Consumers, Producers & Distributors

Was the ecclesia (church) that Yahshua built - the one that the gates of hell could not prevail against, a body of consumers or producers?  I have noticed that Kingdom ministries exist in sharp contrast from institutionalized church organizations by the percentage of consumers and producers that populate their environment. Most "religious" [those who try to produce a spiritual outcome without the participation of the Holy Spirit] organizations are populated with consumers.  By definition a consumer is one who exists within a community by feeding on others within that community.  Now contrast that with a producer who by definition builds upon itself within the community with the goal of becoming a distributor - one who has more than necessary to function and is willing to share.

The perfect illustration of this is a family - as is the case in all Kingdom revelation.  A newborn child is not expected to produce anything within the community of family and is squarely in the consumer stage.  However, there is a hopeful expectation that given an opportunity to develop they will grow into a consumer/producer - teenager.  Now the responsibilities in this arena are not world changing but an incremental movement toward something greater.  Next comes an advanced stage of maturity that I will identify as a producer/producer.  This stage is characterized by who one is producing personally and at the same time willing to help others produce.  I believe the five-fold ministry of an ecclesia is a perfect example of this stage.  Parents would also serve in this capacity.  Finally, the ultimate expectation is a producer/distributor - one might refer to this person in an ecclesia as evangelistic.

It's interesting to note that Yahshua's three-and-a-half years of ministry with the disciples (consumers) who later were identified and sent as apostles (producers) were totally saturated in this process of maturity.  More on this later...

p.s.  Could the divorce rate of over 50% of marriages result from the fact that two consumers are being joined together or one strong consumer and a weaker producer?  Think about it!

Apostles speak at random

As a former school teacher and educator, it has been a source of bother to me to speak in such a sporadic manner as an apostle.  Many times, as I am speaking, my mind will wonder why I am all over the map in thought - "squirrel". The seemingly disconnected speech offended my sense of personal identity but would occasionally be understood in the light of revelation that I said something that was specific and pertinent to someone listening.  Many times I would receive responses from those astonished that, not only had I addressed an issue that they had discussed, but also I had used identical wording.  Certainly this could only be accomplished by the Holy Spirit. Finally, I delved deeper into a familiar scripture to me, 1 Thessalonians 2:4, that states...

But as we [apostles] have been approved by Yahweh to be entrusted with the good news of Christ, even so we speak [at random], not as pleasing men, but Yahweh [the only true GOD] who tests our hearts.

Yahshua also instructed the apostles to not predetermine what they would say when they stood before kings, for the Spirit would teach them and speak through them in that moment.

So the next time you're in the presence of an apostle and he is verbally "chasing a lot of rabbits",  just know that there are others around you that may be hearing specifically what Yahweh is saying to them.

Blogging...again

In all honesty, I do not have a very good track record in the blogging arena.  It's not that I don't like to write, but I'd rather communicate verbally and the time I would take to write is usually absorbed in the aforementioned.  My motivation for doing better is that I can talk to a number of people at one time rather than the obvious limitations of speaking to a few verbally.  My other obstacle to consistent blogging is my penchant for perfectionism in writing which causes me to abort most writings as unacceptable.  Again, I have determined that I will move past this prideful position and release the content - hopefully in a brief way.