So Much More Than Marketing

God’s plans are always bigger.

I thought the Lord was giving us a platform to market Apostle Paul Shields’ new book, “Repositioning the Foundational Stones.” I had no idea there was a movement brewing!

It was the end of June 2023. The time had finally come for my friends’ book to be released; the effort a long, arduous road, fraught with repeated challenges. As speaker and author Priscilla Shirer said in her Bible study on the book of Ezekiel, what she thought would take a year, turned into seven years. What we thought would take a year turned into several years.

Apostle Paul Shields released, “Repositioning the Foundational Stones,” a narrative commentary on how prophetic acts began to dominate his ministry, and God shifted his life from that of a national evangelist for a major Pentecostal organization, to the office of an apostle. The book examines Ephesians 4:11, which is a challenging scripture for some, a celebratory scripture for others, and Bethel Place Communications was along for the ride all the way.

Now that the book was released, he and his wife, Pastor Gloria Shields were thrilled. They ordered several copies and sold boxes of the book at their annual Lion of Judah conference.

As time does, time flew.

Next steps called for a marketing plan for the book. God laid it upon my heart to promote a gathering of apostles and prophets in a roundtable setting. They were not to be intricately connected, but rather the bond would be that of the Holy Spirit working to unite them in their callings to discuss modern day issues. My plan, market the masterpiece. God’s plan, so much more.

I've researched the topic of the existence of apostles and prophets before but did not realize just how much resistance there is in the Church that these offices exist today. Why would God ordain these offices into existence in His Word, and without any directive in His Word, decide that two of the five offices cease to exist in our time?  According to the letter to the church in Ephesus, the five-fold ministry exists to prepare and equip the people for the work of the ministry for the edifying of the Body of Christ, until the Church comes to the unity of the faith.

The irony of it all. The roles assigned to unify the Body are causing division in some Christian circles. That which is called to mature us to a deeper walk with Christ, is being handled like tolerating squeamish children in a department store. God’s plan for the panel is much greater than merely promoting a book. Every apostle and prophet contacted for the initial discussion, whether schedules permitted or not, commented not only on the timeliness of the discussion, but also its importance.

The Church needs all five leadership roles today. As we peer into the lens of the immediacy of the second coming of Christ, God is repositioning hearts as He repositions leadership roles to be even more effective in this hour.

There is yet much to be done. The harvest is ready, the laborers are few. Let’s not cancel the roles and voices of the five-fold ministry.

Buy the book (and books by the other panelists,) but this is so much more than marketing. It is the plan of God.

BE THE DIFFERENCE YOU WANT TO SEE

I love the phrasing going around about “being the best version of yourself.” Even the question

about what could you do today that will positively impact your future self? Or, knowing what

you know now, what advice would your present self give to your past self?

Seeing that I pray daily for wisdom to encourage God’s people to acknowledge the Lord in all

their ways, the best version of myself is an evolving goal. It is not always in the “being,” is it? It

is in the passion to pursue, discovery of purpose, and commitment to the process.

In January, our church, like many churches around the country, if not the world, observe a time

of Consecration. We set aside days at the beginning of the year, to seek God through fasting,

prayer, scripture reading and study. The theme of our 2023 church Consecration was

Commitment 21: A Time of Rededication, and our study was the book of Isaiah. It was 21 days

of seeking to rededicate our lives unto Christ. Personally, I had to seek the Lord as to the

meaning of recommitment, and what it looks like.

I learned commitment involves trusting God (trust with ALL my heart, hmmm. Proverbs 3: 5-6),

what it means to fear God (fear is the beginning of wisdom, Psalms 111:10), obeying God (I

Samuel 15:22, partial obedience is still disobedience, and God would rather have obedience, than

sacrifice. Ouch). And let’s not forget truth itself, the boldness needed to speak truth in love

(Ephesians 4:15), and the love needed to partner with compassion in order to walk with Christ in

Isaiah 61: 1-3.

Twenty-one days was not enough, which I believe was the Lord’s point. This is not something

we do just to get through it, but rather to grow closer to Christ and in Christ. In February, a

friend of mine asked me to lead an afternoon Bible study on how to retain what we learned

during Consecration. As I prayed and prepped, the Holy Ghost was quiet. I had several notes, but

felt led to focus on the recent public occurrences where

God is front and center, from the

miraculous recovery of Buffalo Bills Safety Damar Hamlin, where we witnessed a football field and stadium seats filled with heads bowed in prayer on national television. The outpouring of

revival during morning chapel at Asbury College in Kentucky, that is still going on as of this writing, is causing people to catch flights to experience the Presence of God outside of traditional sanctuary spaces. The Christ of the Gospels is doing what He did before – coloring outside the lines and drawing people to Himself.

God is not calling us to get ready, He is calling for us to be ready and stay ready, to do His

bidding, and move at His beckoning.

The morning after the Bible Study, God began to make things plain to me in prayer. I asked

Alexa to play, “Alone in His Presence”, by Cece Winans. Alexa responded in that conversational

robotic voice, “For Love Alone”, by Cece Winans. Huh? I listened to the words of the song,

and Cece sang about pursuit, purpose, and the process. All the characteristics of commitment

began to make sense. God is not asking me to live a legalistic life of “duty” following by rote.

He is asking me to live a life of love, which encompasses all of the above. He is not asking me to

DO; He really is asking me to BE in love with Him.

I John 4:16 says God is love. My better self will find all that I need to accomplish His Will, in

the true pursuit of Love alone.

Signs

(A story about my journey through Sightlessness)

Why do we send flowers to people in the hospital? Why do we buy iconic keychains to expensive cars when we drive hoopties? Buying a jogging suit when you have absolutely no energy? What is that about?

“Signs remind us to navigate the present circumstance in accordance with existing conditions to bring us to our destinations. Signs give us hope that if we pay attention, we can anticipate outcomes. Signs direct us to next steps.”

Or as I did the other day… made a home visit and brought a beautiful pen to a young woman who had suffered a stroke and could not use her right hand…. Right now….

It is about hope… surrounding ourselves and others with signs and icons of hope (and encouragement), reminders of beauty (and grace); even planting flags of victory upon mountainous moments of seeming defeat.

Signs remind us to navigate the present circumstance in accordance with existing conditions to bring us to our destinations. Signs give us hope that if we pay attention, we can anticipate outcomes. Signs direct us to next steps.

Sometimes we miss the signs and don’t realize them until we have by-passed them. That thought came after I had received my sight. I came home from getting bandages removed following the second surgery. I remember the ride home, my riding companions nodding in excitement as I read billboards, saw colors and spelled out license plates of the cars that surrounded us. It was a glorious late fall day, and an entirely new day.

But it was when I arrived home that illumination burst forth on multiple levels. (Revelation came later. ) I went to my room to organize the various post-surgical drops I needed to apply. My mother turned on the television in the living room as she and my friend Cheryl chatted happily. I passed by the tv as I had so many times through the years, but stopped suddenly. I could SEE the screen… I could SEE the action, I could SEE faces! I remember going into my bedroom and turning on that television and sat in the amazement of not only sight (which can be limited), but the act and ability to SEE! I slipped downstairs, my mother and Cheryl still chatting with each other while lovingly and unknowingly giving me space to discover.

During my season of sightlessness, there had been a tremendous storm which knocked out some of my electrical devices (appliances and …). My insurance company replaced items such as televisions. My son Blake had one repaired and three replaced. I put the repaired one in my lower level office, yep, had an office and could not see. We purchased new televisions for my room and the family room, and had enough funds left over for a guest room television.

Blake researched and found an amazing deal for the family room tv. The new television was huge. Blake and one of the church deacons mounted it on the wall. I remember asking someone weeks later what the screen looked like and if the picture was crisp and clear. I was assured that the picture was wonderful, the images vivid.

That late fall day I went downstairs and turned the tv on and for the first time, was able to SEE it. I marveled at the screen and reveled in the experience, but it was months later that the Lord reminded me that He sent the signs long before my sight was recovered. He filled my home with new televisions when I could not see. Yes, I was grateful for the sound, but I remember “watching “ movies with my oldest grandson. Oh how I wished I could SEE the screen as we snuggled on the couch, happily munching our popcorn while he he described what I could not see. I usually fell asleep.

The point - God not only promised me that I would drive again, but he sent signs along the way of His promise to restore my sight. I could not see them and therefore did not recognize them., but the signs were there. Trust me, the signs are there for you. Be alert. Look for them.

And that is faith.