When Jesus ascended on high He gave gifts unto men. The first gift was that of the apostle. The first mission of that gift in the early Church was to lay foundation. Some of the early apostles wrote letters that formed the New Testament cannon of scripture. Some think that once the scriptures were written the work of the apostolic gift was complete.

I don't believe that. If we study the characteristics of the apostolic gift it makes it easier to identify the function of that gift in different people today. The cannon of scripture is done, but the work of building His Church and expanding His kingdom is not. Isaiah 9:7 says "of the increase of His government there will be no end.” God’s government establishes order and justice where ever it goes. That is a foundational pioneering work and that requires the function of an apostolic gift. That gift lays foundation always making sure that Jesus Christ is the Chief Cornerstone. We will be richly blessed if we recognize and receive this gift functioning through another person because the truth is, that gift was given to us, the Church, for our benefit.

The History of the Word Apostle

Ephesians 4:11 speaks of what many have come to call the fivefold ministry because there are five gifts mentioned; apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor and teacher. In Hebrew culture prophet, evangelist and teacher were common religious terms. Pastor or shepherd was familiar agricultural terms. However, apostle was not from the Hebrew culture.

The word apostle was first a Greek/Phoenician seafaring term that meant leader of a convoy of ships and later it came to refer to the commander of an invasion force. As time went on the Romans began to use it to refer to former generals who then became their ambassadors. The Jewish culture eventually began to use it speaking of an envoy who went about collecting tribute. Finally, Jesus used it speaking of the first 12 disciples. In summary the history of the word meant:

• The leader of a convoy of ships
• The commander of an invasion force
• An ambassador general sent to represent a government to another nation

I have often said that the Lord used the Navy as a seminary for me. I spent my early years in the Navy as a training officer in a convoy unit. Convoy units were very rare. In fact, they only existed in the reserve and were called into service when war demanded it. Hence, I was recalled to serve in Desert Storm because of the demand for convoy operations. While serving in the Gulf War I also spent half of my time serving on the staff of Rear Admiral Taylor (no relation) as his expert on convoy operations and as a watch officer. Admiral Taylor oversaw naval operations and was the commander of an invasion force. I also had the privilege of working out of an embassy for six weeks as well. The Lord provided me an illustrated lesson through this experience that gave me greater understanding of His perspective as the Lord of Hosts. Later I attended the Navy War College and studied the principles of war. As I spent time in God's word and in prayer He taught me about the gift and role of an apostle through the eyes of a commander vice through the eyes of a pastor. This is not the kind of training that is available in any seminary. 2 Corinthians 10:3-4:

According to Strongs the word "war" in the Greek means to serve in a military campaign and to execute the apostolate. Apostolate literally means the office of apostle. The word warfare in the Greek means "apostolic career" or strategy. Hence, one of the primary functions of the apostolic gift is spiritual warfare. God made that gift to develop strategy.

An anointing for organizing, mobilizing, and developing strategy like an admiral or a general is one of the major characteristics of this gift. Admirals or generals have to think beyond one ship or one unit. They think about the bigger picture which would include many ships and many units and how they need to work together in order to achieve an overall common objective.

This characteristic highlights not only the purpose of the gift but also why some pastors have difficulty understanding the perspective and function of an apostolic gift. The pastor is responsible for a congregation or group of people. Their perspective and training are geared towards serving a local congregation. Their view is narrowed by their responsibility for that specific congregation.

The apostolic gift works with a much broader longer range perspective because of the assignment God gives them. They tend to work with many local congregations and are responsible to help them function together as a team to expand the kingdom and build our Lord's Church. For example, in 2009 I worked with several apostolic leaders in 107 cities who mobilized 6000+ churches in Operation Rolling Thunder. Each congregation requires one or more pastors depending upon their size. Each city will require one or more apostolic gifts working together to develop the teamwork and strategy to transform that city through the presentation of the gospel of the kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ.

What is the most common ministry gift spoken of in the Church world today? Pastor! Yet, that word is only used once in the context of functioning in the Church (Ephesians 4:11) where as the Greek word for apostle is used 79 times in the New Testament.

Different Perspectives of the Pastoral and Apostolic Gifts

We need many pastors because God designed them to be with the people to oversee, tend, nurture and protect A flock. Bible schools and seminaries today train leaders to "pastor." I don't know of any that teach how to "apostle." If there was, leaders would understand strategy much better. It is no wonder that sometimes pastors find it difficult to understand the role and perspective of the apostolic. When they do look at the gift of apostle, they look at it through the eyes of the pastoral gift and training.

In the analogy of the sheep and the shepherd, what do they do? The shepherd tends, nurtures, guides, feeds, waters, corrects and protects the flock. The gift of the pastor is not made for war. It was made for family.

The apostolic gift was made for strategy and war. God trained me about this gift all through my naval career. It is truly remarkable how closely my naval career modeled the etymology of the word apostle.

1 Corinthians 12:28-31 And God has appointed these in the church: first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, administrations, varieties of tongues.  Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Are all workers of miracles?  Do all have gifts of healings? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret? But earnestly desire the best* gifts. And yet I show you a more excellent way. NKJV

The scripture above is powerful. It is not an order of hierarchy but it describes the the order of function.

Recognizing How Tim Functions

Operation Rolling Thunder and CONECT are strategic expressions of an apostolic gift at work. My call is not so much but to a territory but to a function. It is to connect a body so that it can be raised up an exceeding great and mighty army like it speaks of in Ezekiel 37, and Joel 2, and to help build our Father’s house of prayer for all nations (Isaiah 56:7) in the spirit of the restoration of David’s tabernacle (Acts 15:16). The fruit of that gift has been:

• Revelation – Acts 6:3-4 & 2 Corinthians 12:1-6 - I prepared by revelation for this season since 1993. God shared His dream with me for a new strategy that lays the foundation in cities to connect the strategic leaders at the gates of a city, connect the body of Christ and mobilize it as an army while building His house of prayer for all nations in the spirit of the restoration of David's tabernacle.
• Spiritual Architect and Catalyst – 1 Corinthians 3:10 & Acts - God gave me the plans for CONECT by the spirit in 1993. In December 2004 God gave me the plans for Operation Rolling Thunder. It started as a word and within 5 months began with 80+ churches in 10 cities doing 10 days of 24/7 prayer. Within 4 years it grew to over 6000+ churches, in 107 cities, and 13 states in 24 nations. The apostolic plans, when followed, help identify, connect and honor local leaders, empowering them to develop strategies appropriate for their territory, build networks, network networks, while capturing a strategic opportunity to effect their local community in the midst of national and international prayer events. It provides a way to pray globally while connecting locally. It sets others up to successfully transform their community.
• Brings Order and Government – Titus 1:5, Acts 14:23, & Ephesians 2:19-22 - CONECTers in nations, states, counties, cities and churches have been raised up to connect the body of Christ in their territories for 24/7 prayer while forming and or supporting apostolic councils. One of the evidences of a governmental church has been legislation to the heavens that leads to reducing crime in cities.
  • Works with Prophets – Acts 13 thru Acts 15:30-41, Acts 21:10-11 - Through the formation of Transformation Task Forces we also discover many other gifts described in Ephesians 4, Romans 12 and 1 Corinthians 12. We pay particular attention to discovering and honoring the apostolic and prophetic gifts as they are key to discovering each areas specific strategy.
• Ambassador with Signs and Wonders Following – 2 Corinthians 12:12 & Hebrews 2:4 Click here for history - Unusual signs and wonders have followed me since I began presenting the message. Not only has God marked the message with signs but we've discovered that when God's people respond and or when other CONECTers present the same message, the same signs and wonders follow them such as: solar storms, thunderstorms, thunder-snow, rainbows, record rainfall, droughts broken, crime decreasing, earthquakes, increased salvations, reconciliation with First Nations, increased healings, water baptisms and much more.
• Anointed for Strategy and Spiritual War – 2 Corinthians 10:3-4 - Since 1993 I have been teaching leaders about the apostolic principles of corporate spiritual warfare. Now leaders who are applying the biblical principles and strategies contained within ORT and CONECT are equipped to develop their own apostolic strategies. The fruit has led to the shutting down of abortion clinics, decreasing crime, droughts broken, record harvests, healings, salvations and much more. The Church has been equipped to strategically mobilize and project power at strategic targets. The results of ORT and CONECT speak for themselves.
• Authority – 2 Corinthians 10:13, 13:2 & 1 Timothy 1:20 - God has given me authority and an anointing to connect the body of Christ, establish 24/7 prayer, and train leaders to think, act, plan and pray like an admiral or a general. My understanding of the boundaries and spheres of authority enable me to mobilize and connect the body like a military unit and then turn it over to the local leaders. This function is similar to what Paul instructed Titus to do and we have found that when done properly this releases the Church to exercise great authority within a region.

Recognizing Apostolic Work in Others

One of the reasons I have shared this teaching is to help you discover some of the characteristics of the apostolic gifts God is using to mobilize and connect the body of Christ in regions around the world. There are other apostolic gifts out there in this nation and others that are performing the same function but using different names and or a different terminology. I thank God for them. If we recognize them we can be blessed by them.