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.