Embracing the Five-Fold Ministry for Church Unity
Summary
### Summary
Today, we delved into the concept of the five-fold ministry and its significance in the church. The five-fold ministry, comprising apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers, is a model given by Jesus to help the church grow into maturity and fullness. This model is essential for the church to reflect the fullness of Christ. However, the modern church often neglects this model, leading to immaturity and division. Each of these roles brings a unique lens and orientation, contributing to the overall health and growth of the church.
We discussed how the church today often falls short of what Jesus envisioned, with divisions and criticisms prevalent. The five-fold ministry aims to address these issues by fostering unity and maturity. Apostles are sent ones who build and equip the church, prophets help the church hear God's voice, evangelists spread the good news, pastors care for the community, and teachers ground the church in truth. Each role is vital, and their interplay creates a balanced and mature body of Christ.
We also explored how each of us has a unique orientation or lens through which we see the church. This orientation can sometimes lead to tension and frustration, but it is also an opportunity for growth. Recognizing and honoring the different gifts and graces in each other helps us grow together in unity and maturity. The goal is not to elevate one role over the others but to see how they all work together to build up the body of Christ.
In conclusion, the five-fold ministry is not just a theoretical concept but a practical model for church growth and maturity. By embracing and honoring these roles, we can move towards the fullness of Christ, reflecting His love, unity, and maturity in our communities.
### Key Takeaways
1. The Importance of the Five-Fold Ministry: The five-fold ministry is crucial for the church to grow into the fullness and maturity of Christ. Each role—apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor, and teacher—brings a unique perspective and function that contributes to the overall health of the church. Neglecting any of these roles can lead to immaturity and division within the body of Christ. [01:53]
2. Unity Through Diversity: The different orientations and lenses of the five-fold ministry can create tension, but this tension is necessary for growth. By recognizing and honoring the unique gifts and graces in each other, we can foster unity and maturity in the church. This diversity is not a weakness but a strength that helps the church reflect the fullness of Christ. [06:59]
3. Role of Apostles and Prophets: Apostles are sent ones who build and equip the church, often holding things in tension with other roles. Prophets help the church hear God's voice and grow in intimacy with Him. Both roles are foundational for the church, helping to establish and maintain a strong spiritual foundation. [19:25]
4. Evangelists and Pastors: Evangelists are passionate about spreading the good news and bringing people into the family of God. They demonstrate and declare the gospel, often challenging the church to step out and share their faith. Pastors, on the other hand, focus on caring for the community, teaching us how to care for one another and creating a Christ-centered caring community. [33:23]
5. Teachers and the Role of Teaching: Teachers ground the church in truth, providing sound biblical teaching that helps people grow in their faith. They are guardians of truth, helping to protect the church from false doctrines and teachings. Their role is essential for the church to remain rooted in the Word of God and to grow in spiritual maturity. [38:18]
### YouTube Chapters
[0:00] - Welcome
[00:58] - Challenges in the Modern Church
[01:53] - Aligning with the Father's Heart
[02:43] - The Goal of the Church
[03:25] - The Role of the Holy Spirit
[04:15] - The Five-Fold Ministry
[04:48] - The Need for Coaches
[05:33] - Different Lenses in the Church
[06:08] - The Mystery of Marriage
[06:59] - Orientation and Lens
[07:38] - Ephesians 4: The Five-Fold Ministry
[08:17] - Restoration and Fulfillment
[09:05] - The Function of Grace Ministries
[09:54] - Remaining Strong in Love
[10:40] - Dependence on Christ
[11:15] - Jesus Represented in All Five
[11:51] - Tension and Frustration
[12:28] - The Role of Teachers
[13:14] - The Smorgasbord Mentality
[13:53] - The Five-Fold Making Adjustments
[14:31] - The Teaching Lens
[15:14] - The Importance of Balance
[15:49] - The Role of Intimacy
[16:30] - The Pastoral Side
[17:06] - The Measure of Grace
[17:49] - Honoring Each Other's Gifts
[18:32] - Receiving from Each Other
[19:25] - The Apostolic Gift
[20:01] - Holding Things in Tension
[20:42] - The Role of Apostles
[21:15] - The Apostolic Role in the Church
[21:49] - The Mystery of Apostles
[22:41] - Functions of Apostles
[23:14] - Apostolic Ministry in Scripture
[23:53] - Apostles and the Kingdom
[24:29] - Different Models of Apostles
[25:07] - The Prophetic Gift
[25:41] - Old Testament vs. New Testament Prophets
[26:24] - The Role of Prophets
[27:10] - The Example of Agabus
[27:58] - The Challenge of Prophets
[28:24] - Discerning God's Voice
[29:11] - Prophets and Intimacy
[30:07] - The Weirdness of Prophets
[30:58] - Learning to Give Preference
[31:37] - The Role of Evangelists
[32:07] - Recognizing Frustrations
[32:44] - The Passion of Evangelists
[33:23] - Declaring and Demonstrating the Gospel
[34:07] - The Enthusiasm of Evangelists
[34:56] - The Challenge of Evangelists
[35:46] - The Pastoral Gift
[36:26] - The Role of Pastors
[37:08] - Pastoral Care in the Church
[37:41] - The Grace of Pastors
[38:18] - The Teaching Gift
[39:03] - The Role of Teachers
[39:37] - The Purpose of the Five-Fold Ministry
[40:13] - Adjusting and Removing
[40:49] - Recognizing Tension
[41:33] - The Importance of Balance
[42:10] - The Pastoral Heart
[42:47] - The Hope for the Church
[43:21] - God's Plan in the Shaking
[43:54] - The Yearning for Unity
[44:34] - Recognizing Your Orientation
[45:12] - The Prophetic Orientation
[45:52] - The Time of the Evangelist
[46:34] - The Mystery of the Church
[47:02] - The Picture of the Church
[47:31] - The Western Culture Model
[48:14] - The Foundation of the Church
[49:48] - Prayer and Closing
Study Guide
### Bible Study Discussion Guide
#### Bible Reading
1. Ephesians 4:7-16 (NIV)
> "But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it. This is why it says: 'When he ascended on high, he took many captives and gave gifts to his people.' (What does 'he ascended' mean except that he also descended to the lower, earthly regions? He who descended is the very one who ascended higher than all the heavens, in order to fill the whole universe.) 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. Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work."
#### Observation Questions
1. What are the five roles mentioned in Ephesians 4:11, and what is their purpose according to verse 12?
2. How does the passage describe the process and goal of church maturity? (Ephesians 4:13-14)
3. According to the sermon, what are some of the unique functions of apostles and prophets in the church? [19:25]
4. What does the sermon suggest is the result of neglecting any of the five-fold ministry roles? [01:53]
#### Interpretation Questions
1. Why do you think Paul emphasizes the need for unity and maturity in the church in Ephesians 4:13? How does this relate to the five-fold ministry?
2. The sermon mentions that each of us has a unique orientation or lens through which we see the church. How can this diversity lead to both tension and growth within the church? [06:59]
3. How does the role of teachers, as described in the sermon, help protect the church from false doctrines and teachings? [38:18]
4. What does it mean to "honor each other's gifts" in the context of the five-fold ministry, and how can this foster unity in the church? [18:32]
#### Application Questions
1. Reflect on your own orientation or lens within the five-fold ministry. Which role do you feel most aligned with, and how can you use this gift to serve your church community? [45:12]
2. The sermon discusses the importance of recognizing and honoring the different gifts in each other. How can you practically honor and support someone in your church who has a different orientation or lens than you? [17:49]
3. Think about a time when you felt tension or frustration within your church community. How might this tension be an opportunity for growth, as suggested in the sermon? [11:51]
4. The sermon emphasizes the need for balance and the interplay of all five roles. How can you contribute to creating a balanced and mature body of Christ in your church? [14:31]
5. How can you foster unity in your church, especially when you encounter different perspectives and orientations? What steps can you take to ensure that these differences lead to growth rather than division? [06:59]
6. The sermon mentions the importance of being grounded in truth and sound biblical teaching. What specific actions can you take to deepen your understanding of the Bible and help others do the same? [38:18]
7. How can you encourage and support the leaders in your church who are fulfilling the roles of apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers? What practical steps can you take to show your appreciation and support for their ministry? [19:25]
Devotional
Day 1: The Importance of the Five-Fold Ministry
The five-fold ministry is crucial for the church to grow into the fullness and maturity of Christ. Each role—apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor, and teacher—brings a unique perspective and function that contributes to the overall health of the church. Neglecting any of these roles can lead to immaturity and division within the body of Christ. The modern church often overlooks this model, resulting in a lack of spiritual growth and unity. By embracing and honoring these roles, the church can reflect the fullness of Christ and achieve the maturity that Jesus envisioned.
The five-fold ministry is not just a theoretical concept but a practical model for church growth and maturity. Apostles are sent ones who build and equip the church, prophets help the church hear God's voice, evangelists spread the good news, pastors care for the community, and teachers ground the church in truth. Each role is vital, and their interplay creates a balanced and mature body of Christ. By recognizing and honoring the different gifts and graces in each other, we can foster unity and maturity in the church. [01:53]
Ephesians 4:11-13 (ESV): "And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ."
Reflection: How can you recognize and honor the different roles within your church community today? What steps can you take to support and encourage these roles?
Day 2: Unity Through Diversity
The different orientations and lenses of the five-fold ministry can create tension, but this tension is necessary for growth. By recognizing and honoring the unique gifts and graces in each other, we can foster unity and maturity in the church. This diversity is not a weakness but a strength that helps the church reflect the fullness of Christ. Each role brings a unique perspective that, when combined, contributes to the overall health and growth of the church.
The church today often falls short of what Jesus envisioned, with divisions and criticisms prevalent. The five-fold ministry aims to address these issues by fostering unity and maturity. Recognizing and honoring the different gifts and graces in each other helps us grow together in unity and maturity. The goal is not to elevate one role over the others but to see how they all work together to build up the body of Christ. [06:59]
1 Corinthians 12:12-14 (ESV): "For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit. For the body does not consist of one member but of many."
Reflection: Think of someone in your church who has a different gift or role than you. How can you encourage and support them in their ministry today?
Day 3: Role of Apostles and Prophets
Apostles are sent ones who build and equip the church, often holding things in tension with other roles. Prophets help the church hear God's voice and grow in intimacy with Him. Both roles are foundational for the church, helping to establish and maintain a strong spiritual foundation. Apostles and prophets work together to ensure that the church remains grounded in its mission and connected to God's guidance.
Apostles often build and equip the church, creating structures and systems that support growth and maturity. Prophets, on the other hand, help the church hear God's voice and grow in intimacy with Him. Both roles are essential for the church to remain spiritually strong and focused on its mission. By recognizing and honoring these roles, the church can maintain a strong spiritual foundation and grow into the fullness of Christ. [19:25]
Ephesians 2:19-20 (ESV): "So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone."
Reflection: How can you seek to hear God's voice more clearly in your life? What steps can you take to support the apostolic and prophetic roles in your church?
Day 4: Evangelists and Pastors
Evangelists are passionate about spreading the good news and bringing people into the family of God. They demonstrate and declare the gospel, often challenging the church to step out and share their faith. Pastors, on the other hand, focus on caring for the community, teaching us how to care for one another and creating a Christ-centered caring community. Both roles are essential for the church to grow and thrive.
Evangelists often challenge the church to step out and share their faith, bringing new people into the family of God. Pastors focus on caring for the community, teaching us how to care for one another and creating a Christ-centered caring community. By recognizing and honoring these roles, the church can grow and thrive, reflecting the love and care of Christ to the world. [33:23]
2 Timothy 4:2-5 (ESV): "Preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths. As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry."
Reflection: How can you share the good news of Jesus with someone in your life today? What steps can you take to care for and support your church community?
Day 5: Teachers and the Role of Teaching
Teachers ground the church in truth, providing sound biblical teaching that helps people grow in their faith. They are guardians of truth, helping to protect the church from false doctrines and teachings. Their role is essential for the church to remain rooted in the Word of God and to grow in spiritual maturity. By providing sound biblical teaching, teachers help the church remain strong and focused on its mission.
Teachers are essential for the church to remain rooted in the Word of God and to grow in spiritual maturity. They provide sound biblical teaching that helps people grow in their faith and protect the church from false doctrines and teachings. By recognizing and honoring the role of teachers, the church can remain strong and focused on its mission, growing into the fullness of Christ. [38:18]
James 3:1-2 (ESV): "Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness. For we all stumble in many ways. And if anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle his whole body."
Reflection: How can you grow in your understanding of God's Word today? What steps can you take to support and encourage the teachers in your church?
Quotes
### Quotes for Outreach
1. "One of the things that's interesting about the internet and social media is, you know, you see this broad spectrum of things, and you see a representation of some things. And I'll just be honest with you. What I'm seeing, I just keep asking myself, was this really what Jesus had in mind? Like, more and more, I just, and I'm not trying to be critical of other places, but I've just, like, as a whole, like, I really don't think that this is what he had in mind." (30 seconds)(Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)
2. "I want to align myself with what the Father's doing, and his heart is always for restoration when he does those things. And I think there's this, there's a lot of questioning happening, maybe even in our own hearts. I even think, like, some of the deconstruction that's happening, I understand where it's coming from. Now, what you do with it matters. Like, we don't start to then question God, but we can kind of take a look at some things, and even in our own heart and our own lives." (31 seconds)(Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)
3. "Jesus was the ultimate evangelist spreading the good news, right? He was an apostle. He was a prophet. He was a teacher. He was a shepherd. A pastor, right? So we see the fullness of him. And then he says to the church, I'm giving you these five for these reasons. It's so that we won't be immature, so that we'll be one, so that we come to the fullness of Christ. And so these things matter." (27 seconds)(Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)
4. "We need to be grounded to the scriptures, right? But we also need to learn the intimacy of Jesus, right? That he longs for that. He's jealous. He's jealous for us and our heart. And there's something that happens in his presence, right? Where we're changed. But is that everything too? No, no, no. There's this pastoral side where we learn to care for one another, right? And people are grown and discipled." (31 seconds)(Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)
5. "So if we can't learn to recognize the unique graces and gifts on people's lives, then we're gonna be lacking in our own. So we learn to see one another as a gift that the Lord has placed into the body and to be able to receive what they have." (20 seconds)(Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)
### Quotes for Members
1. "And I see the church just making fun of each other and being critical, and I'm just challenged. And so I think some, there's some things missing. And I think there is, there's so much good happening, too. I think there's shaking happening. There's exposing happening. And we just have to watch our heart in all of that, because we're supposed to have his heart. That when those things happen, like, it's to be realigned with him, right? It's that we don't just, like, jump on, and, like, when things are exposed, or people fail, or whatever, like, what is your heart posture when those things happen?" (31 seconds)(Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)
2. "And yet Jesus said, I must go, so I must send you the gift. And the gift is, and he literally, like, came out of the Bible, and he's like, here's a King James Bible. I must go so I can give you, right? So hear what I'm saying, what I'm not saying, right? I love the scriptures. I really do. But he gave his Holy Spirit to guide us, and then he gave us this model of the church to become his bride. And listen, she's not a less than. He's not marrying something less than that he's hoping. Like, he sees the beauty in her. It's just, it's like that song of songs. She doesn't see the beauty in herself yet. She doesn't see who she really is." (52 seconds)(Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)
3. "One of the things we said is your point of tension or frustration probably indicates one of two things, your orientation or your aversion. And one of the reasons I keep saying this is we in the body of Christ, every one of us has our lens that we're seeing through, that we're experiencing. We have our orientation, the things that we value the most, the thing that we're the best at. And so for some of us in this room, like your orientation probably is more teacher. And that plays out in how you live life. It probably plays out in the type of job that you have. You might be an actual teacher or you might be somebody that really sees black and white." (43 seconds)(Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)
4. "So one of the things that they do is they release a dynamic of pastoral care so that every member cares for each other. And we also learn to care for people even outside of the four walls. And so in 1 Peter 5, 1 through 3, it says, and now a word to you who are elders in the church. I too am an elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ. And I too will share in his glory when he is revealed to the whole world. As a fellow elder, I appeal to you, care for the flock that God has entrusted to you. Watch over it willingly, not grudgingly, not for what you will get out of it, but because you're eager to serve God. Don't lord over the people assigned to your care, but lead them by your own good example." (43 seconds)(Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)
5. "So maybe this isn't the most exciting topic in the world, but it is the foundation of how Jesus formed his church. I think it's still relevant today. And I think some of the reason the church is not growing in fullness of maturity. And what Jesus said is because we've abandoned some of this, but all of us were learning to yield our heart in submission to him and in a yielded submission and honor to one another to receive from each other." (34 seconds)(Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)
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