Change of leading – Things are changing

 

We cannot read the narrative of the life of Jesus without seeing change going on often hidden in a number of different actions, words and motives in action.   It comes down to comments  that Jesus made such as “…you say this but I say…”, outlining a change of life style, order and action in that very moment when people encountered this Jesus.   It makes me wonder how many of us bring about change in the people we meet, in their concepts, practices and lifestyles?   I say this totally believing that  this is our gospel of the Kingdom and what the gospel calls us to become and to be, those who announce change and enable change at every hand in humanity.    That my preaching is not about the performance or the rhetoric but more about it being a stage in the listener’s life of enabling transformation or simply enabling different thinking patterns.

Jesus had this knack of, “…you say this but I say…” constantly, for some it was liberating for others it produced a reaction, with some getting angry to the demands, awakening people to they lives lived by a religious scale, it’s a precious lesson for us to know asking ourselves “..at what level of a religious scale do I live at or with”?  I hear some saying as a reaction “…Listen I am not religious, I am a Christian, it’s about relationships…”  really, but where are you on your religious scale, my question still stands.   We all have some religion that we are being liberated from, when we look at our lives in the cool of day I am sure we would agree that there is religion there.   The joy is we have a way of liberation of freedom on offer as we listen to the “you say this but I  say this” directions.   It is things changing in us then around us!

When Jesus arrived, the book of Hebrews summed it up, there was a change of priesthood happening, with laws and practices moving from shadows and pictures into reality in the life of Christ.   The message becomes “…better…” as the Hebrews write declare many times, better covenant, better priesthood, better…  So when God came to earth when mankind embraced the divine and Jesus arrived in Nazareth religious vessels broke, patterns of old ways had to change, rules came undone and a new kind of life broke in and the “…Kingdom of God came amongst men…” 

For instance if you were a  Rabbi you were not supposed to talk to Samaritans, heal on the Sabbath, challenge the Religious, hang out with fishermen, get your feet washed by ladies of unknown origin, go to dinner with tax collectors , travel with women and the list continues on and on – Things Changed, things are changing!

Jesus did all that and more, it did not bother him to challenge the status quo or what others thought, in our day, I believe a of restoration and as a restorer that we are here to restore society it still means I don’t need to fit in and I do need to be a catalyst of change to a Jesus way.   I should not simply fit in as  a matter of fact I should bring about change and be the incarnation of God in my daily life in my society,  showing grace and bringing the demand for Justice and righteousness in what ever way the situation and circumstance demands.

Our cultures are changing at breakneck speed, it is hard to keep up, the church, that is, you and I, are to be the cause of change and not just reactors to the changes.    This is restoration, causing cultural change, causing the Kingdom of God to come to our worlds with in worlds is it not?

Here are some of the things in dealing with the people of God and in dealing with what we call ministry that are changing; but first I want to list some of the older patters that need to change and are being transformed for us by a new priesthood.

Be loyal to your denominations – do what they say it is for the best – yet in our world where the relationship word is strong and has a growing influence and vocabulary use and relationships and covenant is becoming more demanding making sure that relationship/covenant does not to reinvent control or incorrect demanding loyalty but to be like God in our relationship and keep faithful

Be slow to change so people don’t get uncomfortable, its been focus on who you have and done reach out

Do all you can to keep money people in the congregations – bills need paying

Make doctrinal correctness your top priority – quickly correct, judge and separate deviants.

Love people who fit in your church vision and are like you.  tolerate others the best you can

Lots of programs so everyone has something to do all the time, more is better, keep them looking in on the programs.

Your style of preaching/teaching is to tell people what to do as you know better.  Talking down to people.

Do everything decently and in order – be predictable 

I would say that all these above are under the scrutiny of change in some way or another, they are all on a journey of being  discovers and restored correctly or done away with in a new culture though a reformation that is happening all around us.    Each one of the above could and should be discussed in their own right to see the change look at its implication but this is not my aim today. 

Now lets turn a page and look at some new ways that may be in your street right now.

Care, Care, Care really care for people.  people know if you don’t.   Society around cannot deal with real, authentic loving relationships when centered on Christ.   Be a careful we still get caught in judging quicker than loving.

Enhance Life.   Do something in your community to enhance life being socially minded, it gives people something to take to others and helps to give a point of conversation.

Teach accurately – help people to hear God for themselves in a world with so many voices and opportunities in hearing the word.   Making teaching simple by the teaching through relevant topics.

Speak bluntly DONT OFFEND PEOPLE FOR NO REASON.   sometimes we must say things to help people in the complexity of life, most will appreciate your courage of conviction as long as you don’t judge.   here is an old one don’t use the teaching and preaching to vent frustration what you don’t like, BE CHRIST TO PEOPLE reach, accept and love while changing.

Involve in mission all people

Media – use it but not over kill.   People want people not celluloid, authenticity means life touching life not film, video, media saying it all, there is nothing fleshed out, there is no message.   Use it to enhance life and not instead of life, easier said than done some times for techies.

Change quickly when it’s not working, no method is in stone, find better ways all the time, bring people to change and be sure of change – ITS THE GOSPEL!   help people’s emotion to be able to change.

Authentic – BE IT people see and recognize emptiness a long way off, or some one full of words and no authenticity, be honest about your failures but don’t use them or live from  or on them, don’t use them for emotional currency it will not build, just be authentically in love with God and his people and be authentic yourself..

Practical what you say or teach either works or it does not, if it does not you will lose friends and eventually all but if your practical works you will gain friends.

Be a little crazy shake up, adventure, take a step, break through Peoples tipping point, give people a reason to be out there and of course give opportunity while you model adventure.

In all these see if you can adopt and try changing,  let the something changing be you?

 

“You Won…”

We recently directed some guests of ours from overseas to Kings Cross station London as they wanted to see platform 9 ¾, I wondered what they wanted, 9 ¾ never heard of such a platform, cannot be really?  I had no idea what they were talking about, never heard of it, thought they are not from UK.    However I found out that they knew better than me, the platform was made famous through Harry Potter’s book, you go to the platform quite simply to get your photo opportunity… just in case you wish to see it take the Underground to Kings Cross / St. Pancras, (two main line stations that share the same Underground Station).        Follow the signs into Kings Cross Station when you get to the surface walk along Platform 8 (it’s totally free access).     When you see a sign directing you left to Platforms 9 to 11 keep going on along Platform 8 and the Platform 9 3/4 photo opportunity is a few yards further along on your left. There is normally a conspicuous sign on the platform pointing to the small alcove and out of the wall projects half a baggage trolley.   You have arrived at your destination.

I had no idea of how to get there or how to help others arrive there then the thought came to me, it is a real challenge for us all to answer the question   “where are we going and how can we help each other get there?”.    It is a timely question in the hour we live, with so many changes in society, politics and the economic world , in the business world and in the world of faith, the church change is coming at us as a fast speeding train, whether we want it or not.    Where is it taking us and how can we help each other get  there?

It  is a day for the prophetic people of God to come to the out from under the covers, a day in the midst of much noise and debate, to take hold of the word of God.     Gods’ words when uttered in the past created, they also sustained people who took them up.    These spoken words gave direction and knowledge to those who listen and heard them, those who listened  did not find themselves with out understanding.

Clearly we are in a day of discovering a deeper trust of the Father a new listening and obedience that will lead us into freedom and to the land of promise.    We have to grasp the idea that we are on journey,  that in itself  will empower, challenge and  mature all who embark.

Today as people of God in the west, we find ourselves so much part of societies thinking at large, that it has invaded the church and they way we think, becoming consumers in every way.   Seeking ever-increasing experiences for our emotions, listening to the word of God to consume that which we believe that will give us a quick advance, an edge on life or even fix?    Making decisions on that which we can get hold of immediately, the NOW rules us.    Yet the Journey men and women of old, the pictures of lives of people between the covers of the scriptures walked a journey, not a quick dash with immediate consumer gratification.    Consider the lesson of one of these journey men, Abraham, here is a man who had promise upon promise spoken to him, of peoples, fathering, sons, nation and land, God promises to bless all nations through Abraham, yet Abraham received none of these in his day, but  even 1000’s of years on the promises are still coming to pass.

Even more than that Abraham had a 644 Kilometer journey, once he was willing to entertain the promise.   A 644 Kilometer journey and a 4000+ year, time frame, to get the promises.   Now that is a challenge once he become obedient to the promise words of God it was a long haul walk and a massive time frame to content with.    Now don’t get me wrong on the journey there where evidences, victories of the promise but its fullness took walking on investing time, he become wealthy in his day, he had influence and did finally get a true son of promise, but certainly one son does not constitute a nation!   Once Abraham believed and entered the journey it was counted as righteousness to him, that is keeping in right line with the journey, and keeping it foundational to life’s actions and decisions.   The words of God are living, but how living are they ?  They require movement, obedience, a change of vicinity, a change of surroundings, a departure and a step in front of you.    Actually the words of promise to us all are to bring about sons of God who are led by the Spirit, to bring maturity in light of eternal promise.

I think its time to discover not only the joy of the immediate but the eternal will of the Father, knowing that we have been called to an eternal purpose, to depart from the tent of  the immediate and become the tent of meeting for our life and then our world around us.     We are, the people of God, the ecclesia, the church are to be the place where people will meet the love of God along with a people who are a prophetic journeying people.

Let me encourage you to find others people who will also ask the question, where is all this taking us?  where are we going and how can I help you get there rather than making sure I can get there.

Traveling in a plane has its challenges, but no more for me than the initial film or safety demonstration, we are all shown, there is one difficult line there to listen  to, it goes something like this …make sure your mask when it drops from the roof goes on you first before you see to children or others… that is so against the journey of prophetic people,  firstly seeing to ourselves before others, so that we can all arrive together.    Many years ago  we were taught to play croquet by a great Godly man called Arthur Wallis some 15 or so of us, in a retreat centre in Sheffield.   As we came to the end of our game and our instruction Arthur being the master crossed the line, won the game and a shout of “…you have won Arthur…” went up from all,  with this he turned and said “…no I only cross the line when all my brothers cross…” and with that he fell with his head at the foot of an old wooden cross in the gardens becoming one of the host of witnesses who now continues to cheer on this seen world to ultimate intention of the Father.   What a line to enter eternity with, to depart this expression of life with, what a way to live, asking more how can I help you get to the destination of the will of God rather than consuming, to get there myself.

So find journey men and women, young people, children sojourners who are pursuing the will of the Father in eternal promise and plan and seek to help each other fulfill the prophetic purpose of God.

Trends of the Spirit – Servant – Leader – Influencer

Today the Spirit is re engaging our theology and consideration to realise that our God is a Trinitarian God and not a hierarchical God, as we have so often been instructed.   This simple change in understanding has major ramifications on all thinking and practice within our world.  We realise that theology is at the base of every decision and action in each society – it is time to review and adjust to the instructions of the Spirit and allow the impact to  stretch across our world.

There has never been so much debate regarding the way forward as there is today, with markets changing, people changing, with the needs and requirements of modern men and women.

We actually say that everyone is a leader in some way or another, whether a parent at home discipline, schooling, empowering their children or as a successful business entrepreneur.   You are influencing someone!

Leadership in most people’s’ mind would be thought to be seen, in the charismatic decisive directive goal filled person, with every one else listening and doing as they are told, yet over the years we have seen that this is so far from the servant leadership model, we are all called to.   Willing to pour oneself out for the advance and empowerment of others.

We live in a season where leaders are to be honoured yet Christ poured himself out; this was his style of leadership and influence.    I would even step out and say for true, lasting and worthwhile leadership it has to be “servant style” to be lasting.   As a matter of fact it is in vogue to talk generational in church settings and in mentoring business settings, yet lasting success can only be achieved through servant style leaderships or influence!    It is about time we discovered that once again.

In times of drastic change it is the learners who inherit the future. The learned usually find themselves equipped to deal with a world that no longer exists”.

Eric Hoffer

The only way to avoid control or domineering of people’s identity, is to rediscover our call to servanthood once again.

As you read through the Psalm’s you can come across gems of thoughts on all emotions and experiences of life, one recently caught my attention “…Finish what you started in me, God.    Your love is eternal—don’t quit on me now…”(138:8), we are reminded that we have a God-given purpose, The Father has begun something in us and through us.        We are told in Paul’s writing each one has been given a destiny that has been for ordained, that was placed before the beginning of time.  Then in Philippians we are told that “… he who began a good work in you will complete it…” you see there is no shadow of turning on his behalf, when it comes to his will towards us and towards his purpose.

Each one of us are given the opportunity to imprison, empower, liberate others around you we can entrap friends and employees or bring them into the “… wide open spaces…” the liberty of God. It does not matter whether it is in the work arena or our faith arena, each one of us should be looking to enlarge others.

“The most immediate risk in your present way of operating may be that you could not be replaced, it there should be a need of that”

Robert Greenleaf, Servant Leadership

Decades ago a new book arrived on the shelves called ‘Servant Leadership’ written by Robert Greenleaf it has always amazed me how few books have taken on this focus, although I do believe for lasting impact we are beginning now to realise the distraction we have been brought into.    The term Servanthood, Servant, has been part of our vocabulary for many years and yet we still seem to struggle with its’ full implication in leadership and influence but subtle distractions come our way.   We seem to be still much more comfortable with a dominant leadership style, rather than one the soul reflects the Godhead and the modeling of Christ in pouring oneself out. Perhaps if we considered a different vantage point we could see a change, and move from the idea of being the chief to being a builder.

The servant leader is not the center of attention but the one that matures, releases and promotes others into their position. The servant becomes the stepping stool for others.

It is time that the church becomes aware of their lasting effect and become the leaders and influencers to bring about maturity.

“Servant leaders want to see the company even more successful in the next generation, comfortable with the idea that most people won’t even know that the roots of that success trace back to their efforts” 

Jim Collins, Good to Great

This “servant leadership” will be built on integrity and therefore will attract trust, people will enable men and women to sleep at night as they pulled out their lives for others. There will come a time with the using of others step is to achieve power will cease only as the impact of servant leadership is allowed to be seen.

To lead with the desire to become a successful as you aim to succeed in the very process, servant leadership it is our day greatest cover our call and vocation to evolve into Servant Leaders, to follow the Christ and explain the Fathers ways.

As we move more and more into the day of the saints, advancing from the priesthood of all believers to the ministry of all believers it is the lasting hand of the servant leader that will bring about a lasting impact for the Kingdom of God and his King.

This Kingdom will fill the whole of creation, and the joy of God, the church, will cause Christ to be seen in our world, by being the exact representation of his style in every way.   To love and empower, to free and give course for life, to be the incarnation in our generation through servants of Christ and leaders who are servants of all creation.

This is not a style of leadership but it is a leadership that endures and therefore brings about true lasting enduring advance

It Starts Here.

I recently listened a quote attributed to Nelson Mandela in the film ‘Invictus‘.   An enjoyable film with some really good thoughts and many one liners, worth watching and mulling over.
The quote “The Rainbow Nation starts here. Reconciliation starts here…Forgiveness starts here too”.    Too long and too many times we expect every one else to do the changing, this  quote brings home to me the responsibility for a nation, a people group, it  is not with the politician, or its business people or its educators but it starts RIGHT HERE,   that is,  in my heart, the new nation will not happen unless we as individual contribute to the advance and take responsibility beyond ourselves.
This is not an appeal for individualism but for a together understanding, that it is each one playing their part corporately that will bring about change and transformation.    It is in the process of forgiveness we find true humanity and responsibility and bring advance and change.
Well what more do I need to say it is a time when the church the ‘ecclesia’ of God, the lovers of the Christ, realise that we too need to take responsibility.     It is  a baptism of WE, and an experience of Together, a move from me myself and I to  “We”.      We have been born to become sons of God, into sonship,  we are to learn to live from inheritance rather than just live and draw on the grace of God, gaining an understanding of how the Father distributes and uses his stuff, as we mature we can be entrusted with inheritance, being the extension of the Father, doing what he would do?   The trouble is, in grace people get healed, delivered  and raised from the dead but Jesus lived his 30 years not simply from grace but from a sonship inheritance position.     Rather than us seeing our world from our own personal feelings we should begin to see  it from a corporate perspective, as this serves the Christ.      The Father has always only had one son in view, and will only always have the one son in view.    The people of God are to be the image and likeness of the Father and display the practices of the Father, as I have outlined in other writings the “…explain the Father…” as Christ came and did rather than us having our own trip and encounter, we are here to explain the father and encounter  him in the explanation.    Anything less than this is simply just about my trip in God, which means my next encounter needs to be a bigger buzz or greater impact than the last one to keep me in and believing God is there?   Gods’ purpose is much more, we have been invited  into an authentic relationship, to be his explanation,  authentically in our world.
The people of God seem to fallout and divide over experience, with irretrievable break downs, yet we are to be the model of reconciliation, being firstly reconciled to the Father then displaying and becoming that attitude in our world.   We are to develop an attitude of forgiveness, not just forgiving by numbers, first if my brother has anything against me, go to him, secondly and thirdly….  Forgiveness is seen as lives touch each other without needing to rely on a system of actions, but when a disposition of forgiveness, that explains the Father is displayed, “…forgive them Father they know not…” was Christs’ ultimate cry before he was crucified.      We are to be the LOVE of the Father in our world, not only being loved by the Father but we are to be the exact love in our world, so that the world might know….
In the film Nelson Mandela when asked about who his family was, says  “My family is very large. 42 million”.    Let us be baptised into a corporate experience that takes away individuality and allows us to be ourselves while also realising my family is ……millions?
Baptise us O God into a WE understanding and life style, a RECONCILIATION experience and life style,  a disposition of FORGIVENESS  “…it starts here…”   YOU, not one of us is an island or self-made, we are so interwoven into each other, a collage of many, it is supposed to be that way.   Self made is from another place,  it is certainly  not God and Christ Centred,  God is never singular,  yet our world tries to make the single the individual higher, God is always in more than one, God is never alone!

Keeping up image & likeness

I was so moved today reading the ‘Cape Times’, two stories caught my attention, one of a 17-year-old girl who was gang raped,  all of which was caught on a mobile telephone and subsequently went  viral on the internet.  The video shows her being offered R2 (R12.5 to the £; R7.8 to $) to keep silent.   The other was a story from India, New Delhi and Amritsar, it out lined an account of two fathers, one who beat and burned his daughter with cigarettes as she was a girl – she was only 3 months old.   The second story  of a father who strangled his wife as she gave birth to a third daughter, another girl.   The UN states that a girl is 75% more likely to be killed in India than male children, it is reported by the UN  to be the worst country world on its treatment of women and girls.

I am scandalised, what violence on individuals, but more what violence on Gods wisdom in creating women, I don’t know about you, are you stirred by it ?  I am not covering up the atrocities that happen all across the world in other places either, Africa and Europe has its share as well.   I am moved as to how humanity deals with its self.   I am also stirred at the treatment of females worldwide.

Before we switch off thinking this is all happening somewhere else, thinking how dreadful but, is on another shore in another nation, let us consider our actions and perceived realities towards women.    It could be that lives are not taken in our society, but consider how we treat females different to males, surely this  is also needing to change and be addressed.

I am not looking for equality either I am asking for righteousness and justice to be shown in all things about gender.   If we do anything else we will always have a fight, so what do I mean by righteousness on this matter?   It is to discover the eternal view regarding man and women, to find out the foundational view of the Father and be in the same line towards humanity keeping the principles set in the Fathers heart towards humanity.   Let us not get involved with the argument on what is equality, but come back to what God says, then live and change to make our world conform to the view of the eternal Godhead, it really is the only answer.

Our world is on a course of elevating women I believe its time for the church to discover the right view of God in regards to men and women.    Much of our practice came from a fallen condition, patriarchy for instance is not a pattern taken from the Godhead, rather in the Godhead we see each one giving to the other, each one serving and pouring out for each other ‘Perichoresis’.     This is not about male headship or dominance neither is it about feminism, it is time to discover an eternal view and make it happen.

Let me outline a thought for you, we have in Genesis a view breaking in to a  time-space world of the requirement of male and female in the design of God.  it begins with Gods’ statement “…it is not good for man to be alone…”, I wonder what  your view has been regarding that statement?   Perhaps it was something that you were taught in Sunday school of the loneliness of mankind, Adam.  Looking again at the text, to my understanding this was a declaration that humanity did not fully reflect the image and likeness of God, as humanity was alone. This statement highlighted to us that God is never alone; for God is in covenant, therefore to be in the image and likeness of God there cannot be singularity there must always be more than one.

In the process of creation, we see Adam’s partnership in creation with the Father in naming the animals, Adam being the prophet giving word and describing god’s actions, interpreting God’s actions. It is my conviction that Adam did not simply name the animals, e.g. a lion, giraffe, etc., but working with God Adam named the DNA and interpreted God’s creation.

After this partnership God did not bring animals to Adam to see which one was compatible to humanity as a mate, that is a foolish thought in my view, as intimacy can only be found with the same “thing”, more on that to come.  Having “named the animals”, Adam – humanity, is put into a deep sleep.  Humanity/Adam was male and female at this time, and only at that point were they separated.   The reason was so that humanity could reflect the image and likeness of God, there has to be more than one. This thought challenges all individuality and singleness, establishing clearly that the image of God is found in more than one-corporeity.

God, the Father, the Son and Spirit brought about that which reflected them. There is so much we could say on this but this is not the time.

The Hebrew thought on this, taken from the text in Genesis, is that God did not take a side or a rib, but within the clay and the ruach there were already two faces present, one representing male and the other representing female.   God recreated them bringing the 2 faces to face one another.    It is from this idea we also read in the Old Testament the description of Moses, Abraham and others, of their quality of relationship with God being known as a ‘face-to-face’ relationship. Humanity is a picture of God and man having the capacity to be in a face-to-face relationship and the gift of marriage is also model of this ‘face-to-face’ relationship. I don’t know about you but I love this Hebrew picture, it paints for me the quality of relationship I have with God and reminds me that the gift of my marriage is to display this.

Now coming back to the thought above… ‘you can only be intimate with the same stuff’, can you see why Adam could not have found a relationship with animals, they were not of the same stuff.  God took that which was clay and breath and from this took the triumph of female.     Paul in the book of Ephesians talks about the picture of the bride and bridegroom, the Christ and the Church being displayed in marriage. Firstly this face-to-face relationship and secondly that Adam and Eve were the same stuff, here we have the exciting discovery that you and I having been born from above have an intimacy with God, because we are all the same stuff as God. How do I know I am the same stuff as God?    It is his desire to be intimate with me.     What a salvation!

Another thought, in Genesis 1 we have a clear pattern laid out for us, the male and female are called to display the image and likeness of God, not to establish superiority or subservient views.  The account is far more about ruling together, filling together, enlarging and advancing the ultimate intention of God together.  I would suggest that this account is an eternal view breaking in on this time-space world.   Following this through in history, we read Paul’s statement in Galatians  “…neither Jew or Gentile, male or female master or slave…” Is Paul taking his lead from the kingdom that is breaking in upon us?  Taking his lead from the eternal realm, displaying and speaking forth what it is like in the true economy and kingdom of God.  I fully understand that patriarchy, dominance and subservience has been displayed through many of the pictures in the Old Testament but this does not mean that this is what the kingdom should be like or how eternity functions.  I would suggest that Genesis 1 with a constant flow together of male and female is how we need to operate and Paul’s statement only affirms Gods creating order, there is neither, the eternal order, the invading Kingdom of God order.    Please hear me, in our fallen world clearly there are functional differences but we have to learn to be herald righteous and just and uphold Gods eternal kingdom.

If our world constantly break down and remove women to such a low-level, causing them to live dominated, it is time for the church of God to show the righteousness of God and display a different way.   In Ephesians Paul’s tells us that man should love his wife to display the Christ and the bridegroom. Has not the bridegroom lifted up the bride and seated the bride on the throne, therefore let me suggest that man’s way should be to lift woman higher than themselves for is this not what the love of Christ has done for us, and is this not true headship.  Unfortunately as men we so quickly become dominating and press women down. Men I ask that we become the liberators of women in these days.   This is not a post-modern or a modern way of thinking but it is a rediscovery of the eternal value maleness and femaleness in the image and likeness of God.

Just as Christ serves the church we better serve one another so that the bride may truly be lifted up. Is it not amazing that all across the world, in virtually every culture women are subservient, beaten; young female children are treated with a lack of value.    It is time for the eternal people of God to speak out rather than allowing perceived realities to continue to imprison. My appeal is that we become male and female, and advance the kingdom of God together, just as God would have us to do.

There is so much more to come revelation, biblically and theologically that we are discovering in these days regarding male and female.    Let us reflect righteously the view of eternity, for this is the Kingdom of God that is breaking in upon us, as we taste more and more of the order of God.

With the Fathers empowerment we will and should bring to an end stories such as we began with throughout our world, Politicians speak out, the church do not stay silent.    Wars are fought on treasures in the ground, boundaries of nations but silence regarding such atrocities as we began this article with continue. Really its violence to the image and likeness of God let us highly regard one another and be what God intending firstly n the church family then in our world.