SIMON PHIPPS

The word apostle means ‘ sent ’. In the gospels Christ calls 12 men and trains them for ministry. Christ sends them out. When we think about the word apostle meaning 'sent', then Christ is the archetype of apostle, He is the one who was sent to us, to help us, to guide us, to save us. There has been much discussion about what constitutes an apostle; is it a title only reserved for those original 12? or is it reserved for anybody who pioneers christian ministry? or, if we take the meaning literally, is it reserved for all of us? If we call ourselves disciples of Christ, then we are also called to be those who are sent. To be an apostle then is to move beyond talking about what we should do, and actually do it. Christ sends us to be with the lonely. Christ sends us to feed the hungry. Christ sends us to care for the broken. Christ sends us to visit those in prison. Christ sends us help the poor. What is Christ sending you out to do? May we be people

The Great Comission The word evangelist comes from the Greek word evangelion – meaning ‘ good news ’ In my tradition, whenever we think of the good news, we view it as synonymous with the great commission found in Matthew 28:16-20 –basically, tell people about Jesus. When we view the good news from this perspective then everything else becomes a means to an end, rather than an end in itself. I remember one of my lecturers saying that social action, like feeding the poor, should only ever be used as a reason to tell people about Jesus. The Kingdom of God When Jesus spoke of the good news, he used it in conjunction with the concept of ‘ The Kingdom Of God ’. In the words of Tom Wright, 'what would it look like if God was running the show'; And the answer is, there would be no poor, no hungry, no-one in need. When we consider our proclamation of the good news, then these things are part and parcel of it, not just precursors to it. When I think of the Good News,

In my experience prophecy has often been about encouraging words. In my time I have been called a jug, an aeroplane, a lion and many others, all in the name of prophecy. But the definition of prophecy is far wider than this narrow view. What Is A Prophet? The word prophet is translated from two words in hebrew: ‘ to call ’ and ‘ to see ’. The call was that from God which validated their role as a prophet. The seeing was that which God had shown them – of the things that people were blind to now, and the things that had not yet been seen. Walter Breuggermann in his book The Prophetic Imagination * describes the message of the prophet as one who criticises , and one who energises . We see this throughout the scriptures. The prophets criticise . They criticise their leaders, they criticise their nation, and they criticise the nations around them. They call them out for their neglect of the orphan and the widow, for their apathy when surrounded by injustice, for thei