BLOG 5/20/17. EQUIPPING ALL GOD’S PEOPLE TO BE APOSTLES

BLOG 5/20/17. EQUIPPING ALL GOD’S PEOPLE TO BE APOSTLES

I operate on the presupposition that the divine purpose in the church is in order to recreate the human community into what God intended the human community to be, so that it incarnates the shalom, the intended harmony/shalom that prevails when humankind dwell in wholesome relationships with each other, and within the fellowship of the Trinitarian Community. I also operate on the assumption that the unique passage in Ephesians 4 gives us a pragmatic handle on the components that constitute the dynamics of how all of God’s people are to be equipped to incarnate this divine purpose. This is another way of saying that this passage defines disciple-making. I don’t believe that such equipping is simply a passing along of information. I believe that it normally requires some kind of a model, some experiencing of the components—sort of a coach-model-teach engagement. Also, note, that the apostolic writings never speak of anything that resembles what we have fabricated along the way as ‘clergy.’ It does presume that there are those in the community who are mature in their understanding of Jesus and his teachings, and who are the respected practitioners of such.

That being said, I have communicated in my previous couple of Blogs my own understanding of the gifts of prophet, and of evangelist, but I come now to the first in the list in Ephesians 4: that of apostle. In short, I see this git as equipping all of God’s people to be engaged in the mission of God, of being reproductive in creating andre-producing colonies of God’s New Creation humanity, i.e., in the simplest terms: being church-planters. It is that capacity to engage in connecting with others who are God’s New Creation people and incarnating those communities of new life in Christ. It does not allow God’s people to be passive observers, or satisfied while God’s mission in the world is incomplete. It begins with one or two of the followers of Jesus tuning-in to one another, and assisting one another, and encouraging one another, and free to come of hiding with one another.

Such communities are also aware that they can never become larger than a size that allows for such intimacy and mutual inter-animation. When Paul says: “Let the word of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another in all wisdom …” that presupposes a beautiful mutuality in relationships, … and we know that the human desire and need for true relationships exists in even the most God-rejecting of humankind. The church is the model of true community, and it is always aware that its integrity is essential to the mission of God. That being so, whenever such intimate communities of God’s New Humanity get above ten or twelve, it is time to reproduce, to divide and multiply. That does not mean that they cannot ‘network’ with other such colonies (like larger assemblies), only that the dynamics of such interpersonal growth and intimacy are most effectively carried out with a limited number of participants. Note: Jesus selected twelve out of the larger number of followers, or the post-Pentecost account of the gospel being primarily incarnated in house churches.

In recent church history, one of the fascinating demonstrations of this has been in the Roman Catholic community in Latin America, when there was a severe shortage of professional clergy/priests. What happened? The campesinos / peasant folk formed what were called base churches (Base Eccesial Communities) in which they met together after work, and around scriptures and incarnated very effective colonies that were contagious. They were, in the truest sense: apostolic. Every modest participant was self-aware of their participation in the mission. To say then: to ‘join’ or identify with some Christian community with no intention of becoming a responsible part of the mission of God, and equipped for that apostolate, is to underscore that one does not at all understand what “thy kingdom come, thy will be done” is all about. With the next Blog, I will tackle the gift of pastor-teacher. Stand by.

About rthenderson

Sixty years a pastor-teacher within the Presbyterian Church. Author of several books, the latest of which are a trilogy on missional ecclesiology: ENCHANTED COMMUNITY: JOURNEY INTO THE MYSTERY OF THE CHURCH, then, REFOUNDING THE CHURCH FROM THE UNDERSIDE, then THE CHURCH AND THE RELENTLESS DARKNESS. Previous to this trilogy was A DOOR OF HOPE: SPIRITUAL CONFLICT IN PASTORAL MINISTRY, and SUBVERSIVE JESUS, RADICAL FAITH. I am a native of West Palm Beach, Florida, a graduate of Davidson College, then of Columbia and Westminster Theological Seminaries.
This entry was posted in Uncategorized. Bookmark the permalink.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

CommentLuv badge