Several weeks ago, I went on all-too-common twitter rant, lamenting the pain and suffering in the world and wondering if I'm not wasting my time leading worship or working on a college campus. A mentor saw the rant and pointed me in the direction of a sermon series over the Ephesians 4 model for church leadership and, in particular, the role of the prophet. I am not much of one for "personality tests" and whatnot, but I was floored by how well this biblical model described me and, as I have researched and thought about it more, how our ignorance of this model has led so many problems the church is experiencing today. My research inspired me to write a lot over this topic. I argue that the church's historical disregard for the Ephesians 4 model of leadership has led to a crisis in Church leadership, a systematic injustice which amputates the Body of Christ and handicaps the Church's ability to fully and properly function as the Hands and Feet of Jesus.
Ephesians 4 Model
Unlike other places describing church leadership (characteristics of a leader in 1 Tim.) or spiritual gifts (including miracles and tongues in 1 Cor. 12), Ephesians 4 uniquely seems to combine the two in order to describe the spiritual gifts given for church leadership. We see them listed in verse 11:
So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers,Some of these positions, such as pastor and teacher, are familiar and even used as titles such as "Head Pastor." But some of these like apostle or prophet are weird, unfamiliar, and would feel really odd as a title. Can you imagine visiting a church and being introduced to "Pastor Greg" and "Apostle Steve"? But actually all five of these gifts are described as fundamental to the building up and maturing of the church.
Paul goes on:
So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.Woah. Read that again. So in every way in which we as the body of Christ are supposed to mature, to grow, to be built up, to reach fullness in Christ, to be equipped; Christ gave us these five gifts. There are other spiritual gifts (like healing, helping, managing and tongues listed in 1 Cor. 12), but those other gifts help with one's personal relationship with God or with practical application; these are explicitly for equipping his people for works of service, maturity, etc. Without these five gifts being lived out in the local church; maturity, growth, and fullness as described here is impossible. But what are these gifts anyway? Why are they so important?
The Five Gifts and You
It is very important to note that these five gifts are not personality types, these are spiritual gifts that God has specifically given us in different measure in order to build up the body of Christ. People usually have one primary gift, a secondary one, and so on to lesser degrees. You'll notice that Jesus has all five characteristics. That means that as we are called to be like Christ, we ought to strive to develop our lesser gifts while also honing our stronger ones. What's important is surrounding yourself with others in leadership that have complimentary gifts. Later, we will see the disaster that can result if we don't.
1) Apostle - This is the greek form of a word that could be translated as missionary, literally meaning "sent one." This is the visionary, the big picture person who wants to make a long term plan about where things are going. It is the church planter or the parachurch builder. They see a need and are willing to do, build, and create. All the first disciples were called Apostles because they were the builders of the early church. The downside of the Apostle is the "Super Apostle" (2 Cor. 11) who is prideful and so makes their church or movement all about them, their name, their picture, or their books. When the apostle is left out of church leadership the apostle gets frustrated and starts para-church organizations without any spiritual support or community, goes overseas through individual fundraising instead of local support, or takes their gifts into the business world as an entrepreneur. Without the apostle, the church becomes isolated and serves only themselves.
2) Prophet - Prophet is an even stranger word than apostle that we often get tied up into strange images of mysticism and fortune telling. But often in the Bible the prophet is simply one whose heart breaks for the marginalized, who see things that need to be done or said that others often miss, and is willing to serve God by saying what others won't, even at their own expense. The prophet hates to see lies go unchallenged and has a strong desire to stand for truth, even when it may hurt other's feelings. After hearing a prophet speak you may feel encouraged, but often convicted and judged. The downside of the prophet is the "false prophet," whose disconnection from God has led him into saying what others want to hear or whose disconnect from community has led him into unhelpful, even hateful behaviors. When the prophet is left out of the church, he or she may become disillusioned and disassociated or continue to stand on their own, leaving them isolated, alone, and prone to frustration and anger. Without the prophet, the church tends toward apathy, hypocrisy, and heresy because sin goes unchallenged.
3) Evangelist - The evangelist is constantly caring about how to reach out into the community and tell others about Jesus. If an outreach event doesn't end in an invitation to follow Jesus, it feels like a lost opportunity. If the sermon doesn't end with an altar call it feels like something is missing. While they may not share the building or vision of the Apostle, the Evangelist has an even great desire to live out the great commission by going and spreading the good news. When the Church fails to incorporate the evangelist, they forget the Great Commission of the Church to go and reach unbelievers and risk becoming a pleasant social club or service agency. Without the church, the evangelist goes and does their own thing by going to the mall and "collecting scalps" without community, watering down the gospel to make it more palatable, or taking their skills into the business world as a salesman.
4) Pastor/ Shepherd - This is the most familiar of the spiritual leadership gifts. Every modern evangelical church in America is going to have a pastor. Shepherd is the best way to describe this gift because the shepherd's primary concern is with tending to and taking care of the flock. Unity, comfort, and care are the shepherd's top priority. They are great at building relationships, counseling, and caring for people's personal and emotional needs. After listening to them speak you feel encouraged and empowered. If the shepherd is left out of the church, it would tend to become judgmental, isolating, and neglect to tend to people's personal growth and relationship with Jesus. Without a voice, the shepherd would find another, more nurturing church or would tend towards caregiving careers like psychiatrist or counselor.
5) Teacher - Finally, the teacher is the one most often concerned about doctrinal accountability and staying true to the Word of God. Often, one gifted with teaching may be called the pastor in our modern church setting. They are the speakers that will sit down and do an exposition on a particular passage for an hour. After you hear them speak you leave with a deeper understanding of God, yourself, and what one may call theology; although your head may be spinning and confused as well. The true teacher does not merely speak out front, but brings along side like a mentor or apprenticeship. Without the teacher, the church becomes all emotional therapy without any substance or meat. Heresy is likely to grow when the Church doesn't have a strong scriptural foundation. The teacher would tend toward other careers like school teacher, professor, or public speaker.
How do you relate to these gifts? What do you see yourself as? Most people will have a primary and secondary gifting. To read more about these spiritual gifts you can visit this website and even take a test for $10. There is a great website called Release the APE, often frequented with blogs by InterVarsity leaders and alums, that highlights how these gifts interact and how to empower those often neglected. I highly recommend watching this sermon series from Tampa Underground that I mentioned earlier, especially for the gift you resonate with the most.
Coming soon, I will discuss the history of the development of these gifts, why we don't see some of them today, the disastrous consequences through history, and what it means for today.
Seth
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