Equipped For The Work Of The Ministry Part-3 / #25

Summary:

The foundational ministries- apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers, were never sent to do all the ministering in a church, but rather were created to equip and help all the believers mature and come to the place where they become the ones to get out and do the ministry. Without all five of the foundational ministries, most churches will tend to settle on a much lower level in their maturing process.

 

Show Notes:

• Many people, when they have a Bible Belt mindset, think they are supposed to come to church to get fed, and they tend to complain if they think that isn’t happening. But the people who usually complain about being fed rarely do anything with what they are fed. Jack Taylor used to say, “Well, you know, babies have to be fed. Adults feed themselves”.

• When you talk to people about ministry, most think they have to get up in front of people, which scares them off. That’s actually is just a small part of what you have to do in ministry. Most ministry happens on the golf course, at a store, or even at your work. It is simply encouraging someone or praying with them for a need that they might have.

• When Jesus was walking on the earth, was He ever referred to as a pastor? He was referred to as a shepherd, which is a much better word for a leader.

 

Quotes:

• In the Bible Belt, there’s a mindset that the guy who’s up front does all the ministry. He’s expected to be good at everything. That’s just not the case. That’s not even a biblical concept. Their main function is not to do all the ministry, but to train the body of Christ to do the work of the ministry.

• Being equipped is a lifetime process. I’ve been doing this a long time, but I’m still being equipped for the work of the ministry. I’m still learning about ministry. Do not wait until you think you’re thoroughly equipped. You are going to be better at doing ministry by simply doing it.

• The reason this is so important is that the body of Christ needs to be equipped for those opportunities and open doors that happen out there, because there’s a lot of them, and there’s going to be a lot more of them. So there’s no way one guy can do it.

• In the traditional evangelical church, you don’t hear much about the function of apostles and prophets. You do hear about teachers, evangelists and in paying pastors.

• An apostle has the God given ability and anointing to see what God wants the church to be, to see where the church is now, and how to move the church from where it is to where it needs to go.

• We live in a religious mindset in the Bible Belt that there are not apostles and prophets anymore. To me, that is a subtle, deceptive trick of the enemy, because they are so needed. The apostles and prophets are the foundation of the church.

 

References:

Ephesians 4:11

1 Corinthians 12:8-11

 

Takeaways:

There are so many churches out there that are stuck, doing the same thing week after week, year after year. One of the reasons is they either don’t know about the importance of the 5 fold ministry talked about in Ephesians 5, or they refuse to believe that they still exist and are very much needed in this day. Without true apostles and prophets, churches tend to be stuck and lack life that these ministries can provide. That’s why so many people aren’t equipped for the work of the ministry.