It was in early 2005 that Bill Johnson asked me into his office to meet with him, Kris Vallotton, Danny Silk and Dann Farrelly. I had awoken that morning with a sense that the day would be significant, but I did not know why. As the meeting was early in the day, I did not have to wait long for an answer. Bill had called the meeting so that he could ask me to build a network. He, along with Randy Clark, had been given a prophetic word that he was traveling the world producing children, but was irresponsible in that he was not fathering those children. That morning, Global Legacy was born.
I was given the task of building something that would encompass not only a government of churches in relationship with Bethel, but at the other extreme, a movement without structure. It was my “eye of the needle,” but I was content. That day my spirit responded for me as I looked at Bill and said, “I was born for this.”
Over the next few months, we made several attempts to build something. However, it wasn’t until a second meeting with Bill, Danny and Kris that we would set the course of Global Legacy. A prophetic word given by our very good friend, Steve Witt, would also steer us. The part of the word on which we placed the most emphasis was when Steve told us to avoid building anything that would host a political spirit. We knew, without question, that we needed to heed that word.
During this time, I realized that my 19 years working in the bureaucratic Prison Service of England and Wales gave me insight into how to build structure completely opposite to what I had been used to. My past experience would, in many ways, help me to understand the assignment I had been given.
At that second meeting, Bill would give me the four guiding principles of Global Legacy. Not long before that, we started sending out application forms to those wanting to be part of Global Legacy. The application process was short-lived, however. We sat together discussing this network that we were building and Bill asked a simple question, the first of the four guiding principles: How far can you go with a government of honor? That question ended the application process and instead, steered us to build an organization that would have no membership, no fee, and no doctrinal statement to sign. It was, instead, a Kingdom assignment—an organization built on the foundation of the following four principles:
1. How far can you go with a government of honor? I knew the answer to this for certain: all eternity. What none of us had, however, was a reference point to what a government of honor looks like.
2. I don’t build a structure and ask God to fill it. I look to see what God is doing and build to contain and bring increase. This is such a beautiful guiding principle. It fits perfectly with the next in that we need to see the wine before we can know what structure to build that will hold the wine. Rather than a lack of structure, we are to create structure with, and for, a purpose. This principle helped guide us to watch and wait; to not lay hands on people or regions too quickly, but simply wait.
3. Whatever you build, it is all about the wine and being an emerging wineskin. The understanding that emerged from this principle is that the task of the wineskin is to receive, carry, and pour out the wine in whatever form He chooses to come tomorrow. We learned to always be emerging, to always be flexible. The wineskin, or structure, serves the wine. When the structure serves itself, rather than the wine, it becomes bureaucracy.
4. Heaven’s government is family. This phrase would pursue me for months as I wondered what it meant and the scope of its meaning. Our entire team would eventually discover that this is not just a principle: the family of heaven is the main event, and is meant to be reproduced here on earth.
It is from this foundation that we have sought to build a network capable of responding to how God chooses to manifest today, and a network that is designed to avoid hosting a political spirit whose end is always division. To the four guiding principles were added other fundamental thoughts, such as adding our strength to others’ strengths and an instruction not to number our troops. The journey has been unclear at times and I am sure, rather frustrating for some who are more accustomed to structure. We were faced with many questions, all of which required an answer. One area that we had to address was leader’s relationships with other networks. We quickly decided that leaders would not have to leave other networks or affiliations in order to be with us. The river, we began to see, gets deeper the further from the temple it flows (Ezekiel 47). Some have found that they need to leave where they are connected. However, we will never encourage or celebrate division. Our desire is to see many streams flowing together.
I am so grateful to those fearless leaders who have trusted us in the unknown of this journey. You have been such a source of encouragement whether you joined at the beginning or recently. Together we have begun to build something that we believe has eternal impact. Thank you. And we know this is just the beginning! He has given us grace to build, and we will continue to build in the same manner in which we began.
Being part of Global Legacy means you are not just creating a profile on a website or joining an organization, but beginning a journey of relationship. There is nothing to agree to, but we assume you are with us, serving together for worldwide revival and reformation. And while there is no fee, it is okay to give! We believe that family make a contribution.
It is my absolute honor to serve you through Global Legacy.
