For too long, leaders, pastors have not understood the value of sons. As Larry Stockstill puts it, “We fellowship with all, partner with some, but build on sons”.
As we consider the pastoral letters written by Paul we note his purpose was to make sure the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of the truth would not be watered down. He only entrusted the message to true sons in the faith.
Timothy might not have known the loving embrace of an earthly father or brother but he could know the acceptance of a spiritual father. There was great transparency, honesty and loyalty in their relationship reflecting a powerful connection between the leader and his Timothy. In other words, it was a family relationship, not an organisational or institutional one.
God’s household is a family, a family is a family because it has a shared life source. The body of Christ is one. Exclusivity and competition have absolutely no place in reaching a lost world.
We fellowship with all believers and we recognise that one day all believers in Jesus Christ will spend eternity with the same Father. We should be delighted when we see Him promote the efforts of some other brand or network.
Make it your aim to be a son in the house, God wants to build on you.
At the same time, our church, All Nations, is partnering with New Covenant Ministries International and it is a great pleasure to invite the ministry of this apostolic team to partner with us. Some of these team members have been invited to come to help train and build up the leadership of the church this year so we can expand and multiply with God’s help. We are led by God to partner with these who have similar values and vision. It allows us to co-labour and share resources.
There are different levels of relationship, Christ being the chief cornerstone and in His wisdom, He selected a group of people to became a winning team. In the same way, Paul wrote the letters of Timothy and Titus to his team members who faithfully followed his teaching and example. They were his true sons in the faith.
Sons have more power than networks because of the powerful connection between the leader and his Timothy’s. As Larry Stockstill says, “The depth of love, loyalty, common thinking, teamwork, commitment and accountability goes far beyond even the best symbiotic network”. Paul’s spiritual sons were his joy and crown.
Make it your aim to be a son in the house, God wants to build on you.