Peter And The Five Fold

 

Experiencing/Example Of All Five

Evangelist: Peter before Pentecost denies Jesus in the temple fulfilling personal prophecy Jesus proclaimed over him. This new transformed Peter now returns to the temple and boldly preached the evangelistic message. Acts 4 records his evangelistic dissertation. Result, 3000 join the ranks of believers.

Shepherd/pastor: In the twenty-first chapter of John this same Peter who denied Jesus three times faces a resurrected Jesus who asks Peter three times, “Do you love me?” Upon Peter’s confirmation of his love, Jesus replies then, “Feed my sheep.”  Shepherding became so overwhelming that one of the first delegation of responsibilities from the Apostles to other believers is recorded in Acts 6.  The Apostles elect seven men “filled with the Holy Spirit and wisdom” to become the Church’s first official shepherds/pastors.

Teacher: Stick your foot in your mouth Peter, now after Pentecost, speaks with authority in the temple teaching about Jesus’ mission to earth and the implications of that event as recorded in Acts 2.  Untrained academically, without any higher educational degree, a fisherman by trade, Peter amazes the leaders in the temple because he teaches with authority.  The results: The Apostles Teaching.  The same principles taught by Peter in Acts 2 in front of the Sanhedrin are the same principles taught by Stephen in Acts 7 before his being stoned to death.

Prophet:  Peter just wanted to be a good Apostle and pray, but while praying he has a prophetic experience as recorded in Acts 10. He has a spiritual vision of sheets, pigs, unclean creatures dropping out of heaven and realizes the message of the vision, what was once unclean is now clean. This vision tested his obedience to go to the house of Cornelius, a non-Jew to proclaim the message of Jesus. The results: Breaking down the barrier between Jew and Gentile allowing all to be saved, come into the kingdom of God, and setting up the Church’s first battle recorded in Acts 15 at a council in Jerusalem, where in UNITY the Church settles the issue for all centuries.

Apostle:  Peter goes from being a brash, bumbling, big mouth, bull headed, believer in Jesus, to a man who is granted the vision of seeing the birth of the Church as a whole and its implications.  He is to proclaim the gospel, to nurture the new Church, to desire a more intimate relationship with the resurrected Jesus, and is granted the vision to see the Big Picture.  He becomes the point man of the Church in Jerusalem with the other eleven as in unity they lead this new Church in physical and spiritual growth, through joys and persecution, needs to fulfillment, pressing on in vision. The book of Acts records the “acts of the apostles”.  After Pentecost Peter and the other eleven were forced to put their faith into “Acts”-tion.

The Five Fold Point Of View

It Is Just The Way You See It!  

I truly believe that the five fold is basically passion and point of view.  When you are passionate, that passion drives you.  I was passionate to get a room in my house built from scratch to finished project. Because of that the dry walling and sanding, the tedious cutting in for painting, etc. were not so bad.  I was driven to get it done the best of my ability.

The beauty of the five fold is “vision” and “Point of View”. The way one perceives his world and his place in it is his passion and point of view. It is no different for the five fold. Let’s briefly look at these “points of view”:

The evangelist is driven by the desire to see birth and rebirth, taking the lost (those not knowing Jesus) to becoming found (finding Jesus as their Savior). General Booth of the Salvation Army is an excellent example. Winning the lost became all consuming to him, thus he founded an army to proclaim salvation to the lost. Unfortunately, when the lost is found, a new birth or rebirth proclaimed, nurturing their growth is not the evangelist’s top priority, for he/she is ready to move on and win yet more for Jesus.

The pastor/shepherd is driven to care for the sheep. Shepherds nurture, feed, and care for their sheep, which becomes a tedious task, for they teach a believer how to make their new found faith into a lifestyle. A pastor’s vision is to hear the words of Matthew 25:35-36: “I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you invited me in, needing clothes and you clothed me, sick and you looked after me, in prison and you came to visit me.”

A teacher’s passion is to validate the Word of God, the written Word, the Logos Word, into the lives of every believer.  They want to validate the believer’s walk with the Word.  The teacher wants to validate this new found faith and lifestyle through the Logos Word, making it a Rhema, or living Word. John 1 says the “Word became flesh and dwelt among us.” The teacher wants that word, now in Spirit, that dwells in each believer to teach that believer the truth and fulfillment of the Logos Word through faith.  Study the scriptures is powerful, but dangerous, for if it is done without the Holy Spirit, believers can become Pharisees, those who knew the Word in Jesus’ time, but opposed the truth and spirit of his teachings.

     If a prophet had his/her way, they would spend all day in worship, in reading their Bible, in intercession and prayer, in intimacy with God the Father, His Son, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit.  Adam and Eve lost their intimacy with God when they sinned, but Jesus’ death and resurrection restored the intimacy lost through sin. Sin has been conquered, death defeated.  A prophet is trying to make up for lost time. Their drive, their passion, their point of view is to be intimate with Jesus. Nothing else matters to them.

An apostle has experienced the pain of seeing the lost and the passion to win them to Christ, has experienced the over whelming passion to feed the sheep physically and spiritually to have them walk the walk in their lifestyle, has experienced the power of teaching with authority the Word of God, has experienced that intimacy with his/her God through Jesus, but unfortunately can not to all of them himself unless he wants to get burned out, which happens to many a man of God who takes on more than he can handle. An apostle’s point of view, his vision, his sight is seeing the Big Picture, the Church as a whole.  Since he cannot do it all himself, he is commissioned to encourage others who have the other four passions and “prepares God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.” (Eph. 4)  His job is to “see over” the Big Picture, not “oversee” it, for that is the Holy Spirit’s job, and to prepare God’s people for the works of service.

     The five fold is five distinctly different points of view that can divide the Church if not led by the Holy Spirit, or be the very tool to unify it.

Teaching: Head Or Heart?

Study of God or Knowing God

Theology: Theo means “God”; ology means “study of”, so theology means “the study of God”. 

Unfortunately with the world of Western civilizations, theology has become pure academic which most churchgoers have no idea what it means. As an undergraduate course, one studies the books of the Bible, etc., but at the graduate level, theology, where so called Biblical scholars give their interpretation of the scriptures, mirrors the Pharisees and Sadducees of Jesus’ day. When I took a course in Biblical Theology, I had to read many paragraphs two three times before grasping the meaning of the passage.  By the time I finished, I knew little about who God is, but much about what man thought of God.

When Moses climbed Mount Sinai, he “met” God, and when descending that mountain he “knew” more about God than he ever did before because he had just “experienced” God.  God explained to him who He is, because His name was “I Am”!  The rest of Moses’ life God reveals who He is!  “I Am your deliverer, your savior, your banner, your strength, your healer, etc.”  God’s statements were simple, very clear, and left no room for debate, for He said, “I AM”.

God allows us to go into the Holy of Holies, His Presence, when we worship Him. It is there, in His Presence, that He reveals Himself to us in a way that is relevant to our personal lives.  Would not experiencing God who teaches us who the “I AM” is rather than studying exegesis or passages by renowned men claiming to be theologians, men who study who God is.

I have personally learned that most of my theology, academically, gets thrown out the window when I truly “experience” the “I AM”. Relationship is always better than rhetoric. I want to “know” God rather than “know about” God.

Road to Emmaus: Part IV

Lesson #1: Road To Emmaus Worksheet

A Assignment

Directions:   Reread the Luke 24:13-35 passage throughout the coming week. Allow the Holy Spirit to reveal even more truth about the lesson.  Here are some questions that may arise that you and your group did not see.  Answer them if you wish!

What significance is there to the “breaking of the bread” that Jesus did and the opening of their eyes?

What significance is there to when their eyes were opened and they recognized him that immediately he disappeared from their sight?  Is there a correlation between that principle and faith?

What was their “emotional” reaction to their recent walk with Jesus?

What did Jesus “open their eyes to” in verse 34?  What does that say to you about daily Bible reading, devotions, and meditation?

Verses 33 & 34:  Their experience confirmed what to them and to the other believers?

Bottom Line:  What was the purpose of Jesus walk with them?  What did all this lead then to do?

Road to Emmaus: Part III

 

Lesson #1: Notes For The Teacher

Assessing of Lesson:

• o   Guidelines to tell the class:  On an easel, whiteboard, etc. have each group share insights as you list then.

Lesson Techniques:

• o   Ice Breaker: [You are making them spontaneously think already as well as personalizing the instruction and sharing their observations. Your are modeling technique to be used later in lesson, just through the introduction.]
• o   Reading: Your reading with out them doing anything forces them to listen. This is NOT to be an exercise of scriptural exegesis, thus DO NOT let them use their Bibles at this stage.
• o   Reflection: :  THIS IS THE KEY TO THE LESSON!  This is where you allow the HOLY SPIRIT to be the teacher, not you. Your opinion and expertise DOES NOT MATTER. KEEP QUIET! NO COMMENTS. If your class learns to “listen to the still small voice” to teach them, you have succeeded in the lesson.  By forcing them to do the second part, it takes them away from the familiar section and forces them to think beyond what they know.
• o   Retelling:  This allows the group to see the height and width of scope of the knowledge of the Holy Spirit, who is omnipresent, and can see a lesson from all points of view.  It also shows the diversity within the body to react to, interpret, and make meaningful a lesson that individualizes it just for them, and also the group corporately.  {This will show the power of individual Bible study and/or worship as well as corporate Bible study and/or worship.)
• o   Reactions:  Versus 33 – 35 is all about reaction.  REACTION to what has been SEEN and HEARD through the teaching of the Holy Spirit is crucial.  The book of Acts is about how everyone Re-Acted to the Holy Spirit’s teachings and leadings.  Begin to have “Re-Acts” time to bridge the 2000 year gap from when the New Testament was written up to today. The Holy Spirit keeps the standard of truth, but makes it relevant.  Allow him to do so!
• o   Assignment:  Lessons are to be life long, life changing, foundational principles, so making the class continue throughout the week to seek the scriptures and allow the Holy Spirit to teach them is crucial for the growth of the believer.
• o   Time Essential:  Watching your time, but keeping it moving is crucial.  But if the Holy Spirit is teaching, always allow Him to change the agenda!

Bottom Line:  Ask the class what was “your opinion” or “your analysis” of the lesson.  Of course they will not be able to tell you that, because although you guided them through the lesson, YOU DID NOT TEACH IT, THE HOLY SPIRIT DID!  That was precisely what this lesson was all about as a teacher.  You can be a facilitator, listening yourself to the Holy Spirit as to what to do when, but He is the Teacher.  He is the Conductor of the symphony of this lesson.

Road to Emmaus: Part II

 

Lesson #1: Road To Emmaus: The Spirit of Jesus Christ, The Holy Spirit Is The Teacher!

Introduction of Group Members: 

-       Ready:  Make small groups of three or four

-       Introduce oneself: name, occupation, marital/family status, and tell of one object you have that best illustrates your life (i.e. Pocket knife because you are an avid hunter) and one object you have you should throw away. (10 min.)

Introduction of Lesson:

-       Reading: Teacher read Luke 24:13-35 – Road to Emmaus passage as everyone sits quietly and listens.

• o    Break the passage into two parts verses 13-27 and pause for a time of quiet reflection, then verses 28-35.  (10 min.)

Developing of Lesson:

-       Reflection: They are to sit quietly, individually, and reread, think about, meditate upon, or picture being a part of the actual scene of verses 28-35.

• o    Guidelines to tell the class: 1) There is to be no talking or movement at this time.  2) They should sit quietly, they may have pencil and paper if they wish to jot down reflections, narrations, etc., but prefer they do nothing but mediate on the passage. 3) They will have (15 minutes) of this total silent period for reflection.

-       Retelling:  After silent period concludes, have them begin to share within their small group what they have seen and heard.

• o   Guidelines to tell the class:  1) only one-person shares at a time. 2) The others in the group CAN NOT comment or say anything while one is sharing. 3) You only have 5 minutes per person to share. 4) At end of 5 minutes, next person shares without comments from group until all have shared. (15-20 min.)

-       Reactions: What new insights and strong points were shared by the group?

• o   Guideline to tell the class:  Share among yourselves a) the new insights, the different point of view, the uniqueness of what each other shared as well as b) the strong points that were emphasized. c) Was there one theme that ran among all in your groups lessons?  List your answers on a piece of paper. (10 min.)

-       Assignment: Have a handout to keep them thinking all week.  They are to meditate on this passage as their devotion all week and answer some of the questions on the sheet!

Road to Emmaus: Part I

 

Holy Spirit As Teacher

     A new mindset of a teacher is NOT to expound information he/she knows intellectually to a group, but teach the group to allow the Holy Spirit to be the teacher.  Jesus promised that when he would return to His Father that He would send the Holy Spirit who would teach His believers all things.  We have to learn how to let the Holy Spirit be the teacher. The question is how? And do we tust the Holy Spirit?

What I hope to do in the next couple of blogs is share a sample lesson you may try with a small group to teach them to get into the Word, the Bible, living word.

Road to Emmaus: Part II will be the actual “Road to Emmaus” lesson, Luke 24:13-35 to be taught.

Road to Emmaus: Part III will be comments/ directions to those leading the small group event. (The teacher)

Road to Emmaus: Part IV will be a homework sheet the members of the class can continue to work on during the week.

Again, this is just a sample lesson.  The result may vary as the Holy Spirit leads. It could be quite an adventure.

Teaching: Where’s My Classroom

 

Which Is More Effective?

•      Memorizing the critters living in your nearby streams from a list of pictures for a test when you will never see one in your life if you don’t go in water, or…  
• Explore your local creek, turning over the rocks on the floor or the stream and discovering the multitude of life that was hidden, but now alive!
•      Read in your Civics book about government and elections, or …
•      Volunteering to help a candidate actually run for office, defending their stand on issues!  
•      Read a poem in a literature class, then discuss the imagery, symbolism, and interpretation you and Literary Scholars claim are in the work, or …
•      Listen to the poet read his own poem with inspiration, rhythm, diction, and meaning, never analyzing his own work, but allowing his work to speak for itself!
• Read a psychology book on mental health diseases, their effects and side effects on people who suffer from those diseases, or … 
•      Befriend a person struggling with schizophrenia or paranoia or being bipolar, helping them in their rough times, working on bringing healing in their lives!
•      Study your Bible looking up the latin or greek origins for the meaning of key words like “love”, “peace”, “hope” or …
•      Actually giving “love, peace, or hope” to a stranger, or a struggling friend, or a love one!

I am a firm believer that one must be “taught” “love”, but is approaching it academically the most effective means for one to learn from?  “Modeling” love is far more effective than “defining” love, or debating the “meaning” or “origin” of love. 

The Jesus taught love by modeling it. He did it! He then made the learners, his disciples, “experience”, or do it, themselves which produced “life changing” results!  We need not know more “about” Jesus; we need to “know” or “experience” Jesus. That is the challenge of the Teacher!

Teaching: Hearing and Responding

 Jesus said that we should not only be hearers of the word, but doers.  It is not enough to be introduced to tennis (evangelist), coached in tennis (shepherd), and even taught the fundamentals of the game (teacher), the athlete has to just be able to go out and “do it”.  Nikki shoes patented the expression “Just Do It” that became a successful sales logo.   

 Most pastors and teachers in the Church use the lecture teaching method with sermons, Sunday School Quarterlies, etc. It’s “talking-the-talk”, but few personally “walk-the-walk” with you in their lesson or sermon.  As a teacher we want “response that will change lives”.  Which is more effective: Preaching about Jesus feeding the thousands or going to the local soup kitchen or Rescue Mission and serve meals?  Preaching or teaching about the Great Banquet which most of the invitees refuse giving excuses, so the master tells his servants to go to the highways and byways and bring in the homeless, the poor, etc., or having Church in its social hall have everyone bring a “non-Churched” heathen or derelict to have a meal (pastoral/shepherding) and hearing the gospel (evangelist)?

Why do we have to go into a building (the church) in order to hear the gospel.  Isn’t the Great Commission to go outside those walls to the world?  The Lamad method of teaching is to have learners “experience life lessons” by “responding” to “revelation”. There are people hungry, poorly clothed, in prison, and lonely. (What a revelation!) Church now respond! When you do, your fruit will be “changed lives” to those you served, and more importantly to those who did the serving.  That is the teaching I want to emphasize in the five fold, “living service”.

We need Christian teachers who will get outside their classrooms of their church building into the classrooms of life, living experiences.  They need to apply Biblical Truth, “revelation”, to practical everyday living situations, and they will reap “changed lives”.  Teachers in the Christian Church listen: “Just Do It!”

Teaching: The Goal To Change

Mark VirklerIntellect vs. Experience

I think Virkler is on to something with his Lamad method of learning which he states is, “All learning and teaching is ultimately to be found in the fear of the Lord. The goal of teaching is not the impartation of facts but the changing of lives. For the Hebrew, knowledge (yadah) involves personal encounter and response to God’s revelation. The classroom is not separated from life but is actually part of our lives.”

The Church has to take a different mindset towards its teachers if it is to effectively minister from a five-fold perspective. Learning isn’t what you know, but how to use what you know effectively producing changed, Christ-like, Godly, lives.  It involves personal encounter, experience, and response to God’s revelation.  It is one thing to intellectually know what forgiveness is, but it is another to actually accept it in one’s life and extend it to others.  How do you teach forgiveness? Memorizing its definition, studying what noted theologians in their academic verbiage have spouted, or reciting the many scriptural passages on it?  Or do you actually forgive your brother or sister who erred you, and also receive forgiveness from those you have wronged?

Field Trips are always better than bookwork in a classroom because they become practical everyday “life experiences”.  Jesus constantly took his disciples on field trips, which we will examine in future blogs.

When I think of the hundreds of hours I have spent listening to academic sermons from the pulpit, speakers at conferences, Sunday School and Bible School teachers as a kid, and Bible courses I have taken, I question how effective they were in changing my life.  Walking the streets witnessing with an experienced, gifted, passionate evangelist was far more effective than reading about evangelism from a book or writing a paper about it. 

It is good to get a revelation through the Bible, taught to us by the Holy Spirit, but it is in the “response” to it in “life experiences” that bring the change.  Let’s examine in the next few blogs, how to do that!

Teaching: Head or Heart

 

IIntellect vs. In tuition

The Bible tells us that “your treasure is where your heart is”!  It does not say that “your treasure is in your intellect”, yet the Church has chosen to take intellect and reason over intuition and faith.

David was known as “a man of God’s heart”, while Solomon was known for his “wisdom”, not necessarily for his intellect.  I have known many men who were not intellectual but very “wise” men.

Mark and Patti Virkler created the Communion With God Ministries to teach the “lamad” of learning. On their web page www.cwgministries.org/The-Lamad-Method-of-Learning.htm Virkler explain the Lamad Method:

“The Hebrew language uses one root (lamad) for the two words "to teach" and "to learn." In the Hebrew culture, the teacher has not taught unless the student has learned. All learning and teaching is ultimately to be found in the fear of the Lord. The goal of teaching is not the impartation of facts but the changing of lives. For the Hebrew, knowledge (yadah) involves personal encounter and response to God’s revelation.

In the lamad method of learning, we are returning to the Hebraic concept of education, including this personal encounter and revelation. The classroom becomes a place of impassioned discussion and the sharing of real life experience. It is a place where we meet God and share in the life experiences of others. It is a place where we practice truth. The classroom is not separated from life but is actually part of our lives.”

Jesus never founded an university, seminary, or Bible college.  He never inferred degrees upon anyone.  He just walked with the twelve ordinary men and others while building relationships and changing lives.  Instead of facts, He taught faith.  Instead of building an entourage of educators to expound data, He promised the Holy Spirit to come and be the teacher to all believers.

We will examine teaching and learning from the Western perspective and from the Jewish Lamad method.  I too hope too also experience personal encounter with the rear of the Lord and respond to God’s revelation resulting in change.  This journey could be another change in mindset, this time for the teacher.