Happy and blessed early Father’s Day and Father’s Day weekend! We pray that all of you, especially our father’s and spiritual fathers, have a great and awesome weekend!!!
I will be sharing some posts this weekend concerning father’s, of course, primarily “father’s in the faith” or “apostolic fathers”! For maturing sons and daughters who are growing in their son-ship and having their identity and gifting recognized, I believe we can move past the understanding of just having ‘spiritual fathers’. Spiritual fathering is what Paul was doing with the congregation at Corinth, they were ‘babies” and children who had to begin to grow up in Christ! He said like a command, “FOLLOW ME!” (be imitators of me.) (I. Co.4:16)
The next step is for “ministry fathers!” Ministry fathers, or teaching fathers, are to help develop the children as they begin to find their gifts and identity, to equip and mature them to 1) know who they are, and 2) find out what they are called to do! Ministry fathers are in between those who need to be tutored and governed (instructed), to those you now coach and train, such as apprentices! This is a very vital approach as well, because it gives ‘hands on’ training, if you will, “on- the-job-training.” That’s where Paul would say, “Follow me as I also follow Christ!” Be imitators of me, or “do as I do!” (I. Co.11:1)
But the third dimension would be what is the vision and thrust of this forum, Apostolic Fathers! This is fathering that’s for the “full-grown sons” the sons that are being revealed, or manifested, to know how to follow God!! Apostolic fathers can now affirm, align, appoint, and help assimilate sons who are “becoming fathers”, those whose hearts are now being turned to children to be their spiritual father!! If the children’s hearts are not being turned to you, then they are not yet your children.
Therefore be imitators of God as dear children or sons. (Eph. 5:1) In other words, you are mature enough and equipped to follow God, to hear and obey His voice!!
This is where apostolic fathers can help those sons to make sure they understand and are walking in these five very important steps: 1) Identity, 2) purpose, 3) vision, 4) inheritance, 5) THE BLESSING…DO YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE, AND WHAT YOU HAVE, AND WHAT YOU CAN DO!
JB!
James Becton Ministries/ EaglesVision EKKLESIA! 