Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ. 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.”
--Ephesians 4:11-16
I have never been so excited about a church before. The last few months I have been going back to the church I grew up in, and am currently taking a course on the Apostolic Ministry/Church. Now the word “apostolic” can be mis-communicated. People could have immediate reactions to the word because it sounds a little bit weird or uber religious. But in all reality, apostolic means “to be sent.” It is not a creepy, cultish sounding religious word at all.
Church’s today typically have some kind of meaning that people associate it with. There are mega-churches, gospel churches, artsy churches, sinner churches, conservative churches, liberal churches, tele-evangelist churches…so many different options. But what about a church that focuses on the completeness and fullness of Christ in every dimension? What about a church that trains and equips “saints”/leaders to be effective members of society? What about a church that is genuinely motivated and is actually led based off of the solid foundation that only Christ alone offers? The idea of the Apostolic Church represents the fullness of Christ, and actually trains apostles “to be sent” into the world. Let me show you why this is important, through evaluating phases of church history in a nutshell.
Church history began around 100 AD when Augustine decided to put a name to the Church. This was right after Jesus and his apostles lived, and the Church became a type of catholic “organization” instead of lifestyle. In this, the first phase of church history was extremely focused on having the clergy as middle men to ones relationship with God. There was a huge emphasis on the Pastor and his authority. There was a “worship of the Priest,” one extreme focus.
Then, by around the 1400s, long after Constantine declared Christianity as the religion of the Roman Empire and the crusades occurred, the Reformation began. All of a sudden the emphasis was taken off of the Pastor, and put into the legitimacy of the word. There was an extreme focus on intellect, theology, and dissecting the “newly” printed Bible. John Calvin and Martin Luther were huge during these times, and denominations started forming within Christianity. There was a “worship of the word” through the use of teachers; another extreme focus.
By the 1700s, there was a “Great Awakening” in which the Missionary Tradition began. Evangelism, the Great Commission, zeal, and saving the world became the mission of ordinary people. A concern for the greater good of humanity was spreading like wild fire, and people were so excited about their role in bringing heaven to earth. But in this hunger and excitement, the word started to get mixed in with the culture and feelings started to manipulate the legitimacy of truth. People didn’t know how to grow past this. They didn’t know how to start and finish something because they were missing a solid foundation. There was a “worship of evangelism,” one extreme focus.
As we reach the 1900s, the Charismatic Tradition began. There was the Azusa Street Revival from 1906-1915, in which there was a huge outpouring of the holy spirit into the city and to women specifically. Spiritual gifts were emphasized, and speaking in tongues and inter-racial mingling characterized those years. As we move on, prophecy and it’s attributes in encouragement, exhortation, and edification were extremely prevalent. Tele-evangelists, mega-churches, and personality cults began to form. The events and the feelings involved were leading the Church. There was a “worship of the experience,” one extreme focus.
That brings us to today. Now according to the verses in Ephesians 4:11-16, there is a need for a five- fold ministry. “Some (are) to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers.” This creates fullness, and also provides accountability. I find it quite interesting that during each segment in history there was an extreme focus on ONE of the important attributes. But there was also NO focus on the others. For example, if you only exercise one muscle, your whole body will look out of proportion. How can we reach the fullness of Christ if we are only limiting him to one attribute?
The Apostolic Church takes the best attributes of the pastor, teacher, evangelist, and prophet to provide completeness. In this, by using all the “supporting ligaments,” we will “attain to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ” because we will be lacking nothing. We will “no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming” BECAUSE we have accountability from the five-fold ministry. And when we reach this, we can “be sent” into the world as apostles, instead of men and women trying to operate with one arm and one leg.
We need each other and a ministry that builds leaders, not just motivates them.
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