The Body of Christ

The Five Key Positions of Christian Ministry

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I’m reading an excellent book: The House Church Book by Wolfgang Simson.  It goes through the Bible and history to show and critique the structure and progression of the church (how it was, is, and should be), and provides one of the best explanations I’ve seen of the five-fold ministry.

Here is my shortened version of what Simson describes:

Pastor: the pastor is the shepherd of the flock.  He’s right in the midst of his people, making sure that the flock functions as a family.  He is internally and relationally oriented (making sure the sheep connect with God and to each other).  It’s also his job to defend the flock against false prophets.  And since he is so intimate with the flock, he may have trouble seeing the big picture.

Prophet: the prophet is always so far ahead of the flock that few understand him.  He’s on the lookout, listening to God’s voice and seeing visions of the future.  He’s so radically different from the pastor that they usually don’t get along as well.  While the pastor defends the status quo, the prophet is always questioning everything and wanting immediate action.  His job is to provide spiritual intelligence, cast personal and corporate vision, and exhort people according to God’s calling.

Apostle: the apostle is like the ‘army commander’.  He’s away from the flock (but not so far as the prophet) so that he can see the big picture.  Most concerned with strategy and missions, he is the problem solver and talent spotter of the team.  He unites the group (working hand in hand with the prophet) but is constantly running around so much he has no time to stay one place very long.

Teacher: the teacher is most concerned with ‘truth and nothing but the truth’.  He is detail oriented and thorough, focusing intently on the parts of the whole rather than the big picture.  He sits right outside the flock so he can discern how they’re doing.  He is passionate that his students learn to understand, explain and defend their faith.

Evangelist: the evangelist circles the flock closely, but is far enough away that he won’t smell like the sheep pen.  He introduces a healthy outward focus to the church and disciples new believers.  He’s passionate about the depth of conversion and the retention rate of new disciples, and wants everyone to find Jesus.

These positions of the five-fold ministry come from Eph 4:11: “He [Jesus] gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers.”  All Christians are commissioned to evangelize (demonstrate the Christian lifestyle), prophecy (hear from God), disciple (strengthen and deepen the faith of other believers), et cetera, but the five-fold ministry describes ‘offices’ or ‘positions’ within the Christian community that are necessary for the church to function as the body of Christ.

Unfortunately, I’ve noticed that many churches have too many pastors (internal relational people), and even more sheep.  This makes many churches very family oriented, safe, and encouraging places to be (assuming the pastors are fully fulfilling their roles), but doesn’t show believers with other giftings how to naturally grow and enter non-pastoring roles.  Worse, those working in these roles (particularly, the apostolic and prophetic) aren’t usually encouraged to participate in the church.  Consequently, many sheep are either not interested or not prepared to take on an active role in the body of Christ.

If the body of Christ is going to walk in fullness–as is prophesied must happen before Christ’s return (Eph 4:13)–then every member has it’s part, both in office, and in gifting.  So, if you’re a Christian, which position most fits you?

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Review of Real Church: Does it Exist? Can I find it? by Larry Crabb

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I don’t recommend Real Church, although the title certainly caught my attention.  While Crabb asks very relevant questions with interesting discussion and surprising vulnerability, his vision of the ideal church misses the mark.  Despite all the struggling variations of churches, it seems he wants to create yet another one–a better model, perhaps, but still another man-made plan of action.

What it comes down to for me is that church isn’t ‘working’ because the Presence of God (the Holy Spirit) isn’t truly invited.  We’ve reduced Jesus and His gospel to what is humanly possible.  It isn’t possible for us to walk the way Jesus commissioned us to walk–that’s why we need Him to lead the church.  We’ve got to give up our control, stop complaining things aren’t right, and start giving our hearts to the Lord that we may know Him, hear Him and follow Him.

I admire Crabb’s honesty and his fervor to want a desire for the things of God, but his writing doesn’t reflect the leading of the Spirit.  Crabb has excellent insights into many of the church’s problems, he just doesn’t connect that the full invitation of the Holy Spirit is the bridge to us walking as Christ intended.

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Different parts of the body

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Some months ago, I found myself comparing myself to another Christian.  I began to feel like my gifts weren’t as useful as hers, and coveted the skill set of my dear friend.  Then the Holy Spirit immediately spoke to me, giving me this illustration:

The Lord is creating His body to be like a buffet table of choice desserts.  There are cakes, and cookies, and pastries, and pies–desserts of every kind!  And within each type is are many unique varieties; not one dessert is exactly the same though some are more similar to others while some are quite unique.

Each recipe has its own unique ingredients–some are more basic, while others exotic.  And each must be made in a particular order so that it can come out just perfectly.  It would be a terrible mistake for one to get sugar prematurely, or too much flour, or to be baked as a bare pan…

You, beloved, cannot compare yourself to another because your recipe is entirely different.  Only the Lord knows the recipe, and it’s Him who is preparing you.  Have faith!  Stop resisting and objecting to His perfect plan!

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An explanation of the “body of Christ”

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Christians are often talking about “the body of Christ” and how ‘the church’ is to be and act as His body.  I can’t recall that I’ve ever heard anyone ‘define’ this in a helpful way, which makes sense since different circles of ‘the church’ have an unspoken connotation of this lingo within their communities.

So, I’m going to do my best to articulate what “the body of Christ” means.  I think this is actually very profound. 🙂

Jesus came to earth as a man. He was fully God, but fully man.  And, being fully man, He had a “man” body rather than a “God” body (in fact, He still has a “man” body of sorts–though now a resurrected body).

Jesus was also fully walking in the Holy Spirit (read the gospels carefully to see this), which is how He could not and did not sin (1 John 3:6, 9).  And Jesus had all the spiritual gifts, and all power, and all authority, and all wisdom through the Spirit… Most Christians, I think, know this about Jesus, but haven’t put much thought into it.  The point, essentially, is that He is the fullness of “man”–the only one found worthy (Rev 5).

Okay, so anyone who calls themself a Christian is (or at least has the invitation to be) a member of ‘the church’, which is also called ‘the body of Christ’.

What this means is that, as a collective unit, we will embody Jesus.

In 1 Corinthians 12, Paul uses the metaphor of how each Christian represents a part (or member) of “Christ’s body”‘–this is a more literal description than I’d realized.

See, Jesus had all the spiritual gifts for Himself.  We each have one, or a few, or a bunch–whatever the Lord has blessed us with (and given us responsibility over).  Together, we will have all of the gifts to the full extent that Jesus Himself had them! That’s what it means that we are His body!

Jesus had all power and all authority, and He passed that mantle down to us (commanding us to walk as He walked!).  But only together will we have the strength and power worthy to be the “bride” of the King!

Jesus had the ability to stay in the Spirit, whereas we have “on” and “off” moments as we fight out the spiritual battle before us.  He never sinned because He walked in the Spirit, while we would be lying if we said we had that same fullness in the Spirit (1 John 1:8).  But as “the body of Christ” we will learn to walk in righteousness, and the members of the body left when our Lord comes will have made themselves holy and unblemished as the collective bride (Rev 19:7).

We can’t accomplish the fullness of Christ individually.  But if we AREN’T individually pursuing and cultivating a love for the Lord, godly character, wisdom, and the stirring of our spirits to walk worthy of our personal callings through our spiritual gifts, then the body of Christ will arise as His bride without us!  We’ll find we aren’t one of the members of His body.

Let’s spend the time to learn from Him on our own, so we can fulfill our unified calling as “the body”!

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