Onward!

Whoa! This is cool! I've been building this post and several others in a Word 2007 document and just found the "Publish" link under the Office button that allowed me to publish to this blog site. I love it when technology comes together and actually works! Well, let's mush onward toward an understanding of how to have vision for ministry.

The fifth and final level of involvement is Minister. However, more than an arrival state, it is the key that unlocks the door to a whole new world of experience. The hallmark of the Ministerial level is the reception of a vision for ministry along with communication of that vision to others in order to enlist their help in fulfilling the vision. There are five types of ministers, based upon their activity and function, as listed in Ephesians 4:11: Apostle, Prophet, Evangelist, Pastor, and Teacher. Each is unique, and yet each begins with a vision.

The Apostle (Gr: apostolos), in the NT, appears to have executive responsibility and authority. Extending from the original twelve, minus one who was replaced, Paul also claims this right of Apostleship through his personal calling from Christ on the road to Damascus. However, such an intimate, revelatory encounter with the living Christ does not appear to be a criterion for Apostleship, as Paul, in his letters to Timothy, instructs his young protégé in the discharge of the office. Apostles are primarily responsible for setting up and organizing local bodies of believers. The word apostolos literally means "he that is sent," or "one sent forth" (apo, from, stello, to send). The Apostle's function is to go to places where new converts have appeared and organize them into a body in that locale. Once the body has been established and set up, the Apostle moves on to the next place, allowing the body to grow and mature on its own. They do not usually exert remote authority unless a problem has arisen or a question has been posed. However, they do maintain a long-term relationship with the body, as evidenced by Paul's occasional return to and communications with bodies he established. The Apostle's vision is for an organized body of believers in which the members are functioning at all five levels of involvement and replicating themselves in the community around them as they exert a positive influence on that community through the reception and execution of a variety of visions.

Next time, we'll look at the Prophet and the Evangelist. Cheerio!