The Gift of the Apostles
In my last blog, I introduced the topic of the equipping or “ascension gifts” that are listed in Ephesians Chapter 4 and shared that we believe all five of these gifts are still active and urgently needed for the church to be all that Jesus intends for her to be, mature and healthy.
In this post I want to zero in on one of the gifts, the Apostolic gift.
Before we dive into who apostles are and what their ministry is all about, I want to make a clear distinction about what apostles are not.
An apostle is not...
Someone who writes scripture.
As a family of churches, we believe that the canon of Scripture is closed and we believe in apostles. Many people will argue that to be an apostle is to be an author of Scripture. This however is not supported by the Scriptures themselves. If you count the original twelve disciples who walked with Jesus, Matthias who replaced Judas after his death and the Apostle Paul himself, you have fourteen different apostles. That being said, only three of them wrote Scripture, which means that the vast majority of apostles are not scripture writers. This means that you can be an apostle and not write Bible. On the other hand, more of the New Testament was written by Luke, a “non-apostle,” than by anyone else including Paul.
Someone who has more authority than a pastor or an evangelist, nor are they more important than any other member of the body of Christ.
In some charismatic or pentecostal circles, Apostles are described as people who are leaders to leaders. While they may consult with local churches, we believe that local teams of elder-pastors lead churches, not apostles. They don’t have authority over elder teams or churches, though they often seek to help local churches as well as link different churches together to partner in the Gospel together.
A gift that ceased to exist at some point in church history.
Again in Epehsians 4, the apostolic gifting is said to exist “until we all reach the unity of the faith” and are essentially reflecting perfect maturity. There is nothing inherent textually that says apostles are no longer needed or that they ceased to exist in the life of the church. These arguments have been made throughout church history but are not arguments that are rooted in the New Testament itself.
Now that we’ve clarified what an apostle is not, let’s chat through what an apostle is.
An apostle is…
Someone who goes to plant new churches or sends others to plant new churches to reach new people with the Gospel.
The word for ‘Apostle’ in greek literally means “sent one” or “one sent with a message.” If an apostle isn’t in the business of sending or being sent to start new gospel works, they are not an apostle. The bread and butter of their ministry is creating a culture of sentness- going to the nations or calling church communities into their callings as “sent ones.” They love to raise money to “send” to new and/or struggling churches. They help the church see that they are a part of a story and a mission much bigger than what can be contained within the four walls of a church gathering or the relationships within one local church family.
Someone who goes to strengthen and sends others to strengthen existing churches.
In Acts 14, Luke describes Paul and his team as people who strengthen churches, help make disciples and appoint leaders in the baby churches. There were communities of new believers who needed instruction, both doctrinally in what they believed and practically in how to live like Jesus. Additionally, Paul, John, Peter and James all seemed to write to existing churches that were already established but ignorant in certain areas and had gotten off course. Either way, strengthening can happen in newer churches or established churches. Apostolic leaders don’t override local church leaders but they do seek to give leaders a good start and encourage them to remain faithful. They often will travel to strengthen existing churches; in the ancient world this would require several month long trips traveling via foot, boat or horse, but today it often looks like a two week trip via plane.
Someone who raises up other leaders to be sent out to start and strengthen churches.
In his book “The Disciple Investing Apostle,” Rod Culbertson writes, “Paul’s ministry was one of seemingly constant proclamation and teaching. Yet, the aspect of his efforts that often goes unnoticed is that his was a ministry of relationships. Paul developed numerous relationships with the people he met, taught, and served. Paul is one of the most resourceful, energetic, motivated, type “A”, performance driven, strong, active, and task oriented individuals possible, but these constant energies are centered around one thing: taking the gospel to the people who need it. Relationships are an obvious theme in the life and ministry of the Apostle Paul.” Apostles are all about developing more leaders and they develop those leaders not through programs but through relationships. A cursory reading of both the letters to Timothy and the letter to Titus reveal a deep love and commitment to these young men’s growth and progression in Jesus and in church leadership. If you read the end of most of Paul’s epistles, you will read some very long shout out lists that make up relationships Paul has with leaders and church members. Just like Jesus, they gather disciples together and develop them in the context of relationships- instructing them, correcting them and encouraging them to walk in their callings as church planters, leaders and world changers.
Biblically speaking, apostles are needed until we no longer need more church planters or church leaders. This is why we, as a family of churches, want to make room for these sacrificial, relational servants of Jesus today.
