GLOBAL COMMUNION E-LETTER

www.AGlobalCommunionOfApostles.net

DIVERSITY IS NOT THE ENEMY OF UNITY

February 2010

THE ESSENCE OF CHRIST “Apostolic Ar-

chitecture” was the
He who knew topic theforend from the
dialogue beginning is the same—yesterday, today and for-
Sep- THE ESSENCE OF CHRIST 1-2
Don Atkin
ever. He was tember 14-18, as ser- by Adam’s fall nor by Israel’s failure. These were
surprised neither
humanity’svant-leaders
stepping-stones from in our morphing process. He is bringing many sons to
STORGE—A KEY TO DEVELOP-
ING RELATIONSHIPS
3-4
glory (Hebrews 2:10) in a new creation (II Corinthians 5:17; Galatians 6:15). Jay Ferris
eight nations and nine-
CHARLOTTE GATHERING 4
Adam’s gardenteen states came to-
and Israel’s promised land were mere shadows of the substance— November 2010

God’s kingdomgetheronintheCharlotte,
earth as it is in heaven. Adam’s temptation and Israel’s gi- GOD IS MULTI-TASKING 5
Don Atkin
ants were theNC,same to hear from God
demons that the church battles today.
GLOBAL COMMUNION
and one another. Information
6
God’s blessing and Donmandate to Adam and Eve are foundational to Jesus’ Great
Atkin initi-
Commission to His disciples:
ated the first roundtable Then God blessed them, and God said unto them,
“(1) Be fruitful session with a presenta-(3) fill the earth and (4) subdue it; (5) have domin-
and (2) multiply;
ion over every living
tion that thing”—(but, not over one another) (Genesis 1:28).
contrasted Don’t we take into
“Ishmael” apostles and ourselves the body,
Each of us“Isaac” is granted
apostles.the(The
grace to submit ourselves to the Christ in one an-
other! Thetext of his presentation 1:27) is the Christ in all of us, all together. It is
hope of glory (Colossians the very life, of
through this begins onprovision
divine Page 2.) that we recognize and respond to the heart motiva- Christ?
tions (Romans 12:3-8) and the manifest charisma (I Corinthians 12) in one another.
In the second
Each of us modelssession, Frank Viola of the Christ life by the power of His Spirit. To-
portions Because there is
gether, we(Florida)
are coming presented
to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of
God, to a perfect man, toasthe
“Jesus Christ” the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ one loaf, our many-
(Ephesians 4:13).
message of the apostles ness becomes
whose teaching was
one-ness—Christ
The unity of the Spirit
in the bond of peace (Verse 3) is a present-tense reality that is kept and enjoyed
doesn’t become
simply by walking in the Spirit. fragmented in us.
Rather, we become
The unity of the faith
and of the knowledge of the Son of God (Verse 13) is the end result the maturing unified in Him.
process (Verses 11-12).

Equipping expands our capacity We don’t reduce

to function as members of Christ’s body, and is the result of submitting to the Christ to what we
discipling process (Matthew 28:19). are; He raises us to
(Continued on Page 2)
what He is.
— I Corinthians 10:17 TM
 Page 2

THE ESSENCE OF CHRIST

(Continued from Page 1)

Don Atkin
www.DonAtkin.com

Don Atkin
THE www.DonAtkin.com
ESSENCE OF CONTEXT
There is a war on the
There is only one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism;
one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all (Ephesians 4:4-6). We are parts, members, of the church
in the locality where we live. That would be the church in Detroit, the church in Singapore, the church in San Jose, the church in
Laos, the church in Frankfurt, the church in your particular city or region. Biblical examples point to the church in Rome, Corinth,
Galatia, Ephesus, Thyatira, Philadelphia, etc.

The church may gather in many venues throughout the locality. But, we are to be identified within the context of our cities or re-
gions, with governance through the oversight of the elders of the locality, who are among us (I Peter 5:2). Among and alongside the
elders will be equippers (Ephesians 4:11) who serve us in various areas of discipleship so that we may grow into functional unity as
Spirit-led sons of God (Romans 8:14). Your participation in the life of the body, and your equipping for placement (I Corinthians 12:18) in the
kingdom requires the whole counsel of God. Such possibilities just do not fully exist in isolated denominations or sects.

THE ESSENCE OF CONSTRAINT

We recently published an extensive paper on “The War On Fullness” by my friend, Mark Setch. Two significant paragraphs from his
paper are on the next page. Tampering with church construct may be threatening to some. We believe that God is calling us to do
so in this season. We want to be sensitive and patient in addressing such a vast topic.

Constraint is a descriptive quality for those who receive new revelation, then wait for the wisdom to chart the course toward what
more righteously honors God and serves His higher purpose within biblical boundaries. We should be constrained both by the
revealed ideal and by the sober reality of our current condition.

Godly repentance does radically affect our vision and our direction, but does so in ways that are redemptive for all who are con-
cerned. The Holy Spirit is strategic. “Stupid” is not the tenth fruit of the Spirit! We are transformed by the renewing of our minds,
not the abandoning of our minds (Romans 12:2).

THE ESSENCE OF COMMUNION

The church is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all (Ephesians 1:22-23). Webster defines “orb” as “heavenly spheres, a
sphere of activity; province, a collective body; organized whole, the sphere of influence of a planet, star, or house; to enclose or en-
circle; to take on the shape of an orb.”

Jesus is building a harmonious and fully-orbed collective body (which is to be) the organized whole in each locality. The
gates of hell will not prevail (Matthew 16:18) when the body of Christ in each city/region is standing on its own as the tabernacle of God.
Paul describes the result of balanced maturing, being fully orbed: Speaking the truth in love, (all body parts) grow up in all things
into Him who is the head—Christ—from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to
the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love (Ephesians 4:15-16).

This is not primarily about venues. The priority is to become organically structured through relationships. The Holy Spirit is
ready to guide humble and obedient shepherds in every locality, to gradually knit their hearts together as they meet together, eat
together, play together, pray together, and commune together.
 Page 3

STORGE—A KEY TO
DEVELOPING
There is a war on the
fullness of Christ in the RELATIONSHIPS
world. There are forces
Jay Ferris
that oppose the fullness JFerris154@mac.com
of Jesus and forces that
inhibit the fullness of
Considering how foundational relationships are in both the old and the new creations,
Jesus. I contend that perhaps we could take a closer look, particularly at how they operate, and where they
the institutional church come from. We need to look at relationships as a fact of life, as well as a supply of life. Of
construct actually in- course, in Christ this is not a matter of the flesh, or the will of man. - John 1:13.
hibits the capacity of
A few years ago now, and a little downstream of The Four Loves by C.S. Lewis, storge
the Church to be the love was brought to my attention. Storge is in the Scriptures along with agape, and
fullness of Christ. phileo. The third Greek love is “eros,” But it’s not in the Bible. The fourth love, storge had
escaped my notice. Not even Lewis cited any Biblical reference. There are three refer-
ences in the Scripture. Two are negative, and included in lists of things that were al-
Institutional church ready bad, and bound to get worse as time went on, Romans 1:31, and 2 Timothy 3:3.
construct refers to the We could conclude that things are not good when storge is absent. The other reference
overarching mindset is positive, Romans 12:10. It is perhaps best translated as natural affection.
and structure that pre-
Storge is the “good news” of the old creation. It is best seen and appreciated in the
disposes congregations, love of a parent, (most often a mother) for a new offspring. I say “offspring,” because
denominations, house storge operates in birds and animals as much as in humans. Let’s take a look from a hu-
churches, ministry net- man perspective.
works, and mission or-
Old creation Life is awakened in the context of storge. Before there is any capacity for
ganisations to give pri- human decision about relationship a newborn is attached to its mother as a matter of ne-
ority to building, main- cessity, as a matter of life and death, as yet without any knowledge of either. On the
taining and defending child’s part the attachment is built into its desperate need. On the mother’s part,
the attachment is the result of storge love. The newborn knows nothing of love – has
their distinctive expres- no understanding of why the mother is willing to supply both the life and the supply of life.
sion of “church” over Between the two, the child takes the breast, and the mother’s milk comes in.
and against the local,
regional, national and So it is in the new creation. We love, because He first loved us, and This is how we know
what love is, Jesus Christ laid down His life for us. As with life in the old, so it is with life
global expression of the in the new. It takes time to come into some understanding of this kind of love. This love,
Body of Christ. storge love supercharged by agape, is at the very genesis of our life in the new
creation, just as it is in our new life in the old creation. Understanding comes later –
much later.

Storge is the first experience that new life has of being valued. Of the four loves,
“The War On Fullness,” is storge, phileo, “eros,” and agape, agape is the spinal column of the other three.
available as an e-book at The natural loves, storge, phileo, and “eros” are fallen, just as natural man is fallen, and
www.DonAtkin.com) without agape, as redefined at the cross, they are spineless. As soon as something goes
wrong, the natural loves are withdrawn. Only in agape are they redeemed and made
unoffendable. (Continued on Page 4)
Page
Page 44
(Continued from Page 3)
O ld Creation
Understanding comes later – much late r. Storge is the gospel ofthe old creation. Itis the ifrst experience thatnew life has of being valued. O f the fourloves,storge, phileo, “eros,” and agape, agape is ht e spinal colu mn of the oth er three. Natural loves, storge, phileo, and “eros” are fallen, just as natural man is fall en, and withoutagape, as redefined at ht e cross, they are spinele ss. As soon as somethin g goes wrong, the natural loves are withdrawn. O nly in agape are they redeemed and made un-offendable.

New Creation
We not only love because He first loved us,we live because He firstloved us. This is true ni both creations. We attach where we are valued. Agape alone has no expressio n. At the pointof expression - at the point ofbeing sensible of one or more of the fiv e senses, itcomes to us aesth etically wrapped in one of these other loves. These other loves are the point ofcontact, the point at whic h agape becomes palpable. We can talk aboutagape all day long - the Church has been talk ing about it for alm ost two thousand years,but until agape si both present and felt, it is just a disembodied concept. Itis at the point of expression, the point of contact that agape empowers ti s obje ct.

We not only love because He first loved us, we live because He first loved us. This is true in both creations. We attach where we are
valued. Agape alone has no expression. At the point of expression - at the point of being sensible of one or more of the five senses, it
comes to us aesthetically wrapped in one of these other loves. These other loves are the point of contact, the point at which agape
becomes palpable. We can talk about agape all day long - the Church has been talking about it for almost two thousand years, but
until agape is both present and felt, it is just a disembodied concept. It is at the point of expression, the point of contact or
“attachment” that agape empowers its object. Now let’s look at love as an impartation of value. Not only do we love because He first
loved us, but in the same breath we might as well say, “we value because we have first been valued.”

Storge is imparted by look and touch and tone. Unless something goes terribly wrong, the value of the child in the look, touch and
tone of the mother is clear to anyone of normal healthy sensibility. This impartation of value is the validation required for healthy
life function. In the first instance it is the supply of parents. As the child matures it can receive validation in other relational
attachments as well.

Jesus imparts value to us from the cross. Without this sense of value we have nothing to offer others. We are desperate or
desolate, as the case may be. We are relational beggars, more bankrupt even than relational merchants. In either case we are not
lovers, for we have no love to offer. Relationships that do not know the cross are checks that our bodies can’t cash.

As “leaders,” do we value others? Where does that value come from? How do they know we value them? Do we insist on doing all the
talking, or do we also listen? Does our valuation of others suffer from hidden agendas? Perhaps these questions might for the present
supply some food for thought. This sense of value is an invitation to transact Jesus with each other. The authentic release of
God’s Spirit is best expressed in our being kindly affectionate to one another. ___________________________________________________________________________

“His body, the fullness of Him”

November 3-6, 2010

Holiday Inn Airport

Charlotte, North Carolina USA
 GOD IS MULTI-TASKING
Don Atkin
If we stop and think, most of us will realize that God is always doing many things at the same time. His capacity for variety is infinite.
Far beyond our capacity to grasp, God is here with me now, and there with you now. He is inspiring and enabling you to do what you
do in faith and obedience. The same is reality to me. He inspired me and is helping me to write at this very moment.

His limitless capacity to fully and unconditionally love us, when experienced by us, deposits this very love within us (Romans 5:5; I John 3:1-
4).This love, when expressed and extended, is fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22) and never fails (I Corinthians 13:8a). This love provides the
capacity for our involvement in the tasks of infinite worth in the kingdom.

God’s tasks are many-faceted as well as comprehensive. He is equally concerned with infants and senior citizens, both in the natural
world and in the real world of the Spirit. He sticks to the job to bring us into the fruition of Christ’s finished work! He is working on, in,
with and through me at the very same time that He is working on, in, with and in you—and all of His other kids around the world.

We are sometimes bothered when others are not where we are (or, we are not where others are) in terms of growing, understanding,
beliefs and practices, etc. But, we were at the same place that others are now, not many years ago. And, surely, there are those who
have progressed beyond us who are wondering when we will get the picture.

Repentance is a daily lifestyle for those who are committed to the morphing process of growing from glory to glory into His image.
Arrogance is often the fruit of finding a comfortable place that is easily managed, camping there, and evaluating results by human
standards.

The inevitable result of living in repentance is growing in glory.

The inevitable result of living in arrogance is growing in judging.
We dare not class ourselves or compare ourselves with those who commend themselves.
But they, measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves are not wise.
– II Corinthians 10:12

Multitudes whose beliefs and practices differ from my own are equally sincere and committed to what has been revealed to them. I
can look into my history and see myself in many of those places. What I cannot do is look into my future and see myself in any spe-
cific place.

Here’s what I can do: (1) I can remain committed to the morphing process, (2) be willing to repent and adjust to increasing under-
standing, (3) humbly relate to all of my brothers and sisters in the mutual love which has been shed abroad in our hearts, (4) refuse to
judge by my own understanding and standards, and (5) encourage everyone within my sphere of influence to do the same.

I can share what I’ve been given to share, speaking the truth in love. But, I cannot judge others by the standard of what I am sharing.
I must be equally interested in hearing what you have been given to share. This is important for me to know. It is also important for
you to know.

We can all be thankful for God’s capacity to multi-task, working with us where we are now, to get us to the fullness of His will and pur-
pose.

We know in part and we prophesy in part (I Corinthians 13:9).

Love never fails (Verse 8a).

 Our Purpose:
To encourage and facilitate fellowship (communion) among apostles and the
companies and the fellowships they serve, believing that we can do together
what we are unable to do alone.

Our Vision
To help others to see that the work of the kingdom is a corporate work of inter-
dependence that extends beyond our individual ministries. The whole is greater
than any part thereof.

Our Goal
To link leaders so that the many members of the body may be functionally
A GLOBAL joined together. The body is one, joined bone to bone from the Head down-
COMMUNION OF APOSTLES ward.
1303 Curry Way
Matthews, NC 28104 Our Strategy
To convene apostolic leaders and fivefold ministers, facilitating relationships
that will build together toward God's government and peace increasing in our
Email: DonAtkin@Kingdomquest.net spheres and in our generation.

Functional Guidelines

Identity: We have no official man-made organization. We are a growing organism looking to connect in the
Spirit with other apostles and their spheres within the global community.

Nature: Stronger and deeper than human structure and organization can provide, this global communion is
joined, knit, connected and linked by the work of the Holy Spirit and the love of the Father, to walk out the
kingdom together as God designs and directs.

Relationship: At the core of our being, we believe that God’s primary building strategy is by relationship ~
first vertically with Him, and then horizontally among us. We affirm Jesus Christ as the only Head of the
church that He is building, and we are His bondservants.

Vision: To labor together in practical ways ~ networking through relationships to expand the kingdom of
God among the nations, to serve God’s purpose in bringing many sons to glory, thus filling the earth with
His government and glory.

Purpose: One of the primary purposes of this communion is to facilitate joint ventures in strategically im-
pacting global missions through established relationships which are fostered in meetings such as round-
table dialogues, conferences and expanding contacts through the website.

Councils: There is no standing council. Members of called councils voluntarily serve, and pay all of their
own expenses pertaining to their participation.

Moderating: Don Atkin (based in Charlotte, North Carolina – USA) moderates.

Connecting: Any apostle in the global community may be identified with this communion through an estab-
lished relationship with a relating apostle who can testify to his authenticity, character and integrity.

Clarification: This approach is our way of protecting relational integrity for the purpose of co-laboring with-
out developing an organizational structure. We are keenly aware that we represent only a very small portion
of the total global communion of the saints. Our desire is to cross-pollinate with other expressions of apos-
tolic communion as the Holy Spirit creates opportunities.