Ephesians 4:11 - Prompting Prophets

Greetings from Ghana!  I have the privilege this week to bring the message of "Work as Worship" and workplace discipleship for the local church to the Assemblies of God Ghana denominational leadership, who have 6000 churches across the country.  We anticipate approximately 500 pastors from all over the country to gather in Kumasi from August 29-31.  Please pray with us that this message may be received, and that information will move to application which then then turn into transformation!

I want to continue to look at Ephesians 4, as we seek to learn to become mature Christians, able to safeguard against false teachings.  Last week, we looked at activating apostles, and this week, we turn our attention to prompting prophets.  

I often hear this phrase from different speakers in Africa (taken loosely from Amos 7:14):  "I am not a prophet, nor the son of a prophet, but I will prophesy."  The actual verse says this: Amos answered Amaziah, "I was neither a prophet nor the son of a prophet, but I was a shepherd, and I also took care of sycamore-fig trees."

I love this verse because it reinforces the ability for those in business to also prophesy.  Throughout Scripture, we find most people were engaged in business in some way - from patriarchs, to prophets, to disciples, apostles, and our Savior.  Even the Levite priests had farms that they took care of when it was not their turn in the temple (Nehemiah 13:10).  

But what does it mean to be prophetic?  Being prophetic is to offer a new truth.  In contrast, teachers expand and reveal more about a revealed truth.  The book, The Church of Christ, by Everett Furguson, reminds us that individual prophets often only receive a part of a new truth and their message needs to be tested by the community because there are many false prophets.  Lynn Cohick, in her commentary on the Letter to the Ephesians, says that prophets encourage, comfort, edify, and strengthen the church, and the gift of prophecy should be one that Paul encouraged the Corinthians to long for.  Both men and women were prophets in the Bible.  But delivering the message is just one part - the testing and judgment of the message by the people who hear it is critical.  

Some people believe that God is speaking less to people today than in times past.  But I believe that God has not changed.  We, however, have become poorer at listening.  At the same time, seeking power and prestige is a sin that is common to many, and for those who claim to hear the voice of the Lord, we also need to listen so that we can judge whether the word is from God or from the flesh.

I've never considered myself a prophet (not sure that Amos did either!) but there have been times when I have felt prompted to say something, which in hindsight seemed prophetic.  I need to be open to hearing God's word and will (which means listening prayer!) and then have the courage to speak it when He needs me to open my mouth!  I believe that is true for all of us.

It's true that some have a special anointing for prophecy.  But that gift is not for them alone but for the equipping of the church.  Those with that gift not only share what they hear from the Lord, but also teach us to know how to listen as well and develop that gift.  All of us, like Amos, while we take care of the sheep or the tree farm, can listen and can speak truth into situations that are unique to us based on our spheres of influence. 

This world needs truth as well as faithful, obedient, God-fearing truth tellers.

Are you open and willing to be prophetic in your spheres of influence?  Are you listening to what God is already doing in your home, community, workplace?  And when you hear prophetic voices, are you able to discern what lines up with who God is and what does not?

May we all continue to strive to grow in maturity and wisdom, so that we may "speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of the body, the Church." (Ephesians 4:15)

Ephesians 4:11 - Activating Apostles

As a continuation from last week's blog, this week I want to dig a bit deeper into what it means to be an apostle. 

In case you didn't read last week's blog, we looked at Ephesians 4:11-13 in light of every Christian growing in capacity of the gifts that God has given (apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers).  In light of some of your comments (which I love getting - keep sending me your thoughts!), God has indeed given these as gifts and for some, those gifts are very apparent and strong!  Some of us are very gifted in one of the five, but I believe all of us have the capacity to grow in all of the five. 

This is the goal!  As a theologian reminded me this week, the purpose of these gifts is found in the very next verses, 14-16: 14 Then we will no longer be immature like children.  We won't be tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching. We will not be influenced when people try to trick us with lies so clever they sound like the truth. 15 Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church.  16 He makes the whole body fit together perfectly.  As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and glowing and full of love.

An equipped Christian understands that there are times when we need to be pastoral, when we need to be an evangelist, when we need to teach, and so on.  There are actually five different lists in the New Testament of different giftings, each of which is different.  As Christians, we are to be building capacity in ourselves in this UNTIL we reach unity in our faith (v.13).  It's a long process and we are all at different points in the journey, but that is the first destination.  The second destination is maturity (v.14), as we seek to become a complete person, becoming more like Christ.

Paul is not concerned with church order in this text, as nothing is said about overseers or deacons. He is interested in the dissemination of wisdom and correct knowledge of the gospel to each believer, in addition to the gift of grace and the gift of Christ. In a commentary by Dr. Lynn Cohick, The Letter to the Ephesians, the gifts described are not an individual's spiritual gifts but rather gifts to the church.  She says, "The focus is not on how the Spirit gifts individuals for ministry but on the duty of such roles in helping the church mature" (pg. 267).

So what does it mean to be an apostle?  Often we think of the twelve disciples whose term changed to apostles after Jesus' death.  But Paul refers to himself as an apostle throughout the New Testament in a different way than the Twelve, more generally as someone who was called after Christ's earthly ministry, especially as a leader for doctrinal and moral guidance.  Other men and women who were called apostles are James, Barnabas, Apollos, Andronicus and Junia.  From this same commentary by Cohick, a third use of the term is for a person who is commissioned by a congregation for a specific duty. 

In DML, we recommend that marketplace ministers are commissioned by the church to be ambassadors for Christ in the marketplace.  Does this in fact make them all apostles?  

I'm not advocating for titles here but challenging us to live into the idea that we have an apostolic calling as followers of Christ.  

What does this mean to you?  

What does it mean to me?  

If I understand that I am an apostle, does it change the way I do my work at my workplace?  In my home? In my community?  What does maturity look like in this particular gift?

My goal in this series of writings is not to provide answers but rather to ask questions; questions that hopefully lead us to thinking thorough our own answers in our own context.  

Next week, prophets!

Ephesians 4:11-13 - Equipping the Saints

What is the church? And what is the purpose of the church?

These are questions that we ask time and again, when speaking to pastors and church leaders.  While we often receive a variety of answers, there is general consensus that the church is the people of God, the "called out ones" (ecclesia), and that the purpose of the church is to "equip the saints for the work of the ministry."

This "purpose" comes from Ephesians 4:11-13 (NLT):  11 Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers.  12 Their responsibility is to equip God's people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ.  13 This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God's Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ.

Understanding of purpose of the church is critical for how we do church.  If we get the purpose wrong, we are not able to fulfill the purpose.

If we believe the purpose of the church is to worship together (a commonly given answer), then we run the risk of reducing worship to only one morning per week and no transformational power of the people of God outside the building.  

If we believe the purpose of the church is to fellowship together and learn about God, we run the risk of being a social club that knows the Bible very well, but without transformational power.  There is this saying: "Satan doesn't care if you read your Bible and go to church, as long as you don't apply it to your life."

Ephesians 4:12 and 13 tells us that the people of God are to be equipped to do his work and build up the church (the people).  Where do we do His work?  Not in the building (although a few are called to do it there) but outside the building.  As we are built up, we come to unity of faith and knowledge of God's Son SO THAT WE WILL BE MATURE, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ. 

Each Christ-follower is to be mature, measuring up to the standard of Christ, able to stand confident in all places of darkness to be salt, light and leaven. Each Christ-follower is to be a saint, ambassador, and priest in the parish God has granted them.

That's the goal.  That's the purpose of why we gather on Sundays.  The purpose of Sunday is Monday.  That transformation must be seen, especially in nations that are majority Christian. Sunday is the only day that the church is closed as we gather for our team meeting - a team huddle - where we lament what happened during the week - where we celebrate the good that we've seen - where we are reminded of our purpose, and we are taught how to fulfill it when we leave the building.

In "team" terms, pastors are coaches and every member is a player.

But I have been thinking about verse 11 for the past number of months, which is often referred to as the "five-fold ministry."  In this text, we read that God gave gifts to the church: apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers.  

For much of my life, I read those words as offices.  In fact, I know many people who are affectionately called "Pastor ___" and that title shows up in their email and other places.  It is who they are.  In Kenya, teachers are called Mwalimu and I was often called "Mwalimu Renita."  I know people who are called Apostle ____ and Prophet ____.

But that has been changing for me, and I'm beginning to read these gifts not as titles or offices, but rather as skill-sets designed for ALL Christians.  

I used to hang my hat on being a teacher, which then allowed me to disqualify myself from the others.  I could say, "I'm not an evangelist.  I'm not a prophet.  I'm not a pastor."  But I realized that that is a bit too easy.

This rethinking of these terms started for me with my dear Aunt Jannie.  She is incredibly hospitable and one day at her house, I made a comment (which I have made many, many times in my life, especially as a strong introvert) and she immediately challenged me on it.  I said, "I don't have the gift of hospitality."  In her wise and gentle way, she said, "Well, it's not really something we can opt out of though, is it?"  Ouch.  Right to the heart.  Since then, whenever I've thought that, I had to tell myself that it isn't an option to not be hospitable.  I must learn to grow in hospitality.  And my aunt has taught me, as have many others.  

And so I'm going to spend a few blogs looking at each of these recommended skill sets and try to unpack what it means for each of us to learn to grow in the capacity of each of these gifts.  

I hope you will journey with me.

And thanks for reading.  It may make you uncomfortable, and for that, I share the following (sent to me by another mentor, Lou Haveman):

St. Francis Prayer… Reversed

Lord, make me a channel of disturbance.  Where there is apathy, let me provoke, where there is compliance, let me bring questioning, where there is silence, may I be a voice.

Where there is too much comfort and too little action, grant disruption.  Where there are doors closed and hearts locked, grant the willingness to listen.

When laws dictate and pain is overlooked, when tradition speaks louder than need; grant that I may seek and do justice rather than to talk about it.

Disturb me, O Lord. To be with, as well as for, the alienated, to love the unlovable as well as the lovely.  Lord, make me a channel of disturbance.  

Author Unknown

A Kingdom Vision or A Church Vision?

Many of us get caught in the trap of having a Church vision rather than a Kingdom vision.  Jesus only spoke three times about the church but many, many times about the Kingdom.  

A church vision is often limited to what happens in the building and has very little to do with what happens outside the church building.  A church vision is often about converts and numbers.  

A Kingdom vision includes the flourishing of all things - people, animals, all of creation.  A Kingdom vision is about holistic discipleship.  As we are part of the Kingdom of God, we are to help to bring the Kingdom of Heaven on earth through restoration and reconciliation.

A Kingdom vision reminds every person that we all have a general call to serve God full time, and that is our purpose.  We are all fulltime ministers with the fulltime job to glorify God in all spheres of life.

But our specific call is very different from person to person.  Our specific call relates to our unique placement and spheres of influence, in our homes, communities, workplaces, and churches.

The prophets Jeremiah and Daniel can help us to understand this better.  Both are prophets during Old Testament times, both have the same general call to serve God full-time, but both have very different specific placements.

Jeremiah 1:5 says, "Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you.  Before you were born, I set you apart.  I appointed you as a prophet to the nations."  This is a very direct placement and calling for Jeremiah.  How affirming it must have been to hear those words!

Daniel's placement is a bit different.  In Daniel 1:1-7, we see that Daniel was taken into captivity and then selected into the King's service based on his looks and health.  He spends his life in captivity, serving four different kings.  Daniel's placement seems to come about as an accident of war.  Daniel does not seem to be placed...but rather, displaced.

I wonder if Daniel ever thought, "Jeremiah heard God's voice call him.  I heard no such voice.  Jeremiah's call made him a prophet.  My circumstances made me a civil servant.  I guess God hasn't called me into ministry."

I wonder how many of us have believed the same for our own placement.  Not placed, but displaced - an accident of birth, culture, happenstance.

But let's see what the truth is from the book of Daniel: 

Daniel 1 - Daniel is challenged to eat and drink the King's food.  He respectfully says no, and God rewards his obedience with the ability to interpret dreams.

Daniel 2 - The King has a dream and wants the wise men to not only interpret the dream but also tell what the dream was!  Thankfully, because of Daniel's earlier obedience, he has this ability.  The response from the King is found in verse 47, "Truly your god is the greatest of gods, the Lord over kings...!"

Daniel 3 - All people are commanded to worship the statue of Nebuchadnezzar, but Daniel's colleagues are caught worshiping God and are thrown into the fiery furnace.  God saves them from death, and the testimony from the King is found in verse 28-29, "Praise to the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego...I make this decree that [no-one] speak a word against their god...There is no other god who can rescue like this!"

Daniel 4 - Another dream with the awkward foretelling of the King grazing like a cow for seven periods of time.  Daniel interprets this dream...it comes true...yet when his sanity returns, he doesn't punish Daniel, but rather says in verse 37, "Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and glorify and honor the King of heaven.  All his acts are just and true and he is able to humble the proud." 

Daniel 5 - Daniel is now serving under King Belshazzar when a message appears on the wall and only Daniel can interpret it.  It has a message of doom for the King - again, not an easy message to deliver.  Daniel delivers it anyway, and the King promotes him to be the third highest ruler in the land.  And the king dies that night.

Daniel 6 - Daniel is now serving under King Darius, who is tricked into giving a decree that no one should worship any god but the King or be thrown into the den of lions.  Daniel does not obey, worships God, is saved from the lions, and the King says in verses 26 and 27, "I decree that everyone throughout my kingdom should tremble with fear before the God of Daniel.  For he is the living God, and he will endure forever.  His kingdom will never be destroyed, and his rule will never end.  He rescues and saves his people; he performs miraculous signs and wonders in the heavens and on earth." 

Do you hear how God was present in Daniel's placement?  This was no accident!  

But most of Daniel's work was as an administrator, overseeing many other leaders, taking care of many responsibilities that were probably mundane and maybe even boring.  And he did it for the people that had taken his people into captivity.  He spent most of his time carrying out the earthly king's business.  He did it with excellence.  

It seems he did his work as worship.  Daniel was not involved in a church ministry but a Kingdom ministry.

Each of us have a general call to serve God and be fulltime ministers.  And each of us has a specific call - our placement - which varies from person to person.  But in those places, we live out a Kingdom ministry.  

In these places, we have the opportunity to bring order to the world, through our work.  We provide for the things that people need.  We bring joy and beauty to those placements.  And we help to release potential of people and things, depending on where we work.

May we continue to see God at work wherever we are placed, and may His Kingdom come as we avail ourselves to Him.