As a charismatic Christian, I’ve heard over and over again the talk about the “Five” fold ministry. However, a closer reading of Ephesians 4:7-13 reveals that the “five” fold ministry is actually the “four” fold ministry.

Note that each the apostle, the prophet, and the evangelist are listed separately, however the pastor/teacher is listed together. Also note that the word “some” is before apostle, prophet and evangelist in a one to one ratio. However, “some” is only stated once before “pastors and teachers.” This makes sense since those who pastor must teach.

Another insteresting tidbit is that there isn’t any other place in the NT that uses the term “pastor,” yet we do find examples in the NT of the terms apostle, prophet, and teacher.

Thus, the five fold ministry is debunked.

Tags: pastor, five fold ministry

Among the many books that I am “in process” of reading, one is “The Normal Christian Church Life” by Watchman Nee. Anyone who hasn’t heard of Watchman Nee might want to check him out. From my tradition he is hailed as one of the classic Christian authors, along with such as Dietrich Bonhoeffer. He was a minister in China in the early 20th century, and he spent (much like Bonhoeffer) the last 20 years of his life in a Chinese prison (1952-1972).

The First Apostle

The first apostle was, of course, Jesus Christ. He did not come to earth of his own initiative; He was appointed and set apart for the work by God. He was not self-appointed, but sent. Frequently we will see Jesus referring to God as, “Him who sent Me.” Actually, the meaning of the apostle in the Greek is “the sent one.” Jesus is the first apostle, because He was the first one specially sent by God, and is referred to as “the Apostle” in Hebrews 3:1.

The Twelve

While Christ was completing his apostolic ministry on earth, He was aware that His time was limited. Therefore, as He was persuing the work committed to Him by the Father, he was also preparing a group of men to continue it after He left. These men were also expressly called apostles. They were not volunteers, they were sent. Christ chose them for the work.

These apostles occupy a special place in the Scripture, and they also occupy a special place in the purpose of God because they were with Jesus during His earthly ministry. They were not just called apostles, they were called “the twelve apostles.” Jesus told Peter that the twelve apostles would one day “sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel” (Luke 22:30). Thus, Christ has His throne, and the twelve apostles will have thier thrones as well. This is a privilage not granted to other apostles. Judas lost this privilege with his office, which is why Matthias was “counted with the eleven apostles” (Acts 1:26). In Acts 2 we see that Scripture states, “Peter, standing with the eleven” (v 14), which shows the Holy Spirit to recognize Matthias as one of the twelve. Thus we can see that God fixed the number of these special apostles at twelve. We can see this again in Revelation 21:14, which states, “And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.” Even in the new Jerusalem the twelve apostles will have a specific place.

But that doesn’t mean that they were the only apostles….(to be continued)

The first thing that I have to do before going moving into deeper posts is define what I am talking about.
The first definition that I want to go into is actually defining a “house church” as per the type of church that I desire to one day help start (and keep them starting).

A house church, in a nutshell, is not what is commonly referred to as a “cell church” or a “small group” of a larger body. A house church, in itself, is its own governing body with thier own authority. Together, as a congregation, the “house church” decides its direction for each meeting and is guided corporately.

A “house church network” is a loosely associated group of house churches that relate to each other by relationship. They could be associated by mutual agreement, or by the fact that one house church planted another house church, planted another house church, and etc. until the churches in the network are related much as a organic family is related–they are multiple generations of church “offspring”.

Here is a definition of house church from Wikipedia that I would agree with:
House churches should not be confused with “cell churches“. A house church is not normally part of a larger, overseeing organization, although the group may associate informally with other Christians and house churches in networks reflecting equality rather than hierarchy. Those who meet in house churches regard themselves as belonging to the worldwide Church, but are self-governing and independent, generally without formal relationships with established “institutional churches.”

Some house churches have a conventional leadership structure, others have none. A commonly held belief in the modern day house church “movement” is that the Protestant Reformation did not go far enough to demonstrate a New Testament belief in the “priesthood of all believers” and that Jesus Christ alone is the Head of the Church which is the body of Christ.

The absence of hierarchical leadership structures in many house churches, while often viewed by the Protestant church at large as a sign of anarchy or rebelliousness to authority, is viewed by many in the house church movement to be the most viable way to come under true spiritual authority of love, relationships, and the visible dominion of Jesus Christ as Head of his own bride (i.e. the church). Some within the house church “movement” therefore consider the term “house church” to be a misnomer, because the main issue for people who practice their faith in this manner is not the house but more the type of meeting that takes place; other titles which are sometimes used to describe this movement more functionally are “simple church“, “relational church”, “primitive church”, “bodylife”, “organic church” and similar terms.

The house church movement today also owes much of its networking and exchange of information to the use of the Internet; HC is generally used as an abbreviation for “House Church” and IC is used to designate “Institutional Church” which is the generalized term for more traditional church structures, including a church building and/or sermon-centered church services led by a pastor or minister.

As a rule, house church gatherings are free, informal, and sometimes include a shared meal. Participants hope that everyone present will feel free to contribute to the gathering as and when they sense the leading of the Holy Spirit to do so. Leadership structures range from no official leaders, to a plurality of appointed elders; however, there is a deliberate attempt within most house churches to minimize the leadership of any one person, and so having one pastor or leading elder is generally frowned upon, in favor of a more plural responsibility of leadership diffused over several people or the members as a whole.

Tags: simple church, house church