Five-Fold Ministry? Seven-Fold Ministry? Eight-Fold Ministry? Why not All-Fold Ministry?
Keith at “subversive1” has written on a topic that (I think) is often misunderstood. His post is called “58 Fold Ministry?” and it tackles the subject of the (so-called) five-fold ministry in Ephesians 4:11.
He examines the list of spiritual gifts (and spiritually gifted people) in Ephesians 4:11, but he also compares that list to the ones in Romans 12:4-8 and 1 Corinthians 12:28. (Of course, there are others lists in 1 Corinthians 12:8-10 and – my personal favorite – 1 Peter 4:10-11.) And, he asks a very good question: Why are the spiritual gifts in Ephesians 4:11 considered the “five main gifts in the church today, or that these five should be exalted above all the other gifts…”?
Keith decides that there are at least 58 gifts listed in various places in the New Testament, and the each of these (and any others) are necessary for the growth and vitality of the church. (Sounds similar to what Paul says in the entire section of Ephesians 4:7-16.)
I love Keith’s conclusion:
At face value, the message of the New Testament is that you matter. Your gift – whatever it is – is necessary. You are important. You have something the rest of us need. We have something that you need. We need one another to grow and to thrive.
As Paul says in each of these passages, there are many gifts, and they are all given by the One Spirit, and we are all members of each other. Our gifts are not for us, they are not about us, they are about one another and the purpose of these gifts is to be a blessing to everyone else and to exalt them, not ourselves.
So, I’m not sure about you, but since there are something like 58 different spiritual gifts mentioned in the Bible, I’m a big fan of the Fifty-Eight Fold Ministry of God.
Please take the time to read the rest of Keith’s post! It’s worth the read.
So, are those gifted as apostles, prophets, evangelists, and shepherds and teachers important for the edification of the church today? Absolutely! But so are those who are gifted as servants, helpers, administrators, etc. etc. etc.
If you are in Christ, then he desires to work through you to build up his church.
If I falter, Lord, who cares?
I feel sorry for “anonymous.” Seriously, I do. She (or he) doesn’t know what it means to live among God’s family when they are truly living as brothers and sisters in Christ.
What am I talking about?
Well, thank you for asking.
Last Sunday, someone requested that we sing the hymn “Just A Closer Walk With Thee.” According to our song book, the song was written by someone named “Anonymous,” who apparently wrote many songs, poems, sayings, etc.
Anyway, I had not sung that song in a long time, so I was paying close attention to the lyrics. (I don’t know about you, but I tend to zone out when I sing a song that’s very familiar…) Everything was going great, until we got to verse three:
In this world of toil and snares,
If I falter, Lord, who cares?
Who but Thee my burden shares?
None but Thee, oh Lord, none but Thee.
So, you see, I feel sorry for Anonymous. When anonymous fails, no one cares but Jesus. If Anonymous lived among brothers and sisters in Christ who were truly living as family with one another, she (or he) would find several who not only cared about her failures, but would even willingly help her bear her burdens. They would love her, forgive her, strengthen her, support her, help her heal.
Oh, don’t misunderstand me… it’s true that Jesus always cares, and he alone is able to truly carry those burdens. However, it’s also true that Jesus often works through other believers to show us his love, concern, correction, and even burden-bearing.
But, apparently, Anonymous doesn’t know anything about that. That’s sad.
We are not created (or newly created, for that matter) to live this type of lonely, isolated existence. We are created to have a relationship with God, but we are also created to have a relationship with one another.
And, God-created, God-honoring relationships include caring for one another and sharing one another’s burdens.
So, I decided to rewrite that third verse:
In this world of toil and snares,
If I falter, Lord, they care!
You – through them – my burden shares!
All with Thee, oh Lord, all with Thee.
Do we have to care about how people feel or react?
If you’ve read this blog for only a short time, you’ve probably surmised that I enjoy questions that do not have easy answers. For one thing, I’m not opposed to answering, “I don’t know.” For another thing, I’m not opposed to answering, “Maybe” or “Sometimes.”
These kinds of questions remind me that I am not dependent on my own answers or understanding, but instead I must remain completely dependent on God working through me and others through his Holy Spirit. (This kinda goes along with my post “Sometimes I can’t stand that guy Jesus.”)
I think that Miguel from “God Directed Deviations” has asked one of those difficult questions in his post “Do I have to care about how you feel?”
For example, just consider the opening barrage of questions:
Do I have to care about how others feel? If I am speaking the truth in love, although some may get upset or offended, if I am correcting a point of error in someone’s doctrine, even though they might not like it, if I am calling someone to repent with raised voice and strained facial muscles, even though it might be perceived as “angry,” am I supposed to take into consideration how someone feels about those things? On the one hand, if I do care about how others feel, doesn’t that make me a slave to every whimsical passion that others may have and cause me to be ever adjusting and never satisfying? On the other hand, if I don’t care about how people feel, doesn’t that make me a sociopath?
Like I said, no easy answers. If we observe how Jesus responded to people in the Gospels, at times we see him approaching people in a way that seems overly gentle, and at other times we see him approaching them in a way that seems overly harsh.
So, how do you decide how to approach people?
I’m not opposed to loving everyone, but I don’t know if I can love THAT one!
Lately, I’ve been thinking about how we tend to dehumanize and depersonalize following Jesus. What do I mean? I mean that we are find with loving everyone, but he often have trouble loving that specific person. But, we must understand that failing to love that specific person IS failing at love.
In the same way, we often consider our work – our service, perhaps – to the masses, but fail at working with or serving a specific person. For example, perhaps we can teach a class or a congregation, but can we teach that THAT person? You know the person that I’m talking about… the person who really needs to learn… and from whom you need to learn.
As long as we can fuzzify (I like that word) our focus on “everyone” and never one that specific person, then we can think that we’re doing something. But, that person that is hard to love, hard to deal with, hard to serve, hard to talk to… THAT person may be the very one that God is leading you to interact with. But, as long as we keep our focus on the fuzzy “everyone,” then we may miss THAT person that God is leading us to.
I remember having a discussion recently with someone about discipling others. The person told me about the classes he taught and the material he used and the times he studied. But, when I asked him a specific example of how he was helping a specific person follow Jesus, he did not have an answer. Now, perhaps this was simply not a question he was ready to answer. But, it could also be that his focus was on the fuzzy “everyone,” and he was missing the actual people involved, the individuals who need individual help to follow Jesus. He was not discipling people; he was discipling some amorphous, dehumanized, depersonalized mass.
So, whether we are focusing on any people that God brings into our lives, or focusing on a specific person that we may find hard to love, teach, serve, etc… we must remember that in Christ our focus is people… individuals… not a faceless crowd or an amorphous, dehumanized mass.
Yes, we love everyone; but loving everyone starts with THAT person… and those specific individuals
The ONE church that Jesus is building
I love Aussie John (from “caesura“). Love him! I wish I could afford to fly to Australia and spend a few days, or weeks, or months talking with him and learning from him. Since he started commenting on this blog a few years ago, he has made it a richer experience for myself and my readers.
Last weekend, he published a post called “Is it possible?” He begins by asking if what we call “Christianity” today is actually the greatest enemy of Christ. Strong words, yes, but perhaps strong words like this are necessary at times.
Towards the end of the post, he touches on a subject that is very dear to my heart: the church. He writes:
The Scriptures do reveal the characteristics of the churches of New Testament times, and the principles by which they functioned, yet we certainly do not have a clear, indelible blueprint according to which churches are to be set up or formed!
With all our sincere desires and efforts to have a “New Testament church”, is it possible that all we are actually achieving is the development of a myriad of other systems, or sects, with differing sets of legalistic rules, traditions, and regulations, sectarian bigotry, and remaining as spiritually lifeless as those we have left behind in the trash-can of our experience of searching for the church that suits our imaginings or tastes.
There is only ONE Church, the one Jesus is building, which is a dynamic living organism, from which rivers of living water flow. Its source is ONLY in the person of Jesus Christ. And built upon the cornerstone of His practice and completed work.
His church is totally dependent on Him through the working of His Holy Spirit in its members.
I’m often asked, “Why do you remain associated with a denomination (and I am) if you believe that denominations tend to divide the church (and I do believe that)?” Why? Because the people who are part of this denomination are my brothers and sisters in Christ and are, therefore, part of the church that Jesus is building.
I’m often asked, “Why do you continue to carry out some of the traditional rituals/practices if you believe that these are not necessary and may hinder spiritual growth?” Why? Because the people who have chosen to continue using these practices are my brothers and sisters in Christ and are, therefore, part of the church that Jesus is building.
I’m often asked, “Wouldn’t it be better to move away from this organization and/or denomination and start with a clean slate and meet in a manner that you think is more like the characteristics of the church that we see in the New Testament?” No, it is better to remain in fellowship with my brothers and sisters in Christ who are part of the church that Jesus is building.
No, the buildings and systems and hierarchies and programs and activities and rules and confessions and denominations are not the church. But, those people are your brothers and sisters in Christ, and they ARE the church.
There is one church. Separating from our brothers and sisters in Christ – even because we don’t agree with how they understand the church – is not the answer. The answer is living together in the fellowship of the Spirit and in the church that Jesus is building, in spite of our differences.
Thank you, Aussie John, for reminding us of this great truth in Jesus Christ!
Guest Blogger: Identifying with the Shunammite
I’ve invited several people to write “guest blog posts” for this blog. There are several reasons for this: 1) To offer different perspectives. 2) To generate even more discussion and conversation between blogs. 3) To introduce other bloggers to my readers.
(If you are interested in writing a guest blog post, please contact me at aknox[at]sebts[dot]com.)
Today’s post was written by Greg Gamble. You can follow Greg on Twitter (@ChurchExodus).
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It’s been close to 40 yrs since the Lord Jesus captured my heart and I’ve been reflecting on the parallels between my life, our life together and our story as God’s family. It also took 40 yrs in the wilderness for Gods people to be transformed from slaves building someone else’s kingdom to sons building their own. That refining pattern appears to be repeated in the church throughout history.
King David and his men, in the wilderness, knew the times, had a sense of destiny, understood their place in the trajectory of God’s eternal plan and fell in line with what He was doing through David. Happily, many of us are likeminded as we follow our David, the Lord Jesus, as we journey thru this church wilderness.
But there is a neglected narrative in scripture, hiding in the open, which is the framework for changing from desert dwelling slaves to sons of the Heavenly Jerusalem. It’s not explicit but God purposefully wove it into the shadows of the life experiences and relationships of those that love Him. God shrouds Himself in mystery, and allows confusion and misrepresentation of His nature without setting the record straight. And though it’s us doing the misrepresenting, He ignores it, and like a true lover, focuses on us, making us chase Him, so we appreciate Him and how He has chased us.
What corrects the misrepresentation is our changed lives, as we also ignore the wrong understandings we have of Him and each other, and simply love one another as He commands us.
The hidden narrative is knowing Him, in deep, intimate marriage like love, and in a similar shadow way, knowing one another, no longer after the flesh, but in Him.
Titles, architecture, family ties and all earthly structures don’t factor into this knowing. There’s no prescription or 12 step programs in scripture for getting from the wilderness to Jerusalem above. The scriptures themselves don’t say the scriptures are Life, though Jesus said they point to Him. He alone is Life, and we should stop trying to squeeze life from ink and draw from Him, and Him in one another.
I was saved at 17 from a wicked life, didn’t understand church and spent my time alone. I knew I was defective, sought to be rid of my residual guilt and brokenness, and stumbled upon the Song of Solomon in the O.T.
May I suggest you spend a few hours reading and contemplating this love poem if you haven’t?
I identified with the Shunammite as she fell in love with her beloved, intuitively sensing my own longing for eternal love, affection and meaningful life.
I was transfixed from the start, and in spite of the many wonderful, and challenging attributes of this life, and my life together with others who love Him, He’s kept me falling in love with Him in response to His endless love for me.
Through the years I’ve been reduced to loving and being loved by God and people, over and over again. Life has been convoluted and exciting, and some might say unorthodox.
The themes in Scripture, the wisdom of biblical church structure, the certainty of faith, many miracles, the joy and the losses have not compared to my Beloved, as He has drawn close, hidden Himself, chased me and waited for me. Everything and everyone in this life feeds into the grand narrative of knowing Him, like the Shunammite, in chaste and intimate love. God’s love is marriage love, and until we lose our fear, and surrender to Him as He woos us into a marriage relationship with His Son in our daily walk, we will struggle with things we need not, and argue about trifles. Especially the important trifles like church structure, leadership, kingdom principles et al.
Through the craziness and conflicts of this life He is bonding us together with a shadow of that same marriage relationship, drawing us from the slavery of working to please Him and one another to the liberty of family and lovers, walking together with Him in His garden. We are being enlarged from individuality to a family by being reduced to love, the starting place of Life in Him.
I haven’t been part of the big church scene, but I still identify with the bondage and frailty that has marred the testimony of Christ amongst us as a people, because we are all in the wilderness.
I’ve quit trying to get out of this wilderness of uncertainty, vast differences in life experiences, conflicting visions and pain from broken relationships. The only escape from the wilderness is the Jordan River ie death to self.
I’m resting in Him, as if I am in a garden, and as if I’m happily married and content.
We can choose to get past trying to fix what we have broken, and not try to figure out how He is fixing it either.
The Hebrew Christians were told there is a Rest, where we have ceased from our own works, entering into His Rest, where we discover that which we were furiously searching for all along.
We find Jesus, as our lover, and soon to be husband.
He’s not anxious about the state of the church, our families, the environment, world government et al. This is part of the process of our Shunamite journey.
He owns this wilderness we are in, and we would be wise to change our discourse to speak less of our own journey and more of our Beloved, and His attributes, His features and His love for us, as the Shunammite did.
It’s the language of love, which includes church building.
Her journey started with how much He loved her, moved to how much she loved Him and finally returned to how much He loved her, and that process turned her wilderness into a garden.
That’s the vision Jesus has for His church, His bride, His wife.
Don’t let lesser visions, no matter how legitimate, rob us from Knowing Him together.
Scripture… As We Live It #201
This is the 201st passage in “Scripture… As We Live It.”
Give to the one who begs from you as long as you know he’s not going to misuse your gift, and do not refuse the one who would borrow from you as long as you know that she can repay you. (Matthew 5:42 re-mix)
(Please read the first post for an explanation of this series.)
A church that perseveres in perseverance
In this short series, I’ve looked into various characteristics of life in which followers of Jesus Christ are to persevere. I said that we should persevere through temptation, forgiveness, grace, and trials.
But, these are not the only things that the authors of Scripture exhorted their readers to persevere. For example, they also said to persevere in love (John 13:34-35), unity (Philippians 2:1-2), peace (Romans 12:18), and good works(Galatians 6:9), among many, many other things.
From what I can tell, every follower of Jesus Christ struggles in some area(s) of obedience to God. It is in this area (these areas) that it is important for us to persevere.
It will be different for different people, but we can help one another persevere. In fact, we must help one another persevere. Of course, that means we must also be willing to share our weaknesses with others – we must get to know one another – we must actually care and help.
What do you need help persevering in? Has God placed someone in your life who can help you persevere in that?
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A Church That Perseveres Series
Replay: Are you willing to be impacted by others?
In honor of my sixth blogiversary – which I celebrated a few days ago – I’m “replaying” the post “Willing to be impacted by others” which I first published six years ago during the first week of this blog. It’s a short post… I didn’t write as much back then. But, I think the point is very important. Yes, it’s important for us to be willing to get involved in the lives of other people. But, it’s just as important for us to allow other people to be involved in our lives.
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Willing to be impacted by others
A commenter made the following statement at The Interrelational Church:
I think that the problem we encounter is that most people are readily willing to impact others lives, but are not as willing to be impacted by the lives of others.
Can true relationship exist between two people if one or the other refuses to be impacted – changed – by the other person? This is a question that the church must answer. Biblical fellowship is not “shake hands with three people around you.” Instead, biblical fellowship is sharing in each other’s lives… something that cannot happen in two hours on Sunday morning.
Vulnerability… that seems to be key here. Are we willing to allow other people to see us at our worst? Are we willing to allow the Spirit of God to work through other people to affect change in our lives? These two questions are related… Can we have fellowship with one another if we are not willing to impact the other person’s life, and to be impacted by the other person?
Wheat and Tares in Real Life
I love object lessons. I mean, I learn so much more when I see something real and tangible. I think most of us are like that. Perhaps that’s why Jesus seems to have pointing out things along his path and used them to teach his followers. Perhaps that’s why he would do something and tell others to follow his example.
Josh at “Called to Rebuild” talks about just this sort of object lesson in his post “What my job teaches me about the wheat and the tares.”
First, Josh tells us that he’s a landscaper, so he’s very familiar with both “wheat” and “tares.” In his story, flowers are the “wheat,” and weeds are the “tares.”
Josh has a some things to say about Jesus’ parable. For example, “the field” is not the church regardless of how many people use this parable in that way. Also, he reminds us that removing the “tares” was to be left up to the Lord, not to overzealous gardeners. (This reminds of Jude’s letter, and what he told his readers to do about all of those false teachers that he warned them about – see Jude 1:20-23.)
But, I really wanted to point out this part of Josh’s post:
Today while cleaning out that customer’s bed I accidentally pulled up a lily along with the weed I was trying to rid her landscape of. This is a very real possibility when pastors, teachers, and otherwise well-intentioned leaders try to do the Lord’s work of dividing the tares from the wheat. We’re just not very good at it. I’ve yet to meet the minister who constantly harps upon false teaching, watching out for wolves, etc., who doesn’t invariably pull up a few good plants along with the tares he may succeed in rooting out.
Ah, yes. I’ve probably been guilty of pulling up a few lilies myself. How much better it would have been if I had left things in the Lord’s hands. Of course, that would require love, patience, forgiveness, grace, etc. on my part…