Apostolic DNA, Spiritual Fathers, and Biblical Covering

'Covering' is a covenant relationship appointed, designed, and orchestrated by the Holy Spirit in order to help facilitate the future of emerging Kingdom leaders.'  

The key thing to remember about both covering and spiritual fathers is that they are prophetically relational.

This is far different than just being affiliated with an organization.  Organization without Spirit-appointed relationship provides no biblical covering, just organizational or doctrinal affiliation.  

Organizations and networks can give you papers but they can't give you empowerment and they can't unlock the latent gifting and Destiny DNA that only spiritual fathers are mantled to release.  

If you're not called to connect by the Holy Spirit, the organization will profit you nothing. This is why the Spirit has called many out of denominational structures that aren't apostolic and fathering in nature. 

The Father Factor

There's been a Spirit Exodus of sorts over the past number of years where He's called many emerging apostles out of organizational systems in order to facilitate Destiny Connections so that a fresh apostolic movement can be born in the earth. 

The Holy Spirit is literally shifting many things (that's why so many have found themselves in a time of transition) so that He can create a new generation of leaders who are built and who build upon biblical models, not humanistic ones.

The strategy of the Holy Spirit is to connect emerging apostles (those who carry apostolic DNA but who are still in the process of coming into fulness as an apostle) with established apostles in order to further individual destinies, to create new apostolic alignments, and to establish a prophetic momentum in the earth where miracles, divine movement, and Kingdom enlargement are accelerated through strategic apostolic connections.

Also, keep in mind that the biblical model of 'covering' speaks to covenant relationships that are orchestrated and established by the Holy Spirit.  This is at the core of who spiritual fathers are and what they're called to affect in the lives of others.

When the Holy Spirit wants to take us to a greater level in our personal development and ministries He will connect us with men who are mantled with anointing, authority, gifting, and wisdom (prophetic DNA) that are equipped to unlock and empower the greater that's resident within us (see Elijah/Elisha).

From a biblical perspective one's covering should be their spiritual father (Joseph told his brothers that God had made him a father to Pharaoh; Elisha cried 'my father, my father' when Elijah was taken into heaven; Paul was Timothy's spiritual father, etc). 

Paul writes in I Corinthians 4:15 that there 'are many teachers in the Body but not many fathers...' 

In other words, teachers are common and numerous in our lives but fathers are rare and exclusive. 

He then goes on to say to the Corinthians that a spiritual father is one whom the Spirit uses to father, birth, nurture and develop the destiny of specific individuals and people groups by citing the example of his affect in their lives.

The main difference that Paul reveals about teachers vs. fathers is that teaches inform but fathers impart.  

Teachers communicate information but fathers release revelation.  

The impartation of a covering father comes via relationship, not merely affiliation (see I Timothy 1:2; 2 Timothy 1:2,6).  Timothy and the churches Paul fathered spiritually received gifting, apostolic order, and relational impartation that came directly from their unique relationships to Paul, not just as an apostle but as their spiritual father.

This is the essence of spiritual fathering. Because is is highly relational, spiritual fathers are 'covering agents' in much the same way that the Holy Spirit covered the dark, chaotic, undeveloped cosmos in Genesis 1:2,3 and brought creation, destiny, and order out of the chaos the cosmos had been in due to Satan's rebellion.

Spiritual fathers 'cover' and their movements (gifting, voice, wisdom, anointing, mantles, revelation, etc.) serve to call forth greater destiny and purpose in the lives of those they cover.  

Just as the Spirit's 'covering' and moving over the face of the deep ('dark, wasted, nothingness' are the literal Hebrew meanings) served to bring destiny development out of darkness (a type of what has yet to be developed in us), so to must we be under the covering of a greater authority in order for our greater purposes and capacities to be revealed and released.

The Holy Spirit is always facilitating the future.  Always.  

He continually works with an eye toward creating legacy in that He's perpetually moving to ensure that no leadership gaps exist in coming seasons and generations.  A quick study of biblical history regarding Kingdom leadership, whether Old Covenant or New, bears this out. 

That said, it is essential to understand that from a biblical perspective, we cannot come into the fullness of our divine purpose and calling without the key connections that spiritual fathers bring to our lives.  

This statement may bother some but if you'll look at the biblical models of destiny activation you'll see that this is true (I've listed a number of examples a little later in this article for your consideration).  

Quite simply, when the Holy Spirit is ready to launch an emerging leader into an new dimension of destiny development He will connect that leader with a spiritual father ('covering') in order to help facilitate the potential for greatness that resides within the emerging leader.

Biblically speaking, it takes a greater mantle to help unlock a lesser mantle so that the lesser may itself become greater and achieve it's fullest potential.  

This process takes place via covenant relationships through spiritual fathering (as God does everything via covenant).  By covenant relationship I simply mean that the Holy Spirit establishes the relationship, as explained in detail below, and that we recognized that we have a covenant with God in that relationship and that we honor the relationship as such.

As a result, we then treat the relationship with honor, consistency, and integrity. This is the order of the Kingdom. When we begin honoring this destiny key we discover the Holy Spirit working, moving, and activating hidden things that yearn to emerge in us and before us.  

It's through the process of honoring our spiritual covering that we begin to see the Holy Spirit breathing on our dreams.


Before we look further into what a spiritual fathering is, let's qualify what it is not.  
True spiritual father 'covering' IS NOT:

• Manipulative
• Abusive - verbally, relationally, financially, or doctrinally
• Controlling
• Man worship
• Ego-centric relationships where one uses their 'spiritual authority' to place Un-scriptural demands on their 'followers'
• Spiritual fathering/covering are not about consolidating power around the 'leader'. It's about empowering, equipping, and releasing sons and daughters to fulfill their divine purposes in their respective spheres of influence.
• Spiritual fathering/covering is not a hierarchy that's top-down in nature. It's spherical, much like the spokes of a wheel with the spiritual father 'centering' things and the sons and daughters extending beyond the center.  In other words, true spiritual fathers help to bring a center (accountability, doctrinal balance, prophetic wisdom, experience-based perspective, and apostolic impartation) that balances and extends their son's and daughter's reach in the earth.

It must be stated that we have entered a new apostolic age where the Spirit of God is raising up spiritual fathers to help activate and unlock the prophetic DNA of a generation of men and women who are emerging into places of purpose, influence, and destiny.

When the Holy Spirit is ready to take your life and ministry to a greater level of purpose and fulfillment He will assign an apostolic father to help facilitate the process.  He will orchestrate that connection in such a way as to affirm and confirm that the connection has a spiritual foundation, not merely an emotional one.  The end result is that a covenant relationship is born out of the connection that serves to facilitate the greater purposes that are resident yet dormant within you.

If the connection is of the Holy Spirit He will affirm it, confirm it, and testify to it either via direct revelation, confirming voices and/or experiences, and Scriptural direction.

In order for us to come into the full experience of the benefits of spiritual fathers, we must have a mature understanding of the biblical concepts of covering and spiritual fathering.  

In a nutshell, spiritual fathers are Spirit-appointed 'covering' relationships that the Holy Spirit orchestrates in order to enlarge the Kingdom and to help maximize the potential of an emerging generation of Kingdom leaders who haven't fully arrived on the scene.

The Biblical models for these types of Spirit-appointed spiritual fathers are: 
Elijah/Elisha, Joseph/Pharaoh, Ruth/Boaz, Paul/Timothy, Jesus and the apostles. 

When you look at each of these scenarios the same pattern emerges: the Holy Spirit orchestrates the connections and brings the leader into the life of the son/daughter or disciple by divine connection and prophetic appointment. 

These connections generally happen seemingly out of no where.  They are quite literally prophetic happenings and destiny events.
 
The bottom line is that destiny connections are something we can't make happen: God makes them happen. 

In a real prophetic sense, it's not something we pursue as much as it is something that's pursuing us (in that God appoints it prophetically, then He orchestrates the real time events in our lives so that it comes to pass experientially at the appointed time).  Often times, these events come about unexpectedly.

On a practical level, it's impossible to just successfully pursue a high-level ministry leader you don't know and to get them to respond positively.  Most leaders wouldn't respond to you if they don't know you.  Here's why:

Any leader with a strong authority level is going to be very busy and won't have the time to do a lot of personal mentoring or coaching.

Also, there are so many people with agendas (as well as cooky, flaky, biblically-unbalanced people) lurking out there who are trying to use other ministries as a stepping stone to promote themselves.  Most ministry leaders are very insulated and you can't get near them because of this.

They do this to protect themselves.  Unfortunately it's a necessary factor given how many agenda-driven people exist in our church culture. The bottom line is that it's virtually impossible to gain relational access to high level leaders because of this.  It has to be a God-thing.

The positive aspect of this is that when God orchestrates a destiny connection, He transcends this normal lack of access by giving you access to a leader you can't get otherwise and you know it's Him not you making it happen.

That said, it is possible to receive mentoring without a personal connection.  A mentor isn't necessarily your spiritual father or covering, but they are essential in helping equip you nonetheless.

If you are a Kingdom leader I owe it to you to tell you that you need to have a spiritual covering over your life and your ministry. Like the biblical examples mentioned earlier, this must be the covering that the Holy Spirit assigns you to. 






What is Covering?
 
Covering is not about control, it's about connection and protection. It's about furthering the DNA, purposes, and destiny that the Holy Spirit is working in your life.  It's about someone the Holy Spirit assigns to you who's got your back.

You should be praying about this because it has many practical benefits.  Specifically, ask Him to show you and connect you to the spiritual covering that He's appointed to your life.

What Next? 

When the Holy Spirit establishes this connection in your life you need to begin consistently tithing to the covering minister or ministry He connects you with.  Your family and your ministry simply cannot prosper without it.

This is a profound truth and has the power to break famine, to create and open up financial resources to fulfill your life-assignment, and to unlock miracles. The tithe is literally the financial covenant that we have with God.  

Connecting with the spiritual leader the Holy Spirit has appointed to your life and then honoring the tithe principle is a major key to God breaking famine - financial famine, relational famine (personal isolation and disconnectedness), circumstantial famine, and revelational famine out of your life.  

Famine exists when the heavens over your life are closed.  

Honoring the tithe covenant through your 'spiritual father/covering' will open the heavens over your life and release an untold number of destiny resources that you need to succeed.
 
Consider that the model in the Word is that even the priests were commanded to 'tithe up' to the high priest that was over them (Numbers 18:26-28).

The bottom line is this.  We need spiritual fathers in our lives.  Without the proper Spirit-appointed covering in our lives we simply cannot succeed and experience the fullness of the Holy Spirit's plans and purposes for us.

If you don't have the benefit of being covered by a spiritual father, ask the Lord to facilitate that relationship in your life.  Begin making it a matter of prayer focus and then be willing to listen and to move in the direction He sets you in.  

Most importantly, when you pray, allow the Holy Spirit to begin moving you in new directions, dimensions, and through new voices.  He wants to open up new things to you.  

Newness emerges out of nothingness so expect Him to answer this prayer.  

When He does, move forward with great expectation knowing that He's setting up the right connections that are key for you to achieve all that He's purposed for your life.

Stay Connected,
Pastor Howard