Equipping the Church

So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his 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. -Ephesians 4:11-13

Paul specifically mentions five types of equippers of the church. While there is some overlap, our understanding of the distinction between these roles have become a bit muddy in present day. Therefore, there are obvious issues in applying the passage. It's important for all church participants to have a general knowledge of all five roles, not just the one we are gifted at, or work with. For one, we won't know how to work with one another if we don't understand what the other parts are actually doing, and why. Plus. It can be very easy to over emphasize our particular talent, and hence become inadvertently dismissive of the others. While we may mean well in doing so, Jesus never intended his church to be built by one type of servant.

To defy his will on this is to make church more about self than God. This is a real problem that can rob us of many blessings, as well as the structural integrity of the church. So naturally, we need to educate ourselves so that we can better equip one another as Jesus would have.

It takes well-equipped people to build a strong church. Yet, I keep hearing about the need to build up the church, but nobody is talking about equipping the people of the church so that can happen. I also hear people saying Go and make disciples, but I don't see anyone equipping people to do that either. One may argue that people should be able to do what they are called to by the anointing of the spirit. Yet, the church teaches so little of that subject as well. So I dare say we need to take a step back and take a closer look at what scripture says about equipping the church.

Apostles. While the word apostle is often used synonymously with disciple, this is not entirely accurate. The word disciple implies a student or trainee, not so with Apostle. The word Apostle literally means "send out" so on the surface there is an implication of missionary attached to it. The first-generation church naturally had to be dedicated to missions. However, there is another more subtle implication, one who leads the way for the rest of the followers. All the first-generation church leaders went by this title for that reason after all. Why don't ours? Apostles are mentioned first here, as well as in 1st Corinthians 12:28 for a reason.

Prophets. One who obtains divine knowledge through supernatural means. With false prophets being a very real thing, many churches have effectively dismissed this as something of the past. Some have even gone as far as to denounce it. Thinking it's better to stay away from the idea completely, to avoid those who would abuse the position. The question is, are we throwing out the baby with the bathwater, and the tub too.

Evangelists are proclaimers of the gospel. It's their job to connect with people, share the good news, and recruit. Naturally, this is where you start, since it is the gateway position that keeps the others busy. If there is no evangelism, your church can become an isolated island.

Pastors. A common understanding of the position of a pastor seems to be one who wears all the hats of ministry, but is this accurate? The term did not even get applied to the position that we know until the Protestant movement. Pastor literarily means "Shepherd of souls." If we look to the metaphorical image of the shepherd found in scripture for insight into whom the pastor really is; (Psalm 23) we will see that the pastor is a guide, protector, and comforter. You might have heard the term pastoral care, but that's a redundant phrase. A sign we are applying the task to the wrong people.

Teachers. This one is straightforward; a teacher teaches. Yet, the present age puts this task mostly upon our actual apostles anymore. Granted, there is an element of teaching in every position, which makes this dedicated position without any other implications attached to it something to consider indeed. Obviously a very important element. Our lack of in-depth teaching has led to the aforementioned misunderstandings about said terminology.

There is a time in every believer's life that they must get equipped, as well as a time to step up and equip others themselves. Or at least assist the equippers. Unfortunately, I see people being pushed into said roles far too quickly. As well as those who spend decades in the church, always consuming, but never producing. Yet, as the passage indicates a church built by Christ's standard should be producing servants, unity in the faith, knowledge of the Son of God, maturity, and fullness in Christ. If we manage all that, church growth should inevitably follow. If these signs of fruitfulness just aren't there anymore, maybe it's time to stop and take a long hard look at our methodology in equipping the church. As you may now see, since we have lost sight of the terminology, we might have lost sight of how to equip the church.

The Visual PARABLEist

Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.” -Matthew 9:37-38

We have much to say about this, but it is hard to make it clear to you because you no longer try to understand. In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God’s word all over again. You need milk, not solid food! Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil. -Hebrews 5:11-14