Authority, Accountability, and the Apostolic Movement (Paperback)

by Dr. Stephen Crosby (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
There is a new apostolic movement afoot, and it is leading many from the simplicity of the pure gospel. To be legitimate, the teaching emphasis and ministry expression of present-day apostles and prophets must reflect a correct gospel foundation: . the person and work of Christ as its focus, . spiritual death and resurrection as its method, . and the indwelling Spirit as its power. Instead, the new apostolic reformation movement, with its emphasis on apostolic authority, "spiritual covering," loyalty, honor, submission, and government, has become the vehicle to build the philosophies and kingdoms of men. Dr. Stephen Crosby's third book, Authority, Accountability, and the Apostolic Movement, probes these and other authority/submission issues from a biblically disciplined, Christ-centered, New Covenant perspective. Within these pages, every believer, church leader, apostle, or prophet who may have wandered from the simplicity of the gospel can find the road to recovery. Oh, where was this book when I was in seminary!? As the fourth in a spiritual lineage of shipwrecked preachers, I can testify to the life-threatening impact brought on by the stress of liv-ing under a faulty understanding of authority and control in the church. I have one thing to say about this book: better late than never! This book is a must read for all Christians. -Pastor Chris Savino, Wasilla, AK Dr. Stephen Crosby and his wife, Rita, have pioneered churches in four states and ministered in churches, seminars, and Bible schools internationally. Steve graduated from Corning Community College, Corning, NY and Christian International School of Theology, Santa Rosa Beach, FL and is an adjunct professor for Beacon University Insti-tute of Ministry. Steve and Rita currently direct the Wave of Life Education Schools and Semi-nars and itinerate in prophetic-apostolic ministry. They have three grown children and five grandchildren.

Product Details

• Paperback: 232 pages
• Publisher: Pleasant Word-A Division of WinePress Publishing (July 21, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1414106408
• ISBN-13: 978-1414106403
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #559,656 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Finally, a way back, November 4, 2006

By	Teri Lee Earl "Teri" (NC United States) - See all my reviews

I have been a Christian since my teenage years, witnessed to by Baptists first, and then by Pentecostals in the late 1970's. At first, I fellowshipped in small home church meetings run Jesus Movement style. Then both myself and my future husband went to the original Jesus Festivals in Orlando, Florida! Later on, throughout the years, my family and I ran the gauntlet of many non-denominational Charismatic churches in different states as we moved around for college and then for work.

What distressed me the most was a noticeable over-control in many of these churches, and yet I couldn't quite put my finger on what was wrong. As the reigns were tightened more and more, I watched the Holy Spirit being "quenched" as we would call it. What was astonishing was how little regard there came to be for the physical healings or other wonderful things that could happen as people prayed for one another -- things that came to be almost 'disallowed' from the church scene, even as they were being preached as important! Even more disturbing was the loss of the simple Christian love and care I once took for granted.

Instead, what seemed more important to so many was how prominent they were, how much control they had over other people, and how many numbers their churches could draw into themselves. As religious abuse became far all too commonplace over the years, my husband and I watched our Charismatic roots devolve into ugly power plays and cynical money-drive market decisions. Bible illiteracy flourished, and excuses abounded as both leaders and followers kept themselves from being accountable to both truth and reason. Noticed by many and yet spoken of by few, "Charismatic" had became lost in grips of something that could be called "Charismania" -- drifting sea and far away from its original Biblical moorings.

When did Spirit-filled Christianity become an ugly shadow of itself, and how? For answers, I began my own Bible studies. I closely considered the teachings of the Shepherding Movement and their effect, as well as what the new up and coming "stars" of the "Third Wave" had to say for themselves as far as their teachings, plans, and promises. As I looked into these things, I found some interesting correlations in attitudes and philosophies, and although I did not have the Greek expertise to speak with authority on it, I noticed that certain Bible translations seemed to lean toward the possibilities of abuse of power. My eventual conclusion was that there were just too many things that conspired together to contradict Jesus' directive to us Christians not to "Lord it over" one another (Luke 22:25-27) , and once we lord it over each other, it is only a short leap before we "lord" it over God's Spirit too, tossing the Bible aside too in the process.

But now we have a book that is more than just a little useful in the battle for our spiritual heritage. Dr. Stephen Crosby's book is more than I could have ever imagined or dreamed of. He thoroughly exposes and addresses the numerous false beliefs and teachings that many of us have unknowing embraced. Not only that, but he explains what one of my friends calls the "flat hierarchy" -- the way that Christians are really supposed to relate to each other, and how healthy leadership is really supposed to lead, and not domineer. Everyone preaches revival, trying to reclaim the thrills of the past, but few have thought deeply about all that we have lost, or what we could regain if we got back to our roots. Dr. Stephen Crosby's book shakes the dust off our feet, and gives us a good foot-washing besides! Read it, pass it on, teach it, and better yet -- live it.

It's well worth it.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Clearing the Fog: Turning on the Light, October 20, 2006

By	Kevin R. Stafford (Touchet, Washington) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Reading this book is like stopping at a scenic overlook for the first time. It may look down on a valley in which you've always lived, but seeing it from a different vantage point brings a new and fresh appreciation for the everyday things that surround you. Familiarity with the up-close details of our own limited environment can actually cause us to lose perspective of where it all fits in context with the rest of the scenery. As we take the effort to get out of our comfort zone, and look at the lay of the land from a broader point of view, everything takes on new and fresh beauty that we couldn't have imagined before. This book breathes new life into the Biblical landscape of authority and submission.

During my life of faith, even as a child or a young man, I have often had inner thoughts and views, concerning the landscape of Kingdom life, which I would be hard-pressed to voice with clarity to someone else. It was like everyone else was seeing the forest, but I was seeing the trees. I knew intuitively, deep inside of me, that what I was seeing was correct, but I couldn't adequately explain myself. Numerous times, while reading this book, I found my spirit saying: "That's it! I knew it all along!"

Much of what Steve shares in this book is in sharp contrast and confrontation to the status quo. It's startling enough to make your eyes pop open wide; but simultaneously with the shock, your spirit shouts, "That's the truth!" A lot of this book cuts to the heart! It hurts. But a skilled surgeon is more concerned with your long-term survival, than with your immediate physical comfort. Reading this book is also like undergoing a spiritual corrective surgery.

Taking in a scenic overlook is fun. Having surgery is not. Both can be necessary in this life. Someone who has become burned out through seeing the same things and doing the same tasks day after day, and is tired of the routine needs to experience the delight of a scenic overlook to fill them with new hope and life. Someone who is limping badly because of torn ligaments needs corrective surgery to straighten everything and restore proper functionality to the damaged areas. Reading Steve's book can help in both situations.

During the last several years, I have observed Pastor Steve pour out his heart and soul to bring maturity to the body of Christ; in the U.S., the Philippines, and in Great Britain. His concern has not been establishing a financial support system for himself, but truly connecting believers with Christ their life-source. Then he quietly steps away, and lets the life flow. This book is written in that same spirit.

(All that was my original review of the book last November while I was privileged to preview it, before it went to the publisher.) Since then, I've heard many of the book's topics covered by Dr. Crosby in a seminar format - and every ear was tuned in, every heart mesmerized to have the changes between Old and New Covenants (Testaments) explained so clearly. Sitting in those seminars, I've heard many an "OHHHH!" from folks who just had their life changed with a paradigm shift. It is really neat to see folks come alive to the Kingdom, when before they were saddled with burnout and disillusionment.

Kevin Stafford

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Poignant, timely, circumspect, exegetically disciplined, September 12, 2007

By	Scott D. Stilson (State College, PA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

If the words "authority," "covering," "submission," "government," and "apostolic," are familiar to you within a church context, please read this book. In it, itinerant minister Steve Crosby lays out a sensitive, Christ-centered, exegetically sound critique of the spirit of control and undue authority that is arising amongst the leadership of many charismatic churches as part of the "New Apostolic Reformation."

If you are already troubled by the status quo in this movement, you will find that Crosby gives expression to many things you were already thinking and explains the New Covenant, scriptural basis for them. You will not, however, find argument for a democratic (or anarchic) way of doing church. Crosby is not reactionary or incendiary, and he knows that leadership authority of a proper nature and function is vital to the church.

If you are in a church preaching "submission to authority" and "restoration of God's governmental order" and you see nothing wrong with the status quo, this book will (I pray) serve as an eye-opener. Please read it, with the understanding that it will for the most part run against the grain of what you have been taught on the subject of leadership in the church.

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