Apathy to Activity

Why I Would Want The Five Fold In My Church – Part IV

….. because it replaces enabled apathy with Holy Spirit led activity for believers in Jesus.

Which church would you want to attend?

One whose Worship Service tells you when to stand, sit, or kneel, when to sing, pray, be silent, or listen, when to financially give generously or greet one another cordially. You can volunteer to be an usher, children’s worker, or nursery attender, or you can just show up, follow directions, and leave having no social contact but entertained. The music will be excellent. The sermon delivery will be professional; all done orderly. Bible quotes and lyrics to songs will be projected. Not much is required of you, nor is much expected from you. The Senior pastor and staff will do everything in a professional manner. An enabled apathy will settle over the congregation as everyone knows their place and expectations.

Or

One that will only be a hymn or chorus sing followed by a sermon unless the congregation comes prepared to give. If prepared, one may share a scripture that came alive during their private devotion; another may sing an original song or a song everyone knows and joins in. A poet may read an original poem; an artist may draw or paint. Peer believers in Jesus may be led to pray, offer healing, comfort or encourage one another. Some may release spiritual gifts to edify the body of Christ, while others may release giftings to aid in their peer believers’ spiritual growth. A formal sermon is not necessary because sharing of scripture and its application may be given by believers or the sharing of narratives of how Jesus came alive in people’s lives may be shared. Invitations for salvation, empowerment, healings, may be given by fellow brethren . There is no formal agenda, only individuals and the body of Christ jointly listening to the Holy Spirit’s lead. The service in unpredictable, but the anticipation high that God’s Spirit is among his people, and Jesus will be manifested through them. The leadership is not on a platform, but among the people, not seen, but arises for encouragement, support, edification, and correction when needed. This service is not passive, but active, only if the congregation has decided to participate and give back to the Lord what He has already given them. If the people are apathetic, a hymn sing or choral response of songs and a planned, prepared sermon is given. If the people are active, a theme, a sewn thread in the tapestry of worship will relay the Holy’s Spirit’s theme.

The first choice is today’s typical Sunday service in most churches; the second is what would happen if the church empowered and released their people as peers to minister to the Lord and to one another. The first service is very predictable. The second is unpredictable because the Holy Spirit is in charge; leadership and their peers, the people, follow only what the Holy Spirit leads. The first choice appears to be dead and dry; the second choice appears to be full of life. The first choice requires nothing from you but your finances; the second choice requires your all: body, soul, and spirit. Finances are not needed unless the Spirit calls for them to meet the needs of the body, the poor, and the widows and orphans.

Two drastically different choices! An orlderly caterpillar structure that lumbers along, or an unpredictable butterfly structure that flies. The church today needs a cocoon stage for transition!

Accountability To the Priesthood of Believers

Why I Would Want The Five Fold In My Church – Part II

….. because it makes the priesthood of believers, the laity, us, accountable.

Why would a church be open to the five fold? One reason would be that it makes the parishioners, the believers in Jesus Christ accountable and not just passive. To encourage the people of the local church to do works of service, to evangelize, to nurture, care, and shepherd, to study the Word of God and listen to the still small voice of the Holy Spirit for themselves, and network different giftings for the good of the group would be a revolutionary change in the way we think about doing church and being the Church. No longer could you just apathetically attend.

Ephesians 4:14-15 outlines how the five fold makes each believer accountable for their faith walk in Jesus individually, and corporately, “15 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. 16 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.”

Embracing the five fold would challenge individual believer to “grow up”, take responsibility, and support the other members of the body while doing their part. That is a radical change from just being a pew sitter.

“Do you not know that your bodies are the temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own.” (I Cor. 6:19) If every believer has the Holy Spirit in them, then the gifts of the spirit are also within them. The key is to release those gifts, then equip that believer for works of service that would result in releasing life back into our churches. Anticipation brings excitement.

Sunday mornings corporate gatherings could be times when that excitement could be shared corporately. Instead of being told when to sit, stand, kneel, pray, sing, financially give, greet one another, and exit the premise, believers would now want to share what the Holy Spirit is doing in their midst. They would change from being passive, to engaging, to becoming aggressive. The life that existed in the book of Acts would again become evident.

With the five fold would come an accountability to peer believers with diverse gifts. One’s strength could bolster the weakness of another, and your strength could build others up in Christ. Accountability would be reciprocal, not conditional on office, rank, or title.  Accountability would be built on peer relationships, not a pyramidal structure of offices. What is important is who leads you so you can follow, or who is behind you covering your back, or who is willing to walk beside you as a brother or sister in the Lord as an equal, not who is over you who demands you submit to them.

No longer would accountability be toting the line as dictated by leadership “over” you, but accepting and giving service and grace to those who walk their faith journeys in Jesus together, side-by-side. Acceptance of one another as equals because of relationships enhances accountability rather than submitting to authority because it is required.

It is a revolutionary way of thinking for the current church, but a way enabled passivity could be diminished in today’s local church. Let’s enter the cocoon of revival and allow the Holy Spirit to take away our apathy and reconstruct it into activity, a butterfly, soaring in service to one another.

The Professional Staff Does It Well!

Why I Wouldn’t Want The Five Fold In My Church – Part VI

….. because our senior pastor gives evangelistic messages in his sermon, he is an evangelist. Our Pastor is a pastor, duh, of course, thus the title! His sermons prove he is a teacher. His spiritual discernment and desire to draw near to God for us demonstrates that he is a prophetic priest, and his oversight of our church as a whole makes him apostolic.  If he is doing it all, no wonder the priesthood of believers is apathetic when enabled, and has the attitude, “that is what we pay him to do, and he does it well.”

“That is what we pay him to do, and he does it well,” is the mantra of a congregation who has been enabled in everything they do. They’ve been babied all their spiritual life, thus they do not know how to read the Bible or pray on their own, listen to God’s still small voice for themself, or lead others to Christ, or care and nurture others in their body. They call the pastor or his staff to do that for them. “Isn’t that we pay them to do,” they think, and are impressed with the staff because they “do their jobs well.” Why shouldn’t they? They are professionals and are professionally trained.

Then we wonder why they have become apathetic? Why they can’t get anybody to volunteer to do ministry other than building maintenance, janitorial services, ushering, or serving in the nursery. From whom nothing is required; nothing is given. In spite of all leadership thinks they have invested in them, their wells are still dry.

The process of “Growing Up” is taking on responsibility. A baby has no responsibility other than eat, sleep, and poop! As one grows up, responsibilities are bestowed upon them as chores. Going to “work” means independence because you are growing up.

Ephesians 4 exhorts believers to “grow up”, not be tossed back and forth, be able to stand on your own in maturity! How? By serving others; not being dependent on others. The five fold is all about peers depending and being accountable to peers while enhancing their own independent growth. It is not expecting others to do the gifting and passions God has gifted you with. If properly “equipped”, everyone needs to be “released” when they have “matured”, or “grown up” in the “likeness of Jesus”. That’s the purpose of the five fold!

Church leadership needs to equip the laity, not enable them; develop the laity, not mold them into little clergy; and release the laity, not control them.

If the congregation has been conditioned to believe their clergy is to be all things to all men because he has been professionally trained to do so, are they in for rude awakening. Their pastor is a human with limitations too!

My church doesn’t want the five fold because our congregation is conditioned, enabled, and expects their professional staff to do the work for them with professional excellence because they are paid with benefits. That kind of attitude will never be receptive toward the five fold.

When The Trickle Down Effect Is Mandatory

Why I Wouldn’t Want The Five Fold In My Church – Part IV                  

….. because the five fold are positions and titles within the church, thus “leaders” exhibit these gifts, not the everyday priesthood of believers, the laity.

Some would point to Moses and his Old Testament paradigm as being scriptural worth following, for it supports the trickle down theory as Moses went into God’s Presence and talked to him as a brother. What he heard he carved in stone or shared with the elders who relayed it to God’s people. Moses “position” even trumped the office of priests in this system. A supreme leader hears, informs leadership, who apply it to the laity.

                  There is this belief system in the institutional church that believes in the trickle down theory that God speaks to his leader (Pope, Bishops, Senior Pastors), who tells his leaders (Priests, Associate Pastors), who relay what they heard to his people (the Laity). It is like the people of God are too low to hear from God; only the elite leadership can hear. The church office, title, or position determined who can and cannot hear from God.

                  The Old Testament paradigm with Moses supports the trickle down theory since Moses went into God’s Presence, talked with Him, then either carved in stone or relayed to the elders what he heard to tell the people. Moses’ “position” trumped even the priests.

                  Religious cults like the Branch Davidians under David Koresh, the Peoples’ Temple under Jim Jones, and Charles Mansion demonstrate the dangers of charismatic leaders who claim only they hear from God when there are no checks and balances.

                  Because of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit falls on “all mankind”, the young, old, women, and even gentiles! The outcasts would become family members! The excluded were now accepted. “All who called on the name of the Lord” would be saved and could receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The Trickle Down theology was now not only obsolete but archaic.

                  God would release, His People, the Priesthood of Believers, the Body of Christ, the Church to receive the five fold giftings and passions to propel this new movement forward. Common believers became evangelists, shepherds, teachers, prophets, and apostles by reading the Word of God and being taught by the Holy Spirit, not manly, academic scholars.

                  God originally created a priesthood to “draw near to him.” Now the Priesthood of Believers could “draw near to Him” and be capable of hearing Him for themselves. Since then the institutional church has trid to confine the capability to hear God to the clergy and their hierarchy. No Roman Catholic can question Papal Bull; no Protestant can question their clergy without being accused of lacking submission to their spiritual authorities. Laity’s frustration lay in spiritual gifts and five fold passions being released, only to face opposition from the church’s leadership who wish not to loose control. Rather than following Ephesian 4’s call to “equip the saints,” they prefer to provide “professional development” to their staffs to maintain control of leadership.

Amazingly, many church leaders took on titles of “Bishop” and “Overseer” when their attendance numbers swelled, took on the title of prophets when the prophetic was released, and became apostles when the apostolic became popular. There has been little if any recognition for the laity who have these gifts. 

                  Finally, leadership at the top of hierarchal structures lack accountability. Lower levels fall in line to keep their positions, while the five fold offers peer acceptance and accountability.  Four different passions support a gifting so diverse from their own bringing checks and balances through service and the willingness to lay down one’s life for another.

                  The clergy, at least at my church, wouldn’t let the five fold among laity flourish in fear of losing influence, affluence, and power. 

The Drive For Exclusive Biblically Correct Doctrine Divides

Why I Wouldn’t Want The Five Fold In My Church – Part II

….. because my institutional church values their traditions, their view of Biblically correct doctrine, and their desire for a professional hierarchal view of leadership over change, challenges to one’s theology, and having to give up control.

                  In John 17 Jesus prays that the Church will be one, but over two thousand years that prayer seems to not be answered yet. Sectarianism has brought division in the Body of Christ, the Church, as there are hundreds of different splintered groups; all claiming to have the correct Biblical perspective and correct doctrine.

                  The Gospel was a simple message at the beginning of the first century, as the twelve apostles taught the same principles with simplistic clarity. The gospels also warned of false teachers, and since that time every sectarian group thinks they teach the truth while the others are in doctrinal error somehow, being the false teachers.

                  If there is ever a time the Apostles’ teaching is needed to restore doctrinal unity, it is today, but that teaching, although simplistic, would challenge the majority of the theology of most church sects today. They wouldn’t want their theology challenged, would be offended that others have challenged their theology, and would immediately become defensive.

                  The church has been deeply entrenched in a hierarchal form of professional leadership since Rome made it their official religion. What started as leadership based on relationships turned into a hierarchal structure lead by bishops and eventually a pope. A professional priesthood/ clergy would be formed separating it from the laity, an unbreached chasm that still remains.

                  The five fold would equip, train, birth, nurture, and release common believers in their evangelistic, shepherding, teaching, prophetic, and apostolic passions that would empower the laity for service rather than the professional clergy, thus threatening the control currently held by the clergy over the laity.

                  If my church did not want its doctrines, creeds, tenants of faith, and theology challenged and wanted to maintain its control through a professional hierarchal leadership structure, it probably would not embrace the five fold mentality of equipping and empowering the saints for the works of service. It would not be open to relinquish the offices and positions it has established to maintain control. It would accuse this five fold paradigm that I propose as heretical. They’ve done it throughout history. Unless the Holy Spirit is allowed to work among them to nurture a culture of unity, they will do it again.

Why I Would Want The Five Fold In My Church

Reasons To Embrace This Incredible Journey

I believe part of this metamorphosis, the change of physical institutional structures of the church, will come through the truth and understanding of the purpose of the five different passions, drives, and points of view found in Ephesians 4 (the evangelist, shepherd, teacher, prophet, & apostle). It’s purpose is to “equip” the “saints”, not staff, for the works of “service”. The “priesthood of believers”, the Church, is about to learn how to not only serve their God but serve each other. They will be willing to lay down their lives for their God and for each other. “Service” will be their motive, their passion, their desire, and they will use their personal passion to serve the body of Christ and edify their Lord and Savior, Jesus, whose fruits will be unity.

There will be a new accountability to each other in this new paradigm, not based on a hierarchal structure of dominant leadership, but based on horizontal leadership of walking beside the brethren in service; leading them by being in front of them, covering their back when behind them, and serving when walking beside them. This paradigm will demand intimate relationships of trust through service to be established among the brethren. Instead of being accountable to a hierarchal structure or titles and positions, the accountability will come through relationships and the willingness to “lay down your life for your brethren” and serving them.

So “Why Would I Want The Five Fold In My Church?”

….. because it makes the priesthood of believers, the laity, us, accountable.

….. because it releases believers in Jesus to serve others through their passions, giftings, drives, and points of view.

….. because it replaces enabled apathy with Holy Spirit led activity for believers in Jesus.

….. because it prepares the body, a priesthood of believers, the Church, to serve.

….. because it makes believers in Jesus accountable to one another through service.

….. because instead of enablement and inactivity, it promotes equipping and releasing of believers in Jesus to actively pursue service.

….. because it requires sacrificial service, the laying down of your life, for others.

….. because it equips the local body to serve the local community through Jesus.

….. because every believer is special, gifted, and equipped through Jesus to do the Great Commission, the Golden Rule, and to love one another.

….. because it forces every believer, me, and the entire priesthood of believers, us, the church, to ask the question, “Do I totally trust the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Jesus Christ, and can I trust my fellow brothers and sisters in the Lord?”

….. because it requires us to be our brother’s keeper through service and love.

….. because home grown leaders are birthed, nurtured, taught, equipped, and released by the local church, the priesthood of believers, to serve their local community.

….. because we can not afford NOT to embrace the five fold and its benefits.

Why I Wouldn’t Want The Five Fold In My Church

Reasons To Reject This Incredible Journey

I believe part of this metamorphosis, the change of physical institutional structures of the church, will come through the truth and understanding of the purpose of the five different passions, drives, and points of view found in Ephesians 4 (the evangelist, shepherd, teacher, prophet, & apostle). It’s purpose is to “equip” the “saints”, not staff, for the works of “service”. The “priesthood of believers”, the Church, is about to learn how to not only serve their God but serve each other. They will be willing to lay down their lives for their God and for each other. “Service” will be their motive, their passion, their desire, and they will use their personal passion to serve the body of Christ and edify their Lord and Savior, Jesus, whose fruits will be unity.

There will be a new accountability to each other in this new paradigm, not based on a hierarchal structure of dominant leadership, but based on horizontal leadership of walking beside the brethren in service; leading them by being in front of them, covering their back when behind them, and serving when walking beside them. This paradigm will demand intimate relationships of trust through service to be established among the brethren. Instead of being accountable to a hierarchal structure or titles and positions, the accountability will come through relationships and the willingness to “lay down your life for your brethren” and serving them.

So “Why Shouldn’t I Wouldn’t Want The Five Fold In My Church?”

….. because my institutional church values their traditions, their view of Biblically correct doctrine, and their desire for a professional hierarchal view of leadership over change, challenges to one’s theology, and having to give up control.

….. because the senior pastor heads our ship and his staff is onboard; the priesthood of believers, the laity, the saints are not “trained” professionally to lead.

….. because the five fold are positions and titles within the church, thus “leaders” exhibit these gifts, not the everyday priesthood of believers, the laity.

….. because our pastor reads scripture to us, prays for us, and instructs us through his sermon when in his pulpit on Sundays; the laity, or priesthood of believers, is intellectually incapable of properly doing that themselves, I guess.

….. because our senior pastor gives evangelistic messages in his sermon, he is an evangelist. Our Pastor is a pastor, duh, of course, thus the title! His sermons prove he is a teacher. His spiritual discernment and desire to draw near to God for us demonstrates that he is a prophetic priest, and his oversight of our church as a whole makes him apostolic.  If he is doing it all, no wonder the priesthood of believers is apathetic when enabled, and has the attitude, “that is what we pay him to do, and he does it well.”

….. because you will have a free-for-all if everyone runs the church. The church is not a democracy but a theocracy, a hierarchal structure, so a senior pastor is needed (hired) to run all meetings, head all programs, and lead in an orderly fashion. Order through control prevents chaos.

….. because the purpose of the five fold is to “equip the saints” for what? Oh, “works of service”! Oh, janitorial and secretarial work or lawn care or building maintenance! But wait! To develop them into evangelists, shepherds, teachers, prophets, and apostles? Inconceivable! That would require laity to become active, not passive or lethargic. That would require them to become active, not in church programs, but in service to one another.

Revival and the 21st Century Church

Options: Traditions or Change

I haven’t written a blog entry in almost a half a year, but I am back. I have been working on editing manuscripts, including over 500 blog entries into book form  (over 800 pages worth!), and I have reread every blog entry that I have written. I truly thank the Lord for some amazing insights.

I have realized that if a church truly wants revival it will have to be willing to embrace drastic change, and historically the institutional church has only embraced gradual change. Traditions have ruled the day. There is a sense of safety in doing things the traditional way, for traditions don’t make waves. They don’t flow; they are established.

If what I am sensing is truth, that the church is entering a cocoon stage in its development, drastic change will be a requirement. The necessity of changing the church’s very structure is at the core of this metamorphosis. The caterpillar structure of the current church with is squishy body, its multi-legged segments, and its ravishing eating habits to sustain constant growth will have to yield to a hard shelled, three segmented structure with wings whose purpose is to soar into the heavens. These are two totally different structures; same creature, but new look and purpose!

The churches who are willing to face this metamorphic state will find themselves surrounded by conflicts that demands change. Every program they have will be challenged; every thing they have done will be questioned by the standard of “relationships”. How does this standard or program enhance the relationship between the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit and their relationship to mankind, us? Can I trust the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Jesus Christ? How does this standard or program enhance the relationship between man with his brother in this priesthood of believers that is known as the Church, us?  Am I truly my brothers’ keeper; if so, am I willing to “lay down my life for the brethren”? Can I trust my brother or sister in Jesus Christ? Those are the basic, challenging questions that will be asked.

Under the old caterpillar mentality of doing church, the Church cannot fly. It’s multi-legged, multi-bodied structure of splintered, divided factions, and its ravish appetite for constant church growth have often hindered its vertical relationship with the Godhead. It has not been able to bring an united, corporate atmosphere of worship or fulfilled John 17’s vision of church unity with the Godhead. Every segment feels it has the inside scoop with the Father through their church doctrine and beliefs, and the other segments of the body don’t, thus bringing division.

Under the butterfly mentality, the Church will be “equipped” to fly because it will “equip” the “saints”, the priesthood of believers, for the works of service. Everything that they do will be seen as an act of worship to the Godhead. Everything that they do will be an act of service to each other; all at the price of being willing to lay down their lives for their God and their fellow brothers and sisters, exactly what Jesus did on the Cross! The Cross is still the central component of the message of the gospel.

Every church revival that I have studied about or have personally experienced has been a messy affair as man has been challenged with new ways of doing things, new mindsets, a new awareness for the need of worship, a new burden to truly be one’s brother’s keeper, and a hunger for healthy relationships with the Godhead and the body of Christ, the priesthood of believers, that only comes through brokenness, repentance, and healing through Jesus Christ. Churches who don’t want the mess or the challenges will safely continue to crawl into its security and safety that tradition and being an institution can give. We are faced with only two options: tradition or change!

The Principle Of “Reigning With”, Not “Ruling Over”

Prepositions Define Leadership Style & Relationships

God established a Priesthood so that He would have men “draw near TO him.” God’s design was never to have a “distant” relationship WITH mankind, but an intimate, close relationship. God had walked IN the garden WITH Adam and Eve; they all communicated as close friends. Sin separated man FROM his God; distant relationships came THROUGH sin.

Relationships were mutual BEFORE the fall; Adam and Eve did everything IN one accord, together, IN unity WITH God. Sin brought distance IN Adam’s relationship WITH Eve, and as part OF the curse the male would dominate or “rule OVER” the woman who would cling TO him. This intimate mutual relationship OF equal peers could only be restored THROUGH the shed blood OF Jesus Christ ON the Cross, as an atonement for the sins OF mankind. Now, IN Jesus, a mutual relationship as equal peers to be united as one was restored not only TO the institution OF marriage but also TO the Church as a whole. God’s design was never to have a “distant” relationship WITH mankind, but an intimate, close relationship.

Jesus told his disciples that the gentiles “rule OVER” one another, but that is not the way IN the kingdom OF God. God’s people “reign WITH” one another by being “BESIDE” one another IN a linear relationship OF equality. Even though Jesus had to return TO the Father IN heaven to intercede FOR His believers, He promised that he would not abandon them as orphans. He does not believe IN distant relationships. Instead they He made them “children OF God”, and their physical bodies would become the “temples OF the Holy Spirit.” God’s personal Holy Spirit would not be “ABOVE” them in the far distance, nor descending as a dove had upon Jesus when he was baptized, but would be “IN” them. How intimate is that?  All mankind has to do is allow the Holy Spirit “IN” their lives, and He chooses to dwell or live there forever! How awesome is that?

Unfortunately when we diminish relationship, we establish religion. As “God’s people” became known as “The Children OF Disobedience” IN the dessert, a religious institution replaced those relationships WITH an Old Testament Priesthood headed by a High Priest, a man, who oversaw animal sacrifices and a Levitical priesthood. By the time Jesus appeared the Ark OF the Covenant, God’s Presence, was missing IN a Temple that had replaced the Tabernacle. God wanted to reestablish relationships, to again “draw men near” him, thus he faced the Cross, death, that led TO his resurrection. God had already established a “Priesthood of Believers” according TO the order of Melchizadek who was without genealogy, tradition, and IN the likeness of Jesus Christ. Fallen relationships had been restored THROUGH Jesus.

Religious “institutions” have built pyramidal organizational structures WITH a man AT the top. I don’t care if it is the High Priest, the Roman Catholic Pope, or the Protestant local Pastor who lord “OVER” their flock or group. The foundation OF the clergy/laity schism is built ON this pyramid of church power and politics of who will rule “OVER” the church. OVER the centuries the clergy have made sure power has become entrenched WITH them while the laity are to be only followers.

This is not how the kingdom of God works. Leadership “WITHIN” the Church is defined by who is “BESIDE” you, “NEXT TO” you, “WITH” you, not who is “OVER” you. When Jesus was ON earth, He never lorded “OVER” anyone. He did not establish a pyramid structure where he was “ABOVE” his disciples but always walked “WITH” them, “BESIDE” them while teaching them AS a peer, a man, a teacher teaching only what the “Father” was telling him. In fact, the last thing he taught his disciples before going TO the Garden OF Gethsemane and the Cross was how not to be “ABOVE” them, but stooped down “BELOW” them and washed their feet. He was preparing them to learn the principle OF how to “lay DOWN your life FOR your brethren” by literally “laying DOWN his life FOR them.” When you lay something DOWN, it is “BENEATH” you, not “above” you.

The Church needs to learn to lay “DOWN” their lives FOR one another; Christian husbands need to learn how to lay “DOWN” their lives for their wives, not lording “OVER” them. They are your equal peers, your Eve’s, restored TO oneness “WITH” you so that you can be IN agreement IN all things! They are not to be controlled but served! You are to present them TO yourself “without spot or wrinkle”, pure, holy, blameless, as a restored equal IN Jesus!  Leadership needs to not be “ABOVE” those they are to serve, but be AT their level: “AHEAD” of them to lead, “BEHIND” them to cover their backs, and “BESIDE” them IN their personal journeys, and they need to begin to “equip the saints”, not the staff, for the “works OF service”, teaching them to serve one another THROUGH personal examples!

As believers IN Jesus, God is “WITH” us, not distantly “ABOVE” us, out OF our reach, but actually “IN” us; His Holy Spirit choosing to “IN”dwell us! The church needs to rethink and restructure its leadership models. Institutional hierarchy models are not scriptural, not the plan of the kingdom of God, and not relational as equal peers IN Jesus Christ. If the Church wants true revival, radical changes will have to occur IN its mindsets, IN its methods, and how it handles relationships, especially between leadership and the rest OF the body of Christ.  Leadership MUST begin to get off its pedestal “above” its congregation, and not only mingle, but be equal peers WITH them THROUGH service.

Have I Missed The Mark? I “Think Not”; I Just “Experienced It!”

Having Second Thoughts About The Next Movement Of God?

I had forgotten an important principle in my life: In order to learn a spiritual kingdom of God principle, I usually have to experience it! Head knowledge for me is never enough!

Although revivals usually work outside the boundaries of the institutional church, I believe the next major movement of God will directly affect present day Church structure.  I sense God will work within his own body, the Body of Christ, to reinstitute the Priesthood of Believers as peers, equals, brothers and sisters in the faith where linear relationships built on trust, service, honesty, and integrity will be solidified. The clergy/laity schism will finally be diminished. Like every other revival or movement of God, this must be orchestrated by the Holy Spirit, and obedience to what the Holy Spirit reveals is mandatory.         

I believe that this move of God will be a “metamorphic” transformation of present day church structure that is professional, clergy driven, and pyramidal in structure (caterpillar stage) to a laity driven, linear structure of peer relationships among believers in Jesus built on acceptance, equality, and accountability to “one another” (butterfly stage). How does the Church get from Point “A”, the caterpillar stage, to Point “B”, the butterfly stage?

On this path lies the dynamics of this next movement of God, the cocoon stage. As God covers, masks, and builds this cocoon around his Church, unobservable by the outside world, the Holy Spirit will supernaturally reconstruct what was once natural into a butterfly. The butterfly’s structure will not resemble anything the traditional church has ever seen; the old structure will be totally reconstructed. “The old has passed, behold the new!”  Infamous for not embracing change, the Church will embrace structural change and how it functions. Since butterflies function differently from caterpillars, this new Church structure will demand new ways, new forms, and new mindsets.

My dilemma: I have believed that my local church, which has embraced drastic changes in the past, would be open to embracing this new movement of God. I became shocked when leadership opposed it, not wanting to hear about it, so conflict arose which has forced me to break ties with that body. It became a power play. Why would a strong, pyramidal leadership structure relinquish their control over the Priesthood of Believers? I have looked “unsubmissive” to their leadership by questioning them. Some have even accused me of “slandering” their office and “defiling” their sheep. One elder advised me to accept their strong, pyramidal leadership style that he thought biblical or leave the fold, the family, that which I have been grafted in for almost twenty years. I told him I am seeking leadership who will be in front of me to lead, behind me to cover my back, and beside me to walk relationally through my faith journey with me, not a leader who dictates what I should and should not do and can and cannot do over me. I am looking for an equal brother in the Lord, not a leader who renders me voiceless, threatening severe church discipline if I make one more mistake.

While what was my local church keeps choosing the path of institutionalizing, empowering clergy and staff, while enabling the Priesthood of Believers into passivity, families are leaving, numbers dwindling, with many of the faithful no longer faithfully attend. I still believe God is working in their midst, for they are entering their cocoon of introspection, and it is painful because inside the cocoon at the center of all this activity is the CROSS!

The Cross is a painful place that brings death. Without death there is no resurrection. Great opposition led Jesus to the Cross. The Pharisees of Jesus’ day could not hear nor see what God was saying or doing. Today is no different, for Pharisees are always spiritually blind and tone deaf. I know; I am a recovering Pharisee. Like Saul, now Paul, I have been there! At the Cross God reconciled himself to man (John 3:16) and reconciled man to mankind (IJohn 3:16). The Cross is the only place God can teach his faithful, his Priesthood of Believers, how to “lay down your life for your brethren,” bringing transformation from dominant leadership to peer acceptance through reciprocal service to and from “one another” as equals. There are no classes of distinction, no offices nor titles in the kingdom of God, only equals, a Priesthood of Believers.

In spite of the opposition, the darkness of the hour, facing the emotional feelings of rejection and abandonment, I still believe God is faithful and moving, and revival IS happening IN the CHURCH right now as it approaches this metamorphic stage. God, give us, the Priesthood of Believers and church leadership everywhere, strength as we go through this dynamic transformation! 

How To Move Away From Church Politics Pt.3

The Spinning Wheel Of Diverse Ideas

In the last blog, we recognized the role, passions, and point of view that drive the evangelistic, shepherding, teaching, prophetic, and apostolic spirits that can be in a church leadership meeting. No one passion or role dominates the others if they are going to work in unity. As the model of a five fold diagram suggests, each distinct passion of the five fold reaches out to the other four and receives or submits to them, thus creating a star shape in a pentagon of accountability. A key to the success of this model lies in the circle around it, for the pentagon can rotate, and the passion or the point of view needed at that moment can arise to the occasion with the other four being supportive. As the circle rotates, different passions and points of view are shared and a solution is found. It is in the relationships of giving and receiving/submitting of the five to one another, yet releasing each individually to “do their thing” or release their passion that is monumental in keeping unity, yet achieving success.

Let’s look at a hypothetical situation.  Hot potato problem: The Tuesday Evening small group that meets at Matt & Mildred Miller’s has the same 8 people in it as when they created the group three years ago. They recognized their group has become “very close” but have become accused of being “cliquish”. The group has become stagnant, lacks motivation, and they are asking leadership for help.

After the leadership team have prayed and sat in silence, listening to the Holy Spirit, the evangelist in the group rises and identifies the problem. He discerns that Matt Miller, their leader, is a true shepherd, nurturer, who cares for those in their group, thus they have followed his lead, allowed him to shepherd them, producing their small group as a safe nest and have become introverted as a group.

The prophet now rises as the five-fold circle rests on him. He gets the world “expand” and exhorts the group “to reach out to others producing new streams that will water their group.” He continues to exhort them to “expand beyond just the care of a shepherd, and begin to instruct and guide these new ones. A teacher in the group will arise. He will walk beside them as a shepherd leading his herd as he instructs.” He continues to prophesy, “and one of you will network these new ones into various aspects of the five fold bringing life.”

The teacher in the leadership group now arises in the circle of the five fold to share scriptures pertaining to the kingdom of god and its expansion, scriptures about the shepherd and his sheep like the parable of the shepherd who left the 99 to find the lost one. The shepherd of the leadership team confirms that they could take the nurturing Mat Miller instilled in them and now walk “beside” these new ones in their group in instruction in practical day-to-day experiences.

The remaining leader with an apostolic bent confirms the possibility of all these suggestions if the group first identifies the giftings in their group who has the passion for evangelism, shepherding, teaching, prophesying, and networking. The person with the networking passion can then coordinate the others in their united attempt to nurture the influence of these new ones, releasing each in the group to go with their passion. The five look at each other in agreement, are unified on their recommendation, no longer looking at the Miller group as a potential problem but as a promising prospect, and released them to be obedient in following the Holy Spirit’s guidance!

The Miller group begins by releasing the evangelistic spirit: inviting others to join their group, some from within their existing church structure, some nonbelievers who they personally know. They begin “loving” on them, caring for them, nurturing them, fellowshipping with them, sharing the power of the gospel with them, inviting them to enter God’s kingdom and love. Several respond. Now the group responds by allowing the shepherds and teachers in their midst to begin to walk out their new faith through daily living. The prophetic members of the group teaches the new ones how to listen to the Holy Spirit for themselves and share what they hear with the group. The Holy Spirit begins to speak to the group and instructs them to “expand even further” and they begin to reach out to the homeless now that they have a base of nurture, care, and resources in their group to do so. The group grows, expands, is full of life, and moves forward changing lives. In just six months they have grown so huge they decide to split into two, so they can keep the feeling of an intimate small group, and further “expansion” begins as they continue to grow in strength, spirituality, and numbers.

What was once looked upon as a problem has now become a success story because of the “voices” of many, the diversity of different points of view in helping the group, and being willing to release the passions of each member in the group with the support of the others. That is the potential of the five-fold in problem solving.

How To Move Away From Church Politics Pt.2

The Holy Spirit: A Problem Solver

In the last blog, we saw that our mindset toward leadership must change if we are to move away from politics when in church meetings. We need to moved toward being a “servant” instead of trying to be “savior”, having the buck stop with us at the top of the pyramid of hierarchal power. Leadership must be linear, beside one another, laying down one’s life for one another through service and being served. We will only begin to move away from church politics if we instill these principles.

Church business meeting’s agendas often address current “hot potatoes”, topics that have become controversial in the church. It seems like most local church leadership meetings that I have been part of are centered around “putting out the fires” of controversy that seem to lift their heads. You spend more time on “fire prevention” and “fire fighting” than on anything else, and it drains you.

To understand how the five fold can be an effective “problem solver” model you have to understand the role, the passions, the gifting, and the points of view of each of the five fold present so you know their strengths and weaknesses:

The Passion, Drive, & Point Of View toward Evangelism: The evangelistic spirit is all about birth and rebirth. It takes what is lost and gets it found! It draws people to Jesus as the only answer. It demands repentance from the old; the embracing of the new. Once that process happens, it moves on to another lost cause/or person to be found. Evangelists can recognize what is “wrong,” leading people to Jesus to make it “right”. Often the evangelistic spirit can identify the problem, define it in its simplest form (sin), and present it to the group. Now they know what they are facing. The evangelist is usually not good at problem solving, but knows how to lead people to Jesus who is the problem solver. When the group focuses on Jesus, it releases the evangelist to move on. Once a group comes to a consensus, the evangelist is an excellent source then to “proclaim the new”, give “birth” to the solution, begin the process of birthing results to solve the problem. In conclusion: the spirit of evangelism is good at identifying the problem, defining it, moving others toward Jesus for the solution as their “Savior”, then releasing it to the others. Upon their consensus, jumping back into the picture, they love to birth and proclaim.

The Passion, Drive, & Point Of View toward Shepherding: The shepherding spirit is all about caring, nurturing, developing, grooming, and growing others into the image of Jesus Christ.  The shepherd will want to solve the problem from a caring, nurturing point of view. They know the solution may not be instantaneous, though it could be, but probably a process of day-to-day learning experience of adjustments and changes. Walking beside or through the solution is mandatory for the shepherd who walks with his/her sheep and knows their voice, habits, life style, wants, etc. He gives practical applications to the steps needed to solve the problem. Nurturing properly is important to him. A shepherd is a very practical, disciplined person who takes one step at a time. Shepherds are usually not in a hurry, but patient, moving in harmony with their herd. In problem solving, they see that the process leads to the solution desired as a series of steps, a walk, a journey toward a destination. They are instruments of grace, taking their lambs out of thickets, lifting ewes out of ditches, fighting of predators who thrive on problems caused by dumb sheep. They extend mercy even in the harshest of times. Their attitudes extend hope in hopeless situations, and love to the unlovely. They are the practicality of the problem solving process.

The Passion, Drive, & Point Of View toward Teaching: The teaching spirit is all about having everyone “experience” the solution, actually changing mindsets, attitudes, and patterns by “living it out”, not just intellectually knowing it.  “Knowing about” forgiveness is far different that “experiencing” forgiveness or “extending” forgiveness to others. We are to not only be “hearers of the Word, but doers,” so the teacher is there to make sure the linear “walking out” the solution will be Biblically based but practical in life.  Jesus had to allow Peter to sink first before allowing him to walk on water to teach the Biblical principle of “faith”. I’ve learned there are two kinds of students in life: “obedient” ones who do what they are told without questioning and the “stove touchers” who have to “experience” touching the stove to know “why” and are willing to endure the pain to learn that truth. In the end they both learned not to touch hot stoves, but the teacher has to know how to lead both groups toward the lesson to be learned. In problem solving, the teacher often is the person defining the steps and methods how to solve the problem for those who blindly accept the solutions and those who will buck it to find out “why” before resigning to the solution.

The Passion, Drive, & Point Of View toward the Prophetic: The prophetic spirit is all about relationships. Prophets want intimate relationships, usually between man and god. They want others to learn to seek the Father, get into the Presence of Jesus, listen to the Holy Spirit, and intimately enter into worship with all three. In problem solving within the church it is so important to understand “the mind of Christ” by revelation through the Holy Spirit to get a solution. The woman at the well is a good example, where Jesus “understands” her background by revealing it to her before addressing the real problem, her relationship with God. Peter had to understand “the mind of Christ’ by having the revelation of the sheet with unclean animals being acceptable before going to the House of Cornelius. This ability to know “God’s will”, his “revelation” on the problem is crucial in finding “His” solution.

The Passion, Drive, & Point Of View toward the Apostolic: The apostolic spirit is all about discernment and networking. The apostle is not the C.E.O, the Big Cheese, the Head Honcho, only a person who gets “revelation” of seeing the big picture in its entirety. He is known for discernment and knowledge. He “hears” the evangelistic voice, the shepherding call, the teacher’s objectives, the prophet’s discernment, and pulls them all together. He not only sees the problem clearly, but sees the revelation of the answer in its entirety and knows how to network the others into bringing a proper, godly solution that will bear great spiritual fruit. Unlike a C.E.O., he does not take the credit nor leads the drive toward its solution, but humbly gives the credit to the entire group, calling each in his or her own way to use their gifting toward the solution.

Now we have seen what is in our group, we can move forward toward a solution.

Five-Fold Prophetic Word Continued

 Part III: The Prophetic Five-Fold Word of 1993:

     On the evening of April 15, 1993, while sitting quietly in my living room, I asked the Lord a question, “What is the five fold ministry all about.  How is it to work? “

     Here is what I wrote down that night: (Continuation of the last two days blogs)

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

     In Acts 2 apostle Peter sees a glimpse of the whole Body as people begin speaking in the native tongues of many languages of nations of their known world.  Little did Peter know that he had much to learn about vision of apostleship (House of Cornelius, acceptance of Gentiles, etc.), but the apostolic vision came upon Him (vs. 5-13)

     When questioned, Peter kicked into the prophetic (vs. 14-21) as he quoted Joel 2:28-32  and shows its fulfillment.

      (Versus 22-36) Peter flows as a teacher, explaining the prophecies of Joel using Psalms 16:8-11 as a teaching text, and explains the purpose of Jesus and the Holy Spirit. When he proclaims Jesus as the Messiah, it “pierced their hearts”.

     (Versus 37-41)  Peter, the evangelist, manifests himself as he leads 3,000 to the Lord’s gracious salvation.

     (Versus 42-45) illustrates the pastoring that took place in those early days to the 120, then 3,000, then 3,000 plus as they grew.

     The results was the birthing of the five fold ministry and its fruits:

          1)  Unity in faith - continuing with one mind (Acts 2:46);

          2)  Knowledge of the Son of God - Peters sermon of Acts 2:14-42;

          3)  Maturity - fellowshiping with gladness and sincerity of heart (Acts 2:26);

          4)  Measure of Stature - having favor with all the people (Acts 2:46);

     Acts 2 is only a measure compared to what we are about to see:

          Pastoring:  Who would have ever dreamed of Pastor Cho’s church reaching the 3/4 million mark?

          Evangelist:  If Peter could have seen into the future at how Billy Graham has been used with massive meetings and satellite TV international hookups, he would have said, “What is only 3,000”!

          Prophecy:  As we are currently witnessing this movement, the Lord is exhorting, encouraging, edifying, purifying, and challenging His Body as the Church is again “hearing from the Lord”

          Apostolic:  The Holy Spirit is birthing vision of Jesus and His Church in men and women who will “see over” the work of the Holy Spirit who is doing the work, not try to “oversee” the work of the Holy Spirit and interfering with it, and will have their spiritual eyes open to the revelation of Jesus Christ as He prepares to return for His Bride.

     We are truly living in an exciting time:

          The Evangelist will need the prophet to give him/her direction and spiritual insight to break down the darkness of a city and bring revival.  Old evangelistic modes will be replaced with new strategies planned and implemented by the Holy Spirit.  The evangelist needs the pastor to nurture the new converts, and the teacher to teach them while the apostle watched over them to “guard this new body” and develop it toward maturity”.

          The Pastor needs the evangelist to birth his flock; the teacher and/or the prophet to nurture and verify the flock, and the apostle to help it mature into the “fullness of Christ”.

          The Teacher needs to hear the apostle’s vision, and the prophet’s fresh word, then dig into the Word, the Bible, to verify it and teach its principles.  He/She needs the evangelist and pastor to prepare the ground and planting of the seed for his watering through the Word.

          The Prophet needs the pastor to balance his/her assertiveness; the teacher to authenticate the Word; the evangelist to initiate the word, and the apostle to verify the fresh word.

          The Apostle needs the prophet to give a fresh Word to verify his vision or revelation of Jesus; the teacher to check it out through the word; the pastor to see if his “heart” lines up with the Word as a shepherd, and the evangelist to birth the Word.

          Together they function 1) in unity 2) in revealing the knowledge of the Son of God; 3) maturing or preparing the church, the Bride, for her Groom, and 4) measuring the stature or having the church as the Revelation of Jesus Christ shining, bringing respectability.

How Far Can You Fall?

The Pinnacle Of A Pyramid Is Really Up There!

I am tired of a hierarchal pyramid church structure telling me that we are a “family”, the family of God, where we play different roles like mother, father, child, pet dog, etc., but we are equal as family members. I know very few Christians who view their pastor as an equal. His position dictates his spirituality, thus one elevates his stature, often out of noble causes like respect. Church elders, deacons, and board members are treated differently again out of respect to an elevated position. The pastor is looked upon as a super Christian, the leadership as superb Christians while regular none titled members feel inferior, rejected, and sometimes even lost.

I have been impressed, but the last three pastors at our local church have been home grown, birthed, nurtured, and equipped in the faith by our own local body. The last two were saved as youth, went off to seminary only to return to their home church, became Youth Ministers, and eventually given the reigns of leadership as senior pastor. What has been tragic is a pattern I have seen develop over the last two decades: People come, get inspired, become active, given leadership positions, directed up the hierarchal ladder in positioning until they have attained top positions as elders or pastors.  The trouble comes when they resign. The last two resigning pastors left so they would not be in conflict with the new pastor. 80% of resigning elders also left the congregation over disputes or conflicts. Those respected as leaders because of the “character” of their lives, abandoned the character of the family when conflict rose its nasty head, and the fall from high up leadership down the bumpy pyramidal wall became rocky and brutal, forcing resignations, hurt, and despair. Leadership preaches how to solve conflict, but have not modeled it very well in the past.  This is not only true for my local church, but churches everywhere, and it got to stop.

We need to look for “linear” models of leadership, not hierarchal ones. We need leaders beside their people, not above them, so when someone falls, there won’t be permanent damage by falling a great distance. That is why we MUST apply I John 3:16, the laying down of our life for our brethren, as a mandatory Christian practice. If we are laying down our life, one will fall on top of you when they fall, not fall beneath you to be trampled. We can pick each other up together! That is body ministry!

Instead of diversity and our weaknesses hindering us, if we embrace the five fold as a linear ministry of equal peers accepting one another as a priesthood of believers, our strengths will breach each other’s weaknesses, and the body as a whole will be strong.

I have a personal friend who has been so damaged by the revolving door of pastors at his church over the years, that he now is skeptical about building a relationships with any new pastor, which is a lonely position to be in. Just because someone is paid as a professional does not elevate his spiritual status nor eliminate his need for fellowship and relational commitments. We have to think linearly.

Attending a funeral yesterday brought home the feeling of lost no matter how many times you attend funerals. Grieving comes with loss. Every time a pastor leaves a congregation there is lost, but we do not look at it that way, nor give the congregation time to process it that way, but immediately build hype about the expectations of a new leader with new hope, new life, and new direction. Families grieve over loss. The Family of God, the local church, needs to do the same, or embrace those who have fallen from their hierarchal positions to allow them to be regular pew sitting Christians again. They are equal brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus; let’s treat them that way if they allow us.

I am tired of the awkwardness of hierarchal changes in leadership structures, looking at the fall of one as being the potential for rise for another. True linear leadership never “lords” or “hovers over” nor “micromanages” those below them, but walks beside them. Jesus is the true example of that process. He always walked with his disciples.  When ascending to heaven, above his brethren, he sent his Spirit, the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Jesus Christ, to not only walk with believers but personally indwell them. “Do you not know your body is the Temple of the Holy Spirit?” Even his Spirit is not in a hierarchal position over you, but with you, in you, being a part of you! Relationally, as believers in Jesus Christ, that is where we should be with each other, then no man can fall far, only into the arms of the one beside them! That is commitment; that is unity; that is the truth of Body of Christ if we follow linear leadership. We must be our brother’s keepers, even when they have fallen! 

Small Groups And The Five-Fold

The Need For The Five-Fold In Small Groups, Cell Groups, Home Groups

Pastor Cho discovered the necessity of small groups in his church in Korea that became the backbone of establishing the largest in the world. The reason is that in small settings, interactive relationships are established forcing one to make the Logos, the written Word, a Rhema, or living Word.  One has to live out their faith when rubbing elbows with others in very practical day-to-day experiences.

Many small home cell groups have been tools for evangelistic expansion as they divide and multiply producing growth while cementing old relationships and establishing new ones, calling on talents of older experienced members, but living on the freshness and motivation of new ones. Many small home cell groups have stagnated, keeping the same participants and becoming cliquish. How can a group prevent this from happening? The answer lies in embracing the five fold in the midst of the group.

Every small group needs a member driven evangelistically, always winning the lost, bringing new members to the group.  This newness brings vibrancy to the group, and propels it forward evangelistically. If the group is missing this link, stagnation can quickly set in.

Every group needs someone as a five fold teacher to walk out one’s faith scripturally but practically, not as a theologian, but through relationships in practical applications in one’s daily life, like Jesus did when walking and living with the twelve disciples. This way it does not become a religious exercise or class or course with only academic training, but practicality becomes its main principle.

The group needs someone prophetic to bring the practical reality of worship to the group, the challenge of allowing the supernatural to work amongst them, and to challenge each member individually and the group corporately to be drawn into the likeness of Jesus Christ. Someone apostolic, who sees the big picture of the corporate group, and naturally networks the talents of the group within itself to minister to one another in sacrificial love is also needed.

These are not formal offices, nor even positions, but passions within believers in the group that just motivate them to serve one another from their passions as well as receive from differing passions differ that augment them. These passions just surface when needed or all called upon to help mature the saints within the group, or call the corporate group to action as a body. If they all are “released” to flow in freedom and to also receive from the other diverse passions, a synergy is created strengthening the group to be more Christ-like individually and as a group. The Word becomes “life”.

If your small group is struggling, ask yourself, is there someone in the group that likes to “ignite” the group, the catalyst, one who “births” things, then release their “evangelistic” spirit and let they go, let them flow. If some nurtures, mother-hens the group, becomes spiritual parents to everyone, release them to “shepherd” their pastoral gifting. If some live to study the Word, the Bible, allow them to share their spiritual truths in practical ways to produce an “Emmaus Road” experience of walking out their faith with everyone. If some are prophetic in nature, release them to minister spiritual life, releasing supernatural faith in very natural situations. Finally if one is like the eagle of the group, soaring above situations, keenly observing with wisdom, always seeking to allow others in the group to minister, release them to release others through networking to bring the group together in purpose, direction, and unity.

If you release the five fold in your group in this way, you will have newness in life through the evangelistic, nurturing through shepherding, spiritual growth grounded on the Word, living faith, and proper over sight and coordination; the five fold. There will be balance in ministry, constant flowing of the Holy Spirit, and a freedom to “release” one another, yet draw from one another.

As the group expands, mentoring new members in your passions, prepare them for their callings, as the group “equips the saints for the work of service” for the next spiritual generation of the group. There will be a time when the group realizes that it is time to “release” the once new, now “equipped” members to begin their new group, and the Church expands, grows.

The five fold is a very practical way to bring and keep life to your group and growth to your church.

I Have Been Replaced, So I Am Now Free To Move On!

What Does “Equipping The Saints” Mean? – Part XIII

It is easy to find the Senior Pastor during the majority of Christian church services: they are up front, on a platform elevated in front of all, or by the exit door shaking hands receiving compliments, “Nice Sermon”, or in a formal procession at the beginning of the service but is the central figure of everything that happens during the service.  He/she, and only he/she, is entitled to give the sermon, the official interpretation of the Word of God.  He/she is considered “a man/woman of God” unlike any other in the congregation, so he is revered, honored, held in high esteem. When he/she dies or decides to leave “the ministry”, there becomes a huge void, causing a search for another professional out side the confines of the local congregation to be brought in to “fill” the vacuum left by his leaving, but this is not the model of leadership during the first century of the Church. 

I do not know historically when the Church strayed from its Ephesians 4 calling to “equip the saints for works of service”, but it must have happened early in Church history.  By the end of the first century the Church was entrenched in the Bishop clergy/laity hierarchy model, diminishing and eroding the power of the saints ever since.  Although the Church claims “to make disciples of all men”, it has failed in “equipping” them for “service”. A Sunday Church “service” is still basically a “clergy” led “service” with the laity, the saints, being reduced to enabled followers. That is not the Biblical model set out by the 12 apostles in the first half of the first century.

I have yet to belong to, or even visit a church, where the “senior pastor” just sat in the midst of the congregation with “apostolic oversight”, just seeing what the Holy Spirit is doing with His people because the Senior Pastor had trained and equipped his congregation to do everything that they once expected him to do!  What! A laity giving the sermon or homily that had just been revealed to him through the Holy Spirit! A laity singing a prophetically motivated new song that ministered immediately to congregation in the unity of the theme being laid out by the Holy Spirit instead of “special music”, or a choir anthem, or being led by a worship team!  A member of the congregation taking the microphone, telling of a testimony of what Jesus was doing currently in their life that just so happened to go along with the Holy Spirit’s theme!  Someone sharing an originally written poem!  Someone painting, drawing, etching, or molding an original piece of art during the service!  Members of the congregation not having to be ushers to “collect” offerings, but every member of the congregation giving into containers during the time of worship as their “acts of worship”, their “acts of giving”!  The gifts of the spirit flowing among the congregation to minister to the hurting, to meet needs, to give directions, to give encouragement and edification, to make the Logos Word, the written Word, now become the Rhema Word, or the living Word, among them!  Members of the congregation “breaking bread” together and “sharing the cup” as a communal body of faith rather than a religious rite or practice!  All this happening while the Senior Pastor and his laity leadership team just blend into the congregation, “seeing over” in amazement what the Holy Spirit is doing in their midst, bringing unity through worship and purpose among themselves!

If leadership has “equipped the saints for works of service”, then leadership needs to “release” their congregation “to serve”.  Where is the safest place to release them to serve? Amongst the body of believers when they are gathered, for if they fall and stumble, which often is the best way to learn and practice, then “grace” and “mercy” can be extended so that they do not look at their stumbling as a “set back”, or “back sliding” as carnal Christians call it, but as a positive teaching method, to show them correction, to “equip” them to get up and stand strong so they do not stumble again!  We claim “Christians aren’t perfect; just forgiven”, but in our church services we propagate a climate of perfection: everyone smiles, everyone hides their hurts, everyone shakes hands and pats each other on the back as if they are old buddies. If the service is planned to the “T”, basically controlled, there will be no evident problems. If anything “unpredictable” happens, we will subdue it, for if someone is “out of line” we bring immediate judgment and condemnation to bring correction instead of allowing mercy and grace to weave their healing balms.  We claim that Jesus’ precious Holy Spirit is the pilot of our program and we the co-pilot, but we fly the plane, not allowing the Holy Spirit to break free or through our scheduled, protected, well-organized programs.

Why do God’s people, Christians, fear, as in fright, not reverence, the Holy Spirit? They are afraid if they release the Holy Spirit amongst themselves things will get “out of line”, “out of order”, people will “swing from the chandeliers” even though the church has only fluorescent lighting!  We fear chaos and confusion instead of expecting peace and unity, and we forget that the Holy Spirit’s goal is to bring “all men” to Jesus Christ, producing unity, not division!  We belittle the person of the Holy Spirit because of our lack of trust in Him, thus we belittle the person of Jesus Christ, because the Holy Spirit IS the SPIRIT OF JESUS CHRIST!

Leadership complains about how much is expected of them, and no one is going to do it if they don’t! That’s a lie: equip your saints, then release those saints which will also release leadership to move on to the next things Jesus through His Holy Spirit has for them to do!  Paul operated this way when starting churches: equipping the new saints over approximately a two year period, then released them to stand on their own so that he could move on to the next place the Holy Spirit was leading him toward to birth, equip, and release even more!  Church, maybe we should step back and examine Paul’s example as an apostle to understand the power of the laity, the saints, if they are properly equipped, trained, encouraged, nurtured, guided, then released to do ministry.  If you do that, you are blessed when you just sit amongst them and watch them “do it”! Wow! What a blessing that would be!

What Does “Equipping The Saints” Mean? – Part VI

The Church’s Role In Releasing The Saints For The Work Of Service

What is the Church’s role corporately in “preparing”, “equipping”, and “releasing” the saints for the work of service?

Preparing:  The Church needs to get away from its program and organizational way of thinking, developing programs and structures that then need to be filled by positions and bodies.  Instead they need to begin to look at each individual member’s spiritual DNA, that which makes them up spiritually.  What is their passion, their desire, their dream, their calling, their goal, their point of view?  What spiritually makes them tick? How do they best function?

If they have a strong evangelistic strain in their spiritual DNA, what can the Church corporately do to prepare them to “live” and “give” the message of spiritual “birth” and “rebirth” that will be the core of their being?  The Church will have to guide them in learning what it means to “lay down your life for your brethren” (IJohn 3:16) so that believer can “live out” as an example the principle of what Jesus did for those who do not know him: “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8) What safer place to learn this kingdom of God place, than in the midst of the Church?  That’s preparing an evangelist to be an evangelist. The pastor/shepherd can nurture the practical life experiences of this dying and resurrecting principle, the teacher grounding it in the Word, the Bible, while the prophet can bring spiritual life to the principle, and the apostle coordinate is activity in the Christian believer’s life through the working of the Holy Spirit.

The same can be true for those strong with the pastoral/shepherding spiritual DNA strain, or teaching, prophetic, and apostolic DNA strains. The other four spiritual strains can exemplify, support, and strengthen the spiritual genetic make up of a believers growth in Jesus Christ toward maturity.

Equipping: While being prepared, the Church also needs to “equip” the believer toward his diverse unique calling in Jesus Christ. Corporately, the church can offer facilities, finances, mutual support from other believers and their giftings, callings, and DNA make up, as well as materials needed to support the effort of the individual calling of a believer.  In the Church “no man is an island; no man can stand alone.”  God has developed a body with different parts, different functions, different purposes that all work toward the health, stability, and function of the entire body. He has developed a priesthood of believers, a corporate function of all involved for one general purpose. When a person is about to be release into maturity, he knows he will not be sent alone, but with the blessing, the support, and the full backing of other believers which will serve him and whom he will serve.  When this occurs, he is now equipped.

Releasing: Now that the Holy Spirit has prepared the believer, the body of Christ, the Church has surrounded the believer in equipping him, the mature Christian is now ready to be released.  Even though released on his own, he still is, and always will be part of a corporate body of believers, the Church, who will surround him/her when needed to help fulfill their destiny and calling in Jesus Christ.  If when in the heat of spiritual battle, if one falls, they will fall into the arms of another Christian believer, another priest in the priesthood, who can administrate immediately what is needed to bring back their healing, their preparation, their equipping, to stand again in the faith.

In Conclusion: That in summary is the calling, the purpose, the direction of the five fold ministry, to prepare the individual believer for his calling in the corporate Church, to equip the individual believer by and through the corporate Church, to be released to do “works of service” glorifying the corporate Church, the Bride of Christ, the Body of Jesus Christ today!

Church Pigeon Hole Politics

Putting The Cart Before The Horse

Most American churches are programmatic, that is, as an institution they design programs often run by volunteers but administrated by the professional staff.  Programs make positions, and positions must be filled by people, thus titles and job descriptions are developed.  As laity, we are often told by our clergy that we should be willing to serve, to do anything for the kingdom, thus under that premise, many volunteer to fill vacant positions as nursery attenders, Sunday school teachers, youth advisors, children’s church workers, back ground singers or choir members, ushers, and other menial positions, and get stuck there for life or until they are burned out or bored. Many times people who are placed in positions don’t have the knowledge to do that position well, or don’t have the passion or drive to push themselves in that position. When there is no life in the program, we begin questioning why?

I believe that the five fold is for the laity because it is just identifying the passions that drive them, and the mentality or point of view from which they think and operate. A person whose passion is to win the lost doesn’t need motivation, they are driven by the Holy Spirit to do just it. They can’t help themselves. They think continually about winning the lost. They just need equipped by their local church, then released.  If a person is passionate about shepherding, caring for others, we need not find a “position” for them; just equip them and release them! The same with someone driven by the prophetic, or a teacher, or apostolic oversight of seeing the big picture.

The church needs to identify the passions, drives, and points of view by the people who are already active in their congregation, give them what they need to succeed, whatever that would be, alias the equipping, then release them to do their thing!  They will do it with gusto, determination, striving for success, wanting only the best, and be happy and fulfilled doing it.  The church should not place a pastoral/shepherding saint in children’s ministry just because no one else will do it, but allow them to develop a small group ministry to disciple people as they are driven to do so. If some one sees the big picture, apostolic in vision, drive, and point of view, making them an usher to see over people financially given during the offering just because the position needs filled, does not enhance their chances for ministry, and stifles their drive to use their passion effectively for the kingdom of God.

The church needs to reprioritize its efforts. People should go ahead of programs! Developing their talents and equipping them for ministry should come ahead of developing programs and asking them to fill positions.  Releasing them to go with their passion and fulfill their desire to minister effectively in their own giftings and talents should trump having to teach them, design them, and train them to successfully fill a position that drives a program.

In the world of professional public education, you have teachers who are “driven” with “passion” to teach children when they graduate with their teaching degrees. They are driven to evaluate what is best for their students and adjust their multiple teaching styles to meet that student’s need. They are in the classroom because they love teaching, are driven to do it, and are fulfilled by seeing their student’s succeed. Yet in spite of teachers earning four year degrees in higher education and multiple graduate courses and  graduate degrees, today’s public school administrators think they have to bring “programs” in for “professional development” to tell their teachers how to teach, as if they aren’t qualified to do so in spite all the education they have received.  This is thwarting and devastating many teacher’s drive, their passion to creatively and professionally teach, feeling muted, downgraded, and frustrated by always being told the administrator’s ways are always better than their own inclass proven ways. Administrators decades ago use to do anything they could to “equip” their teachers to teach, fighting for materials for their teachers and their classrooms, provided the best schedules and class sizes to be effective, not telling their teachers how to teach.

Today’s churches find themselves in a parallel position. Instead of allowing the people in their congregation to go with their passions, use their already established talents, free them to be who they are in Christ to do the works of service and “be the church”, they establish positions and tell their people ‘how to do church”! “Leadership Conferences” for pastors and staff teach “professional development” on professionally how to “do church” rather than teaching them how to equip their saints to be who they are in Christ, equip their saints with resources to succeed in their passions and endeavors, equip their saints to be successful, nor how to release their saints without micromanaging them. 

If we want the church, the people of God, to be the church, the people of God, then we got to allow the church, the people to God, to be the people of God by releasing them to be so!

We got to learn how to let the Holy Spirit be the motivator, the passion within the saint, to be the trainer and developer of the saint, to be the equipper giving the saint whatever he/she needs to succeed.  The professional staff has to quit trying to be the Holy Spirit for the saints! That never works!

We have to develop a new mindset: Instead of investing in church programs, instead of investing in more staff or “professional development” for the staff, let’s start investing in the saints, the Church, the people of God!  Let’s start equipping them for success, and releasing them to be what God has created them to be! Let’s put the horse again in front of the cart! 

Store House Tithing: A Lost Art In Christendom Today

Preparing A Church For Rough Times

In the first book of the Old Testament, Genesis, Chapter 41 portrays the powerful narrative of how Joseph goes from imprisonment to be second only to Pharaoh in power. He interprets Pharaoh’s dream of 7 years of abundance and 7 years of famine. Pharaoh places him in charge of “store housing” 1/5 of Egypt’s grain during the years of plenty to be distributed during the years of famine. By the time the famine subsides, the Egyptians have sold their souls for grain, and Pharaoh owns all of Egypt and begins building a great empire built on tyrannical control.

By the time we get to the last book of the Old Testament, Malachi, Chapter 3 God asks, “Will a man rob God? Yet you rob me. But you ask me ‘How do we rob you?’ In tithes and offerings. Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house.”  Israel is being challenged to use the very principle that God had Joseph use in Egypt. I call it store house economics: creating a store house in times of wealth to be drained during times of need.

Watchman Nee was a Bible teacher and leader of the church in China before the Communist take over. I enjoy his teachings in the context that he is preparing a Church for persecution.  What Nee teaches would be monumental in the Church’s survival under extremely harsh persecution.

Many Christian church leaders want you to read his “Normal Christian Life” book because it is about submission to authority which they want their people to dutifully do, but very few recommend his book “The Normal Christian Church Life” which is about apostles, elders, the basis of union and division, and store house tithing, topics that are not propagated by most American churches, particularly financially. 

I do not personally know of a Christian church that practices store house economics here in America. During times of plenty we have built monumental cathedrals called mega-churches, increase professional staffing, invested in theatrical lighting, sound, and technological advances to create a highly professional worship service.  During times of plenty we have created marvelous monuments of awe, but when the size of the congregation dwindles, the economic hard times arrive, budget cuts are the buzz word, and our edifices are mere replicas of former years, the cry of need arises, but there is no funding for the now drastic programs needed for survival. We failed to heed the call of store house economics. During the time of prosperity we have heard the mantra over and over again of “give, give, give” financially from your blessings, and as downward economic times hit that of “give sacrificially”, yet there is no store house from which to draw in time of need. The fat of America’s churches has been squandered, and during the recent economic downturn their colors have shown. Churches have faced budget cuts, downsizing of staff and personnel, aging buildings, yet try to maintain pre-lean year budgets.

We have invested in our buildings and properties, in taking care of our professional leaders financially, and in developing our staffs, but have we invested in our people, those who attend our churches?  Have we effectively taught them discipleship to stand on their own faith, read the Word on their own, listen to the still voice of the Holy Spirit on their own and corporately, then act obediently to what they have seen and heard? Have we equipped the “saints” for the work of service (Eph. 4) or have we financed a professional staff to do that work for us?  If the professional staff is eliminated due to economic strains, can the common committed brethren stand on their own?  If the church doors would be closed, where would they go to congregate, to pray, to get teaching, to corporately hear from God and worship?

A church that invests in its people will survive any economic downturn, persecution, famine, or time of difficulty. God says, “test me” in Malachi to see if store house economics works! He promises only blessings if the Church practices it!  If economic recovery returns to America, will the church's wasteful spending and grandiose projects come back, or will it have learned to make “store houses” for the next economic down turn, the next time for need!

During down times, we naturally look to the Lord to provide our needs; we got to naturally look to the Lord in good times to provide from our excesses and store it for times of need. For America and most of the Westernized world, that is a totally radical mindset, but a mindset we MUST embrace if we are to be good stewards of God’s kingdom.

Who/What Is Your Church Investing In?

Should Church Budgets Reflect Christian Development Or Staff Needs?

This past Sunday, the church that I attend had a “Family Talk” instead of the sermon which basically was a dissertation from the pastor with a few supportive comments from the three elders that now comprise the church’s board.  There was no input from the family sitting in the pews, no feedback, no questions, just a one way dialogue. The presentation showed the direction leadership would like to the congregation to take in the next year by outlining the budget items that would reflect their direction, and a plea for those in the pew to finance those endeavors through generous financial contributions this year.  90% of the budget was nontouchable, already designated areas of commitment, whose details were not disclosed at the meeting. New initiatives comprised 10% of the budget.  Only 2% of the budget was designated for “Equipping” or training the saints, the pew sitters, toward Christian and leadership development.  More money was designated for developing relationships with New Frontiers networking, for developing Life Groups by training leadership through an 18 month course commitment on counseling to have them certified, for establishing “programs” to draw people to the church, and for deferral of payroll cuts than were designated for “equipping” or developing the saints, the common believer, the pew sitter!

I don’t think their budget is much different than most of today’s Christian Church budgets for buildings and grounds, mortgage payments, payroll commitments, staff professional development and needs, and maintenance supplies comprise a greater load of the budget with other commitments like missions, administrative pledges to overseeing organizations, and benevolence funds.  Very seldom is there a major commitment financially for “laity development”.

I thought a major mission of the church was to “develop disciples”, to develop the saints? Fully funding Pastor(s) and staff to Christian Leadership Growth Conferences is the norm, but financially funding the development of the saints toward Christian discipleship has been neglected by the local church.

So what are we developing the saints to become?  Future professional clergy? Future staff? Future Leaders (of what?)? If we developed them to be evangelists would we allow them to give “evangelistic messages” ie. sermons or personal testimonies during Sunday Worship Services, or develop their own outreach programs? If we developed them to be pastors/shepherds, would we allow them to mentor other Christians without being under the micromanaging microscope of the pastor and staff?  If we developed them to be teachers of the Word, the Bible, would we allow them to actually preach from the pulpit? What would they be allowed to teach? How do we overcome this fear that their teaching would be heretical, off base, unprofessional? If we developed them to be prophets, what outlet would we give them to prophecy, to flow in the Spirit in freedom? Of course, we would never allow them to develop apostolic skills, for the professional pastoral staff and senior pastor feels that is their exclusive role, not laity’s! A nonskilled, nontrained, nonprofessional seeing over the work of an entire church would be unthinkable!

Most Christian church’s produce “enablers”, for the professional staff does everything for them: prays for them, preaches to them, teaches them, does visitations for them, extend hospitality through the church’s coffee bar to them, provides “programs” for them so they can meet socially, tells them in a service when to sit, when to stand, when to sing, when to pray, when to greet one another, and when to give financially while announcing all the church events because they believe their flock is to ignorant to read or understand the printed bulletin they gave them to read.  We don’t develop disciples of Christ, nor leaders if all we do is enable them; and then we get frustrated when they don’t do anything or respond to a preordained programs.

We, Christians churches, must begin to “invest” in the people who are “financially investing” in their “professional staff” to do all things for them!  Pew sitters, the saints, must begin to do more than just “pay the bills”!  But how?

Professional Development is designed to develop the professional in what he does in his profession!  Getting a college degree, a proper certification, an academic title directly influences one salary and leadership position. That is for the professional staff, but what do those in the congregation have to do to earn positions of favorability, positions of freedom to serve, positions to minister in freedom?

I know of no church staff that tries to equip the saints to do what they do, thus putting themselves out of a job! Instead of focusing in “equipping” or “preparing” the saints for service, the professional staff gets caught up in doing it themselves, for they are better trained, better equipped, and more highly educated to do the task than their counterparts in the pew.  What message is the church sending when they want their parishioners to financially support their budget to pay their salaries, their expenses, their benefits, their professional development, yet the budget holds little to financially support the laity’s own personal development in their faith, their journey, their spiritual growth?

Check your church budget. What does it reveal? What or who are you investing in? Are the saints lost in your budget? Oh, I forgot, they aren’t lost; they just have to finance is sacrificially through their tithes and offerings, usually under the premise of feeling guilty through funding drives and pleas every Sunday before the offering.

Where you put your money exposes your heart, your treasures, your priorities, and your goals and dreams. Church budgets reveal the heart and treasure of the church.  Unfortunately, we should be shocked at what they reveal, and begin to rethink how we should readjust our priorities in them.