Teaching

The subject of unity has always been a major challenge for the church. The restoration of the anointing and the office of the apostle and the prophet to the Body of Christ brings yet another dimension to the debate. We know something about unity among pastors. But what about unity among apostles? How will the rise of apostles and apostolic networks impact the Church and her task of evangelizing the world?

First things first

When approaching the issue of unity, we need to make one thing clear first – we need a fresh revelation on this subject, just as we need a fresh revelation in many other areas. Then we need working examples of God’s kind of unity (let’s call it Kingdom unity). The reason being for this is because there’s so much carnal (intellectual, religious) understanding of unity out of which the religious systems in the past have operated.

Also, I will approach this issue from a reformer’s standpoint. I believe Reformation is high on God’s agenda for the church today. If we don’t succeed in reshaping and reforming the Church in this decade, we won’t see the church rise to the place God has ordained for her in the next one. I strongly believe we will be able to make the transition, but shouldn’t take anything for granted. We’re living in the Second Apostolic Age and we better get our act together before the time comes when the unusual will become usual when it comes to God manifesting His power on the earth. This time is coming and is already here.

But seek ye first his kingdom, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. Mat. 6:33

It’s only when we put first things first, that we begin to relate to God’s reality. Jesus said that we are to seek the Kingdom of God first and everything else will be added to us. So before we talk about unity, we need to settle one thing: not everyone in the church is a “Kingdom first” kind of a believer. Not all ministers are leaders and not all leaders are seeking God’s Kingdom first. Some religiously say they do, but their works speak differently.

I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. Rev. 3:15

As a reformer, I’m not interested in having lukewarm, religious, compromising people define unity for me. The Father is a lot more interested in raising up reformers who will pay the price to carry his authority on the earth and expand the Kingdom of God, rather then us running after some illusionary unity with people who are actually lukewarm and indifferent to the Kingdom of God.

But who will define unity?

Reformers, like the prophet Jeremiah of old, are called to root out and destroy only so they can plant and build the Kingdom of God. Our ultimate goal is transformation in the church and society. We wage wars only to achieve peace. We tear down so we can build something better. We must expose false unity only so we can achieve a true one.

That’s why I believe reformers themselves have to define Kingdom unity.

You can’t be a reformer if you’re not part of the Body of Christ. Reformation is intended for the Church. If I say I’m a reformer, but I’m not part of the church, I’m nothing more than a critical person. True reformers care about the church and are here to serve the purposes of God for the Church.

Jesus died for the Church (Eph. 5:25).

I know it can get confusing. On one hand we have religious compromising leaders who are indifferent to God’s purposes and are mostly concerned with their own convenience and survival. Jesus rebuked the religious people of his days with very harsh words (see Mat. 23) This reveals how the Father feels about religion. I believe God hates the spirit of religion and we have to hate it too. Yet in the same time when Jesus died on the cross, He also died for the religious people who crucified Him. God’s love is amazing and hard to fathom and this is precisely why people have hard time with hearing that God hates religion but loves religious people. However, this is not much different from what the Church has been saying for a long time about sin – God hates sin, but loves the sinner.

To many, love means no confrontation at all. But this is not a Biblical concept of love. But both truth and grace are found in Jesus Christ. (John 1:17) Neither one (love or truth) should come at the expense of the other.

So reformers are the ones who must not only expose false unity, but also in the same time define true, Kingdom based, God pleasing kind of unity. Is this possible? I believe yes!

Confrontation is inevitable

Some feel like reformation can come to the church without confrontation with religion and the order of man. Well, history teaches differently. The truth is that reformation actually comes on the wings of confrontation. It’s inevitable. History teaches us that most reformers had one thing in common – they were radical, ready to live or die for the cause. Persecuted and mocked by the religious establishment of their day, they ploughed their way against all opposition, strengthened by the grace of Jesus Christ, the Great Reformer.

Remember the movie Braveheart? The tension between the compromising religious establishment and a true reformer and a leader depicted in the movie, very much represents the state of the church at the dawn of the 21st century. Religious people not only don’t see the value of divine confrontation, they also lack the character and the internal strength to carry it out. Most of them are cowards who despise those who are willing confront wickedness in order to set free and transform.

The religious systems of this world have always misunderstood the words of Jesus in Matt. 10:34

Think not that I came to send peace on the earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword.

It’s a sad thing, because Jesus wasn’t speaking about a physical sword, yet we know that historically the Church is guilty of using violence in the Name of Christ. But Scripture has never endorsed physical violence as a means of achieving God’s will. God’s judgment, when involving such harsh measures as striking someone dead, can be compared with the execution of a court sentence coming from the throne room of Heaven, rather then a random act of violence.

So in order for us to understand the mind of Christ when it comes to divine confrontation, we need a fresh revelation. We must understand that the sword Jesus was speaking about was the sword of truth as revealed in His word, not a physical weapon.

For I came to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law: and a man’s foes shall be they of his own household. (Mat. 10:35-36)

Even today, when the truth of God comes into a family and someone becomes radically saved, it exposes the deception ad the darkness people have been living in and divine confrontation begins. This is inevitable. For the last 15 years of ministry I’ve seen this to be the rule rather then the exception, when it comes to someone who becomes radically saved in a family that hasn’t been serving God.

Later on people can change and receive Christ, but at first divine confrontation is inevitable.

In the same manner, when reformers come on the scene, a divine confrontation is inevitable. Quiet, diplomatic reformation is simply unheard of. The reason: the spirit of religion will not give up so easily his positions. I don’t believe we have to seek confrontation, but if truly are in the business of establishing the Kingdom of God in the earth, confrontation will come, even though unwanted.

When we think about harvest fields such as Europe and Latin America, where Catholicism or Greek Orthodoxy have long dominated the spiritual landscape of whole nations, it’s foolish to think that a national scale move of God can come to these nations without divine confrontation. The sooner we accept this truth, the better.

Instead of wasting time trying to explain away the need for confrontation, we must rather seek the wisdom of how to manage and steer the season of divine confrontation when the time comes for it.

Religious people, who don’t understand the Kingdom of God, see no value in confrontation. But those who are close to the heart and the mind of Christ know that confrontation is a must if we are to see the glory of God in the earth.

Divine confrontation is part of reformation and it will come in different shapes and forms. It will have its champions in theology, business, politics, and education. The time is coming when reformation will sweep whole societies as a wave and no one will be able to stop it because this wave is coming from Heaven. The best thing you and I can do is to understand this wave, allow it to shift us in the right direction and become part of this prevailing force in the earth.

Unity in the name of unity

Neither for these only do I pray, but for them also that believe on me through their word; that they may all be one; even as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be in us: that the world may believe that thou didst send me (John 17:20-21)

Unfortunately the spirit of religion has long used Jesus’ prayer in John 17:20-21 as a theme for establishing a religious kind of unity in the church. However, Jesus didn’t pray for us to have unity in the name of unity. The Kingdom type of unity Jesus prayed for was geared toward the harvest.

When we as leaders die to our own agendas and self-promotion, we become consumed with God’s heart and vision for the harvest. Then we realize that no matter how anointed and successful one ministry is, the expansion of the Kingdom of God is a task given to the whole Body of Christ, not just to a single church or movement.

This is where many leaders miss it and they begin to seek unity in the name of unity. This is how pastoral circles of unity are often formed in a city or a national level. And this is why they don’t last very long and they bear little to no fruit.

Back in 1997 I still was pastoring our church in Sofia, Bulgaria. I felt the Lord speaking to me about getting in touch with other pastors in the city and meeting once a month to pray and fellowship. I wanted to get to know these men and be part of their battles and also to open up as a leader to them. Up until that point there have been different attempts for such meeting but with little success. Some of the pastors knew each other better then others.

Then four of us began to meet once a month to eat together, fellowship and pray for our city and our nation. The beginning was great. We prayed, the presence of God would come, we would be repenting of all kinds of stuff, weep and find true blessing in restoring the broken links between us. Out of this renewal of unity, I began to invite some of these pastors to come and minister in our church. As one of the bigger churches in town I felt this would be a good example of unity for our congregation and I felt it would add to the vision we have for the city. One of the churches also had me minister in one of their Sunday morning services.

Then other pastors started to come and join the fellowship. The group grew from four to fourteen pastors as I recall it. Our desire was to invite not all pastors in the city, but mainly those who believe in prayer so we can pray together.

Unfortunately, even though God’s presence would come in these meetings, in the long run this didn’t improve greatly the level of trust and the relationship between most of the leaders present. The culmination of these pastoral unity prayer breakfasts was in the year 2001, when all 13 churches rented an auditorium in the city and prayed for the coming parliamentary election.

The decisive point for me was the citywide prayer. When I saw the leaders and the people of 13 churches in Sofia who had come together to pray for the elections, I was overwhelmed. I thought this was great. I mean, here we are, after 4 years of getting together as pastors to pray almost every month and now for the first time ever we can do this together as one Body. I thought this would surely impress God and now may be a new revival will break forth.

The interesting thing was that the week before that our church had hosted a national apostolic-prophetic conference in the same building. The messages, the worship and the overall anointing at this conference had been awesome.

All of sudden here we were 13 churches and their leaders gathered in this same place, praying for our nation. I was filled with expectation of what God was going to do. I was expecting 13 times more power, presence, and revelation. Every one of the pastors was given the chance to share little bit and them lead the people in prayer.

When the meeting was over, I was very disappointed. I was pleased with the fact that we were able to bring all 13 churches to pray together. But I was dissapointed about the quality of the fellowship and the prayer. Others may have their opinion about that meeting, but to me it was spiritually weak and people were struggling to pray. I thought: “I can’t believe this! Last week at our conference (organized by one church) there was so much power, presence of God and anointing in this same place. Now, when all these churches are together, it’s dead and it’s so religious. How can this be?”

Shortly after this prayer meeting the monthly prayer breakfast pastoral meetings dissolved and are not running any longer. Pastors are back to everyone doing their own thing, full of prejudice and suspicion toward each other or creating small groups trying to maintain fellowship with one another.

There is no unity among leaders or churches in Sofia at this point.

I don’t regret having been part of this unity in the name of unity kind of experience. For one thing, I know what this feels like now and I will never be part of something like this again. Unity in the name of unity is simply a waste of time and it doesn’t achieve anything for the Kingdom of God.

This kind of unity is definitely not an answer to Jesus’ prayer in John 17. Jesus prayed for unity in the name of the harvest.

Unity in the name of the harvest

Let’s read again what Jesus really prayed for in John 17:20-21:

Neither for these only do I pray, but for them also that believe on me through their word; that they may all be one; even as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be in us: that the world may believe that thou didst send me

Jesus actually defined the unity he was praying for. It's unity for the sake of the harvest. The unity that pleases the Lord is a unity, which reflects the reality of God. Jesus prayed for unity in the church, which will resemble the relationship between the Father and the Son. If we’re building unity in which our relationship with the Son, the Father and the Spirit is restricted, dishonored or belittled, you can be sure this is a religious kind of unity.

In fact Jesus said His kind of unity, if established among us, would impact the lost. Whether it’s the supernatural, Spirit anointed unity between “Kingdom first” kind of believers in a local church or a group of churches, it will impact this world. The people of this world will see not only the unity among us, but also our unity with the Head of the Church, the risen Christ. Ecumenical unity for example can never achieve such goal, because it’s a unity in the name of unity.

Jesus wants to see his apostles come together in unity for the sake of the harvest. When apostles and apostolic people come together in unity, seeking to establish the Kingdom of God and reach the harvest of it’s generation, it’s a powerful thing.

An example of this is the upper room unity, out of which the Church was birth.

And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. Acts 2:1-3

The Church has yet to discover the power of true apostolic unity. Why is the unity level among leadership so weak and inefficient many times? Because it’s unity based on compromise and fear of man, rather then faith and expectation from Heaven.

Powerful things will begin to happen in the church when apostles begin to come together. Strategies for the evangelization of the world will be released. The supernatural will be released. Great Kingdom authority will be released.

Unity among leaders who are seeking first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness is a powerful thing.

Some say apostles in the church are not a new thing, others haven’t even heard of it yet. Whatever the case, the Church worldwide is being transformed into an apostolic church. If the restoration of the tongues – the smallest of the gifts of the Spirit, transformed the Church of the 20th century in such a powerful way, what will the restoration of the ‘’greatest’’ of the gifts, the gift of the apostle will do for the Church of the 21st century? Testimonies of astonishing proportions are pouring in from different continents, showing a rising number of true apostles in the nations of the world. The Church is being reformed and transformed in front of our very eyes.

Will these new breed leaders be able to come together and begin to talk and seek the face of God together in the spirit of humility and unity?

Dr. Peter Wagner and the International Coalition of Apostles have been working hard in this direction. In America, Europe and Africa, the ICA has brought together for summits leaders who would otherwise never come together. The father mantle upon Dr. Wagner has played a key role in this development. What a joy it is to receive the reports of how successful these apostolic summits have been.

Another example is Dr. Naomi Dowdy from Global Leadership Network in Singapore. She has been working for years to bring apostles and prophets from South East Asia for an annual round table meeting, to seek the mind of Christ for this apostolic reformation.

I’m sure there are other examples I’m not even aware of.

Having been part of summits like this for the last three years and myself trying to bring together some of the European apostles, I have noticed one thing: it’s not easy to bring leaders together. The reason being: your greatest strength can become your greatest weakness! Apostles and prophets walk in different degrees of authority and enjoy different degree of success. The truth is that some become so focused on fulfilling the mandate given them by God, that they fail to see the value of periodically coming out of their sphere of influence and interacting with other like-minded leaders, who are also strong.

Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend. (Proverbs 27:17)

It shouldn’t be so difficult for apostles to come together in true unity and allow their strengths to sharpen each other. However practice shows it also may be not the easiest task. We’re still so independent and not knowing how to handle our diversity. Immaturity in the area of unity is still the case with many leaders, even though they boast great anointing, miracles, and excellent track record of achievements for the Kingdom.

Notice that when the Holy Spirit came, even though the apostles were there as a group, the tongues of fire came upon each one individually.

I love the Lord and the way He does things. Even though Jesus prayed for us to be one, He never instituted some kind of a group plan for spirituality. When we come together in unity, the Spirit is able to baptize us all in the same Heaven-sent fire, yet approach each and everyone individually. The tongues of fire that will come upon the head of my brother may be just a little different looking and sounding than the tongue of fire that will come upon me. Start a bonfire in your backyard and watch how the flames differ in color and strength, yet they are accomplishing the same task. We must grow up and accept the fact that the grace of God is manifold and it will manifest in different ways through us.

I’m kind of tired of seeing and hearing how anointed leaders adopt this slightly arrogant attitude, believing that if you are to be anointed, you must sound and be just like them. And I’m not talking about religious people. I’m talking about anointed apostles and prophets. Isn’t it time for us to accept and respect each other and what the Father has planted and cultivated with great care in each and every one of us?

True unity will release territorial strategies and operations

When God’s chosen leaders in a city, region, or a nation come together, we can expect a release of territorial strategies and operations. True unity will qualify the church to become a ruling force in the earth. The Lord is not interested in entrusting all of His wisdom, strategies, and resources in the hands of one apostle, whether a city, region, or a nation is concerned.

In fact, let me say this prophetically – there are some things God will never be able to show us and tell us until we as leaders come together. No matter how faithful you are in your primary apostolic responsibilities, the Lord has kept some of His best to give to His leaders only when they come together to seek His face and His Kingdom first.

The greatness of Joseph was not in the fact he could see and hear from God. It was in him submitting all his gifting, achievements and influence for the sake of fulfilling his mission to preserve his brothers and future nation of Israel. He could have enjoyed great life, benefiting from his divine gifting, which brought him position and fame. Howewer, Joseph saw beyond himself. He believed he was sent in Egypt not for himself, but for his brothers.

He sent a man before them, even Joseph, who was sold for a servant Ps. 105:17

We must see beyond our networks and immediate assignments from God. These are our primary responsibilities, but we must be aware of the bigger picture the Lord wants to show us. We must find ways to release the blessing of our strength to the Body of Christ, even if the Church is at times completely inadequate to God’s reformation agenda.

Apostles, begin to open up and connect with others like yourself whom God is using in your city, region, or nation. Prophets, no need to prove anything – find your apostolic team and start building the gates of the Church together with others.

If we, who are called the lay the foundation of the Church, can’t come together and demonstrate true Kingdom unity, what hope is there that the harvest will be gathered in this generation? If we, who are supposed to help piece together the puzzle of God’s plan for the Church, are ourselves so fragmented and unable to connect in our God-ordained upper room with others of like spirit, mind and authority, do we have the right to demand the same from those who follow our leadership?

Let’s pray that in 2005 God’s leadership will come up to a new level of communication and relationship – unity for the sake of the harvest, not unity in the name of unity.
George P. Bakalov