Are All Apostles?

Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. And God has placed in the church first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, of helping, of guidance, and of different kinds of tongues. Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret? -1st Corinthians 12:27-30

I want to build off of what I started in my May12th post about church structure by addressing just one of the questions posed by Paul above. Are all apostles? While all are valid questions, I think I can make my point with just one. The question in context implies an answer of no. Yet, is the current church actually trying to make us all apostles in some respect? If so, why? When the passage tells us the church needs a wide variety of skills, talents, and gifts.

But what does Paul even mean by Apostle? While some use the word apostle interchangeably with disciple, the word disciple implies student, similar to mentorship or apprenticeship. One can argue that we are all students and that discipleship is a lifelong journey. Even for the highest ranking church leader. So you can’t really substitute the word disciple in the above passage when it is telling us we are not all apostles. Since we are in some respect all disciples. So we need to stop using the word disciple and apostle interchangeably.

This brings us to the actual meaning of apostle, of which there is some debate. That in itself is a problem, an indicator that we got off our scriptural track at some point. While most insist it means missionary, others say it means church leader. While all the founding church members did indeed utilize missionary work. As I said last time, I’m convinced it’s incidental, for the simple fact that it was the dawn of the creation of the church. They had a whole planet to cover, so that had to involve an emphasis on missions. So naturally, Christ would seek outreach gifting in his chosen founders. The reason I tend to favor the church leader definition is that on a few occasions, Paul seems to indicate that some took issue with him being called an apostle. (1st Corinthians 9:1-2, 2nd Corinthians 11:5-6) If apostle only meant missionary, I don’t think this would have been an issue. However, it definitely could have been an issue if the title truly meant leader in their eyes.

Yet my assertion that the church is following human nature's tendency towards uniformity works either way. So I will address it both ways, as well as the problems these non-Biblical approaches create.

Let’s face it, claiming we are all ministers has become a common mantra within the current church. Muddy terminology aside, I believe the sentiment is on outreach, missions, and evangelism. This may be an act of desperation for the current American church. We are often too focused on filling seats and offering plates at the moment. Mainly for the needs of the institution of church. Survival mode is not something meant to be sustained indefinitely, we need to find our thrive mode eventually. Yet, we are not nurturing, healing, or educating said converts well enough once we do get them in the door. So we shouldn’t be too surprised when they don’t stick, and the church fails to thrive as a result.

Of those that do stay, they can be left feeling like since I’m not a hand to knock on doors, I’m not needed. So many parts of the body of Christ are effectively paralyzed due to our singular approach. The harvest is plentiful but the workers are calling in sick to serve. If this doesn’t illustrate why we need more than just missionaries to make a balanced and efficient church; I don’t know what will.

While you may think no church seeks to make everyone a leader. There is a specific denominational polity (religious rule of order) that gives its congregation equal authority to the ordained ministers. Without pointing fingers, my experience in said denominations tells me that the bullies rule said churches. I dare say, those that who resort to said tactics can’t be that spiritually mature. When the immature rule, sentiment supersedes spirit, tradition trumps truth, and preferences prevail over principles. According to a reverend in said denomination, most new ministers only last about 5 years before they give up. I dare say these churches are unteachable, unchangeable, and just cannot be led by young and idealistic people that want to challenge their members to grow beyond themselves.

Leadership is more than just a privilege, it’s a great responsibility. By giving every member that privilege, there is no way to keep people from shirking their responsibilities. We need people with established maturity to take on the responsibility of speaking for the head of the church, which is Christ. We need responsible leaders to direct the rest of the body. So I say, not all are meant to be leaders.

Either way, these trends violate the Biblical model of the church known as the body of Christ. Why should we expect God to bless our neglect of the truth? So it’s no wonder that many of the churches that follow these human nature based models are in big trouble right now. Even with the threat of closing, people are not willing to sacrifice the comfort of uniformity. But as I’ve already indicated, it’s in our nature to value the like-minded. One does not need any commands to do so. Yet it takes being very deliberate to emulate the body of Christ. One must follow and rely on the power of the Holy Spirit to do so, instead of our own deceitful hearts. (Jeremiah 17:9)

If we are all apostles, no matter how you define it, then we are an unbalanced body of Christ.

The Visual PARABLEist