Transcript of a published conference session by Stan Gleason, transcribed from video. An attributed primary source — not Acts 2:38 Life doctrine text.
Summary
Summary prepared by Acts 2:38 Life from the transcript below — the preacher’s words follow in full.
An Everlasting Kingdom and Greater Works
- He opens with Nebuchadnezzar's words after the fourth man in the fire: how great are God's signs and how mighty his wonders — his kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and his dominion is from generation to generation.
- From John he reads the Lord's promise that the one who believes in him will do the works Jesus did, and greater works, because Jesus goes to the Father.
- Jesus' pattern is to teach and train others to do what he did — and to do it better than he did — and then step aside; that pattern is the seed of the whole message.
- He announces his subject: making room for the next generation.
Scriptures: Daniel 4:3; John 14:12
One Generation from Extinction
- The phrase "generation to generation" runs through Scripture wherever God institutes a law, principle, truth, or doctrine he is serious about sustaining among his people.
- Everything apostolic — what we believe, what we do, what we are passionate about — can be lost in one generation; we are always one generation from extinction.
- He calls Judges 2:10 perhaps the most tragic verse in all the Scripture: after all Joshua's generation was gathered to their fathers, there arose another generation that knew not the Lord nor the works he had done for Israel.
- That generation had lost both a relationship with God and the stories of his deliverance, only a few generations removed from the deliverance itself.
- Moses understood there is no success without a successor and laid his hands on Joshua, but Joshua missed his own moment of transition, as if he assumed somebody would simply pick up the mantle — so he asks every believer, not just preachers: who are you going to teach, train, and invest your life in, and every role, from pastor to usher, is an interim role.
Scriptures: Judges 2:10
Joel's Prophecy Come to Pass — Will the Church Survive?
- In the 1960s, Kenneth Reeves prophesied an outpouring of the Holy Spirit that would start in California, move like a wave across the United States to the east coast, and move all the way back again.
- Gleason remembers when his was the only church in town that clapped, lifted hands, shouted, and saw people filled with the Holy Ghost speaking in tongues; then the revival of the Jesus people carried the Spirit into Catholic, Baptist, and non-denominational churches.
- We have lived long enough to see Joel's prophecy come to pass — in the last days God pours out his Spirit on all flesh — so don't be embarrassed about Pentecostal worship; it is what the world needs.
- A denominational theologian in the 1960s predicted that the fiery enthusiasm of impoverished Pentecostal fathers would be replaced by the sedate and fashionable religion of their grandchildren, and that accommodation to the world would then be fairly complete.
- In 1968, General Superintendent Stanley Chambers preached "Will the Church Survive the Onslaught of History?" — historians say no revival-born organization has kept its doctrine, fire, and theology beyond sixty years — and the preachers linked arms, sang, ran the aisles, and waved their suit coats like flags; the church is not dead yet.
Scriptures: Joel (book-only, as spoken)
Succession Is Apostolic, and the Holy Ghost Is Missional
- Succession in the church is as apostolic as Acts 2:38 — as foundational to apostolic identity as the new birth and the oneness of God — and it is a piece of being apostolic the church needs to get better at; we barely think about it.
- The Holy Ghost is missional — not just a ticket to heaven or a goosebumps machine: Jesus identified the mission with the baptism of the Holy Ghost, promising power to go into Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and the uttermost part of the earth.
- He challenges the gray-headed intercessory prayer warriors: are you teaching anybody to pray like you pray — inviting some 15- or 20-year-old into the prayer room to kneel next to you and feel your consecration?
- Whatever your job — even folding bulletins — be the best at it, but work yourself out of it by giving it to somebody else; don't hang on to your territory, your chair, or your spot in the sanctuary. Dying is not a plan.
Scriptures: Acts 2:38; Acts 1:8
Somebody Saw the Gift in Me
- Jesus was thinking about the future at thirty, just coming out of the wilderness, because his clock was ticking — and his disciples were young: Peter probably in his twenties, the other eleven in their late teens.
- At 19, at Bible College intending to become an architect, Gleason was sought out by Brother Pasley Sr., who ignored his "I'm not even called to preach" and invited him to Cincinnati to preach his first sermon.
- That first sermon was, by his own telling, the worst ever preached in the history of the Oneness movement — yet a man was baptized, an African-American man, and that set a DNA in his spirit: he can preach to anybody, of any nation, and the color line is washed in the blood.
- The week before, praying alone at Minnesota camp meeting by the lake where he had been baptized at eight, he felt like a fake and a fraud who was not called — until hands were laid on him and a man he had never met interpreted a message in tongues: God had seen him by the body of water, had called him to preach to the four corners of the earth, and would use him in healings of mind, soul, and body.
- His lingering question: where would he be today if somebody had not recognized in him something he could not see in himself? Making room for the next generation means helping them identify the gift of God in them.
A Time to Hold On and a Time to Let Go
- Ecclesiastes chapter 3 gives the seasons — a time to be born and a time to die, to weep and to laugh, to mourn and to dance, to plant and to pluck up — but he wishes the wise man had included one more season: a time to hold on and a time to let go.
- Jesus could not wait until he was 85, 75, 65, 55, or 45 to hand off; at 33 he had about forty-two months to train the next generation — his death on Passover, his resurrection on firstfruits, and the outpouring on Pentecost were sealed on a calendar he could not postpone.
- A pastor will never change a church, and no one will raise the next generation, from behind a pulpit; like Jesus, you have to come down off the platform, build a fire, and gather people around it to teach them how to do what you do — to get your DNA and your fingerprints on them.
Scriptures: Ecclesiastes 3
Disciples, Not Consumers
- On what he calls fish-and-chips Sunday, Jesus fed five thousand men — some fifteen thousand people counting women and children — and then told the crowd that except they eat his flesh and drink his blood they have no life in them: he was calling them to sacrifice and discipleship, not building a church of consumers.
- Many turned and walked with him no more; the ones who stayed were the twelve he had been discipling, investing in, and turning into an army.
- Territorial spirits guard turf — "that's my organ bench, that's my drum set" — and he tells of a national church whose youth president was 79 years old; even our expectation of Christ's imminent return can work against preparing successors.
- Your church, youth group, or music ministry is not great unless it is great without you; Jesus refused to guard his territory — he shared his authority, his power, and his vision, untroubled if the next generation broke his records or had better miracles.
The Church Went to a Whole New Level
- Did the church get better or worse after Jesus left? It did not go down the tubes — it went to a whole new level.
- In Acts 3, John healed the lame man — a transformational miracle that put the church after Christ on center stage.
- When the authorities beheld the boldness of Peter and John and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they took knowledge of them that they had been with Jesus — his DNA and fingerprints were on them, and they talked and worked miracles like him.
- Jesus in heaven is not threatened by bigger miracles; he knew equipping the next generation would work. It is time for your first miracle — time to lay hands on the sick and to impart to the next generation.
Scriptures: Acts 3; Acts 4:13
Passing the Mantle
- At 35, three years into pastoring the Life Church in Kansas City, he told his wife Marlene that God was dealing with him to start a conference to make room for the next generation, and he wanted Lee Stoneking to be the anchor speaker.
- For four years, at meeting after meeting, Stoneking kept him simply "on his list" — he wanted him because Stoneking's whole ministry is about the next generation and because he knew there would be impartation.
- He also wanted Stoneking sitting at his table, laying hands on his children in their living room; his baby son Caleb was just two years old when the conference started, and this week marks the 26th annual Passing the Mantle, now a multi-generational conference.
- As Assistant General Superintendent he addresses everyone under 30: I love you, I believe in your calling, your authority, and your anointing — we can't do it without you, and we need you true to the doctrine, because it can be lost in one generation.
- The only one in your family can start a long line — his friend Tim Olson, who pastored in Sioux Falls, was the first in his family and now has great-grandchildren who are apostolic — and he warns young people not to settle for a spouse who does not love God, the truth, and holiness the way they do.
Elijah, Elisha, and the Double Portion
- What shape would the church be in today if Jesus had made no handoff? He calls out for a young man who had been on the platform with him that day, then turns to Elijah, whom God told his day was coming to an end and sent to find his successor.
- Elisha was a farmer plowing with oxen; Elijah put his mantle on Elisha's shoulder as he passed by, and Elisha came right in behind him.
- Elisha boldly asked for a double portion of Elijah's spirit — and every generation from now until Jesus comes will require a double portion, facing demons and a released spirit of antichrist attacking everything about the order of creation.
- Identity is not found in social media or surgery but in the Creator: there are only two genders, male and female — and he insists this is not hate speech but love speech: fall in love with God.
- "If you see me when I go" means more than watching the chariot of fire: before the mantle can be handed over, the farmer must stop thinking like a farmer and start thinking like a prophet — seeing eye to eye, catching the vision and the spirit, getting into a prayer room; some things are better caught than taught.
Receive the Love of the Truth
- Paul told the next generation that there are some who, because they received not the love of the truth, were sent strong delusion by God, that they should believe a lie.
- A man who had been his mentor went off into a false doctrine, convinced God had spoken to him — revelation and deception feel exactly the same, because both come from God, and when you are deceived you don't know it.
- The test of loving the truth: when somebody attacks it, does it make you want to stand up and defend it? When it is preached, does it get you out of your seat — to shout, to cry, to pray? The truth is not for sale and cannot be compromised.
- He cannot drop the mantle until the next generation sees eye to eye with him.
Scriptures: 2 Thessalonians 2
The Handoff Zone: The Closing Impartation
- The day came when Elijah knew it, Elisha knew it, and even the school of the prophets knew it — and Gleason confesses that in the last two years of his pastoring, after 35 years of being all in, he felt ready for the mantle to fall off him; he gives everyone permission to find their Elisha.
- With a relay-race demonstration he shows how not to hand off — holding on while the young runner comes along, feeling new energy and thinking you must still be doing a great job — versus the handoff zone: slowing down, "he must increase, I must decrease."
- A photo shows him with his two sons — Justin, now their pastor, a prophet, and Caleb, a teacher — each given a golden relay baton a few months before he resigned; his sons caught the mantle, and God is raising up a new generation of apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers.
- Men of God had laid hands on cloths — mantles — and prayed over them in tongues two hours earlier; pastors, speakers, and sponsors line the front, and he calls everyone ages 12 to 30 to come forward and receive one, explaining that 30 is when ministry began in the Old Testament and when Jesus' ministry began.
- The recording ends mid-appeal, with the impartation actively underway — hands being laid on young people, cloths pressed into their hands, "that's yours, let it fall on you; get your blessing and step away" — and no closing is captured.
Scripture index: Daniel 4:3; John 14:12; Judges 2:10; Joel (book-only, as spoken); Acts 2:38; Acts 1:8; Ecclesiastes 3; Acts 3; Acts 4:13; 2 Thessalonians 2.
Daniel chapter 4 verse 3 these are the words of Nebuchadnezzar after what brother Elms already referred to as the fourth man in the fire it was cool in the furnace and they walked out unscathed unharmed and this was a miracle and I'm not gonna preach that tonight but there's language here I want to capture how great are his signs and how mighty are his wonders Nebuchadnezzar is speaking about the God of the three Hebrew children his kingdom is an everlasting kingdom and his dominion is from generation to generation and then John 14 12 the words of our Lord most assuredly I say to you he who believes in me the works that I do he will also do and greater works than these he will do but don't miss the last line because I go to my father Jesus said what I'm doing I'm gonna teach and train you how to do it and then you're gonna do it and you're gonna do it better than I ever did it and then I'm out of here is everybody okay with the word so my contribution to this incredible conference tonight I would like to entitle making room for the next generation and everyone that will help me preach by saying amen at least one time may be seated thank you for that amen I might need one or two more along the way
if you use the nlt what I do is I read all the versions until I find the one that says what I want it to say not really well sort of the nlt 43 times uses the phrase generation to generation and in every case it is used it is a direct word from God about both observing and perpetuating either a law a principle a behavior an idea a truth or a doctrine that God instituted and is serious about it being sustained among his people from generation to generation and this is vital because we are always one generation from extinction everything that we believe can be lost in one generation everything that we do as apostolic believers can be lost in one generation everything that we are passionate about can be lost in one generation if you're not so sure about that then please listen to perhaps the most tragic verse in all the scripture judges chapter 2 verse 10 speaking of the Joshua generation and also all that generation were gathered unto their fathers and there arose another generation after them which knew not the Lord nor yet the works which he had done for Israel think about it we are only to the third generation of post captivity and the marvelous deliverance that brother Myers preached to us I love it delivered on dry ground somebody shout delivered on dry ground and I want you to know that what is true in Joshua's day can also be true in our day there arose a generation that knew not the Lord they didn't have a relationship with God they didn't know how to make contact with God and they had lost the stories of how God had provided and God had delivered them and God had brought them out and God had made a way when there seemed to be no way
I'm perplexed about Joshua and his generation in fact I'm beyond perplexed I'm vexed because Moses understood that there is no success without a successor and he made sure that he successfully laid his hands the Bible says he did he laid his hands on Joshua and Joshua served him and there was a transferring of authority and leadership and Joshua responded to that and he rose up and he served the Lord faithfully but somewhere Joshua missed the moment of transition maybe he thought I'll just die and case sir ah sir ah somebody will pick up the mantle and I don't know how you feel tonight and I want to make very clear to you that I am not just preaching to pastors and I am not just preaching to apostles and prophets and evangelists and teachers but I am preaching to every born again child of God in this house and
I've come to ask you a question who are you going to teach to do what you do who are you going to train to do what you do who are you going to invest your life in that has their your fingerprints all over them amen who's gonna pray like you pray who's gonna worship like you worship are you gonna be a one and done amen are you gonna make sure that your DNA that your gift is resting upon the next generation I'm not just preaching to preachers tonight I'm not just preaching to pastors tonight every pastor is an interim pastor every youth pastor is an interim youth pastor every Sunday school teacher is an interim Sunday school teacher every head usher is an interim head usher come on nothing lasts forever if there are roles a generation after Joshua that did not know the Lord don't tell me it can't happen again I know that if this is just one night but time is moving generations are dying every funeral every funeral service we're laying to rest elders and I'm calling on the next generation to pick up a mantle I'm calling on you to pick up a prayer life I'm calling on you to pick up a love for the truth I'm calling on you to make sure that the epistolic truth doesn't die on your walk
back in the 60s there was a visitation of the Holy Spirit prophet Kenneth Reeves prophesied in the late 60s that there would be an outpouring of the Holy Spirit he said it will start in California and it will move like a wave all across the United States and it will get out to the east coast and then it will move all the way back again now some of you are old enough to remember like I remember that in my Pentecostal church we were the only church in town clapping our hands I couldn't go to school and talk about did you all do y'all clap your hands in church I knew they didn't clap their hands at church we were the only church lifting our hands and worshiping we were the only church in town shouting we were the only church in town that needed Kleenex's at the altar we were the only church where anybody ever was filled with the Holy Ghost speaking in tongues but when that prophetic revival hit this country the hippies the Jesus people the Holy Ghost started falling in Catholic churches and Baptist churches and non-denominational churches come on we've lived long enough to see the day when Joel's prophecy has come to pass amen it shall come to pass says God in the last days I will pour out my spirit on all flesh can I tell you something it's a good day to be Pentecostal every Pentecostal church has been vindicated it was well worth it when they were making fun of us when they didn't know what to do with us hallelujah now everybody wants to be a Pentecostal and God is pouring out his spirit don't you be embarrassed about how you worship don't you be ashamed about how you get after the presence of God it's what the world needs so back in the 60s can I get somebody open this for me back in the 60s thank you sir there was a doctor of theology in a denominational setting and I won't call his name but he said and I quote there's coming a day for the Pentecostals when the fiery enthusiasm of their impoverished fathers will be replaced by the sedate and fashionable religion of their grandchildren and then accommodation to the world will be fairly complete but as for now this is probably the finest hour of the Pentecostals that was in the 60s
now some of you won't know this but in 1968 our general superintendent was Stanley Chambers and there was an attack on our movement that we weren't holy enough and we weren't spiritual enough and we weren't sanctified enough and that we were accommodating to the world and our general superintendent stood and he preached a generational message entitled will the church survive the onslaught of history and I will tell you that historians say that no organization that's began in a revival in an explosion in an experience has ever lasted more than 60 years and maintained its doctrine and maintained its fire and maintained its theology and maintained its passionate fiery worship and brother Chambers was preaching the general secretary Cleveland Bekton told me many years later he said brother Gleason I never saw preachers acted like they acted at that general conference they got out in the aisles they started linking arms they started singing spontaneously glory glory hallelujah his truth is marching on he said they took off their suit coats and they started waving them like flags and they were running around that conference hotel I want to know if there's anybody here tonight that is not gonna let the church die on your watch we can't give in we can't give up we've got to preserve it we've got to hand it to the next generation Dr. Snyder says we're gonna die historians say we're gonna die the cessationist theology says it's all over and we're gonna die but I've got news for the historians we are not dead yet we're still shouting we're still worshiping we're still crying we still got the fire
succession in the church everybody say succession succession in the church is as apostolic as Acts 238 more to be an apostolic than the one to see God the new birth and holiness those are foundations and I could not ever minimize how important our foundation is it's our identity it's the new birth it's hero is or the Lord our God the Lord is one it's the greatest truth ever revealed to mankind but there's more to be an apostolic a lot more and one of those pieces of being apostolic we need to get better at we need to get better at succession thought everybody walked out on me there for a minute we don't think about it too much we don't worry about it too much we just keep coming to church and worship it and giving the offering going out to eat and that was a great service
oh the Holy Ghost in you is missional the Holy Ghost is not just your ticket to heaven it's not just your goosebumps machine the Holy Ghost is missional Jesus identified the mission with the baptism of the Holy Ghost when he prophesied in Acts 1 8 you shall receive power after that the Holy Ghost has come upon you and you shall just go to church you shall just sing and shout no you shall go on a mission go into Jerusalem go into Judea go into Samaria go into the other most part of the earth why because we've got to reach this generation and this generation got a hand it off to the next generation your Holy Ghost wants to go on a mission your Holy Ghost want to disciple somebody your Holy Ghost wants to invest in somebody let me say something to these sweet gray headed female intercessory prayer warriors that are here tonight I know who you are I see you in this house are you teaching anybody to pray like you pray are you inviting some 15 or 20 year old into a prayer room so they can kneel down right next to you and feel your Holy Ghost and feel your consecration and pray like you pray you say well all I do is fold the bulletins on Sunday morning we still fold bulletins will be the best bulletin folder you can be but is that all you got can you work yourself out of that job can you give somebody else a job to do you know what if you work yourself out of a job there'll be another job for you to do you don't need to hang on to your territory you don't need to hang on to your highback chair you don't need to hang on to your spot in the sanctuary everybody still love me succession is apostolic we should be thinking about the future dying is not a plan
so in the text Jesus is thinking about the future why is he thinking about the future he's only 30 years old he just getting started he just came out of the wilderness defeated the devil he's got 30 40 years of ministry ahead of him he's gonna pastor four or five churches he's he's he's he's he's got a long no no no no no the clock was ticking the calendar was passing he's got to invest in the next generation as far as we know Peter was probably in his 20s and the other 11 disciples were probably in their late teens how old does somebody have to be until we recognize a gift
I was 19 Kristen Pasley Ellis when your grandfather came up to me at Bible College brother Meyer I went to Bible College but I didn't have any sense of a call of God on my life I just want to study the Bible and go be an architect I was good at that in high school I thought that would make a nice living I'll go study the Bible and then go be an architect and brother Pasley senior Norman's dad he walks up to me I'm 19 brothers stand have you preached your first sermon no sir I have not I'm not even called to preach he ignored that I want you to come to Cincinnati and preach your first sermon is like I said sir I I'm not sure that I'm called to preach he said don't worry about that you're supposed to come that's a minor detail and so one week before I preached my first sermon and by the way it was the worst sermon ever preached in the history of the oneness movement it was so bad but by the grace of God I'm gonna say it a man was baptized and it was a man that didn't look like me can I can I be real right now I grew up in an all-white neighborhood I went to a all-white high school I didn't have any friends that were not Anglo-Americans and a man that got baptized was an African-American and it set a tone for my future it tend to put a DNA in my spirit I can preach to anybody I can reach anybody I can reach all nation with the gospel of Jesus Christ it's set an atmosphere hallelujah the church is the only answer for the racial problem we've got in the world and the color line is still washed in the blood
I didn't have any sense of a call so the week before I preached I'm at Minnesota camp meeting camp Galilee I love to play ball but I skipped out on Thursday night I'm preaching one week from the night I went down by the lake where I baptized in Jesus name at the age of eight and I slipped up in the woods so nobody had noticed me and I'm praying to say God what am I doing I'm preaching a week from that night I hope lightning doesn't strike that place because I'm a fake and a fraud I'm not called to preach and we get into that prayer meeting brother Pasley and brother Normans there and Marv walkers there and Harry Swangoes there I'd never met brother Walker brother Swango in my life next thing I know hands are being laid on me I didn't come to tell this to not I don't know why I'm telling and the spirit begins to move and tongues breaks out and brother Swango I never met him a day in his life he interprets a message and the Lord says you have doubted that I've called you to preach my gospel did I not see you in recent days by the body of water contemplating this very night but I tell you tonight I have called you to preach my gospel and you shall preach it to the four corners of the earth and you will be used in healings of the mind the soul and the body and I've often wondered where would I be today if somebody had not recognized something in me that I could not see myself and that is your job your calling is to have a prayer life and to make room for the next generation and to help them identify the gift of God in them everybody say succession
Ecclesiastes chapter 3 gives us the often quoted poetic and insightful observations of times and seasons for example to everything they're season the time for every purpose under heaven time to be born a time to die time to weep a time to laugh a time to mourn a time to dance a time to plant time to pluck up I wish the wise man would have included one more season there's a time to hold on and there's a time to let go Jesus is our example for everything the clock is ticking he has 42 months he can't hand off to the next generation when he's 85 can't wait till he's 75 he can't wait till he's 65 and drawn social security he can't wait till he's 55 and has become a grandpa he can't wait till he's 45 and in the prime of his life when he's 33 years old 33 he had 40 22 months to train the next generation who are you training
I do want to say something to the pastor right now you will never change a church from behind a pulpit you will never change a congregation from behind a pulpit you will never raise up the next generation from behind a pulpit thank God for the pulpit but sometime you got to come down off the platform like Jesus did and you got to build a fire and say come on boys let's gather around a campfire I want to teach you how to do what I'm doing I want to get my DNA on you I want to get my fingerprints all over you Jesus didn't just preach the multitudes on Sundays how did that work out for him on fish and chip Sunday he fed 5,000 men plus women and children and it was miracles wonder signs the greatest miracle human eyes had ever seen five loaves and two fishes one snack box from McDonald's 15,000 people and it was dinner on the grounds it sounds like an attraction church free food dinner on the grounds giveaways cool stuff and Peter James and John the executive committee they look at each other and they said did you all look at Jesus sermon notes today no we didn't check him out well hope you don't blow it hope we don't mess it up man he needs to make everybody feel good so they want to come back next week you know you can just climb that mountain just one foot in front of you and when you get to the top there you are they didn't review the sermon Jesus gets up and he blows it he messes it up he says to five 15,000 people except you eat of my flesh and drink of my blood you have no life in you and no part of me what's he doing he's calling them to sacrifice he's calling them to discipleship he's not interested in a church full of consumers and that's exactly what they were Jacobs on the back row sit next to his wife Sarah with three little kids well that was a nice sermon and free dinner where do you want to go to church next Sunday this a hard saying who can hear it and the Bible said that from that time many of them turn and walk with him no more who was it that stayed it with the 12 that he was discipling it with the 12 that he was investing in it with the 12 that he had his fingerprints on it with the 12 that he was turning into an army you can't change the church from a platform but we've got to get down among the people we've got to invest we got to pray with him we got to teach him who are you turning into the next you the clock was ticking Jesus couldn't wiggle out of it in fact when Peter tried to talk him out of it he said get the behind me Satan I'm not gonna pastor forever I'm not gonna be the youth pastor forever I'm not gonna be the music minister forever Jesus biological clock was ticking Jesus theological clock was ticking Jesus eschatological clock was ticking he had to die on Passover he had to rise on first fruit and he had to pour out the Holy Ghost on the day of Pentecost he couldn't wiggle out of it he couldn't postpone it he couldn't put it off it's a done deal it's forever sealed and he did it turn to somebody say let's make room move over and make room it's apostolic to think about the future it's apostolic to have a succession plan
I couldn't believe my ears when one of our regional directors told me that one of our national churches had a youth president that was 79 years old it's in a culture that gives great honor but at some point you know why we're not very good at succession because people get good at protecting their titles people work hard at guarding their turf that's my organ bench that's my drum set you have to love me you don't have to like me but you have to love me territorial spirits sometimes our theology works against us we believe so strongly in the eminent return of Christ and the generation that raised me certainly did Jesus is coming Jesus is coming Jesus is coming nobody prepared for retirement why do we need to prepare for retirement Jesus is coming my dad taught me live like he's coming today plan like he won't be here for a hundred years Jesus had a succession plan I don't know who's telling you that you're not replaceable I don't know who's telling you that if you slip off the scene the place is gonna just fall apart I don't know who's telling you that you know if you don't make it happen it's not gonna happen can I tell you something I'm sorry to sound rude but would you get over yourself now I said that with a smile huh your church is not great unless it is great without you your youth group is not great unless it is great without you your music ministry is not great unless it is great without you Jesus said I'm gonna show you how to do what I'm doing I don't care if you just I don't care if you break my records I don't care if you take down my trophies I don't care if you have better miracles than I ever had it I'm not gonna be guarding my turf I'm not gonna be guarding my territory I'm gonna share my authority I'm gonna share my power I'm gonna share my vision and you're gonna do it better than I ever did it and then I'm out of here
let me ask you a question did the church get better or worse after Jesus left did the church get better or worse after Jesus left it did not get worse it didn't go down the tubes it didn't get lost it went to a whole new level in fact John healed the lame man and John three in the ax three it was a transformational miracle it put the church post Christ on center stage they called in Peter and John they interrogated him and Annas the high priest and K. if it's looked at each other said didn't we kill Jesus yeah we did his graveyard dead well acts for 13 says when they beheld the bonus of Peter and John and they perceived that they were unlearned in ignorant men Jeff Arnold said that means stupid but powerful they perceived that they were unlearned in ignorant men watch this they took knowledge of them that they had been with who they had whose DNA they had whose fingerprints they were talking like who they were working miracles like who Jesus wasn't up in heaven now saying now what did I tell you about that I don't want any miracles bigger than my miracles Jesus was in heaven saying I knew it was gonna work I knew it would happen I knew they could do it now they're talking like me they're walking like me they're doing miracles like me I have successfully equipped the next generation
it's time for your first miracle it's time for you to lay hand on the sick it time for you to impart to the next generation
when I was 35 years old I was three years into my pastoral tenure in Kansas City at the life church I told my wife I said God been dealing with me I want to start a conference to make room for the next generation I was the next generation why does somebody make a conference for me I'm 35 I can still be youth president and I'm having a conference for the next generation she said who do you want to preach I said one man who's that I said Lee Stone King I said I don't know if you remember me or not he went to ABI where I grew up I was seven years old and I remembered him he was so eccentric I was at the apartment he rented an apartment upstairs in the family in the church and I was there playing with some of their kids and I still remember he came out of his bedroom and he had one of those English flat hats on it was winter and he had a scarf and there was a mirror right there just before he left and he went and he took his scarf he went I'm seven years old I'm like whoop I've been to three worlds fairs and I've never seen nothing like that so I went up to him at Missouri camp I waited till everybody was done talking Marlene and I we walk up but the Stone King you probably don't know me but I'm Stan Gleason oh boy I knew your father well I want to start a conference at the life church in Kansas City I want to call it passing the mantle and I want you to be the anchor speaker all right I'll do it I'll put you on my list and he walked off I looked at Marlene I mean I had my black book out and I'm ready day before iPhones I'm ready to you know sign him up well I'm on the list year later I see him at a conference but the Stone King yes am I still on your list yes and he walked off you know I could probably anybody I wanted now but there was a day when I was digging and scratching and clawing two years same thing three years same thing four years I run into a general conference because of the time somewhere after four years am I on your list yes and you're moving up it's exactly the way it happened why did I want him why did I want him because he's apostolic because he believes in the next generation that's what he's made his whole ministry about I wanted him because I knew there would be impartation I wanted him because I knew he would be an incredible leaving incredible impression on the next generation but there's another reason I wanted him I wanted him sitting at my table in my house with my kids when my baby son Caleb was well he was just two years old when we started the conference I wanted him laying hands on my kids in our living room in prayer meetings and this week is our 26th annual passing the mantle which is now a multi-generational conference impacting hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of incredible apostolic people just like I leaned over to brother Myers tonight I said brother Myers thank you for extending this church thank you for giving us this occasion we've got to make room for the next generation
can I say something as the assistant general superintendent to everybody that's under 30 years of age in this room tonight I love you I believe in you I believe in your calling I believe in your authority I believe in your anointing we can't do it without you we need you to be true to the doctrine we need you to love the gospel we need you to be sold out to the truth can be lost in one generation these sweet young ladies and young men you may be the only one in your family but you can start a long line you can start a long line hallelujah my friend Tim Olson who passionate in Sioux Falls South Dakota for years he's only a couple years older than me he was the first one in his family now he's got great grandchildren that are apostolic it only takes one and in a lifetime there can be three and four generations young lady don't you settle for a young man that doesn't love God like you love God that doesn't love the truth like you love the truth you don't need to marry some loser that's twice put up by the roots young man don't you settle for a young lady that doesn't love holiness and doesn't love separation she could ruin your ministry if she doesn't love it like you love it we're making room for the next generation
I am hurrying to a close what shape would the church be in today but Jesus made no handoff [name redacted] where are you poor [name redacted] should have never hung out with me today up here son [name redacted] prophet to know that God told Elijah he said it's time for you to find your successor I want you to I want you to find him and I'm gonna tell you what his name is I'm gonna tell you where he lives and I'll tell you how you recognize him he's a farmer and he plows with auction he's a man so God says Elijah your day is coming to an end have a nice day and I want you to raise up the next generation and so he goes to where the Lord says Elisha is he walks by him and which was an outer garment for a prophet and he just sort of put it on his shoulder and he kept walking and Elisha came right in behind him and so they're walking together one day Elijah says I won't be here long but he want me to give you and I love the boldness of Elisha he said I want a double portion of your spirit every generation from now till Jesus comes is gonna require a double portion it's gonna require it we are facing demons devils spirits everything that we love and believe about the order of creation is under attack the spirit of antichrist is released into the world people don't even know what bathroom to use people think that they need a surgery to help find their true identity can I tell you this is not hate speech amen this is not hate speech this is love speech amen come and fall in love with the Creator fall in love with God there's only two genders there's male and female that's the only way it is don't believe social media don't believe the lie of the architects out there that are trying to disrupt who you are you find your identity in Jesus Christ you are going to need a double portion and I'm glad to announce there is a double portion anointing and a double portion generation the crazy one and before it's over we're gonna look like geniuses why not because we're so smart but because we honor believe and we teach and we live by the word of God heaven and earth will pass away and
so Elijah says Elisha you've asked me a hard thing but if you see me when I go you will have it so he takes him on a journey and he tries to leave him and Jericho and Gilgal and other places and he likes to won't let him out of his sight if you see me when I go listen he wasn't just talking about when the horse and chariot of fire carry me out of here it's more than that included in the range of meaning is the idea when you see I to I with me you're a farmer I'm the prophet of Israel before I can hand my mantle to you you've got to stop thinking like a farmer and start thinking like a prophet before I can hand off the spiritual vault to the next generation you got to see like a prophet you got to feel like a prophet amen you've got to look at the world through the lens of a prophet not a farmer and can I tell you you're not ready to receive the mantle until you start thinking spiritually until you see the world like God sees it until you see amen the word of God like your pastor sees it you've got to catch his vision you've got to catch his spirit amen there's some things that are better caught than talk and you just got to catch it and you won't get it until you see it it won't just you don't get promoted till you catch it you don't get promoted until you stop being immature and you stop being so carnal and you don't have a prayer life and you don't ever spend any time in the word and the only time you pray is before meals if that can I tell you something you got to get in a prayer room somewhere
Paul Paul told the next generation he said there are some in 2nd Thessalonians chapter 2 he said because they receive not the love of the truth God sent them strong delusion that they should believe a lie I had a man that used to be a mentor of mine went off into a false doctrine he said God spoke to me he was right this is why revelation and deception feel exactly the same because they both come from God and when you're deceived you don't know you're deceived and you're so convinced that you're right you will believe a lie just like Paul said don't you leave this conference without getting a love for the truth how do you know you love the truth well let me ask you a question if somebody attacks it doesn't make you want to stand up and defend it when somebody's preaching it doesn't ever get you up out of your seat some of you haven't got up yet all night you got to get up it's got to make you shout it's got to make you cry it's got to make you pray out of love it's not for sale it's not for sale it can't be compromised you got to get me I can't drop the mantle till you see I die
the day came Elijah knew it was the day Elisha knew it was the day even the school of the prophets knew it was the day it's so like Christ you do what I do and you do it and then I'm out of here oh I'm ready I'm ready to drop a mantle on somebody I'm ready the last two years I pastored I was so ready for 35 years I never felt like I did the last two years I can't I don't I don't like doing this anymore I can't wait till I don't have to do this anymore that was so not me because I was all in it I'm like ready to drop the mantle it's like something's falling off of me I'm preaching to somebody tonight I'm giving you permission to find your Elisha it's time for you to start finding Elisha it's time for you to start finding the next generation
I want everybody to stand don't know what a relay race is it's handing off let me tell you let me show you how you hand off this is not how you hand off oh I know what I'm talking about I've been through this I've been through this that's not how you hand off get back over here this is not how you hand off oh it's going really good right now it's going really good this young man's coming along I'm feeling new energy I'm feeling a new anointing I'm feeling a new authority man I must be still doing a really good job that's not how you hand off let me show you how you hand off we're in the handoff zone right now oh slowing down he must increase I must decrease you don't get it now you'll never get it two years ago passing the man
would you show the picture of my myself with my two sons it's Justin our pastor now in Caleb it was a moment it was just a few months before I resigned I'm going through all this there we are it was such a holy moment for me that my sons caught the mantle they've got the baton you can't see it but I gave him each a golden relay baton that was the holy moment for me that was the handoff Justin on the right is our pastor he's a prophet Caleb on the left he's a teacher we're normalizing the five-fold ministry we got prophets and teachers at the church a man not only in Antioch but in Kansas City and I want you to know God is raising up a new generation of apostles and prophets and evangelists and pastors and teachers and equipping the saints for them to do the work of the ministry I said I hope you know how much spiritual authority you have in this region in this mayor here tonight language he would be a key and the page are the prophet into that prophet listen that prophet
brother Dylan would you help me I've got some cloths I'm just gonna call them mantles and men of God have laid hands on them just two hours ago and we spoke in tongues and we prayed over him I need I need everybody just step back just a little bit please just all the way across the front here and I would like for every speaker and every sponsor just come and stand with me across this platform I guess down here on the lower level every speaker and sponsor face the congregation just face the congregation go all the way down there's gonna be an impartation tonight I want all the pastors to come join us that are here tonight this might be I hate to be so dramatic this might be somebody's last service pastors come on all the way across all the way across just grab a few of these get them in your hand get them in your hand they've already been blessed they've already been prayed over now listen carefully pastor get a handful and turn around full-time evangelists come up here all the way across there's gonna be an impartation listen carefully listen carefully ages 12 to 30 spread as out as spread out as far as you can I want you to leave with a mantle we've got one for you but when this man of God lays hands on you the reason I'm saying 30 because that was when a ministry began in the Old Testament it's when Jesus ministry began 12 to 30 you can still receive something but but we've got this is just how we're gonna do it do you come up here a man of God or woman of God lays hands on you they give you a cloth and press it into your hand you receive it and then you step back and let somebody else come forward are you ready are you ready come on are you ready I want you to lift your hands right now I want you to lift your hand they're gonna be an impartation these men and women of God are gonna give something away tonight 12 to 30 I don't want anybody by the age of 30 coming up just yet I'm gonna speak a word I'm gonna speak a transformational transitional generational word I'm gonna call out Elisha right now and I want you to come I want you to come are you ready by the authority of the word of God and the power of the name of Jesus we release the gifts we release authority we release anointing we release miracles wonders and signs in this house now if you're hungry for an apostolic anointing and you're between the age of 12 and 30 12 and 30 come on get up here get up here quick lift your hands come on pastor lay your hand on them give them a cloth come on that's yours that's yours let it fall on you oh get your blessing and step away step away
Scripture references as spoken: Daniel 4:3; John 14:12; Judges 2:10; Joel (book-only, as spoken); Acts 2:38; Acts 1:8; Ecclesiastes 3; Acts 3; Acts 4:13; 2 Thessalonians 2.