The Pre-eminence of Jesus

[Deleted User]

Maintaining intimacy is key to not allowing the name of Jesus to become a formula or an incantation. Intimacy is all about a lifestyle of closeness with God, it is the attitude of having God be the center of everything in your life. He wants to be part of every moment of every day and when we let Him in to that degree, we have no fear of becoming complacent. It is when our heart drifts that we can fall into formulas and incantations.

For Jesus to be at the center of the ACOP, it means the intimacy we experience individually should also be evident in our churches and the leadership of the Fellowship.

[Chris]

I think when we are walking intimately with Jesus daily and inviting him to be a part of our entire life, his name won't simply be a formula or incantation.

It means that the leadership of the ACOP will take the time to pause, listen for his voice and be led by him. It must truly be "Jesus, have your way." not, as one of the A-Team members put it, "Lord, will you bless what we're planning!".

[Taliya]

The name of Jesus is more than just an ending to a prayer, it is a representation of His character. Jesus is the Name above all names. He is our Lord and Saviour and all of His character floods my mind when I say His name. Reflecting on who He is when we speak His name will bring us back to His heart and change our perspective from just saying “in the name of Jesus” because we have to, into an attitude of awe of who He is.

For Jesus to be at the center of ACOP means for ACOP to be connected to His heart and have their attitude, mission, values, and culture shaped by Him. It means that ACOP isn’t just following Christian formulas or rituals, but they have a desire to know and reflect Jesus.

[Sarah]

I think that Jesus being at the center of the ACOP means that everything we do points back to him. We make a point in my youth group that every time we speak we mention Jesus in some way even if we aren’t talking directly about him. In all we do we try to tie it back to him and our relationship with him. I think the same has to be true of the ACOP – that everything we do, in all we teach, and in all we say, we are ultimately pointing back to him, and empowering relationship with him. That relationship and focus on him has to come first before personal gain, and even the advancement of the ACOP. Our advancement should be that more people know Jesus intimately, not that more people know the ACOP.