New Book on Modern Day Apostles

by Scott

Yes, I am the nut case who believes apostles still exist today. I’m even posting a series here at To Be Continued, of which I am about half-way through. I recently posted considering the apostles that actually existed in New Testament times (there were more than we think!).

In the near future, I am writing a paper for the churches I work with, and one major point I will consider is the nature of apostolic ministry today. And so I was specifically made aware of a new book that came out this past summer entitled Fathering Leaders, Motivating Mission: Restoring the Role of Apostle in Today’s Church.

The book is authored by David Devenish who works with the UK-based church network known as New Frontiers. This is a group of ministries (i.e. people from Eph 4:11-13) and churches that arose out of the restoration movement in the UK back in the 1960’s and 70’s. They are probably the largest of its kind in the UK.

The book has 18 chapters and I list below the focus of each:

1. Introduction – Why Is This Book Needed?
2. Apostles Today?
3. The Apostle’s Job Description
4. The Need for Fathers in Ministry and Mission
5. Foundations – Essential But Often Neglected
6. Apostolic and Prophetic Foundations (1) – The Big Themes of Scripture
7. Apostolic and Prophetic Foundations (2) – Christ and Who We Are in Christ
8. Apostolic and Prophetic Foundations (3) – Other Essential New Testament Principles for Founding Local Churches
9. Apostolic Ministry and World Mission
10. How Apostles Relate to Local Churches
11. The Field God Has Given Us – Apostolic Spheres
12. Apostolic Teams – What Are They and How Do They Function?
13. Contextualized Wisdom
14. The Struggle for Maturity
15. Finance for Apostolic Mission/’Remember the Poor’
16. Apostles and Prophets Need Each Other
17. Signs, Wonders and Suffering – the Hallmarks of an Apostle
18. Common Questions

This is a full-fledged work on the topic, weighing in at 320 pages.

I believe it will be a good engagement for my own self on the topic of apostles today, as well as helping me consider some issues on the nature of apostolic ministry today as related to the paper I will be writing.

So, if your interest has been piqued on apostle’s today and their role today (by my series or by hearing about this book), check it out at Amazon.co.uk. I think the topic is well worth investing in, since they are a very important part of who Jesus is and what he has called his church to be until the parousia-return.