The Complete Wineskin: Restructuring the Church for the Outpouring of the Holy Spirit [Paperback]

Harold R. Eberle (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: 1997

God is pouring out the Holy Spirit and our wineskins must be changed to handle the new wine. How are apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers going to rise up and work together? Where do small group meetings fit? Will the Church come together in unity? How does the anointing of God work and what is your role? This book puts into words what you have been sensing in your spirit. (Eberle's best seller, translated in many languages, distributed worldwide.)

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From the Inside Flap

The words of our Lord:

“And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; otherwise the new wine will burst the skins and it will be spilled out, and the skins will be ruined. But new wine must be put into fresh wineskins? (Luke 5:37-38) Whenever the Holy Spirit fills people with “new wine,” the structure or organization in which they function must change. Old wineskins rip. New wineskins must be used to hold the additional life and power of God.

We have seen this principle in operation throughout the history of the Church. When Martin Luther received revelation from the Holy Spirit concerning faith and grace, the established church in that day was ripped in two and a new denomination under Luther was born. When John Wesley preached with the fire of the Spirit, a new structure, now known as the Methodist denomination, had to be formed. The same process has occurred again and again as great men or women ministered under a fresh anointing of God’s Spirit. And, of course, we had seen how thousands of churches have formed over the last fifty years as members received a baptism of the Holy Spirit with various manifestations. A new wineskin formed each time new wine was poured in.

God is pouring new wine into us. Christians all over the world have been crying out to God for a fresh outpouring of His Spirit. Our Lord has never failed His Church. Repeatedly, He has brought powerful spiritual awakenings. Many believe that the last outpouring of God’s Spirit that is promised in the Bible (Joel 2:28-29) will soon take place. The time for God to move is at hand.

Therefore, we should expect our present wineskins to rip. Jesus taught that it is impossible to pour new wine into an old wineskin without ripping it. There can be no mighty spiritual awakening in our day without a great shaking of our Church organizations, leaders, and structures. If you are looking for the Second Coming of Jesus, or if you are praying to God to move upon your church, your city, your local schools, your family, or your own heart, then the first thing you must look for is a new wineskin.

How will the present wineskin of the Church be changed? We cannot expect to know the same power to f the Holy Spirit that the New Testament believers experienced unless we have wineskins similar to theirs. One of the major changes will have to do with the full operation of what we call the five ministry gifts: apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor, and teacher (Eph. 4:11).

Many Christians have thought that the apostle and prophet were only for the New Testament times, but that is wrong. Ephesians 4:11-13 tells us that all five of these gifts were given by God to the Church “until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ.” The Church will never reach its fullness nor any form of unity until all five ministry gifts are functioning together in the Body of Christ.

Today, God is raising up leaders who have these gifts. The Church is now undergoing a major reformation in its structure that will enable it to handle a great outpouring of God’s Spirit.

This is the reason I have written this book. I want to share with you some of the ways the present organization of the Church is ripping and the new wineskin is being formed. We will look first at the ministry gifts and at other leadership positions are to work in unity and power.

Throughout the book I have used the capitalized word Church to refer to the whole Body of Christ, which is made up of all those throughout the world who believe in Jesus. The word church, with lower case “c,” will refer to any local group of Christians who gather regularly for prayer, fellowship, worship and teaching.

About the Author

Winepress Ministries was founded by Harold Eberle, who after pastoring a church in the northwestern United States, began traveling to minister at leadership conferences, Christian gatherings, and churches of many different doctrinal persuasions. He now is engaged in a worldwide teaching ministry, equipping saints for greater effectiveness in the Kingdom of God. He lives in Yakima, Washington, with his wife, Linda, and their three children. Yakima also serves as home base for their ministry operations, which includes the oversight of Winepress Publishing.

This is a ministry directed towards the success and maturation of the Church. It is based on a conviction Harold has concerning the Church rising to a position of unity and glory before the end of the age. We believe that God is now bringing the Church into a reformation. This is demanding great changes in the way we think, minister and live.

Winepress Ministries functions to help the Church make those changes. God has and is opening up tremendous doors for us to influence the Body of Christ. It is our goal to fulfill our role in the maturation of the Church.

Presently we are not only publishing materials, but also building relationships with "Apostolic Leaders" in different countries of the world. It is our goal to work with leaders of our nation and in foreign countries, influencing them and the large number of believers under their oversight. We train up leaders, speak revelation, teach, impart strength and raise the church to a higher level of maturity.

Product Details

• Paperback: 177 pages
• Publisher: Winepress Publishing; 4 edition (1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1882523024
• ISBN-13: 978-1882523023
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #196,595 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Complete Wineskin, January 18, 2000

By 

Jan Tapia (Brentwood, TN USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Complete Wineskin: Restructuring the Church for the Outpouring of the Holy Spirit (Paperback)

I read this book twice. It opened my eyes not only to my own anointing, but to the anointings of other leaders in our church. I took it to our pastor and he intends to follow the structure suggested in the book. The part that got our attention was that pastors can only shepherd 50 people, so a mega-church must have shepherds for each 50 people. If you are praying for church growth, this book gives the necessary foundation on which to build the growth.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Harold Rocks!, January 30, 2001

By 

Freedom (Yakima, WA. United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Complete Wineskin: Restructuring the Church for the Outpouring of the Holy Spirit (Paperback)

Harold Eberle annihilates the status quo and explores the reasons why so many feel "discontent" in the church today. His explanation? The church is spiritually out of order and structured in a way that is ineffective for a New Testament people. But what does "out of order" mean? Harold explains, he also explores the high calling that God has placed on the Body of Christ and the reformation of mind, body and spirit that He seeks to implement. Yet, according to Harold, so much of what goes on in church government, both spiritual and physical, acts as a limiting agent that stifles Gods creative energy that He is birthing in the hearts of His people. Have you ever felt discontent with church even though you are head over heels in love with Christ? Have you ever wondered if there was something wrong with you for thinking "outside of the box" or felt guilty for wanting more? Have you ever been told that you are too much of an idealist and that you need to be more of a realist? If so, I highly recommend you check out The Complete Wineskin. Harold writes in a profoundly simple way that will have you looking up from the pages and crying out for God. Harold biblically explores and lays the foundation for the deeper things that you are feeling in your spirit. Try it out and test his words, you will see. The Complete Wineskin rocks!

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Potentially Liberating, February 17, 2005

By 

J. Randolph Turpin Jr. - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Complete Wineskin: Restructuring the Church for the Outpouring of the Holy Spirit (Paperback)

Eberle presents an overview of the five gifts listed in Ephesians 4:11-12 and refers to them as "ministry gifts". He holds that there are only two offices in the church: i.e., elder and deacon. Those who function in ministry gifts comprise the eldership of the church. The author encourages a revolutionary rethinking of church structure to make room for the five-fold ministry. The book is potentially liberating for "pastors" who do not feel that their strength is in the ministry gift of pastoring. This paradigm makes room for those senior church leaders whose strength may actually be in the other four ministry gifts.