Would to God that all men and women who feel called to be apostles, prophets, evangelists, and shepherds/teachers would soberly reexamine what these ministries were in the first century and in the thought of God.
What Are the Ascension Gifts?
When the ascension gifts emerge organically in a church, their chief function is to nurture and encourage the believing community toward spiritual maturity, unity, and every-member functioning.
I will now try to demystify the so-called “five-fold ministry” and discuss how each of the ascension gifts probably functioned in the first century:
Apostles
Apostles were extra-local, traveling, itinerant church planters. They were highly gifted individuals who were sent by the Lord and by a particular church to plant and equip new churches. Apostles enabled the church by giving it birth, raising it from the ground up. They also helped it walk on its own two feet. Apostles grew up in an organic expression of church life as nonleaders before they were sent out to plant churches of the same kind. And they always left the churches they planted on their own without administration or ritual.
Prophets
Prophets were people who had a clear vision of Jesus Christ and who were able to articulate it lucidly. Prophets enabled the church by speaking to it the present word of the Lord. Sometimes their words would simply reveal Christ to encourage, inspire, and comfort. Other times their words would cast spiritual vision. Prophets sought to restore God’s will whenever it had been lost. They sometimes confirmed the gifts and callings of other members and prepared the church for future trials.
Evangelists
Evangelists enabled the church by modeling the preaching of the good news to the lost. They were fearless souls who possessed an extraordinary boldness to share Christ with nonbelievers. And they had a genuine passion for the unsaved. The closest equivalent to an evangelist today is a natural-born salesman (an honest one of course).
Shepherd/Teachers
Shepherd/teachers are two sides of the same gift. In Ephesians 4:11, the apostles, prophets, and evangelists are mentioned separately, while shepherds and teachers are joined together. Further, the first three ministries (apostles, prophets, and evangelists) are preceded by the word “some.” But the word “some” is attached to shepherds and teachers together. This indicates that shepherds/teachers are one gift.
The chief task of the shepherds/teachers was to help the church in times of personal crisis (shepherding) and to enlighten and cultivate the church’s spiritual life by revealing Christ through the exposition of Scripture (teaching). Shepherding was the private side of their ministry, teaching was the public side. The closest equivalent to a first-century shepherd/elder is a modern-day Christian counselor who is capable of teaching.
None of the ascension gifts dominated the meetings of the church. They were simply brothers and sisters in the body carrying out certain functions. In that connection, you would never see a first-century Christian sporting titles like “Apostle Delaquarius Epps,” “Prophetess Pamela Jones,” or “Evangelist Tarianna Dunson.” As we’ve already established, the use of honorific titles and offices were unknown to the early Christians.
Answering the Call
The burden of my heart is to see God’s people far less concerned with a “five-fold ministry” that’s supposed to be recovered someday and instead, focus their attention on discovering what the church is supposed to be according to the mind of God. Upon making this discovery, the Lord’s dear people will be faced with a decision. To answer the call of meeting around Jesus Christ alone in the way that He has prescribed. Or to remain chained to the unmovable traditions of men.
If the former path is taken, it will involve considerable cost. But all the giftings in Christ will eventually come forth in the way that He designed organically. And those gifts will never usurp or dilute the ministry of the entire body.
Would to God that all men and women who feel called to be apostles, prophets, evangelists, and shepherds/teachers would soberly reexamine what these ministries were in the first century and in the thought of God. I believe that when this happens, many of them will be led into brand new directions. And those directions will undoubtedly lead them to break with cherished traditions and popular concepts. Yet only by these elements will the house of God begin to be restored on a broad scale.
One Response
Hi Matthew
I hope this gets to you.
I have grown up in pentecostal and charasmatic churches and even attended the more traditional churches at a very young age, initiated by my mother when I was only 5 and 6 years old.
I have spent 20 years of my adult life in and around pentecostal churches and one specifically who held mainly to the recognition, release and functioning of the 5 fold ministry gifts.
I have now been out of these movements for the past 7 years where God has washed and reprogramed alot of the traditional trappings associated with the institutional structures, although some way to go I am sure.
We have taken a fairly diversified journey over the last several years, and now for the past 2 years have been holding onto and realising God’s word to start a house church, where for the last 12 months my brother’s family and my family have been getting together to sift through and find our feet. Acts 2:42 being the basis of direction, remaining in and understanding the gospel (apostles doctrine), sharing meals together (breaking bread), prayer and fellowship.
Your article on the functioning of these ministries is relevant now and refreshes in me/us this exciting time of development we are seeing and experiencing in the body of Christ right now also.
The whole “functioning” issue of these gifts has been somewhat lost in the jumble, rather the importance of position or title has taken precedence and only to be reinforced by the church over the years in the modern church and throughout church history. Clergy/laity status, institutional modelling, programs and how too’s of christian living, and all of which has found expression existing in any or all existing church structural models, i.e. “free form” worshipping pentecostal churches to more traditional forms of Christian church structure.
This serves as a good reminder for us all how we can be so easily side tracked into focusing on the unimportant, i.e. squeezing out gnats only to swallow camels. Also our placing importance on ourselves rather than on Jesus our author and perfecter of our faith.
We can do nothing without Christ, John 15, he is the head of the church, we need to just get on and do what God tells us to do. He will instruct us to build even as he instructed Paul to build who he himself said in 1 Cor 3, “By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as an expert builder”. And so served his apostolic apprenticeship well under the direction of the spirit of Jesus.
Jesus says depart from me I did not come to be knowing you, (experiential relationship), I think time well spent for us all in getting to know his voice, his direction, (my sheep hear my voice and follow me), this is the way walk in it. I agree that in the emerging organic church, these gifts will come as a natural result of knowing and surrendering the the Master Builders work and directions, Your will be done, your Kingdom come!
Long blurb, although my first ever and am excited to find this site and although have read only a few articles so far, believe it has struck a chord.
Take care