Friday 21 October 2011

Life Shapes: Pentagon part 2

(3) The evangelist. The meaning of evangelist is literally "bringer of good news". We take this to mean "preacher of the gospel", but let us not forget that ultimately the evangelist is a story teller - who is telling the story (true story) of what God has done. This includes testimonies but ultimately all testimony points to (and comes from) what Jesus has done by dying and rising again. When considering the church being built on the apostle's ministry, the need for the evangelist to join him in his vision is obvious. In order to bring the Kingdom to this world, God's story must be told to those who don't yet know it.

(4) The pastor. We usually use "pastor" when describing a generic church leader or "minister". The truth is a pastor is someone with a pastoral anointing. One who cares for the flock and enables them to reach their potential. This may not be someone with organisational skills or someone who can preach (as most "pastors" do). Someone who is not officially in leadership can be a pastor (as with any of the five-fold). They simply need a pastor's heart. This is also an essential part of an apostolic ministry. What does heaven look like? The sick are cared for. People help each other. People grow and help each other grow.

(5) The teacher. The teacher is one who helps us understand the word of God. He or she is a guide (not in the same way as a prophet), based on the truth found in scripture. A teacher is vital in the ministry to unpack the Bible for us to see God as revealed there. They also teach us how to live according to the Bible, show us who we are according the Bible and show us insights from it. It is of course vital that the church has understanding of God and His world. Finally, they stop the church ending up in dangerous theological ground.

Although many may be given just one of these gifts, some can have more than one. It is helpful for an apostle to be sufficient in the other four, in order to have some insight into the vision of the Kingdom of God. It is not clear from the Bible whether or not every person has one of these or whether they are specifically for leaders. I believe that all who know Him have at least one (even if they don't use it yet), as I believe in some sense God calls all His people to be leaders, leading by being salt and light in a dark world.

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