I believe that it’s time we bear fruit in an area that there’s been a lot of talk about this past year or so.
Over much of the past year, our own Director of Transformational Ministries Brandon Kelly has been writing and blogging about the five-fold callings found in Ephesians 4 – apostles, prophets, evangelists, shepherds and teachers.
Whether we continue to call our credentialed ministers pastors or not, we need to repent and realize that ministry is not ‘one size fits all.’ There is not one set of gifts that every ‘pastor’ (or elder, minister etc) has.
So all the Bible study and talk is great, but what about reality?
What about you and me?
If Jesus is right, then we are going to need all five of these gifts, not just shepherds.
So what I’m asking is for folks – particularly our ‘pastors’ – to comment on this post something like ‘I believe I am an evangelist.’ ‘I believe I am an apostle’ ‘I believe I am a shepherd.’
Let’s move this conversation into reality and help each other learn how God has gifted us to help equip his church.
I will share about myself in a comment below…
If you’ve not really thought about this for your own life and calling, I can tell you from personal experience that the journey can be liberating.
This is only one step of the repentance we need here. Our regional credentialing and placement commissions should also be having regular discussions about APEST and helping each ministry candidate understand their unique calling.
Lord, help us to discern your call on each of us and not try to fit into a preconceived notion of what it means to be a minister or pastor. Help us all, and our churches, understand how you’ve gifted us that we might be faithful to you and serve within the power that you give. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
Excellent point, Dan! Pastors, as well as congregations, need to expand the scope of ministry. We see a lot of frustration when a pastor doesn’t “fit” a particular church, and sometimes it’s because the expectations on either side weren’t appropriate.
Thanks for jumping in Ben. I appreciate it. So, what about you personally?
How do you understand your own calling / gifting?
I am a teacher.
I am not a shepherd.
Several years before having read any APEST literature, my experiences showed me that not every one who serves in existing ministry roles have the same gifts. In my case it was that myself and the other pastor I served with complemented each other quite well. At the time I didn’t have the framework to think about it, but I now believe he is a shepherd and I am a teacher.
There is a fairly robust discussion in the exegesis of Ephesians 4:11 about whether shepherds and teachers are one role or two. I’ll save that conversation for another day, but I (along with the majority of those who have put APEST in to practice) believe that these are different callings.
Of course, we can see in the New Testament (see 1 Peter 5 for example) that there is in some way a collective shepherding function of local elders, but some people are particularly called and passionate about shepherding the church. They tend to prioritize relationships and community building. They often thrive on caring for others, take note of when people are missing and are hurt when people leave their ‘fold.’ Shepherds don’t often have to be talked into making calls and visits to check up on people. One quality of the ministry of shepherds I know personally is encouragement. They excel and thrive on building people up, making them feel loved and wanted.
This is all wonderful stuff, but it doesn’t characterize my primary God-given passion. I ‘can’ shepherd competently, but I have to talk myself into making checkup visits. I’d much rather challenge people to grow then tell them they’re doing well. I’m not really that bothered when people decide they’d rather go to another church. In short, I’m a pretty lousy shepherd because I’m not gifted to be a shepherd.
I am a teacher. I actually resisted this because of a stereotype I had of a teacher (in the church sense, not the public school sense) as someone who relates information. Truth be told, I would like to be a prophet, but I am not. But once I began to understand what a teacher is, particularly through an APEST assessment that involved feedback from other people who know me and my thinking and ministry.
And, Neil Cole’s book Primal Fire. For me, this is probably the best, practical book on APEST and ‘leadership.’
When Neil describes the teacher, I said, ‘yes, yes, yes…’ over and over again.
Teaching isn’t about information but transformation. Putting knowledge into practice.
According to Cole, teachers facilitate the learning of truth and a kingdom lifestyle.
He says that the treachers greatest motivation is the dual task of exposing false assumptions and replacing those errors with truth. Yes! That’s what I do.
A teacher is a learner – with an insatiable curiosity and fascination. This one got me: “A teacher doesn’t have to be prompted to study. Books are like friends.”
This is Cole’s definition of teaching: “Facilitating the learning of others so that they know, do and pass on to others relevant and meaningful truth.”
Alan Hirsch’s book ‘The Permanent Revolution’ further solidified my understanding of my calling. He says that “The teaching ministry as the Bible intends it is more oriented toward life and obedience then toward ideas divorced from life.
I could go on and on, but I just want to say that I am a teacher. I am not a shepherd.
What about you?