The Current Day Apostle

The Current Day Apostle

By: Phil Machalick (Contributing Writer)

The issue of being an apostle has been on my heart lately so I thought it's time to write on this theme:

 The main office of an apostle is to help the other leaders included in the five fold ministry as found in Ephesians 4:11. The office of the apostle is unique in that it is the only office that its purpose is to assist the others. 

1. Apostle

2. Prophet (To edify and point the way through words from God)

3. Evangelist (To reach the lost)

4. Pastor (To feed the flock of God)

5. Teacher (To impart knowledge in a way that's easy to understand)

The Lord has placed these different leaders in the church in order to cause the body of Christ to be complete.

We need ALL of them. 

However; it seems to be that for generations the local church would have a pastor, the bible college or seminary would have the teachers, evangelist would be holding tent meetings somewhere and the prophets would be here and there trying to speak what they received from the Lord; thus leaving a fragmented and extremely dysfunctional church of believers that were hungry for all that God had for them; unfortunately these believers become spiritually frustrated and confused by the limited and departmentalized church structure. 

I recently attended a church in the US that had two services on Sunday morning as well as streaming to multiple satellite church locations and live streaming services to penitentiaries and elsewhere. The pastor had a staff that was experienced and efficient, the worship was edifying, the message was informative, spiritual and challenging. This pastor was helping others to start churches in the area; all these facts point to one thing: this man is an apostle, and either doesn't realize it or for whatever reason doesn't want to step down from being a pastor to step into this new role. I am not faulting this man in any way, he is doing an amazing job, Praise God.  

The role of an apostle is not widely seen, in fact I have only seen one man that was an apostle during my entire life that I can recall; that said, it is hard to replicate someone you have not known or seen.

  

There are a few yet very important points to have on an apostolic resume:

1. Experience in the ministry of faith; not a novice or beginner, they must have more than a few trials of faith in the service of the king.

2. Love; An apostle is not only a person full of knowledge and experience, they must have real love and care, the love of God, and can suffer gracefully, putting the needs of others first without complaint.  

3. A deep understanding of the functions of the other leadership positions.

4. A walk with God; the apostle must continually maintain their walk and time with God in order to flow into these other people correctly. 

The positions are for the wholeness of the entire body of believers; for the edifying, perfecting of the saints and work of the ministry. We need more qualified apostles.

I invite your helpful comments,

Lord Bless You