The Needs Within the Body

Ephesians 4:11-12, "And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ."

One of the interesting aspects of the early church was there structure. Since we know that many of the NT believers met in homes rather than established church buildings, there structure was quite different than what we see today. The idea of one pastor would leave most of them scratching their heads. However, regardless of our current system/structure in America, the standard was set in the early church. Ephesians 4 gives us the model of how God has designed the church to be equipped.

There are some misconceptions about ministry that we need to deal with before we go any further.
#1 - God did not intend for a pastor or pastors to do all the ministry.
#2 - The equipping of the saints should not come through one person either.
#3 - We need to rid ourselves of this idea of the superstar pastor.
#4 - We need to be willing to learn from everyone.

The early church did not have the luxury of full-time pastors. There wasn't any money, nor was there a need. The body of Christ was immediately equipped to handle community and discipleship. While the apostles were scoping out new territories for the proclamation of the gospel, the fellowships were well equipped with leaders at various levels. Every "church" had overseers in place (we call them pastors today). The pastors would care for the flock. They would guard them from wolves, feed them, and help nurture them in their walk with Christ. There were also prophets that would come in to equip the body on how to hear from the Lord, evangelists that would share their gift with the people so that they could go out and share the good news of Jesus, and teachers who could help the believers understand this new faith. The apostles would come and visit as well. All of these leaders had one function as it pertained to the body: equip them for ministry.

Today's church relies heavily on the gifting of one man or a group of people. "Special" people who have been called to the ministry. What we have lost in all of this is the idea of our own responsibility, our own gifting from the Lord, and our ability to do the work. It's almost as if the church has resorted back to the days of Moses. We tell Moses to go to the mountain to hear from the Lord and then he is to return to tell us what God has said. This is not NT Christianity. The spread of the gospel and establishment of the church relied heavily on individual members doing their part. There was not a 10/90 principle in play - you know 10% of the people doing 90% of the work. No! Each member was equipped. Those who were gifted in certain areas were encouraged to use their gifts in ministering to one another. Everyone was to be equipped. Everyone was to be involved.

My purpose in this blog is not to slam the American church. My purpose is to get you (the reader) to consider where God has gifted you. How has He equipped you to minister within the local church? I also want you to consider how your pastor or a teacher has equipped you for the work of ministry. Have you been taught how to share you faith? Have you been given the tools to help others grow in the Lord? Ask yourself: What can I do for the glory of God?

The Bible makes it very clear that every part of the body is essential for the church to function properly. We each have an opportunity to "pull our weight" within the church. Things that need to be taken care of, people that need to be ministered to, and opportunities that need to be taken. We can all be involved and we can all be effective. Not only that, but we have been called to that reality. Each of us.

You can do that...right? You can minister to others. You can help build up the Body of Christ. But it won't happen if we sit on the sidelines and watch others do ministry. We don't grow from watching. We grow as we go. Let's get going!