When it comes to the Ephesians 4 model of church leadership I have laid out in previous posts, my understanding is relatively impercise. I am not going so far as to argue for the exact details and systematic structure of a local church, or greater church denomination, ought to implement. In fact, that is actually more of what the spiritual gift of managing described in 1 Corinthians 12 is for. I am arguing that whatever structure is built, it must have different people in high ranking leadership with all of these gifts or else the leadership will suffer tremendously, as history bears out.
This is just a matter of common sense. If the shepherd is really good at nurturing and loving people, their weakness is that they are nervous and unwilling to call sins out and say the hard truths that people need to hear but may ruffle feathers and upset. On the other hand, if the prophet's strength is saying what no one else will and defending the truth, their weakness is speaking with love and being patient with where people are at. It makes sense, then, that the prophet and shepherd need each other and best operate when in leadership together! That is true for all of the other gifts as well. Each one is only 1/5 of the picture of God's heart and how He wants to move through the body of Christ.
Learning From History and Social Movements
When any of these gifts and callings are ignored or have no place in the church, the results are disastrous. Take, for example, various injustices and social movements through history. The Abolitionists like William Wilberforce, Frederick Douglas, and William Lloyd Garrison, who fought for the abolition of slavery, were great examples of prophets. They stood up when no one else would, faced intense persecution, and called entire nations to repentance in the name of Jesus for a socially accepted sin.
Yet, these bold leaders found very little, if any, support from local churches in the North and South. Even by those who opposed slavery, they were considered radicals and agitators whose virulent rhetoric was seen as harmful to the cause. This is because most, if not all, local church bodies were led by, you guessed it, shepherds and teachers who found the tactics of the prophet as extreme. It was a controversial topic that, if not handled very carefully, would upset people and cause some to leave. This is unacceptable to the Shepherd.
So the prophet was driven to the wilderness where his rhetoric only became more inflamed and his actions, too often, violent. Abolitionist John Brown famously took over an armoury with the intention of violently overthrowing the South one plantation at a time. He failed. What a crazy and terrible idea! But that is what the prophet is driven to without accountability from the love and patience of Shepherds. Yet, as we look back through history at the sin of slavery, it is the radical who we give excuse to and the apathetic who we disdain.
This same lesson can be learned from Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the pastor, prophet, and spy living in World War II Nazi Germany. He saw, many years before others, the growing Anti-Semitism of Nazi Germany and warned other German Christians about so passively accepting the growing influence and power of the Nazi's. After the Church failed to stand up and persecution was at it's height, Bonhoeffer was ultimately caught in an attempt to assassinate Hitler and died in a concentration camp. Now tell me, who do we validate as we reflect on history? The man who maybe went overboard by attempting an assassination of one of the most evil men to ever live? Or the Christians who sang their hymns as the trains rolled on to the camps, continuing their weekly services and Bible studies, apathetic at first, then afraid for their lives to say anything. If you will not stand up for the truth while the risk of violence and persecution is non-existent, you certainly will not once it is pressing.
Finally, we must learn from Martin Luther King Jr. and the Civil Right's Movement to end segregation. His Letter From A Birmingham Jail is an amazing primer for civil disobedience and pleads with, especially, white Northern Christians to rise up on his behalf and stand along with him. Yet, they are indifferent, they disagree with his tactics, and you can almost hear them saying "Well, we think it's great you're passionate about that, but there's lots of issues." He responds by saying "Injustice anywhere is a threat to injustice everywhere!" How embarrassing and painful to see their excuses. It is a painful example of the hurts and injustices that permeate the Church and culture when we reject our prophets and are only led by Shepherds. The Church becomes sheltered and impotent, with no spine to engage and change the culture. Of course, these are all examples of the prophet/shepherd relationships instead of the others, but that is simply the most glaring examples of this systematic injustice.
How many of the problems with cultural Christianity today stem from this systematic injustice of church leadership? How many churches adopting false doctrine? Or stagnating and dying out? Or turning into quaint social clubs or, at most, service organizations? How many apostles that gave up and went into business? How many prophets that became frustrated and gave up on their local church, becoming apathetic or going on their own and scaring people away? How many evangelists that "collect scalps" at the mall but have no local community to tie people into? How many parachurches were founded by apostles who found no place in the church and now, for all the good they do, have no local community and accountability? How many churches are apathetic and scared of taking a stand on controversial places of tension in the culture? How will history, or perhaps more importantly, *God,* judge the Church's stand on abortion? On marriage? On gender and sexuality? On caring about international conflict and the persecuted church?
The Comfort and Call
It keeps me up at night and floods my eyes with tears when I reflect on the apathy and indifference of the church. Yet, so many of our issues seem to be stemming from a simple mis-structuring of church leadership. When the body of Christ, with all of it's different gifts and strengths, fully comes together in humility and love, it is a beautiful thing. When we are divided and prideful, going out on our own and unwilling to listen to others, it is quite ugly. Yes, it is difficult and messy to lead in relationship, love, humility, and mutual submission. The different strengths of the different gifts clash constantly and will create tension and conflict. But that is exactly the point. When we come together as the body of Christ, even in our mess, iron sharpens iron and Jesus works it out for His and our good.
It is of great comfort that God has brought me into clashing and loving relationships such as these. As a prophet, I have seen myself grow in love and patience as I have been around shepherds. It is of even greater comfort that despite all of our mess, Jesus' bride is still just as beautiful and He is working out His will even in our sin and apathy. Despite the pride of the abolitionists and the indifference of the pastors, God brought slavery to an end. He used the body of Christ, with all it's different giftings, to work out His will. Shepherds like Harriet Tubman were behind the scenes rescuing slaves from bondage. God even used people like John Brown, whose trial brought the nation's attention to the details of the injustices of slavery. It took a war and a lot of bloodshed to pay for the sin of slavery, but it did end.
Yet, slavery hasn't ended around the world and is more popular than ever. There are 3400 children made in the image of God aborted every day in the U.S. There is sex trafficking and homeless and poverty. There are lost souls all around us. The need for prophets to rise and call the Church to action is just as great as ever. Let us, this time and in our local church bodies, give them a voice. Let us give the apostle the resources and freedom. Let us give the evangelist the platform and encouragement. May we not amputate from ourselves limbs from the body of Christ and severely inhibit the strength and power of Jesus' movement and Kingdom on this Earth. We are His Hands and Feet. Gifted with the righteousness of Christ through the Holy Spirit, it is up to us.
As I encouraged you yesterday, search for and read about the Ephesians 4 spiritual gifts. See where you fit into them. Take note of and recognize the giftings of your leaders. If they are not aware already, talk to them about this model of leadership and encourage them in their gifts. Finally, plug your gifts into where you can serve the best. This will not only mean your gifts are most effectively used for the Kingdom, but you and those around you will be mutually edified, growing in your weaknesses through each other's presence, seeing God's Kingdom move in and through you.
O that the Church may rise up to fulfill it's role as the Body of Christ!
In Christ,
Seth
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