Diversity of the Body

^{CEB Romans 12:3} Because of the grace that God gave me, I can say to each one of you: don’t think of yourself more highly than you ought to think. Instead, be reasonable since God has measured out a portion of faith to each one of you. ⁴ We have many parts in one body, but the parts don’t all have the same function. ⁵ In the same way, though there are many of us, we are one body in Christ, and individually we belong to each other.

^{CEB I Cor. 12:12} Christ is just like the human body—a body is a unit and has many parts; and all the parts of the body are one body, even though there are many. ¹³ We were all baptized by one Spirit into one body, whether Jew or Greek, or slave or free, and we all were given one Spirit to drink…

^…19 If all were one and the same body part, what would happen to the body? ²⁰ But as it is, there are many parts but one body. ²¹ So the eye can’t say to the hand, “I don’t need you,” or in turn, the head can’t say to the feet, “I don’t need you.”

Christmas gatherings bring about the diversity of people who make up our extended families. If I am honest, I often find myself among people with whom I feel I have very little in common, and your family reunions are probably similar.

But full disclosure compels me to admit that my spiritual family is not much different. Even within the confines of a particular church, there is often the same dynamic at work: People have very different spiritual emphases and interests, not to mention varying degrees of spiritual depth.

Last week we had some fun with this at Thinking Out Loud that I thought would bear repeating here; to see the full breadth of the God’s family reflected in the way we interpret what we think are distinctions, using terminology that often leaves people in a fog.

When you say you’re a Bible & Science ministry, does that mean

• you believe in a literal six-day creation and a young earth?
• you believe in an old earth; that Genesis is allegorical, that evolution is probable
• you focus on intelligent design and try to skip the subjects above ?

When you say you have a prophetic gift, does that mean

• you speak forth with a prophetic voice concerning issues facing the church and/or the world in general
• your ministry almost exclusively revolves around end-time predictions
• you counsel people and help them find where they are to live, what should be their vocation, who they should marry, etc. ?

When you say your church is charismatic, do you mean

• the music is loud and lively, and people clap and rejoice during worship
• your church emphasizes belief in the limitless power of God and has an active desire for a manifestation of the gifts of the Holy Spirit ?

When you say you’re a ministry to Christians struggling with homosexuality, does that mean

• you try to assist gay Christians out of that lifestyle through prayer and/or reparative therapy
• you try to support gays who are struggling with faith issues and/or acceptance by the church ?

When you say you’re an apostolic ministry does that mean

• you work with church-planters and missional communities to encourage people who have the gift of apostle
• you are frequently addressed as “Apostle _______” as you see yourself as part of a line of apostolic succession and/or feel there is a special anointing on your ministry ?

When you say you have a ministry to worship leaders, does that mean

• you assist worship leaders in the personal spiritual development and in building the tools they need to build their teams
• you help worship leaders navigate areas such as song selection, instrumentation, arrangements, sound systems, etc.
• you exist to advance an agenda of a specific sub-genre of worship: hymns, modern hymns, ‘soaking’ music, prophetic worship, etc. ?

When you say you’re a ministry to the Jewish community do you mean

• you stand in the Messianic tradition and want to keep as much of the Jewish ethnic and cultural flavor, while recognizing Jesus as the promised Messiah
• you stand in the Hebrew Christian tradition which involves assimilating Jewish believers into western evangelical culture
• your ministry is more concerned with both the political and prophetic ramifications of the state of Israel ?

When you say you are a ‘progressive’ Christian do you mean

• you prefer contemporary churches which don’t make a major issue out of some of the traditions and taboos which defined Christianity in the mid-20th-century
• you have a more liberal position on Christian doctrine and theology and Biblical inerrancy ?

When the bottom of your church sign reads, “Everyone welcome,” do you mean

• you regularly interact with people from the wider community and while it may be a foreign environment in some respects, they would feel relaxed attending services and sense you’re genuinely glad they came
• people are welcome as long as they dress like you, believe the same doctrines, read the same Bible translation, vote for the same party, and conform to the church’s position on social issues ?

The bottom line however is that we emphasize our unity in Christ.  If you click back to this song, it’s a good way to end today’s thoughts, focused on the things in which we’re all in agreement.

^{(NIV) I Cor 9:10} I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another in what you say and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly united in mind and thought.

Ministry Gifts: Apostleship

Exactly one week ago we looked at the five-fold ministries of the church in terms of some very specific roles: Apostle, Pastor, Evangelist, Teacher, Prophet. At the blog of Ralph Howe Ministries, there has been a focus on the gift of being an apostle. For some of you, that may simply involve getting up from the table you usually sit at in the lunch room, and embedding yourself among some people you don’t normally have contact with. That would be intentionally making those people your mission, though you might not see the fruit of that for months or even years.

When we look at the church however, our expectations grow greater. We would expect to see fruit that matches the calling or giftedness claimed. This is actually part nine in a series that is part of a larger arc dealing with apostleship and I highly recommend that you not only read this at Ralph’s blog — click the title below — but then move outward into some of the other articles.

The Biblical Signs of an Apostle – Part Nine
The fruit in the ministry of an apostle is both obvious as well as abundant…

Paul states in 1 Corinthians 9:2 “If I am an apostle to others, yet doubtless I am to you. For you are the seal of my apostleship in the Lord.”

In other words, the proof of his call to the ministry of an apostle is the fruit that can be seen in his ministry – in this case, people who have heard the Gospel and become disciples of the Lord. Fruit is one of the major ways we can judge a person’s ministry no matter what their calling is. And, if there is good fruit then there are good roots – the minister will be truly “rooted and grounded in love” as well as teaching sound doctrines.

Some of the fruit in an apostle’s ministry will include:

1> People coming to the Lord with godly sorrow and repentance becoming true converts who then are hungry to be discipled and trained in the faith.

2> The establishment of churches that are full of the presence and power of the Lord and that begin immediately to win the lost and plan to multiply themselves by planting other churches while still young in the Lord themselves. Disciples begetting disciples and churches planting churches.

3> The establishment of powerful training centers and schools where saints can be properly equipped and trained for ministry as believers and those who are called to the five-fold ministry can also be fathered and mentored.

4> The reproduction and development of spiritual children who are relating personally to the apostle so that there is a father-son relationship. These young men, when ready and sent, will serve the Lord faithfully and successfully. The reproduction of spiritual children is a seal of an apostleship.

5> They teach fresh revelation that edifies the Church. Apostles receive a lot of revelation from God, and because of this, it is important to record and distribute it by written means – books, e-books, and the internet. As well, apostles write training manuals and teaching material and make it available for others to use after teaching it and testing in the local church. They are prolific writers.

6> The mature apostle has experience in all of the five-fold ministry offices. To exercise a valid apostolic ministry the apostle’s training will allow them to experience the ministry of pastor, teacher, evangelist, and prophet. As part of their calling is to train these 4 of the five-fold ministers they must experience these ministries firsthand as they are being trained and equipped to be apostolic. All men who are true apostles today and operating within their apostolic call and ministry are men who started their service in one of the other Ephesians 4:11 ministries and has experienced all four at one time or another.

These are a few of the basic traits of someone who is a mature apostle and who has been released by the local church to minister. These and other basic results are is much demand as the ministry of the apostle gains recognition over a season of time and his teachings and revelations prove to be true and beneficial to the Church.

Today, many call themselves apostles but they have no fruit or evidence in any of these areas to support their claim. Jesus said we would recognize them by their fruit!

~Ralph Howe