Month: May 2025

Apostolic Summit 2025- Session 1

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The trip from Narrabri to Rockhampton is long; it is a full day. We leave at 7 am and arrive usually by about 6 pm. The rain slowed us down, and we didn’t arrive until 6.30 pm. It was a rush to get into the apartment, get some dinner and then to the church by 7.30 pm.

As usual, we had lunch at Condamine. This used to be a sleepy little place where nothing happened, apart from occasional gigantic floods. It seems to be going ahead, and these days a coffee and donut van comes every Thursday. The freshly cooked donuts are delicious.

At the church, we sat not far from the Coopers. Both Danielle and Evelyn enjoyed dancing to the upbeat music.

We quickly caught up with old friends, including Suresh and Jonthi from Hyderabad. I think the highlight of the Summit each year is renewing friendships with people from all over the country and around the world.

Here are my notes from Session 1, much of which consisted of video interviews between John and David Alley.

Video interview between John and David Alley

John talked about the origins of the Apostolic Summit. John originally thought it would be a gathering of apostles but it hasn’t always worked out.

It’s a place for teaching of revelations from Scripture e.g. it was thought that there were no modern apostles but we now know Scripture does not teach this.

Arthur Schopenhauer

Truth passes 3 stages

1. It is ridiculed

2. It is violently opposed

3. It is accepted as self-evidently true.

Apostolic movement is about bringing church to maturity.

People assumed it was about gifted leaders, but apostleship is an anointing not just leadership.

In Revelation the church of Ephesus was commended for testing so-called apistles and finding them false. So how do we test apostles? The various tests we can use are described in the book, “The Testing of Apostles.”

Two kinds of tests:

1. Those Christ puts them through in order to bring out the qualities necessary for the ministry.

2. Tests the church must apply to weigh up whether a person is a genuine apostle.

Today’s Bike Ride

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A few kangaroos loose in the top paddock (that’s an Australianism that means you are not quite right in the head). There were at least a dozen of them here. It was a cold start this morning at 5C but great for riding. I rode to Jacks Creek and Gun Club Roads. #cycling #Narrabri #Biketooter

Quote for the Day

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All five-fold ministers need apostles. As both the gift and the authority of apostles is restored progressively, we will come to see more clearly the vital work of apostles in lifting up other ministers of Christ. Together, apostles, prophets, teachers, evangelists, and pastors will then lift up the whole Body of Christ into a further dimension of grace. John Alley

Reflection on Obadiah

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Scripture

Those who have been rescued will go up to Mount Zionn in Jerusalem to rule over the mountains of Edom, and the Lord himself will be king.

Observation

Obadiah writes at the time that Nebuchadnezzar’s armies have invaded Judah, destroyed Jerusalem and carried away many people into exile in Babylon.

Edom, though related historically to Israel through Jacob, stood back and gloated at the nation’s misfortune and sufferings. Now the Lord promises that Edom itself will be obliterated. It’s allies will now will turn on them.

Israel will be restored as Edom and what the other nations have done to Israel, so it shall be done to them. The captives who have been exiled will return and they will rule over Edom, and the surrounding nations.

And the Lord will be their King.

Application

In many ways, the Exile seemed to represent the end of Israel and its relationship with the Lord. Yet God did not abandon his people. We know that after 70 years in Exile, the people were allowed to return and rebuild.

The warning here is for us not to be too quick to judge other believers. When they go through trials and tribulations, it may not be God’s rejection of them or a sign of hidden sin. It could be that the Lord is allowing things to happen that will deepen their trust.

I find it very troubling when people, especially leaders, criticise other pastors, teachers and prophets. They do gloat at times at the misfortune of others. We must take a different approach – recognising that a brother or sister is struggling and helping rather than hindering

Prayer

Lord, please help me not to gloat as the Edomites gloated Help me to remember that other people are a part of your Body too. Amen.

Another slaughter of christians in Nigeria

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Herdsmen Slaughter 42 Christians in Taraba State, Nigeria

Taraba state Gov. Agbu Kefas. (Agbu Kefas Media)

Taraba state Gov. Agbu Kefas. (Agbu Kefas Media)

ABUJA, Nigeria (Christian Daily International–Morning Star News) – Fulani herdsmen in the early hours of Saturday (May 24) killed 42 people in three predominantly Christian communities in Taraba state, northeast Nigeria, sources said.

In Karim Lamido County, the assailants invaded Munga Dosso, Munga Lelau and Bandawa villages, destroying homes as well as slaughtering residents, according to officials and residents.

“My people in Karim Lamido Local Government Area, who are mostly Christians, have been attacked by Fulani herdsmen. Our houses have been burnt, and more than 42 Christians killed,” Miriam Silas told Christian Daily International-Morning Star News in a text message.

Taraba Gov. Kefas Agbu described the attacks as a “direct assault on the peace- loving people of the area” and “horrendous and unacceptable.”

The governor said he would ensure the assailants would be found, arrested and prosecuted.

“Our citizens’ safety is my top priority. We have activated all necessary security measures to prevent further violence and bring those responsible to book,” Agbu said through a statement by spokesman Emmanuel Bello.

Area residents sent distressed messages on Saturday (May 24).

“A devastating attack by herdsmen on three communities has claimed the lives of 42 Christians and forced hundreds of others to flee their homes the early morning of Saturday,” Obadiah Abbawa said in a text message. “The attack led to the destruction of houses and left the communities in complete ruins.”

Another area resident, Zion Chaffi, said, “Karim Lamido area is being attacked by Fulani herdsmen. Pray for God’s intervention for us.”

Dr. Tijo Kenneth Mingeh, a prominent Christian resident of the area, described the attacks as tragic.

“This tragic attack has brought untold pain and disruption to lives, homes and livelihoods,” Mingeh said. “These communities have been torn apart by this unfortunate incident.”

James Leshen, spokesman for the Taraba State Command, said police were deployed to the areas.

Numbering in the millions across Nigeria and the Sahel, predominantly Muslim Fulani comprise hundreds of clans of many different lineages who do not hold extremist views, but some Fulani do adhere to radical Islamist ideology, the United Kingdom’s All-Party Parliamentary Group for International Freedom or Belief (APPG) noted in a 2020 report.

“They adopt a comparable strategy to Boko Haram and ISWAP and demonstrate a clear intent to target Christians and potent symbols of Christian identity,” the APPG report states.

Christian leaders in Nigeria have said they believe herdsmen attacks on Christian communities in Nigeria’s Middle Belt are inspired by their desire to forcefully take over Christians’ lands and impose Islam as desertification has made it difficult for them to sustain their herds.

Nigeria remained among the most dangerous places on earth for Christians, according to Open Doors’ 2025 World Watch List of the countries where it is most difficult to be a Christian. Of the 4,476 Christians killed for their faith worldwide during the reporting period, 3,100 (69 percent) were in Nigeria, according to the WWL.

“The measure of anti-Christian violence in the country is already at the maximum possible under World Watch List methodology,” the report stated.

In the country’s North-Central zone, where Christians are more common than they are in the North-East and North-West, Islamic extremist Fulani militia attack farming communities, killing many hundreds, Christians above all, according to the report. Jihadist groups such as Boko Haram and the splinter group Islamic State in West Africa Province (ISWAP), among others, are also active in the country’s northern states, where federal government control is scant and Christians and their communities continue to be the targets of raids, sexual violence, and roadblock killings, according to the report. Abductions for ransom have increased considerably in recent years.

The violence has spread to southern states, and a new jihadist terror group, Lakurawa, has emerged in the northwest, armed with advanced weaponry and a radical Islamist agenda, the WWL noted. Lakurawa is affiliated with the expansionist Al-Qaeda insurgency Jama’a Nusrat ul-Islam wa al-Muslimin, or JNIM, originating in Mali.

Nigeria ranked seventh on the 2025 WWL list of the 50 worst countries for Christians. 

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