| Newsletter for 5/3/07- The Five-Fold Ministry- Apostles vs. Pastors |
Good Morning,
This Saturday we will be hosting our bi-weekly A.C.T.S. (All churches Training Service) at 6 pm in the Rainier
Assembly of God Fellowship Hall in Rainier, OR. Please feel free to join us for Worship, Teaching and Ministry Time.
Last week, we began doing some teaching on the Five-Fold Ministry. We talked about the differences between the
Biblical Evangelist and Pastor (see the newsletter archive on our web site- www.kingdompowernow.com) . We would
like to continue this series today. This series is based on Ephesians 4. Specifically the Five Leadership Gifts and
their intended purposes listed in verses 11-16.
Many people are uncomfortable using the job titles of prophet and apostle in our current day and time. This is
unfortunate. I believe that this is based on a lack of knowledge and some poor teaching. The truth is that for nearly
1000 years we didn't use the titles of pastor, teacher or evangelist either. Because of the strength of the Catholic
Church, Priest and Father were the only titles utilized. In fact, when the Protestant Reformation began, many
Christians had a problem with the titles of Pastor and Teacher. Later in the 1800s, some were challenged with the
terminology of Evangelist. Based on this fairly recent history, I guess that we shouldn't be surprised by the stigma
regarding Prophet and Apostle.
The truth is that God is not restoring these gifts. They really have never stopped. I agree that we didn't use the titles
but God didn't quit giving the gifts. We just really haven't utilized the titles. We are now quick to use the title of pastor
for anyone that works in a church, however, this is not really accurate. Many of these leaders have other established
gifts besides pastoring, like the other four leadership gifts.
I'm not saying that God is restoring these gifts, I'm saying He never took them away. Romans 11:29 For the gifts and
calling of God are without repentance. And who can deny that God gave these gifts to the church after reading
Ephesians 4:11 And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and
teachers; 12 For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: 13 Till
we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto
a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ: I believe God is opening eyes, today, of the
Body of Christ to see and fully appreciate these giftings. We've been quick to use the title of Pastor for anyone that
works in a church, however, this is not always accurate. Many of these leaders are gifted in areas of the Five-Fold
ministry other than or more than Pastor.
While there are many forms of Apostles, it is pretty unanimous among those that have studied the topic, that anyone
that can grow a church to more than 800 people is an Apostle. An Apostle is an architect of the church. Some have
mistakenly defined this gift as someone who plants churches. It is possible that they could, but this is not a
comprehensive description. The actual term Apostle in the original language meant "a sent one." Isn't anyone that
has a call of God on their lives, being sent? If we were to go to Greece today and read the "want ads" in their
newspapers, you would find ads asking for "Apostles, with their own bicycles." These are attempts to hire
messengers. Again, this is vague when referring to a group of people known for preaching.
If we follow this back to more primitive times, it refers to an ambassador in charge of an armada of ships, sent by a
king to carry a message. This must have been obvious to the 12 disciples, because they didn't ask what Jesus meant
when He asked them to be Apostles (they also didn't show up with bicycles!).
Others have defined Apostles as those that walked with Jesus or saw Jesus in the flesh. This is really not accurate
either. Paul as an example never saw Jesus in the flesh, nor did he walk with Jesus in the flesh. Yes, he did see
Jesus in a vision but so have many other people. Depending on what version of the Bible that you are looking at
there are approximately 30 people identified as Apostles and less than half of those were discipled by Jesus.
Graham Cooke in his book, A Divine Confrontation: Birth Pangs of the New Church, describes Apostles this
way-
Apostles are father figures who produce quality leaders who, in turn, nurture and strengthen the flock. They
are wise master builders who lay correct spiritual foundations. They will ensure that the Church is built on
the sure foundation of Jesus Christ (see 1 Cor. 3:9-16). The Church is built upon the apostles and prophets
relating to Jesus as the Chief Cornerstone.
Later Graham makes this powerful statement-
It is not the title that people give themselves that defines who they are; it is the fruit of what they produce.
Apostles have a concern for the house of God, particularly in relation to people being fitted and framed
together. Relational church is vital.
Many Christians are more comfortable with the terminology of Overseer or Superintendent. There is a great deal of
difference between these offices and Apostles, which is not to say that they can't be the same. Overseers and
Superintendents are usually appointed or voted into these positions by denominations or fellowships. Apostles on the
other hand are acting out of a gift that has been placed within them from birth by God. Just as an Evangelist can't
help but burn for non-Christians to come to salvation (yes, all Christians should be sharing the Gospel, but
Evangelists tend to do more about it!), Apostles can't help but to Father those around them. With or without a title or
office, they are pouring into Christians and fathering them into all that they can be. This happens through discipling,
accountability, teaching and relationship.
Yes, fathering can happen through denominational leaders and it would be idealistic, however, the truth is that these
leaders are usually overloaded with administration and business decisions. These important decisions should not be
overlooked or demeaned as they are extremely important to the realities of running an organization in this day and
age. However, you will know the true "fathers" or apostles by their fruit. Their fruit is raising up more quality leaders.
I have no doubt that right now, you can think of the people that have poured into your life in a significant way. The
people that effected your life and ministry, especially if you have been called to a leadership role. I can name four
people right now that have had such distinct input into my life, that even though I haven't interacted with them in a
significant way in several years, they continue to effect my life by what they invested in me. These are people that left
me better than they found me. Some people may say, "You are describing my Pastor." This is likely true. However,
the difference between a Pastor and an Apostle is that a Pastor can "father" a parishioner but an Apostle can
"father" a Pastor.
Last week, we discussed the difference between an Evangelist and a Pastor. We described an Evangelist as being
like an OB/GYN that is gifted in "birthing" new Christians and a Pastor is like a Pediatrician that assists the baby in
growing up healthy and happy. If we take this analogy a step further, we could describe an Apostle as possibly a
coach that recognizes the talent, muscle design and athletic abilities (gifts, anointing, charisma, etc.) in order to help
them go to a level that they were born and gifted to fulfill. The Apostle also is a coach to the church in helping them
hear the best offense for them to run (Yes, churches should be on the offense and not the defense!!). They work
with the prophets to hear and understand what God wants to do as well as the teacher to keep the foundation firmly
in Scripture. (We will talk more about the Prophet and Teacher in the future.)
We have barely scratched the surface of teaching on the Apostle. Even though the titles of Apostle and Prophet
have not been used much until more recent times, it doesn't mean that we haven't had them, it just means that we
haven't recognized their job descriptions. God obviously thought that the gift was important enough to list in the
blueprint that we have for leadership. We need to recognize the Five Fold Gifts so that we better understand how
each leader works and thinks. This will allow the Holy Spirit to flow more accurately through each gifting and better
activate the church!
Working while it is still day,
Pastor Jeff McCracken and The Kingdom Power Now Ministry Team
www.kingdompowernow.com
This Saturday we will be hosting our bi-weekly A.C.T.S. (All churches Training Service) at 6 pm in the Rainier
Assembly of God Fellowship Hall in Rainier, OR. Please feel free to join us for Worship, Teaching and Ministry Time.
Last week, we began doing some teaching on the Five-Fold Ministry. We talked about the differences between the
Biblical Evangelist and Pastor (see the newsletter archive on our web site- www.kingdompowernow.com) . We would
like to continue this series today. This series is based on Ephesians 4. Specifically the Five Leadership Gifts and
their intended purposes listed in verses 11-16.
Many people are uncomfortable using the job titles of prophet and apostle in our current day and time. This is
unfortunate. I believe that this is based on a lack of knowledge and some poor teaching. The truth is that for nearly
1000 years we didn't use the titles of pastor, teacher or evangelist either. Because of the strength of the Catholic
Church, Priest and Father were the only titles utilized. In fact, when the Protestant Reformation began, many
Christians had a problem with the titles of Pastor and Teacher. Later in the 1800s, some were challenged with the
terminology of Evangelist. Based on this fairly recent history, I guess that we shouldn't be surprised by the stigma
regarding Prophet and Apostle.
The truth is that God is not restoring these gifts. They really have never stopped. I agree that we didn't use the titles
but God didn't quit giving the gifts. We just really haven't utilized the titles. We are now quick to use the title of pastor
for anyone that works in a church, however, this is not really accurate. Many of these leaders have other established
gifts besides pastoring, like the other four leadership gifts.
I'm not saying that God is restoring these gifts, I'm saying He never took them away. Romans 11:29 For the gifts and
calling of God are without repentance. And who can deny that God gave these gifts to the church after reading
Ephesians 4:11 And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and
teachers; 12 For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: 13 Till
we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto
a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ: I believe God is opening eyes, today, of the
Body of Christ to see and fully appreciate these giftings. We've been quick to use the title of Pastor for anyone that
works in a church, however, this is not always accurate. Many of these leaders are gifted in areas of the Five-Fold
ministry other than or more than Pastor.
While there are many forms of Apostles, it is pretty unanimous among those that have studied the topic, that anyone
that can grow a church to more than 800 people is an Apostle. An Apostle is an architect of the church. Some have
mistakenly defined this gift as someone who plants churches. It is possible that they could, but this is not a
comprehensive description. The actual term Apostle in the original language meant "a sent one." Isn't anyone that
has a call of God on their lives, being sent? If we were to go to Greece today and read the "want ads" in their
newspapers, you would find ads asking for "Apostles, with their own bicycles." These are attempts to hire
messengers. Again, this is vague when referring to a group of people known for preaching.
If we follow this back to more primitive times, it refers to an ambassador in charge of an armada of ships, sent by a
king to carry a message. This must have been obvious to the 12 disciples, because they didn't ask what Jesus meant
when He asked them to be Apostles (they also didn't show up with bicycles!).
Others have defined Apostles as those that walked with Jesus or saw Jesus in the flesh. This is really not accurate
either. Paul as an example never saw Jesus in the flesh, nor did he walk with Jesus in the flesh. Yes, he did see
Jesus in a vision but so have many other people. Depending on what version of the Bible that you are looking at
there are approximately 30 people identified as Apostles and less than half of those were discipled by Jesus.
Graham Cooke in his book, A Divine Confrontation: Birth Pangs of the New Church, describes Apostles this
way-
Apostles are father figures who produce quality leaders who, in turn, nurture and strengthen the flock. They
are wise master builders who lay correct spiritual foundations. They will ensure that the Church is built on
the sure foundation of Jesus Christ (see 1 Cor. 3:9-16). The Church is built upon the apostles and prophets
relating to Jesus as the Chief Cornerstone.
Later Graham makes this powerful statement-
It is not the title that people give themselves that defines who they are; it is the fruit of what they produce.
Apostles have a concern for the house of God, particularly in relation to people being fitted and framed
together. Relational church is vital.
Many Christians are more comfortable with the terminology of Overseer or Superintendent. There is a great deal of
difference between these offices and Apostles, which is not to say that they can't be the same. Overseers and
Superintendents are usually appointed or voted into these positions by denominations or fellowships. Apostles on the
other hand are acting out of a gift that has been placed within them from birth by God. Just as an Evangelist can't
help but burn for non-Christians to come to salvation (yes, all Christians should be sharing the Gospel, but
Evangelists tend to do more about it!), Apostles can't help but to Father those around them. With or without a title or
office, they are pouring into Christians and fathering them into all that they can be. This happens through discipling,
accountability, teaching and relationship.
Yes, fathering can happen through denominational leaders and it would be idealistic, however, the truth is that these
leaders are usually overloaded with administration and business decisions. These important decisions should not be
overlooked or demeaned as they are extremely important to the realities of running an organization in this day and
age. However, you will know the true "fathers" or apostles by their fruit. Their fruit is raising up more quality leaders.
I have no doubt that right now, you can think of the people that have poured into your life in a significant way. The
people that effected your life and ministry, especially if you have been called to a leadership role. I can name four
people right now that have had such distinct input into my life, that even though I haven't interacted with them in a
significant way in several years, they continue to effect my life by what they invested in me. These are people that left
me better than they found me. Some people may say, "You are describing my Pastor." This is likely true. However,
the difference between a Pastor and an Apostle is that a Pastor can "father" a parishioner but an Apostle can
"father" a Pastor.
Last week, we discussed the difference between an Evangelist and a Pastor. We described an Evangelist as being
like an OB/GYN that is gifted in "birthing" new Christians and a Pastor is like a Pediatrician that assists the baby in
growing up healthy and happy. If we take this analogy a step further, we could describe an Apostle as possibly a
coach that recognizes the talent, muscle design and athletic abilities (gifts, anointing, charisma, etc.) in order to help
them go to a level that they were born and gifted to fulfill. The Apostle also is a coach to the church in helping them
hear the best offense for them to run (Yes, churches should be on the offense and not the defense!!). They work
with the prophets to hear and understand what God wants to do as well as the teacher to keep the foundation firmly
in Scripture. (We will talk more about the Prophet and Teacher in the future.)
We have barely scratched the surface of teaching on the Apostle. Even though the titles of Apostle and Prophet
have not been used much until more recent times, it doesn't mean that we haven't had them, it just means that we
haven't recognized their job descriptions. God obviously thought that the gift was important enough to list in the
blueprint that we have for leadership. We need to recognize the Five Fold Gifts so that we better understand how
each leader works and thinks. This will allow the Holy Spirit to flow more accurately through each gifting and better
activate the church!
Working while it is still day,
Pastor Jeff McCracken and The Kingdom Power Now Ministry Team
www.kingdompowernow.com