Yes it’s been a while since I’ve posted anything new at my website (www.NewCovenantGrace.com) and I apologize for that. But it’s not that I haven’t been busy…
I’ve been openly accused of slandering against the church, of preaching a wayward doctrine, of hurting and abusing the Body of Christ, of being rebellious and also operating in a spirit of “independence” (if there is such a thing) by people over the past few months. And in case you’re wondering, I’ve never been better 
There are two main aspects that govern the way we live out our faith:
1) The message we preach and listen to
2) The system in which we receive that message
Our faith is drastically influenced by the way we receive the gospel. There is no biblical premise for the pattern which is found in nearly every local church today, where the only gifts on display (week after week) is that of the Pastor and the worship leader. All the other believers (who have the SAME Holy Spirit) in that place are reduced to submissive spectators who are passively pew sitting their way to heaven.
If we are all Royal Priests who can freely minister unto God, have you ever thought about why only certain people are allowed to minister as Priests unto other PEOPLE? Why is there a breed of “special, anointed and called” people who get to do ALL the ministering during Sunday services? Why are they being paid to do what EVERY Christian is supposed to do?
There is a specific purpose why the Bible uses the image of Christ being the Head of His Body. No single member in the body was ever designed with the purpose of translating what it thinks the Head is trying to say to the rest of the body. Each member of the body was created with a nerve directly connecting it to the Head. Jesus said that He Himself would build HIS church.
In today’s church world there is an illegal system of control that elevates certain people who are supposedly ”called into ministry” above other “normal” believers, resulting in the distinction between two classes of Christians: Those who get to minister (the “called” and “anointed” ones) and those who need to be ministered to (“normal” believers).
The Reformers did well in opposing the religious doctrines of the dark ages, but sadly passed the Roman Catholic division between clergy and laity straight into the Protestant movement. The gospel of righteousness through faith was almost fully restored as a result of the sacrifices of these people, resulting in the restoration of the revelation that every person could minister as a priest unto God. But unfortunately not every person could be trusted to minister as a priest unto other people. This privilege was reserved for a special breed of Christian, a phenomenon which is still practiced by the largest portion of the Body of Christ today.
People think that as long as they preach the correct message, then the system in which they preach doesn’t actually matter. The truth is however that our faith is shaped by the way we receive the gospel: if you tell a lion in a cage that he is free, then you might have a happy lion… but he is still stuck in a cage.
In order to address this imbalance in the Body of Christ, we have started a new “sub-website” called http://newcovenantgrace.com/organic-church/
If you are ready to explore “the next step” in your faith, why not subscribe to our newsletters on this new website and let us know what you think about it? It might just rock your world… However if you are content with attending structured church services and you have never felt the desire to explore the vast expands of God’s grace outside the boundaries of a local church, then we recommend that you DON’T visit our new website, since it might quite possibly just anger and frustrate you.
Explore the many other websites and blogs that also teach on this subject (http://newcovenantgrace.com/organic-church/resources/) and download all our articles for free as PDF documents that can also be forwarded to other people.
FREEDOM!
Nelson Lunsford says:
Thanks for writing. I know it’s a lot of work. I guess it’s an indication of how mixed up we’ve been that such simple concepts need so much explaining.
The scripture is so simple and straightforward that we need professional help to misunderstand it. God bless you.
Phil Drysdale says:
This is a great message you carry Andre, I’m excited to see it take deeper and deeper roots as you and so many others continue to proclaim it. The priesthood of all believers, the finished work of the cross and all that means.
Thanks for continually pushing the church forward into the truth in love! You are such a blessing to the body and your heart to see the church flourish in all that Christ has paid for is beautiful.
Love you bro!
Pastor Leo Pike says:
You know you are preaching the right message
when you get a lot of flack. The flackers don’t
use context when they are complaining. Context is
our friend.
Grace to You, Andre.
Love in Christ.
Leo
Andre van der Merwe says:
Peter, your story sounds almost exactly like mine! We also have about 8-12 people who attend with varying frequency, some of whom continue to attend their secular church meetings on Sundays.
That’s awesome brother, grace and peace and freedom be multiplied to you guys as you go from strength to strength.
Peter read says:
My wife & I felt God calling us to leave corporate church about 2 yrs ago. We now meet informally with a group of about 10. We have had some join and stay while others have visited for a while but then went back to ‘normal church’.
Our meetings differ each time but generally there will be worship, sharing and we always have a meal. Some have gone on short ‘mission trips’ of some sort and we will anoint and commission them before they go.
Other times healing is required maybe a prophecy given it all depends on what Father wants on that particular day.
Meeting this way is very freeing. I should mention that our giving is usually a private thing seperate from the group.
Every one in the group is free to participate and do so.
Everyone also has a close walk with Father, Jesus and Holy Spirit.
God is so good how can you not love Him.