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The Apostolic and Prophetic Foundation
Apostolic ministry is responsible for laying proper foundations - revealing Jesus Christ as God’s chosen foundation stone. If the foundation is faulty, the building will be weak.
Christians all recognize that individual lives are built upon the Lord Jesus, but many fail to see that He is also the foundation upon which our collective lives are built as a fellowship. In other words, we see our need to totally depend on Him to be our life, our strength and our salvation when it comes to living holy lives. We recognize our need to be born of the Spirit and continually filled with the Spirit. We believe that He can lead us individually into strategic situations and anoint us to bring words of life to unbelievers. But we then fail to believe He can orchestrate us into a unique expression of His mind when we gather together in one place. Hence, in order to prevent chaos and anarchy, we exercise as elders “authority” and set in motion our interpretation of what should occur.
One problem in the Church has been the use of titles and offices. These convey to the sheep the impression that there is authority resting in the one who merely has a title or who occupies an office. However, the only source of authority is in the anointing and the grace given to us. Howard Snyder said it well.
God provides for leadership in the Church through the exercise of the gifts of the Spirit. This is God’s ecclesiology.
Our understanding would be clearer if we remember the fundamental meaning of words that have come to be known only as titles. These terms were understood in New Testament times not as ecclesiastical titles but as practical functions. Some of these terms had been used for leaders in Judaism (for instance, elder), while others were common in Greek culture. But each term was taken over by the church because it described an emerging leadership function.[8]
While we might identify our ministry function, we should not do so as a title. For example, Paul often referred to himself as, “Paul, an apostle.” This was simply a declaration of his function. He never introduced himself as, “The apostle Paul.” This would have denoted a title. What would the Church look like in our day if leaders laid down all titles and official positions of authority in the church?
At this point in our discussion some may feel that I am advocating anarchy. “The elders are not to run things, so let’s allow everybody to do whatever they want.” May it never be!
Divine order is exactly that. It is the divinely arranged assembly of the individual parts of Christ’s body into a collective whole. It is accomplished by His life residing within each member, as each one expresses that life.
This begs a question (or two!): How should those with the responsibility of church government function in this scenario? What is spiritual authority? How does it operate in the Church?
The Greek word translated as “authority” in the New Testament is exousia. A primary way in which the writers used this word was as, “the right to speak, act or belong”.
...He taught them as one having authority (exousia), and not as the scribes.
The difference between Jesus’ teaching and that of the scribes was that when He claimed to speak for God, He had the right to do so.
What gives a person the right, the authority to stand and speak on behalf of the Lord in our day? First, they must be sent by Him with a word from His heart. (Both the content of the word and the timing of its delivery are crucial ingredients here.) Secondly, they must speak it in the way that accurately represents Him. This requires the development of proper character in their lives.
Elders are to be men of proven character who over time are consistently found with the word of the Lord in their mouths. The people will respond to them not because they hold a title, but because they consistently impart God’s heart to them. How then does an eldership function in the local church? The answer to this comes in two parts.
A group of elders is to seek and comprehend the mind of Christ for oversight through prayer, fasting, studying the Scriptures and submitting to the various gifts of the Holy Spirit in each other. Often, because men fail to believe that collegial functioning will consistently work, one among them is appointed to be the “senior” or “presiding” elder who will then make the final decision in case there is an impasse. The New Testament writings reveal no such position in the early church. Alexander Strauch observes:
The New Testament does not give the slightest hint that the eldership is to be presided over by a pastor.[9]
Shared, brotherly leadership by ordinary men, who are empowered by the Holy Spirit (Acts 20:28), is the structure established by the apostles because it best enables the church to function as the body of Christ.[10]
Ordaining a “senior” elder before the flock gives the false impression that many cannot come to unity through genuine submission to the Spirit of God, the Scriptures and each other. As a result, faith is hindered in the hearts of God’s people that He will ever be able to unify the many diverse parts of His body. “If our elders can’t come to agreement as they seek to respond to God’s Spirit together, what hope is there for us as a fellowship to move as one?”
Unity then can only be conceived of as attainable through ecumenical and organizational methods. The key words become “compromise” and “submission”. Such an approach to unity requires men to compromise in order to find the middle ground that all can stand on, even if it means agreeing to things some consider wrong. It also demands that people submit to the plans of the one(s) in the leading position(s) of the association. Unity then is seen as the accomplishing of stated goals within a peaceful atmosphere.
However, unity in the biblical sense is the revelation of the nature of God through a diverse people (Jn. 17:11, Eph. 4:1 - 16). Organizational methods will never achieve the miracle of “bodyness” (many different people with distinct giftings moving as one under the headship of Christ). Real unity is miraculous and requires the glory of God (Jn. 17:21 - 23). We will never achieve it apart from absolute humility and brokenness on our part (the recognition of our total inability to produce it) and the active ministry of the Holy Spirit in our midst to perform this great end-time sign to the nations (Phil. 1:27 - 28).
This brings us to a significant point. We are not suggesting that an eldership is to function as a co-equality of men. It is obvious that the elders will each have different giftings, personalities, and levels of maturity. There will be great diversity in how each serves. For example, a prophet’s contribution to the care of the flock will be totally different than that of a teacher or pastor. Yet they will seek to serve together, maintaining their unique approaches to ministry while also functioning in harmony with the Lord’s mind (i.e., maintaining the headship of Christ).
This does not mean that each elder must be in on the discussion or handling of every problem that surfaces in the local church. Pastors need to be released to handle pastoral concerns without trying to get the teachers to think, act or serve like pastors. When theological problems do come up, they should see their own limitation and take advantage of the anointing that the teacher brings to the team.
Evangelists must be released in their concern for the lost as well as stirring up the saints toward the world. They must not be pushed into a teaching, prophetic or pastoral mold in their ministry just to fulfill some general idea of “the normal elder.”
Prophets need to be prophets. If you want to drive a prophet crazy, just require him to attend “elders meetings” where a multitude of pastoral problems are constantly being discussed. In fact, the elders’ meeting should not generally be dominated by the problems each is facing in his own sphere (Obviously, there can be some time allotted for this). Rather, time together should be for worship, studying the Scriptures, waiting on the Lord, prayer and building strong relationships with each other.
Good lines of communication as well as high levels of trust are essential ingredients if each elder is to be released into his own unique area of service. Without this release, the eldership itself becomes its own bottleneck. The need for each elder to constantly clear all decisions in his sphere with the other men will both hamper his freedom to obey the Lord as well as bog down the elders’ meeting. Thus, what could have been precious times together before the Lord become nothing more than administrative decision-making marathons concerning numerous details of the church; they become business meetings.
Proper shepherding of the flock will only be fully realized when all the ministries are released to bring their particular “flavor” to the people. Harmony will only be achieved and maintained at the eldership level if these men move in the mind of Christ with hearts of humility and accountability toward each other. This then sets the example for the people to follow. The way into corporate unity is being “fleshed out” before them.
Scripture teaches that Jesus wants His Church to move in such conspicuous unity that even unbelievers will see it and marvel (Jn. 17:21 - 23). In order to accomplish this, He has given us His Spirit that we may know His mind and be transformed in character into His likeness.
We will only come to authentic unity as we are filled with the presence of the Holy Spirit and become humble and broken people. Humble men and women do not attempt to push their ideas or interpretations of Scripture on others. They do not seek to manipulate others through their financial giving or their political maneuverings. Their pursuit is of Him and His purpose. On the other hand, neither will they simply yield to others for the sake of “peace.” Godly unity does not require the suppression of one’s conscience.
While it is true that those with an agenda to accomplish may achieve a measure of organizational unity around their ministry and their stated goals, they will not bring forth Christ’s body as a functional corporate expression of the Head until they lay aside their objectives and seek His. His plans in the comprehensive sense will only be understood over time as we listen for His voice through a multitude of counselors. Individuals alone will never ascertain the fullness of His purpose. “We have the mind of Christ.” We must listen for the word of the Lord through others in the church.
Elders must exemplify this lifestyle by learning to function in full view of the congregation as a plurality that comes into harmony through prayer, interaction, submission to each other and listening for God’s voice through anyone (even the youngest believer in the church) that He might choose to speak through.
Many have thought that elders are to mediate the mind of Christ to His people. But Scripture is clear that this is the Holy Spirit’s function (Jn. 16:13 - 14). The whole Church is to be filled with His presence; God is to be free to speak through anyone He chooses.
On the other hand, body ministry will not necessarily occur just because everyone in a room has the freedom to talk. That may merely produce a religious form of “group therapy” - people gathered together for the purpose of talking about whatever is bothering them. Body ministry is a miraculous event, occurring when the mind of Christ is revealed through a diverse company of people. Jesus’ headship is expressed when He speaks through whomever He wishes.
One important factor is how to order our times of corporate worship. In too many places musicians function as a “musical clergy,” with the congregation being the laity. God identifies the songs to sing only to those playing instruments up front. The rest then wait on the musicians rather than on God! Is it possible we are beginning to run the risk of denying the priesthood of the believer in the realm of our corporate worship? The fact that God could have a song spring forth spontaneously from the congregation is downplayed for fear that the corporate time of worship will degenerate into a “songfest” with everyone feeling free to call out their favorite songs. However, the Church needs to be trained in these matters, not denied the opportunity to arise.[11]
Many fellowships have recognized the truth concerning plurality of eldership. They realize that the generally practiced method of church government where one man pastors and leads the flock is unsatisfactory. One man simply cannot express to the gathered saints all the dimensions of Christ’s leadership.
Only Jesus is apostle, prophet, pastor, teacher and evangelist all rolled into one. Even if someone did have a dimension of all five ministries functioning in his life, the task of caring for God’s flock would still be too great for one man to handle. For one thing, there are only so many hours in a day. However, as good as it is to have a plural eldership, it is not enough. God is not restoring the five-fold ministries simply to care for and minister to His people. He has been bringing forth these servants in His Church that He might see the whole body start to function. If we do not understand this, we will wind up with a plural clergy doing the ministry and a laity that is perpetually being trained but never released to act.
By the way, how did the terms “clergy” and “laity” come to have such significance in the Church today? Consider this quote from an excellent book.
One of the first truths lost by the early Church, beginning with the teaching of Ignatius in the second century, was the fact that a local church is a spiritual organism, a local expression of the Body of Christ in which each member is anointed to function in ministry. The teaching of Ignatius was largely responsible for the emerging of two classes of believers, clergy and laity. Over time, the latter became spectators, with “valid” ministry being limited to a professional class of men qualified by education and ordained within a hierarchical order of leaders. The importance of God’s anointing for charismatic spontaneity became secondary to teaching and dogma. To have a recognized ministry required one to become an ordained, full-time “clergyman.” Anointed body ministry was thereby crippled, and man began to control what took place in church meetings.[12]
God makes no clergy - laity distinction among His people in the New Testament. He desires every member of His royal priesthood to hear His voice and be released to function in the gatherings. Along this line, there is a proper way for us to minister in the assembly. Everything we do must come from a humble heart that eagerly says, “Please adjust me where and when I need it.”
...the wisdom from above is....open to reason....
(Jas. 3:17 The Jewish New Testament)
We must not pray, preach, prophesy, lead out in a song or exercise any public ministry in the congregation unless we are willing to be fine tuned in what we do. As a matter of fact, it would be helpful to go to those in oversight of the local church and communicate our desire for exactly this type of input. A greater degree of liberty necessitates a greater degree of accountability.
For too long, some have thought that teaching the saints only occurs in a classroom setting. Training involves much more than that. We must come alongside those we serve and bring our perspective concerning their activity among the people. (“Brother, I thought what you shared had some real life in it. I think, though, that the last half came more from your own zeal to see the church change than from the Lord’s anointing.”)
Elders must be men of discernment who do not move in a “know it all” attitude, but who really love the saints - if they would truly be effective in helping them move accurately in the realm of the Spirit. Encouragement is a vital ingredient in this process.
The gathering of the local church, whether it be a large meeting or a smaller home meeting, is to be more a spiritual gymnasium than a showcase. A gym is marked by practice, trial and error. It is not where people come to see a perfected process, but rather a process perfected. The whole idea of a practice session in a gym is that mistakes will be made. That’s why there are folks assisting those working out with the barbells as well as “spotters” watching over others on the trampoline, and so forth. The gym is a place of preparation!
Similarly, mistakes will be made when the saints gather. That does not necessarily imply disorder; it could simply reflect immaturity. There is a significant difference. God’s order is revealed more in a meeting where a young Christian rambles on too long in a prophecy while older ones exercise patience and mercy, than in a meeting where nothing “unseemly” happens, but freedom is stifled. Let us not evaluate the condition of the Church by looking simply at externals. Divine order among a gathering of young Christians will not look the same as it does among those more mature at moving in the Spirit. God requires more of those who have walked with Him longer.
Lord, teach us Your ways and establish us as a corporate expression of Yourself, of what is in Your heart. You are the Word of God. Bring forth that which reveals the heart of the Father. Teach us not to simply build our interpretations of what You are saying. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
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