TIME FOR NEW WINE
The New Wine Network
For years, I have been saying that God is preparing to do a “new thing” within the Body of Christ. The truth is, in the founding documents of The Epicenter in Burnet, TX in 2005, I wrote …
“The vision God has placed in my heart is best defined within a small-group paradigm. That is to say that the identity of the New Testament church was never intended to be defined through a congregational mindset, rather through a relational mindset. In other words, congregations should not seek to give rise to a “small-group” ministry, rather a successful network of small-group ministries will inevitably result in a purposeful congregation.”
I’m sure that if I wanted to spend the time to look back and pinpoint where that vision was abandoned, I could … I just don’t want to! What I DO believe I am supposed to do in this hour is return to that vision. Because I believe that God is calling the New Testament Ekklesia back to its God-ordained purpose, and it has been clearly proven that THAT purpose has not been effectively carried out through the congregational model of the modern-day church.
Since 2020, I have been resounding the words of the prophet from Isaiah 43:19 (MSG) …
“Be alert, be present. I’m about to do something brand-new. It’s bursting out! Don’t you see it?”
Without even fully understanding what those words were poining to, I just knew I was hearing them! I now believe they were pointing to this hour … the hour in which the primary identity of the New Testament Ekklesia is no longer to be centered around “congregational” gatherings, rather RELATIONAL gatherings!
When the newly birthed Ekklesia exploded forth from the Upper Room in Acts 2, with literally TENS OF THOUSANDS of people being born-again over a span of just a few short weeks, those people did not leave Jerusalem and return to congregational gatherings at local temples. They carried what they had experienced in Jerusalem back to their homes and began to gather “daily” to share with everyone they came in contact with. The product of those house-to-house gatherings suddenly produced an entirely different purpose for their temple gatherings. No longer did they gather at their temples to merely listen to religious teachings from The Law, they now gathered to celebrate what the Spirit of The Living God was doing in their midst … day-in & day-out, week-in & week-out! In other words, temple gatherings ceased to be centers for mere religious EDUCATION, and became places of great CELEBRATION. And the result? The 1st Century Ekklesia went viral!
I believe, in this hour, that is exactly what God is wanting to restore as the “new wineskin” … the FINAL wineskin that is being prepared to hold the “new wine” … the FINAL outpouring of His Spirit upon the earth, prior to the return of Jesus! And that is why Front Line Ministries has made the decision to close the doors of The Epicenter after 20 years of “corporate” identity in the Texas Hill Country. We believe that we are being called to pioneer a return to the original “wineskin” of Acts 2 … the wineskin we believe was never supposed to be lost!
Welcome to … The New Wine Network!
For years, I have been saying that God is preparing to do a “new thing” within the Body of Christ. The truth is, in the founding documents of The Epicenter in Burnet, TX in 2005, I wrote …
“The vision God has placed in my heart is best defined within a small-group paradigm. That is to say that the identity of the New Testament church was never intended to be defined through a congregational mindset, rather through a relational mindset. In other words, congregations should not seek to give rise to a “small-group” ministry, rather a successful network of small-group ministries will inevitably result in a purposeful congregation.”
I’m sure that if I wanted to spend the time to look back and pinpoint where that vision was abandoned, I could … I just don’t want to! What I DO believe I am supposed to do in this hour is return to that vision. Because I believe that God is calling the New Testament Ekklesia back to its God-ordained purpose, and it has been clearly proven that THAT purpose has not been effectively carried out through the congregational model of the modern-day church.
Since 2020, I have been resounding the words of the prophet from Isaiah 43:19 (MSG) …
“Be alert, be present. I’m about to do something brand-new. It’s bursting out! Don’t you see it?”
Without even fully understanding what those words were poining to, I just knew I was hearing them! I now believe they were pointing to this hour … the hour in which the primary identity of the New Testament Ekklesia is no longer to be centered around “congregational” gatherings, rather RELATIONAL gatherings!
When the newly birthed Ekklesia exploded forth from the Upper Room in Acts 2, with literally TENS OF THOUSANDS of people being born-again over a span of just a few short weeks, those people did not leave Jerusalem and return to congregational gatherings at local temples. They carried what they had experienced in Jerusalem back to their homes and began to gather “daily” to share with everyone they came in contact with. The product of those house-to-house gatherings suddenly produced an entirely different purpose for their temple gatherings. No longer did they gather at their temples to merely listen to religious teachings from The Law, they now gathered to celebrate what the Spirit of The Living God was doing in their midst … day-in & day-out, week-in & week-out! In other words, temple gatherings ceased to be centers for mere religious EDUCATION, and became places of great CELEBRATION. And the result? The 1st Century Ekklesia went viral!
I believe, in this hour, that is exactly what God is wanting to restore as the “new wineskin” … the FINAL wineskin that is being prepared to hold the “new wine” … the FINAL outpouring of His Spirit upon the earth, prior to the return of Jesus! And that is why Front Line Ministries has made the decision to close the doors of The Epicenter after 20 years of “corporate” identity in the Texas Hill Country. We believe that we are being called to pioneer a return to the original “wineskin” of Acts 2 … the wineskin we believe was never supposed to be lost!
Welcome to … The New Wine Network!
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