Crystal Clear...Organized Chaos » Just something extra!

Moving Forward

Lee McFatridge — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 09:58:37 +0000

The important work of moving the world forward does not wait to be done by perfect men.

- George Eliot, [English novelist (1819 - 1880)]

“One Vote”…Make Your’s Count

Lee McFatridge — Sat, 01 Nov 2008 23:39:10 +0000

Take a few minutes and watch this video…Hopefully you will see how much your vote counts.

If I Were Satan…

Lee McFatridge — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 21:11:58 +0000

If I were the Devil:

I would gain control of the most powerful nation in the
world;

I would delude their minds into thinking that they had come
from man’s effort, instead of God’s blessings;

I would promote an attitude of loving things and using
people, instead of the other way around;

I would dupe entire states into relying on gambling for
their state revenue;

I would convince people that character is not an issue when
it comes to leadership;

I would make it legal to take the life of unborn babies;

I would make it socially acceptable to take one’s own life,
and invent machines to make it convenient;

I would cheapen human life as much as possible so that the
life of animals are valued more that human beings;

I would take God out of the schools, where even the mention
of His name was grounds for a lawsuit;

I would come up with drugs that sedate the mind and target
the young, and I would get sports heroes to advertise them;

I would get control of the media, so that every night I
could pollute the mind of every family member for my
agenda;

I would attack the family, the backbone of any nation.

I would make divorce acceptable and easy, even fashionable.
If the family crumbles, so does the nation;

I would compel people to express their most depraved
fantasies on canvas and movie screens, and I would call it
art;

I would convince the world that people are born
homosexuals, and that their lifestyles should be accepted
and marveled;

I would convince the people that right and wrong are
determined by a few who call themselves authorities and
refer to their agenda as politically correct;

I would persuade people that the church is irrelevant and
out of date, and the Bible is for the naive;

I would dull the minds of Christians, and make them believe
that prayer is not important, and that faithfulness and
obedience are optional;

I guess I would leave things pretty much the way they already are!!!

-Written by Radio Personality “Paul Harvey” in 1999

Perhaps It’s Time We Read This

Lee McFatridge — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 12:43:34 +0000

U.S. Constitution. (September 17, 1787) art. I-VII

Published: Sep. 17, 1787

We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

Article. I.

Section. 1.

All legislative Powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and House of Representatives.

Section. 2.

The House of Representatives shall be composed of Members chosen every second Year by the People of the several States, and the Electors in each State shall have the Qualifications requisite for Electors of the most numerous Branch of the State Legislature.

No Person shall be a Representative who shall not have attained to the Age of twenty five Years, and been seven Years a Citizen of the United States, and who shall not, when elected, be an Inhabitant of that State in which he shall be chosen.

Representatives and direct Taxes shall be apportioned among the several States which may be included within this Union, according to their respective Numbers, which shall be determined by adding to the whole Number of free Persons, including those bound to Service for a Term of Years, and excluding Indians not taxed, three fifths of all other Persons. The actual Enumeration shall be made within three Years after the first Meeting of the Congress of the United States, and within every subsequent Term of ten Years, in such Manner as they shall by Law direct. The Number of Representatives shall not exceed one for every thirty Thousand, but each State shall have at Least one Representative; and until such Enumeration shall be made, the State of New Hampshire shall be entitled to chuse three, Massachusetts eight, Rhode-Island and Providence Plantations one, Connecticut five, New-York six, New Jersey four, Pennsylvania eight, Delaware one, Maryland six, Virginia ten, North Carolina five, South Carolina five, and Georgia three.

When vacancies happen in the Representation from any State, the Executive Authority thereof shall issue Writs of Election to fill such Vacancies.

The House of Representatives shall chuse their Speaker and other Officers; and shall have the sole Power of Impeachment.

Section. 3.

The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two Senators from each State, chosen by the Legislature thereof for six Years; and each Senator shall have one Vote.

Immediately after they shall be assembled in Consequence of the first Election, they shall be divided as equally as may be into three Classes. The Seats of the Senators of the first Class shall be vacated at the Expiration of the second Year, of the second Class at the Expiration of the fourth Year, and of the third Class at the Expiration of the sixth Year, so that one third may be chosen every second Year; and ifVacancies happen by Resignation, or otherwise, during the Recess of the Legislature of any State, the Executive thereof may make temporary Appointments until the next Meeting of the Legislature, which shall then fill suchVacancies.

No Person shall be a Senator who shall not have attained to the Age of thirty Years, and been nine Years a Citizen of the United States, and who shall not, when elected, be an Inhabitant of that State for which he shall be chosen.

The Vice President of the United States shall be President of the Senate, but shall have no Vote, unless they be equally divided.

The Senate shall chuse their other Officers, and also a President pro tempore, in the Absence of the Vice President, or when he shall exercise the Office of President of the United States.

The Senate shall have the sole Power to try all Impeachments. When sitting for that Purpose, they shall be on Oath or Affirmation. When the President of the United States is tried, the Chief Justice shall preside: And no Person shall be convicted without the Concurrence of two thirds of the Members present.

Judgment in Cases of Impeachment shall not extend further than to removal from Office, and disqualification to hold and enjoy any Office of honor, Trust or Profit under the United States: but the Party convicted shall nevertheless be liable and subject to Indictment, Trial, Judgment and Punishment, according to Law.

Section. 4.

The Times, Places and Manner of holding Elections for Senators and Representatives, shall be prescribed in each State by the Legislature thereof; but the Congress may at any time by Law make or alter such Regulations, except as to the Places of chusing Senators.

The Congress shall assemble at least once in every Year, and such Meeting shall be on the first Monday in December, unless they shall by Law appoint a different Day.

Section. 5.

Each House shall be the Judge of the Elections, Returns and Qualifications of its own Members, and a Majority of each shall constitute a Quorum to do Business; but a smaller Number may adjourn from day to day, and may be authorized to compel the Attendance of absent Members, in such Manner, and under such Penalties as each House may provide.

Each House may determine the Rules of its Proceedings, punish its Members for disorderly Behaviour, and, with the Concurrence of two thirds, expel a Member.

Each House shall keep a Journal of its Proceedings, and from time to time publish the same, excepting such Parts as may in their Judgment require Secrecy; and the yeas and Nays of the Members of either House on any question shall, at the Desire of one fifth of those Present, be entered on the Journal.

Neither House, during the Session of Congress, shall, without the Consent of the other, adjourn for more than three days, nor to any other Place than that in which the two Houses shall be sitting.

Section. 6.

The Senators and Representatives shall receive a Compensation for their Services, to be ascertained by Law, and paid out of the Treasury of the United States. They shall in all Cases, except Treason, Felony and Breach of the Peace, be privileged from Arrest during their Attendance at the Session of their respective Houses, and in going to and returning from the same; and for any Speech or Debate in either House, they shall not be questioned in any other Place.

No Senator or Representative shall, during the Time for which he was elected, be appointed to any civil Office under the Authority of the United States, which shall have been created, or the Emoluments whereof shall have been encreased during such time; and no Person holding any Office under the United States, shall be a Member of either House during his Continuance in Office.

Section. 7.

All Bills for raising Revenue shall originate in the House of Representatives; but the Senate may propose or concur with Amendments as on other Bills.

Every Bill which shall have passed The House of Representatives and the Senate, shall, before it become a Law, be presented to the President of the United States: If he approve he shall sign it, but if not he shall return it, with his Objections to that House in which it shall have originated, who shall enter the Objections at large on their Journal, and proceed to reconsider it. If after such reconsideration two thirds of that House shall agree to pass the Bill, it shall be sent, together with the Objections, to the other House, by which it shall likewise be reconsidered, and if approved by two thirds of that House, it shall become a Law. But in all such Cases the Votes of both Houses shall be determined by yeas and Nays, and the Names of the Persons voting for and against the Bill shall be entered on the Journal of each House respectively. If any Bill shall not be returned by the President within ten Days (Sundays excepted) after it shall have been presented to him, the Same shall be a Law, in like Manner as if he had signed it, unless the Congress by their Adjournment prevent its Return, in which Case it shall not be a Law.

Every Order, Resolution, or Vote to which the Concurrence of the Senate and House of Representatives may be necessary (except on a question of Adjournment) shall be presented to the President of the United States; and before the Same shall take Effect, shall be approved by him, or being disapproved by him, shall be repassed by two thirds of the Senate and House of Representatives, according to the Rules and Limitations prescribed in the Case of a Bill.

Section. 8.

The Congress shall have Power To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, to pay the Debts and provide for the common Defence and general Welfare of the United States; but all Duties, Imposts and Excises shall be uniform throughout the United States;

To borrow Money on the credit of the United States;

To regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian Tribes;

To establish an uniform Rule of Naturalization, and uniform Laws on the subject of Bankruptcies throughout the United States;

To coin Money, regulate the Value thereof, and of foreign Coin, and fix the Standard of Weights and Measures;

To provide for the Punishment of counterfeiting the Securities and current Coin of the United States;

To establish Post Offices and post Roads;

To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries;

To constitute Tribunals inferior to the supreme Court;

To define and punish Piracies and Felonies committed on the high Seas, and Offences against the Law of Nations;

To declare War, grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal, and make Rules concerning Captures on Land and Water;

To raise and support Armies, but no Appropriation of Money to that Use shall be for a longer Term than two Years;

To provide and maintain a Navy;

To make Rules for the Government and Regulation of the land and naval Forces;

To provide for calling forth the Militia to execute the Laws of the Union, suppress Insurrections and repel Invasions;

To provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining, the Militia, and for governing such Part of them as may be employed in the Service of the United States, reserving to the States respectively, the Appointment of the Officers, and the Authority of training the Militia according to the discipline prescribed by Congress;

To exercise exclusive Legislation in all Cases whatsoever, over such District (not exceeding ten Miles square) as may, by Cession of particular States, and the Acceptance of Congress, become the Seat of the Government of the United States, and to exercise like Authority over all Places purchased by the Consent of the Legislature of the State in which the Same shall be, for the Erection of Forts, Magazines, Arsenals, dock-Yards, and other needful Buildings;–And

To make all Laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into Execution the foregoing Powers, and all other Powers vested by this Constitution in the Government of the United States, or in any Department or Officer thereof.

Section. 9.

The Migration or Importation of such Persons as any of the States now existing shall think proper to admit, shall not be prohibited by the Congress prior to the Year one thousand eight hundred and eight, but a Tax or duty may be imposed on such Importation, not exceeding ten dollars for each Person.

The Privilege of the Writ of Habeas Corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in Cases of Rebellion or Invasion the public Safety may require it.

No Bill of Attainder or ex post facto Law shall be passed.

No Capitation, or other direct, Tax shall be laid, unless in Proportion to the Census or Enumeration herein before directed to be taken.

No Tax or Duty shall be laid on Articles exported from any State.

No Preference shall be given by any Regulation of Commerce or Revenue to the Ports of one State over those of another; nor shall Vessels bound to, or from, one State, be obliged to enter, clear, or pay Duties in another.

No Money shall be drawn from the Treasury, but in Consequence of Appropriations made by Law; and a regular Statement and Account of the Receipts and Expenditures of all public Money shall be published from time to time.

No Title of Nobility shall be granted by the United States: And no Person holding any Office of Profit or Trust under them, shall, without the Consent of the Congress, accept of any present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince, or foreign State.

Section. 10.

No State shall enter into any Treaty, Alliance, or Confederation; grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal; coin Money; emit Bills of Credit; make any Thing but gold and silver Coin a Tender in Payment of Debts; pass any Bill of Attainder, ex post facto Law, or Law impairing the Obligation of Contracts, or grant any Title of Nobility.

No State shall, without the Consent of the Congress, lay any Imposts or Duties on Imports or Exports, except what may be absolutely necessary for executing it’s inspection Laws: and the net Produce of all Duties and Imposts, laid by any State on Imports or Exports, shall be for the Use of the Treasury of the United States; and all such Laws shall be subject to the Revision and Controul of the Congress.

No State shall, without the Consent of Congress, lay any Duty of Tonnage, keep Troops, or Ships of War in time of Peace, enter into any Agreement or Compact with another State, or with a foreign Power, or engage in War, unless actually invaded, or in such imminent Danger as will not admit of delay.

Article. II.

Section. 1.

The executive Power shall be vested in a President of the United States of America. He shall hold his Office during the Term of four Years, and, together with the Vice President, chosen for the same Term, be elected, as follows:

Each State shall appoint, in such Manner as the Legislature thereof may direct, a Number of Electors, equal to the whole Number of Senators and Representatives to which the State may be entitled in the Congress: but no Senator or Representative, or Person holding an Office of Trust or Profit under the United States, shall be appointed an Elector.

The Electors shall meet in their respective States, and vote by Ballot for two Persons, of whom one at least shall not be an Inhabitant of the same State with themselves. And they shall make a List of all the Persons voted for, and of the Number of Votes for each; which List they shall sign and certify, and transmit sealed to the Seat of the Government of the United States, directed to the President of the Senate. The President of the Senate shall, in the Presence of the Senate and House of Representatives, open all the Certificates, and the Votes shall then be counted. The Person having the greatest Number of Votes shall be the President, if such Number be a Majority of the whole Number of Electors appointed; and if there be more than one who have such Majority, and have an equal Number of Votes, then The House of Representatives shall immediately chuse by Ballot one of them for President; and if no Person have a Majority, then from the five highest on the List the said House shall in like Manner chuse the President. But in chusing the President, the Votes shall be taken by States, the Representation from each State having one Vote; A quorum for this purpose shall consist of a Member or Members from two thirds of the States, and a Majority of all the States shall be necessary to a Choice. In every Case, after the Choice of the President, the Person having the greatest Number of Votes of the Electors shall be the Vice President. But if there should remain two or more who have equal Votes, the Senate shall chuse from them by Ballot the Vice President.

The Congress may determine the Time of chusing the Electors, and the Day on which they shall give their Votes; which Day shall be the same throughout the United States.

No Person except a natural born Citizen, or a Citizen of the United States, at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the Office of President; neither shall any Person be eligible to that Office who shall not have attained to the Age of thirty five Years, and been fourteen Years a Resident within the United States.

In Case of the Removal of the President from Office, or of his Death, Resignation, or Inability to discharge the Powers and Duties of the said Office, the Same shall devolve on the Vice President, and the Congress may by Law provide for the Case of Removal, Death, Resignation or Inability, both of the President and Vice President, declaring what Officer shall then act as President, and such Officer shall act accordingly, until the Disability be removed, or a President shall be elected.

The President shall, at stated Times, receive for his Services, a Compensation, which shall neither be increased nor diminished during the Period for which he shall have been elected, and he shall not receive within that Period any other Emolument from the United States, or any of them.

Before he enter on the Execution of his Office, he shall take the following Oath or Affirmation:–”I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.”

Section. 2.

The President shall be Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, and of the Militia of the several States, when called into the actual Service of the United States; he may require the Opinion, in writing, of the principal Officer in each of the executive Departments, upon any Subject relating to the Duties of their respective Offices, and he shall have Power to grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offences against the United States, except in Cases of Impeachment.

He shall have Power, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, to make Treaties, provided two thirds of the Senators present concur; and he shall nominate, and by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, shall appoint Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls, Judges of the supreme Court, and all other Officers of the United States, whose Appointments are not herein otherwise provided for, and which shall be established by Law: but the Congress may by Law vest the Appointment of such inferior Officers, as they think proper, in the President alone, in the Courts of Law, or in the Heads of Departments.

The President shall have Power to fill up all Vacancies that may happen during the Recess of the Senate, by granting Commissions which shall expire at the End of their next Session.

Section. 3.

He shall from time to time give to the Congress Information of the State of the Union, and recommend to their Consideration such Measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient; he may, on extraordinary Occasions, convene both Houses, or either of them, and in Case of Disagreement between them, with Respect to the Time of Adjournment, he may adjourn them to such Time as he shall think proper; he shall receive Ambassadors and other public Ministers; he shall take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed, and shall Commission all the Officers of the United States.

Section. 4.

The President, Vice President and all civil Officers of the United States, shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors.

Article III.

Section. 1.

The judicial Power of the United States shall be vested in one supreme Court, and in such inferior Courts as the Congress may from time to time ordain and establish. The Judges, both of the supreme and inferior Courts, shall hold their Offices during good Behaviour, and shall, at stated Times, receive for their Services a Compensation, which shall not be diminished during their Continuance in Office.

Section. 2.

The judicial Power shall extend to all Cases, in Law and Equity, arising under this Constitution, the Laws of the United States, and Treaties made, or which shall be made, under their Authority;to all Cases affecting Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls; to all Cases of admiralty and maritime Jurisdiction; –to Controversies to which the United States shall be a Party; to Controversies between two or more States; between a State and Citizens of another State; –between Citizens of different States;

–between Citizens of the same State claiming Lands under Grants of different States, and between a State, or the Citizens thereof, and foreign States, Citizens or Subjects.

In all Cases affecting Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls, and those in which a State shall be Party, the supreme Court shall have original Jurisdiction. In all the other Cases before mentioned, the supreme Court shall have appellate Jurisdiction, both as to Law and Fact, with such Exceptions, and under such Regulations as the Congress shall make.

The Trial of all Crimes, except in Cases of Impeachment, shall be by Jury; and such Trial shall be held in the State where the said Crimes shall have been committed; but when not committed within any State, the Trial shall be at such Place or Places as the Congress may by Law have directed.

Section. 3.

Treason against the United States, shall consist only in levying War against them, or in adhering to their Enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort. No Person shall be convicted of Treason unless on the Testimony of two Witnesses to the same overt Act, or on Confession in open Court.

The Congress shall have Power to declare the Punishment of Treason, but no Attainder of Treason shall work Corruption of Blood, or Forfeiture except during the Life of the Person attainted.

Article. IV.

Section. 1.

Full Faith and Credit shall be given in each State to the public Acts, Records, and judicial Proceedings of every other State. And the Congress may by general Laws prescribe the Manner in which such Acts, Records and Proceedings shall be proved, and the Effect thereof.

Section. 2.

The Citizens of each State shall be entitled to all Privileges and Immunities of Citizens in the several States.

A Person charged in any State with Treason, Felony, or other Crime, who shall flee from Justice, and be found in another State, shall on Demand of the executive Authority of the State from which he fled, be delivered up, to be removed to the State having Jurisdiction of the Crime.

No Person held to Service or Labour in one State, under the Laws thereof, escaping into another, shall, in Consequence of any Law or Regulation therein, be discharged from such Service or Labour, but shall be delivered up on Claim of the Party to whom such Service or Labour may be due.

Section. 3.

New States may be admitted by the Congress into this Union; but no new State shall be formed or erected within the Jurisdiction of any other State; nor any State be formed by the Junction of two or more States, or Parts of States, without the Consent of the Legislatures of the States concerned as well as of the Congress.

The Congress shall have Power to dispose of and make all needful Rules and Regulations respecting the Territory or other Property belonging to the United States; and nothing in this Constitution shall be so construed as to Prejudice any Claims of the United States, or of any particular State.

Section. 4.

The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a Republican Form of Government, and shall protect each of them against Invasion; and on Application of the Legislature, or of the Executive (when the Legislature cannot be convened), against domestic Violence.

Article. V.

The Congress, whenever two thirds of both Houses shall deem it necessary, shall propose Amendments to this Constitution, or, on the Application of the Legislatures of two thirds of the several States, shall call a Convention for proposing Amendments, which, in either Case, shall be valid to all Intents and Purposes, as Part of this Constitution, when ratified by the Legislatures of three fourths of the several States, or by Conventions in three fourths thereof, as the one or the other Mode of Ratification may be proposed by the Congress; Provided that no Amendment which may be made prior to the Year One thousand eight hundred and eight shall in any Manner affect the first and fourth Clauses in the Ninth Section of the first Article; and that no State, without its Consent, shall be deprived of its equal Suffrage in the Senate.

Article. VI.

All Debts contracted and Engagements entered into, before the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be as valid against the United States under this Constitution, as under the Confederation.

This Constitution, and the Laws of the United States which shall be made in Pursuance thereof; and all Treaties made, or which shall be made, under the Authority of the United States, shall be the supreme Law of the Land; and the Judges in every State shall be bound thereby, any Thing in the Constitution or Laws of any State to the Contrary notwithstanding.

The Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and the Members of the several State Legislatures, and all executive and judicial Officers, both of the United States and of the several States, shall be bound by Oath or Affirmation, to support this Constitution; but no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States.

Article. VII.

The Ratification of the Conventions of nine States, shall be sufficient for the Establishment of this Constitution between the States so ratifying the Same.

Attest William Jackson Secretary

Done in Convention by the Unanimous Consent of the States present the Seventeenth Day of September in the Year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and Eighty seven and of the Independence of the United States of America the Twelfth In witness whereof We have hereunto subscribed our Names,

G° Washington

Presidt and deputy from Virginia

Delaware

Geo: Read, Gunning Bedford jun, John Dickinson, Richard Bassett, Jaco: Broom

Maryland

James McHenry, Dan of St Thos. Jenifer, Danl Carroll

Virginia

John Blair, James Madison Jr.

North Carolina

Wm. Blount, Richd. Dobbs Spaight, Hu Williamson

South Carolina

J. Rutledge, Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, Charles Pinckney, Pierce Butler

Georgia

William Few, Abr Baldwin

New Hampshire

John Langdon, Nicholas Gilman

Massachusetts

Nathaniel Gorham, Rufus King

Connecticut

Wm. Saml. Johnson, Roger Sherman

New York

Alexander Hamilton

New Jersey

Wil: Livingston, David Brearley, Wm. Paterson, Jona: Dayton

Pennsylvania

B Franklin, Thomas Mifflin, Robt. Morris, Geo. Clymer, Thos. FitzSimons, Jared Ingersoll, James Wilson, Gouv Morris

Bill of Rights/Amendments I – X

Amendments XI – XXVII

Dad…I’m Watching You

Lee McFatridge — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 13:48:25 +0000

Proverbs 22:6 “Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.”

I See Miracles!

Lee McFatridge — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 12:27:56 +0000

Our God is an AWESOME GOD!

An Atheist’s Nightmare

Lee McFatridge — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 02:04:02 +0000

I put things like this on my blog so you won’t have to search. I hope you see the blessing this provides. May Yahweh (GOD) touch your heart today.

“I Finally Get It!!!”

Lee McFatridge — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 04:27:05 +0000

I wanted to briefly share this and don’t know how long it is going to be. I hope it isn’t too long and you don’t get bored. ( I tell it much better than I write it!)
I had to take a class on Humanities in which we discussed and had to learn a lot of things about past cultures such as Judaism, Hinduism, Islam, Greek Mythology and also Medieval Christianity. Pretty interesting stuff, but scary that they pound young kids with all this crap. (Just my thoughts on it all.) Any way…I was studying for my final in the class and it had to do with Islam and Christianity (not now but Medieval) and a few others were envious that I kept getting 100s and 98s on my in-class essays and said they wanted to study with me. So it was Monday that we were studying together in the student lounge. There were a few others in there…I noticed a woman maybe my age, maybe a little older sitting about 20 feet away, she was evidently waiting on a ride it seemed. I didn’t pay her much attention, just noticed that she was there. Anyway I got into a conversation with the girl that was in my study group about Jesus. I went through the whole “Way of the Master” with her and she was touched it seemed…I even went so far as to discuss why it was so important about Jesus suffering…(i.e. that it wasn’t the beating, the crown, the crucifixion and the like but the wrath of God that He suffered…because others had died the same way but happy to die for God and they even went singing joyfully to God.)
So I finish up and evidently this woman’s ride (the one not in my group) had been there, but she had told them to hold on…she jumps up and raises her hands in the air and yells “I get it…I finally understand it!!!” I was shocked..as were those I had been talking to…and I asked her if she had a bible…she said yes but she hasn’t been reading it…I told her she might should pick it up, that God may have something for her…she said she definitely would now!
Man, that is what it is all about. I have had several experiences like this. I did what I was to do…it isn’t about grabbing that person and saying a prayer…it is about giving them the gospel the way Jesus did. I thought how wonderful this whole event was…and how awesome God is to use someone like me (not even close to being who I need to be)…HE IS AWESOME! It was really great.

Are there Apostles In Today’s Church?

Lee McFatridge — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 23:01:34 +0000

I found this article on, New Testament Reformation Fellowship (http://www.ntrf.org/) and wanted to pass it along. Hope you have a chance to read it.

Are There Apostles in Today’s Church?

by Steve Atkerson

Most evangelicals reject outright the idea that there should be apostles in today’s church. This is because “the Twelve” were personally handpicked by Jesus to represent Him and were instructed by Jesus directly. On one occasion Jesus told the Twelve, “He who receives you receives me, and he who receives me receives the one who sent me” (Mt 10:40). During the Last Supper, Jesus exclusively promised the Twelve that the Holy Spirit “will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you” (Jn 14:26). After Jesus’ ascension, the early believers devoted themselves not to what Jesus had said but rather “to the apostles’ teaching” (Ac 2:42). This was because the apostles’ teaching was identical to Jesus’ teaching.

When Paul visited the brothers in Galatia, they welcomed him “as if [he] were Christ Jesus Himself” (Ga 4:14). Indeed, the apostles consciously realized their unique authority as Jesus’ representatives. In writing to the Corinthians, Paul said, “if anybody thinks he is a prophet or spiritually gifted, let him acknowledge that what I am writing to you is the Lord’s command” (1Co 14:37). Speaking directly to the Twelve, Jesus said, “if they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also” (Jn 15:20b). It is no wonder that few have been bold enough to claim the mantle of modern apostleship!

However, further data comes to light when one examines the NT data on the apostles. Paul wrote that our resurrected Lord appeared to “the Twelve” and later to “all the apostles” (1Co 15:3-8). Are “all the apostles” different from “the Twelve”? Mt 10:2-4 gives a listing (by name) of the “twelve apostles” and yet 1Th 1:1 and 2:6 also refer to Paul, Silas and Timothy as “apostles.” Ro 16:7 may refer to two more apostles, Andronious and Junias. In Ac 14:14, Luke referred to Barnabas as an “apostle.” Finally, James (the Lord’s brother) certainly seems to have been grouped as an apostle in Ga 1:18-19 and 2:9. In what sense were these other people “apostles”?

In Scripture there were essentially two types of apostles. Foremost there were those apostles who had physically seen the resurrected Lord Jesus, who had been personally chosen by Jesus to represent Him, and who had been trained directly by Jesus for the job (compare 1Co 15:8-9; Ga 1:11-2:10). This first group consisted of the spiritual heavyweights. They were the norm for doctrine and practice in the early church. It was they who authored or approved all books now in the NT canon of Scripture. Whereas this first type of apostle was prepared and sent out by Jesus, the second type of apostle was prepared and sent out by the church and carried much less authority (see Ac 13:1-3; 2Co 8:23; Php 2:25). Not having been trained by Jesus, the second type of apostle merely studied and repeated what the first type of apostle taught (see 1Co 4:16-17; 1Ti 3:14-15; 2Ti 2:2; Tit 1:5).

The word “apostle” in our English Bible is a transliteration of the Greek apostolos. The actual translation would be something like “envoy, ambassador, messenger, sent one” (New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology, Brown, Vol. 1, 126). The verb apostello carries the notion of “to send with a particular purpose,” thus, apostolos would mean “one commissioned” or “accredited messenger” (New Bible Dictionary, Davis, 57-60). Jerome, in translating the NT from Greek into Latin, rendered apostolos as the Latin root missio (the basis for our “missionary”). Did you ever notice that the word “missionary” is nowhere to be found in an English Bible? Yet virtually every evangelical believes in “missionaries.” This is because “missionary” is the dynamic equivalent of apostolos. The justification for the existence of contemporary missionaries lies in the NT patterns of and teachings about the existence of apostles.

Thus, while there are not likely to be anymore of the first type of apostle, modern church planters certainly do correspond to the second type of apostle. That is, they have been sent out by the church to evangelize and to plant churches. Church planters are truly apostles in the secondary sense, and they are as much needed today as they were in the first century.

Granted that there is indeed a NT pattern to justify the existence of church planters today, how should our modern apostles carry out their ministries? Based on Ac 1-7, 8:12, 15:1-2 (cp. Ga 1:11, 1:18, 2:1, 2:9), and Ac 21:17-18, it appears that most of the Twelve worked out of Jerusalem for at least seventeen years (it was their base of operations). While there, the apostles devoted their time to evangelizing the lost in Jerusalem and to teaching the saved. They also occasionally took short missionary journeys while based out of Jerusalem (Ac 8:14, 25). By the time Paul went there in Ac 21:17-18, however, they seem to have left. Only James was still there. However, looking again to the NT, it becomes obvious that near constant movement characterized many of the other first apostles. They itinerated, preached the Gospel and organized churches. Rarely did these traveling apostles settle down permanently in one place. This is far different from what typically goes on in contemporary missions!

Occasional training stops were made in strategic locations, but then the circuit continued. For instance, Paul spent one and a half years in Corinth (Ac 18:11), two years in Ephesus (19:8-10), and two years in Rome (28:31). He managed to resist the temptation of staying any longer. Similarly, Paul told the apostle Timothy to “stay in Ephesus so that [he] might command certain men not to teach false doctrines any longer” (1Ti 1:3); but once that job was done Paul wrote for him to “do your best to get here before winter” (2Ti 4:21). Despite what is commonly supposed, Timothy was an apostle to Ephesus, not a pastor there. Another example is Titus, left in Crete to “straighten out what was left unfinished” and to “appoint elders in every town” (Tit 1:5); once this was accomplished Titus was to join Paul at Nicopolis (Tit 3:12).

What objectives did the early apostles have that motivated their travels? One was evangelism. In discussing the rights of apostles, Paul referred to apostles as “those who preach the gospel” (1Co 9:14). Similarly, Timothy was charged to “do the work of an evangelist” (2Ti 4:5). Even a cursory reading of Acts will show this to be an important function for apostles.

Another objective of those sent out by the church was to organize and strengthen the newly converted. This was partially the reason for the one or two year stays. Ep 4:11-13 tells us that God gave apostles “to prepare God’s people for works of service.” Paul planned a visit to Ephesus, but in case he was delayed he wrote instructions so that they would “know how people ought to conduct themselves in God’s household” (1Ti 3:15). Timothy’s job was to “entrust” the truth to “reliable men who will also be qualified to teach others” (2Ti 2:2).

A major difference between an elder and an apostle is that a elder’s sphere of service is permanently concentrated in one local church, whereas an apostle’s field is universal and temporary. Once an apostle has trained and appointed elders, he moves on. From then on it is up to the elders to teach the church and train future elders, with occasional help from apostles who pass by.

Under the Holy Spirit’s guidance, no words recorded in Scripture are accidental or without importance. All written there is for our profit. Just as we ignore NT patterns for ecclesiology to our peril, so too to disregard NT apostolic practices is unwise. The existence of mobile, traveling, itinerant church workers is a New Testament pattern. Virtually every church mentioned in the NT was started by apostolic teams, and continued on in their relationship with these teams for years afterward their founding. Your blood circulates all over your body, bringing in oxygen and taking away impurities. Itinerant church workers are to the church as the blood is to the body. Their ministry is a part of God’s design for growing, healthy churches. The NT pattern is for existing churches to send out church planters who will start new congregations in unchurched areas. We still need the ministry of such men today. These modern “apostles” can also serve existing churches by helping ground them in sound doctrine and practice. They serve as seminary professors on wheels, training and equipping church leaders in their local settings (1Ti 1:3; 3:14-15; 4:1-6, 13; 2Ti 1:13; 2:1-2, 14; 4:1-5; Tit 1:5; 2:1-15).

Twentieth century apostles are to be servants of the church, not lords over it. Though they will naturally have the influential authority of an elder over the churches they begin, a modern apostle is really no higher in “rank” than any elder. Modern apostles are not like the Twelve of old. It must be remembered that the faith was “once for all delivered to the saints” (Jude 3). No “new” teaching is needed. No essential theology has been withheld from the church. Thus, a church planter’s teaching must be in harmony with the previous revelation from the Twelve. No doubt there will occasionally arise false apostles, and because of this we must be like the Ephesians who “tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false” (Re 2:2).

It is not likely that we shall ever again encounter an apostle in the sense that “the Twelve” were apostles. However, the church always has had and will continue to have apostles in the sense that Barnabas, Timothy, Titus, and Epaphroditus were apostles. That is, church planters sent out to evangelize, start churches, train and appoint leaders, and then move on to another location.
Apostolic bands were integral to the spread and maturity of the early church. Their existence and ministry is a NT pattern. They evangelized, made disciples, taught, organized, and appointed elders. Can you start a church without an apostle present? Yes. Can an existing church function without apostolic input? Yes. Can a church elect its own elders? Yes. But, all this is much easier if apostolic workers are around to draw upon.

Summary

What the church does not need are:

So-called apostles who try to lord over (rule) the local church. Apostles are to be servants of the church (Col 1:25, 2Co 13:4). The apostles are to strengthen the local leadership, not supplant it. In fact, apostles should be accountable to the leadership of the local church.
Apostles who dominate the meetings of the local church, and who try to turn it into a one man show. Apostles are to be like coaches, not players. The church “belongs” to the brothers, not to the apostles.
Parasites on the church. Apostles do have the right to support, but ought to be able and willing to work secularly if need be.
Apostles who peddle the Word of God, charging for Bible classes.

What the church does need is for you to:

Pray for God to raise up modern day apostles of the church who will plant Biblical house churches, Mt 9:37-38. (Ask God and other believers if maybe you should go into an apostolic ministry. You might just be the answer to your own prayer!).
Pray for those who are already doing evangelistic work, Ep 6:19-20, Col 4:2-4.
Give money to support full time apostles (and evangelists), 1Co 9:14.
Be open to the ministry and input of apostles. The influence of itinerant church workers can keep a house church from becoming ingrown, from being content with the blissful fellowship of like-minded believers. Isolated groups can easily lose sight of God’s desire for us to evangelize and reach out to the lost.

Revised 01/23/03

Want help teaching this topic? To aid you in leading others to the truths of New Testament church life, teaching notes have been prepared for this subject. They will give you ideas on how to lead an interactive (Socratic) group discussion. The idea is to guide people to discover for themselves what the New Testament says about this topic. At the end of the guide there are study questions to pass (or e-mail) out in advance.

Just click here!

Steve Atkerson

Steve lives in Georgia with his wife, Sandra, and their three home-schooled children. Steve graduated from Georgia Tech and worked in industrial electronics before heading off to seminary. After receiving a Master of Divinity degree from Mid-America Baptist Theological Seminary in Memphis, served on the pastoral staff of a Southern Baptist Church. After seven years in the traditional pastorate, he resigned to begin working with churches that desire to follow apostolic traditions in their church practice. Since 1990 he travels and teaches as the Lord opens doors of opportunity. Steve is an elder at a local house church, is president of NTRF, edited Toward A House Church Theology, authored both The Practice of the Early Church: A Theological Workbook and The Equipping Manual, and is editor of and a contributing author to Ekklesia: To The Roots of Biblical House Church Life.

The Church is in need of Apostles

Lee McFatridge — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 22:54:07 +0000

A friend of mine, John Aguilar, founder of Shepherds of Grace International (http://www.shepherdsofgrace.org/) wrote a very to the point and excellent expression of why we need apostles today…this is contrary to the heresy that apostles are no longer needed or called forth. Please take a read…THANKS JOHN!

Today, The Church Needs An…

Apostolic Ministry

The word “missionary” comes from a Latin word meaning the same as the Greek word “apostolos,” one sent forth, representing the one who has sent them forth, having all authority of the sender, accomplishing what the sender would have accomplished should he had gone Himself.

The Function of an Apostle In the First Century Churches.

1. Taking the gospel to unreached areas. Paul said to the Romans, “It has always been my ambition to preach the gospel where Christ was not known, so that I would not be building on someone else’s foundation” (Romans 15:20).

2. Laying a firm foundation (Christ Himself) for the churches being established. Paul speaks of this important apostolic role: “By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as a wise master builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should be careful how he builds. For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 3:10,11).

3. Training the initial leaders and appointing elders. When Paul and Barnabas made their second visit to Lystra, Iconium and Pisidian Antioch, they prayed and fasted and ordained elders in each church (acts 14:21-23). Paul likewise instructs Titus to “set in order” the churches in Crete and appoint elders in every city (Titus 1:5).

4. Dealing with specific problems, false doctrines or sins in the churches that had been established. Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians illustrates his use of apostolic authority to speak to a number of problems in the church he had planted at Corinth: disunity, immaturity, pride, immorality, taking other believers to court before secular authorities, questions about celibacy and marriage, disputes about meat sacrificed to idols, wrong handling of the Lord’s Supper, misuse of spiritual gifts, confusion about the resurrection, etc.

5. Promoting unity in the Body of Christ. The unity principle was applied on many different levels. In Philippi, Paul had to deal with a situation of contention between two ladies in the local assembly, Euodia and Syntyche. In Corinth, there was apparently city wide disunity in the church because of various believers choosing to rally around dynamic leaders such as Paul, Apollos, and Peter. Paul also performed the apostolic role of providing a link of communication and sharing with the universal Body of Christ around the world.

6. Demonstrating and imparting the supernatural dimension of the Kingdom of God. Although it is God’s intention for all believers to heal the sick, cast out demons and perform miracles by the power of the Holy Spirit, those in apostolic ministry are particularly to bear this credential. Thus it is said that God did extraordinary miracles through Paul. Apostles were often used in a special way to impart the power of God to other believers.

In stating these six functions of apostles in the First Century church, it must be realized that each of the apostles in the New Testament was unique as to how he carried out his apostolic role. Peter was particularly gifted in reaching out to the lost. Paul seemed to excel in teaching and in building believers together as a functional expression of the Body of Christ. John’s apostleship carried with it a prophetic heart that God’s people would continually walk together in righteousness with the Lord and love each other. James, the half-brother of Jesus, also seems to have functioned as an apostle, even though the focus of his ministry was more pastoral and localized in Jerusalem.

It is also important to realize that having an apostolic calling did not automatically mean that the apostle had the right to exercise full authority in all places and situations. It was a ministry based upon relationship and not only on calling.

Also, it means that the authority of an apostle waned in certain ways once the local church was firmly established and provided with the oversight of local elders. The relationship and the authority still existed when necessary to intervene in problems not being remedied by the local leadership, but it was Paul’s perspective that he was like a father whose role of authority diminished once his son or daughter reached adulthood. His heart was not to establish a “chain of command,” but rather to see each church established under the headship of Christ.

The Function of an Apostle Today…

Are the functions still relevant today? Yes!…

Relevant Functions for Today:

Unreached Areas – Although the gospel has gone out to some degree to every nation of the earth, there are still an estimated 16,000 “people groups” that are geographically or linguistically isolated and have never even heard of Jesus Christ.

Foundation Laying – Many churches in America and all over the world have never really been established on a solid biblical foundation. They have been built upon human traditions and human opinions, but not upon Christ Himself and His eternal Word.

Training Leaders – Today the apostolic function of training leaders has been largely replaced by seminaries and Bible schools. Appointing the leaders of local churches has been made a matter of congregational voting, selection by a denominational hierarchy, or ambitious aspiring young preachers simply starting their own churches and appointing themselves the pastors. The result has often been that leaders are put in places of responsibility that they are not really called to by God, and are not adequately equipped to fulfill. They may have been good students at the seminary, but are likely to miss the kind of personal training and character development that Timothy received from Paul.

Problem Solving – It is clear that local churches frequently encounter problems that they have difficulty solving without outside assistance. Pastors are often without any personal accountability and often have no one to give them input regarding church problems. Sometimes local leaders have blind spots and cannot even see the shortcomings that exist. There still a need today for men of apostolic authority to pierce through the blindness, ignorance and pride, speaking the Word of God to areas of sin, imbalance, false doctrine, division and other problems.

Unity – The disunity of the Body of Christ is still a scandal that robs us of the full blessing of God and undercuts our testimony to the lost. Men of genuine apostolic heart have a burden to see God’s people come together as a united family and a united army. They see an overview of the universal church around the world and can sense the heartbeat of what the Lord is speaking. The vision is sorely needed in the church today, and only men of apostolic insight and authority can bring it about in a significant way.

Supernatural – We live in a day when God is moving mightily to restore signs and wonders to the church. For too long we have relied upon our intellect, human wisdom, and persuasive words – the very things Paul put no confidence in: “My message and my preaching were not in wise and persuasive words, but with demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith might not rest on men’s wisdom, but on God’s power (1 Corinthians 2:4,5).

Yes, we need apostles today!

Many Churches have lost there focus and have little or no foundation. God is raising up apostles to serve His Church today, and if we are wise we will recognize our need for such output.

Jesus is restoring His Church today! Making ready His Bride! Let us receive those He sends to be part of the restoration process!