Rochester Conference Part 1: The Corporate New Man in Ephesians (1996)

The church is a plurality, and you, dear child of God, have a right to be in her. And two things are going to have to happen: either we have to get more church planters, or you’re going to have to move. Well then, Gene, let’s have more church planters because I don’t want to move. Well, I’m going to tell you something, my dear brother, the only way we’re going to get more church planters is for men called God to humble themselves and get into church life, because I personally am never going to tolerate somebody going out planting churches who’s never known church life. And there’s not a single man except Apollos in the New Testament but what he knew church life before he knew church planting. And Apollos is at the bottom of my list and yours, and he’s really at the bottom of the list of Paul if you know how to read Corinthians. If there had been no Apollos, there might never have been 1st and 2nd Corinthians. It’s true; it’s absolutely the truth, but brothers, this takes God calling men. In the meantime, you belong in the tribe, in the citizenship, in the commonwealth, in the house, in the bride, and a lot of other things that you’re missing out on; the building.