Chapter Four: Grace Gospel Church - Its beliefs, practices and opponents
4.4 Distinctive CTMI/GGC doctrines and practices
4.4.1 Apostolic anointing
The foundational CTMI/GGC belief is that Hardy is a divinely appointed, modern-day apostle tasked with bringing the revelation of the cross to the worldwide Church.
Hardy’s apostolic position is enshrined in the polity adopted by CTMI.
CTMI is structured according to a paradigm derived from Ephesians 4:11-13, known as the “five-fold” ministry. This structure stresses the need for the teamwork and co- operation of five distinct ministries, namely the ministries of apostle, prophet, teacher, evangelist and pastor. Hardy contends that this paradigm is “paramount” in order to establish contemporary churches upon “the true foundation so that they may become mature and reach unity in the faith.”254 He argues that individual churches lack spiritual authority and fail to grow because they are generally served by only one of the ministries described, for example that of pastor. Hardy declares, “Today, many
the country. The evangelical movement currently has over 400 million members worldwide (60,000 in Mauritius)...” (Accessed 12/06/12)
253 Letter emailed from Silk to Erin Georgiou, editor of JOY! Magazine (03/10/2009) in Appendix “A”.
254http://ctmi.mu/en/teaching/the-five-fold-ministry-by-miki-hardy (Accessed 07/04/2012)
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Christians are falling apart, being destroyed because they don’t hear the right Gospel enough. As a result they backslide and leave the Church. Because of the lack of genuine Apostles carrying the true anointing, the message is absent from the Church today.”255 By “right gospel” he insinuates that CTMI’s beliefs, particularly those of the “five-fold ministry”, are normative for the worldwide church. However, this “right gospel” is only allegedly brought by genuine Apostles. His circular reasoning notwithstanding, it is interesting to understand how a “genuine Apostle” might be identified. Hardy declares that they are known by message they preach:
What did Paul preach? What revelation had he received from the Lord? In 1 Corinthians 2:2, he states: “For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified”. In 1 Corinthians 3:10, he writes that by the grace God gave him, he has laid a foundation as an expert builder. The true foundation of Christian life is not just our faith in Christ, but also our identification with Him in His sufferings, His death and His resurrection. This is the heart of Christianity… the Apostolic Gospel, the message of the cross, which he described as “the power of God!”...The revelation of this Gospel is a sure sign of the Apostolic ministry, because it is the essence of God’s entire, and only, plan for His Church, with which Apostles are called to build the Church.
That is why when the foundation is laid in a church by an Apostle, Christians receive a clear understanding of what God is asking of their lives, because the call becomes distinct and they have an example that they can follow.
Present-day Apostles must receive and preach the same revelation as Paul did.
The Lord Himself will enlighten the men who are called to this ministry and reveal to them the mystery of the glorious Gospel of Jesus Christ.256 (Italics for emphasis).
It is evident that in Hardy’s theology the apostolic ministry and the revelation of the cross are vitally complementary realities. His revelation of the cross will be discussed in the next section but it is important to note the reasoning embedded in Hardy’s theology.
He argues that
1. The “five-fold” ministry paradigm (as interpreted by him) is the only correct form of church polity
255 http://ctmi.mu/en/publications/joy-magazine/an-interview-with-miki-hardy (Accessed: 19/02/12)
256http://ctmi.mu/en/teaching/the-five-fold-ministry-n-%C2%B02-the-apostle-2 (Accessed: 19/02/12)
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2. The “five-fold” paradigm requires a living apostle
3. An apostle is designated by receiving the revelation of the cross (as understood by Hardy)
4. Hardy claims to have received a revelation of a cross, therefore he is a contemporary apostle.
The CTMI website describes the important function of the apostle:
...he lays the foundation; he reveals Christ and the heart of Christ for the Church...The Apostle is a father to many churches, leaders and Christians, as he provides oversight, direction and protection to the church thanks to the anointing on his life...It is evident from the Bible that the Apostle carries greater spiritual authority than the other ministries, simply because it is part of the anointing he has received.257
A paradox emerges at this point. The apostolic office is obviously crucial in CTMI’s theology. O’Connell-Jones openly claims that the organisation has an apostle, “your church is scared of losing people because we have something you don't have - apostolic anointing and revelation”,258 and Peter McKenzie goes as far as declaring who the apostle is:
...Soon I found myself, as a minister, travelling to churches in different countries and experiencing amazing prophetic manifestations of the Holy Spirit. The blessing of this ministry was clear to many, but I was alone and vulnerable!
Through the grace of the Lord I met Miki Hardy and the apostolic call on his life confronted my independence and pride. I surrendered my one-man ministry and submitted my life to that authority.259
Yet, CTMI’s website fails to identify who its apostle is and in the Carte Blanche interview, Hardy ducked the question of whether he was the Apostle of CTMI by stating:
257 http://ctmi.mu/en/teaching/the-five-fold-ministry-n-%C2%B02-the-apostle-2 (Accessed 07/04/2012)
258 Posted by “Keith B”. (04/07/12). http://ctmiconcernedparents.com/phpBB- 3.0.5/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=1566 (Accessed 14/05/12)
259 http://ctmi.mu/en/teaching/the-five-fold-ministry-n-%C2%B03-the-prophetic-anointing (Accessed 07/04/2012)
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We are Church Team Ministries International – with 100’s of churches - not one person rules and reigns. There are seven of us on a committee. It can happen tomorrow that I am not on the committee... There is no structure whatsoever. We are not interested in taking over churches. Our affiliates are free to act and preach what is on their heart. They have their own websites.260
This statement will be more fully evaluated in the next chapter but it is sufficient to state that it is deeply disingenuous. There is only one individual who meets all the criteria for an apostle, and that is Miki Hardy. For members of CTMI and their partner churches he is the undisputed de facto apostle of the organisation.261 A contributor to the CPG website comments:
...the fact that Miki is the apostle is plain to all members. They thank God in prayer for ‘the apostle’ or ‘the apostolic anointing over Miki’s life’. The most surprising thing to me is that he is not only the only apostle in CTMI but clearly he is also seen by CTMI members as the only living apostle in the world! And I don’t see how anyone else could be approved of as his equal. CTMI leadership is designed in such a way as to make the other elders ‘yes-men’ submitted to him. Everyone else is assigned a place under him. There is more than one person in the other ministries. Peter McKenzie and Marc Labonte are prophets. Basil and Lindsay Lajeunesse are both evangelists, etc. But the apostolic anointing it seems has been given to only one. He says he believes that every church needs an apostle but how could this be? The only way would be for Miki to be the apostle of all churches. What does it take to be an apostle according to CTMI?
Direct revelation from God seems to be stressed upon.262
Based on this statement, it would appear that Hardy has subtly protected his position as apostle. He has received what is believed to be the most important revelation that God could entrust to humanity, and thus no other revelation could challenge his. If someone within CTMI claimed to have received any revelation, they would have first received the revelation of the cross from Hardy and this would accord them and their revelation a lesser status that apostle. Naturally, someone outside of CTMI claiming to receive a revelation would be a false prophet as they would not be begotten of “the gospel of the cross.” His position is unassailable and irreplaceable.
260 Carte Blanche: 7 February 2010
261 E.g. Former member, “Mongoose’s” post, (25/11/09), http://ctmiconcernedparents.com/phpBB- 3.0.5/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=70 (Accessed 12/05/12)
262 Posted by “Ella”, (05/10/10), http://ctmiconcernedparents.com/phpBB-
3.0.5/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=257&p=1692 (Accessed 14/05/12)
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Exactly why Hardy shrinks from calling himself the apostle of CTMI, and why the organisation is similarly reticent to identify him as such, is unclear. Perhaps it is an attempt at humility, but it nonetheless has the appearance of deceit.