads me to push the relational aspect to the front of the queue.

This weekend I will definitely preach and declare the message of the King and His Kingdom (which is great theology and strongly missional focused if I can be cheeky enough to say so myself), but what is of real worth to me will be the dining room conversations, laughing with one another, the late nights engaging with new and even newer friends around our common denominators of Jesus, church and the life-changing Gospel, laughing with one another, sharing communion together...and did I mention laughing with one another?

 

 

I'm not going seeking a platform to preach

I'm not going to further a "movement"

I'm not going to see what opportunities there are for us in Namibia

 

 

The apostolic heart is a sefless one. One that says I will come even if it costs me.

Yes, I do go because I want to change the world.

Yes, I do go because out of friendship we will want to do more together.

But for the world to be turned upside down, we first need to be turned inside out.

Our motives and agendas need to be ongoingly re-examined.

It's not friendship for friendship sake...it's friendship for your friend's sake.

No greater love is there than this, that a man would lay His life down for his friends.

 

 

This is what we've been called to. This is the apostolic heart.

 

 

Jesus, sent from the Father, laid His life down for His friends

Other related posts:
http://gabephillips23.blogspot.com/2012/07/namibia-part-one.html
http://gabephillips23.blogspot.com/2012/07/the-nations-are-our-inheritance.html

Home sweet home

Back two days in chilly Cape Town after quite a substantial stretch in the somewhat warmer and drier climates of Namibia and Zimbabwe and I’ve already got my famous lists going. Here’s my top 5 reasons why I’m happy to be home.

1.       Clean clothes

18 nights away, 6 different places to sleep, a very full schedule and a small suitcase leads to the need to have my skinny jeans and limited amount of secret socks washed farely regularly...and when you’re constantly on the move in foreign homes, the smell of Omo is a very welcome sight!

2.       Ster Kinekor

With the majority of cinemas shutting down in Zimbabwe due to the skyrocketing prices and burgeoning  piracy market, just the knowledge that I can go watch the latest Hollywood fare with popcorn and coke in hand puts a smile on my face

3.       Photo’s on facebook

As with most events these days, everything is put on mainly so that you can tag yourself in all the facebook photo’s afterwards. I particularly like the picture above cause it reminds me that popular South African band The Arrows opened for my preach last Saturday night. Doesn’t happen too often!

4.       Life Changers

The oft quoted, “absence makes the heart grow fonder” was definitely not first penned knowing that it would ring ever so true in my heart! But everytime I’m away from home base I am reminded what an incredible privilege it is to be a part of this beautiful local church here in Tableview. A church rich in resources, wealthy in community and overflowing with raw love for her King, Life Changers are a people that are truly supernatural!

5.       Planning to go again

The nations are our inheritance. The nations are OUR inheritance. I want to go again and again and again...and I want  more and more people to come with me! So start saving now...and then you'll be able to start writing your own top 5 lists!

Southern African Adventures

Here's a quick fire update of where I am and what's happening:

Landed in Harare yesterday after an incredible nine days in the Namibian capital with the local church All Nations. Preaching, building relationships, outreach events and mass school assemblies were the main building blocks of the time there, and significant and lasting fruit has definitely begun to flourish from it.

And now for the next week I'm back in H town where it's non-stop action with The Base Church (worship training and a family camp) as well as speaking at Dare2Serve's 9941 The Event conference. This conference which kicks off for three consecutive nights from Thursday is hosted at the local entertainment hotspot 7Arts and is expecting teenagers and young adults from around the city to pour in. I'm landing the conference on the Saturday evening (coupling with morning sessions with our very own Japie Swanepoel) after one of South Africa's top bands, The Arrows, have finished up rocking their set. It's lining up to be an incredibly explosive time!

With all this and more on the go, please keep praying for Gospel advance and momentum building opportunities as we continue to remind ourselves that we are here to build a nation and not merely just bless it.


For further updates, follow me on twitter (https://twitter.com/GabePhillips23) or on facebook (http://www.facebook.com/gabe.phillips.102?ref=tn_tnmn)

Namibia Part One

I've been in Windhoek for just four days so far, but my penchant for making lists has already kicked in. Here's my top 4 things of interest up to this point:

1. The weather
-After 6 years in Durban's hot and sticky all year round humidity, and now three freezing cold and wet winters in Cape Town, the incredibly dry nature of Namibia has lead to a permanent blocked nose and a desperation for Nivea body lotion to keep my skin from becoming even more gaunt and wrinkled.

2. Volker and Esther Backhaus
-This couple have been married for 41 years and have lead All Nations Church here in Windhoek for +-35 years! Fresh out of bible college they took over the leadership of this local church and have since lead it from being very reserved, congregation lead and very fearful of the Holy Spirit to  where it now is a wild people who embrace the call to the nations, the Holy Spirit and an eldership lead body... and it is still pioneering new and fresh Gospel inspired initiatives. A model example of faithfulness and the oft quoted phrase, "there's no such thing as retirement in the Kingdom of God!"

3. Double morning meetings
-With the city closing down most evenings, this local church decided that growth would come with having two morning meetings instead of pursuing an evening congregation. For them this means having short and sharp services (an hour each which makes 30 minute sermons a must...yes, I did manage this. A modern day miracle!), mainly because they place a huge emphasis on the community aspect of being the church. Neither the sermon nor the worship are held as the high point of their reason for gathering on a Sunday, but each are given equal value linked with their connecting with each other after each service. Their conversations around coffee and hot chocolates were louder than the worship times!
Or is it all worship?

4. The high schools
-Have had the privilege of preaching the Gospel at two local high school assemblies the past two days. Both had the marks of being very prestigious institutions once upon a time, but now have been left largely uncared for and untended. But what the grounds lack in upkeep, the students certainly make up for in character and manners. Having to address 900 and 600 teenagers from another nation and culture is particularly daunting but the incredible amount of respect and attention I was given was almost supernatural (or maybe it was because it was the first time they'd been publicly spoken to by a red head?). But even better was their response! Many saved, and lives dramactically interrupted by the Gospel. This is what I live for!

Here for 5 more days and trusting for ever increasing fruit, deeper relationships...and to buy more moisturising cream!

Thanks for praying

The nations are our inheritance

We believe at Life Changers that when Jesus said "Go and make disciples of all nations" in Matthew.28:19 He ws not just making some metaphorical point, nor just an inspiring charge to those within earshot or in close proximity. We are firm and unwavering in our belief that God's original and ongoing intent is for the nations to be OUR inheritance.

With that being said, God is opening doors for us as a local body to partner more and more with God's great story of redemption here in Cape Town in winning our city as all of us embrace our call as modern missionaries, as well as in an ever increasing capacity translocally (just a fancy way of saying into other nations) through permanent relocations (Gavin and Ang Benjafield to Amsterdam; Ben Gerber to Bangalore) alongside various short-term trips.

Over the next fort-night or so, I will be heading into Windhoek in Namibia to an influential church called All Nations before taking a team into Harare in Zimbabwe where we will be with The Base church, and coupling it with a youth conference hosted by the non-profit organisation Dare2Serve. Although only a few of us are able to go in on this occasion, we are being sent in faith from our local community and base and therefore this is something we all partner in and all reap the rewards from.

The nations are our corporate inheritance!

How can you partner with us and begin to lay claim to what is rightfully your inheritance? Let me suggest three ways:

1.       Pray for us

-Pray for safety, opportunities and open hearts as we preach the Gospel, build and strengthen relationships and learn.

-send any prophetic words to gabe@lifechangers.org.za

2.       Join us on one of our next trips

-Get a passport, start saving, plan your leave around one of the trips, start reading up on the history and contexts of the countries we go to

3.       Sponsor someone else to go

 

       -Speak to an elder about the who and the how

We are a pilgrim people, and whether at home or in foreign lands, let's keep our hearts inextricably tied with the mission of the Gospel....to seek and save that which is lost!