According to a recent poll 52% of those who responded have been committed Christians for 6-20 year while 39% have been for 21 or more years. With this level of maturity - oh what God will do with His church called Mt. Oak.
Following up last week’s article that featured verse 11 talking about the gifts that God gives the church, I want to speak about the purpose of those gifts, namely; apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers. As we look this week at verse 12-13 I remind you of the entire passage.
Ephesians 4:11-16 – 11 It was he (Christ) who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, 12 to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up 13 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. 14 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 men in their deceitful scheming. 15 Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ. 16 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.
The gifting of the church with these church offices or ministries is for one purpose. That purpose is to glorify the person in the office so they can have present glory and have a name in the community. (Have you stopped reading yet – lol?) Of course that is not correct. Yet at times that is the spirit that some people seek position or office in the church. Many seek title or prestige or position. In the Board of Ordained Ministry we often run into candidates who simply want to be called Reverend.
When God gifts us we are to use that gifting to uplift and serve the Body of Christ. In 1 Corinthians 12:1-11 we read about spiritual gifting and in the midst of that teaching we read in 1 Corinthians 12:7 - Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. It is the same here in Ephesians when speaking of the appointments or offices of the church. We read that the offices are given Ephesians 4:12-13 - 12 to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up 13 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.
We are called to be servants of the Body. When asked how to be great Jesus responded in Matthew 23:11 - The greatest among you will be your servant.
The officers, pastors, leaders of the church should be equipping the Body of Christ to do ministry, to do works of service. Too often we fail to accomplish this because too often we are caught up in the administration of the church or raising funds to meet budget or trying to line people up for this ministry or that. Too often your pastors are like CEOs, mindful of the entire operation of the church, when we should be more like specialists, centering most of our time in our gifting, our call.
There are administrative gifts and the church needs these persons for sure (Romans 12:6-8). But apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers should spend most if not all of their time training and equipping the Saints for works of service to our Lord. They should Shepherd the people. Only when we allow these persons the freedom to operate in their gifting can we expect to 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.
Gifting of the Church
I’m not sure if this series will be back-to-back in our weekly E-News or whether it will appear from time-to-time. Never-the-less I will begin to breakdown Ephesians 4:11-16 as we look at the gifting of the church. God has given certain gifts to the church in order that they may be built up for works of service. Be reminded church that the reason we grow up in Christ is to be of service to Him. Let’s read the passage.
Ephesians 4:11-16 – 11 It was he (Christ) who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, 12 to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up 13 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. 14 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 men in their deceitful scheming. 15 Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ. 16 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.
I guess one place to start would be to define these offices or appointments within the church.
An Apostle according to Easton’s Bible Dictionary is a person sent by another; a messenger; envoy. According to the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia an Apostle is one sent forth; and envoy, missionary. According to Nelson’s Bible Dictionary an Apostle is a special messenger of Jesus Christ; a person to whom Jesus delegated authority for certain tasks. Eleven of the twelve Disciples became known in the church as Apostles as did others like Paul and Jesus’ brother James. Often a task for an Apostle is to be a church planter, a spreader of the truth to the ends of the earth.
A Prophet according to McClintock and Strong Encyclopedia is a person who acts as the organ of Divine communication with men (and women), especially with regard to the future. According to New Unger’s Bible Dictionary a Prophet is one who is Divinely inspired to communicate God’s will to His people and to disclose the future to them. According to Nelson’s Bible Dictionary a Prophet is a person who spoke for God and who communicated God’s message courageously.
An Evangelist according to Nelson’s Bible Dictionary is a person authorized to proclaim the gospel of Christ. According to Easton’s Bible Dictionary an Evangelist is a publisher of glad tidings; a missionary preacher of the gospel. According to New Unger’s Bible Dictionary an evangelists is anyone who proclaims the mercy and grace of God.
A Pastor according to Nelson’s Bible Dictionary is the feeder, protector, and guide, or shepherd, of a flock of God’s people. According to the International Standard Encyclopedia a Pastor is a helper, or feeder of the sheep. The term shepherd is often used in other definitions.
A Teacher according to several sources is to discipline, to instruct, to chastise, to model.
I can certainly see where these offices of appointments are needed in the life of the church. Three of the five are often in most churches; the pastor, evangelist and teacher. Most churches have someone to shepherd or guide them, the pastor. Most churches have several persons who are willing to share the good news and evangelize. Most churches have persons who are willing to teach or instruct others in the faith. At times these can be one and the same person or a variety of persons.
What many churches are lacking, in their pastor or in others within the church, are the prophetic word from God and the representative of God such as an apostle. Some believe that a certain measure or level of apostolic ministry died with the Apostles of the Scriptures.
At Mt. Oak we have prophets and prophetesses and often are blessed by a word from the Lord in worship. As pastor I often hear from the Lord through these messengers of the Lord during the week as well.
These offices or appointments from God are very important to the life and health of the church. Has God gifted you with any of them? If so, use them and let God be given glory. The church is not complete without the gifts God has for her.
Next time we will look at verses 12 and 13 and the reason these gifts were given.
Your comments and thoughts are welcome.
This was a wide open poll allowing for multiple choices. The leading vote getting ministries were 38% for Worship, 36% for Young Adults, 34% for Children, 27% for Youth, 27% for Young Couples, and 23% for Mentoring, Sports, Committee Work, and Discipleship. Other ministries received votes as well - now if we can put faces to the votes and move forward in creating teams to work in these areas.
Were would you like to work for Jesus at Mt. Oak?
Of those who responded, 48% said Application and 34% said teaching. The third highest total was 6% for Fire and Brimstone. What style do you like and which hits home with you and resonates in your soul?
In a recent poll 60% and 57% of the people said they desired the adult discipleship times to be on Wednesday Night and Sunday Mornings respectively. The other choices received votes as well - 15% said Sunday night and 5% said day time.
In a recent poll 45% of the respondents said they would attend a Saturday night Young Adult Worship Service. We will be talking more about this - are there any Young Adults who would like to help us plan this service?
Below is a report of the hits (people going to our pages) on our Web Page through 10 am on 3/18/08.
17,897 - Home Page
12,456 - My Blog Page
1,996 - Ministry Page
1,893 - Upcoming Events Page
1,510 - Daily Message Page
998 - E-News Page
960 - Directions Page
Other pages have lesser hits but still are viewed often. God is using this avenue to get information out and to draw people to Christ. These hits are since August 2007.
As we think out loud and discuss and share ideas... what if our worship services and discipleship times looked like this?
Saturday Night
---6:00 pm - Gym - Young Adult Worship (twice a month)
---7:00 pm - Sanctuary - Prayer and Praise Service
Sunday
---8:15 am - Sanctuary - Morning Worship (traditional)
---9:15 am - Entire Facility - Discipleship for All Ages
-------------(SS for children and multiple adult classes)
--10:30 am - Gym - Morning Worship (contemporary)
--11:00 am - Children's Center - Children's Church
---8:00 pm - Youth Worship (youth group is 7-9)
Wednesday
---7:00 pm - Awana for Children (5th grade and under)
---7:00 pm - Small Groups for Youth (6th through 12th grade)
---7:00 pm - A Variety of Discipleship classes
In a recent poll, those who responded 36% said they read the whole E-News, my kind of people, lol. Others that responded 27% said they read most of it, and 27% said they only read the sections that interest them.
What parts do you read?
What sections do you skip over?
Of those who responded 48% said spring was their favorite season. 30% said fall was the best, 20% said summer and 2% said winter. So - we are entering our favorite season!
Most of you know by now that I like to think out loud and I will try to use the term what if when I am thinking out loud.
After hearing some feedback and ideas - What if we made the following changes for the summer - June through August to see if it worked? Give your thoughts please... Identify yourself in your response on this meaty subject. I will not post responses that are not accompanied by a name.
9-10:15 am Traditional Worship in Sanctuary
9-10:15 am Sunday School for Children
9:15-10:15 am Adult Education
10:30-Noon - Contemporary Worship in Gym
10:30-11:30 am - Adult Education
11-noon - Children's Church (this may flex some with service flow)
We could, for the summer, offer an 8-9 am service in the gym or outside for those early risers in the summer.
Your thoughts on this what if scenario?
What does John 3:30 mean to you?
He must become greater; I must become less.
I threw out a what if this morning to 8:15 worship.
We have been working hard on improvements for our 10:30 service and even though that will be a continual process we also wanted to work on the 8:15 service. We’re looking for ways to improve the 8:15 service.
One thing I have heard often since I arrived at Mt. Oak was the starting time for the 8:15 service. The what if I put out this morning was – what if – we moved the 8:15 starting time of our traditional service to 9:15? Remember, a what if is only thinking out loud.
I know we have adult education at the same time – and we would need to offer adult education at 8 or at 10:30 for those who attended at 9:15 while offering adult education at 9:15 for those who attend 10:30 – and there are other bugs – but what if?
Sunday School could move to 9:15 and offer an hour of class, 9:15-10:15. Folks who teach children’s church at 10:30 would find it easier to attend worship at 9:15 instead of at 8:15. During the summer, for the early risers, we could offer an 8 am worship service as well – maybe outside when weather permits.
How about some other thoughts?
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