Have you ever imagined five people simultaneously walking in Jesus’ sandals? Think “five-fold ministry”!
“It was Christ who gave” (Eph 4:11a) equipped and empowered leadership-teams (Peter, James and John initially) to succeed Him. What big sandals to fill!
As you can see, Jesus’ succession strategy does not always demand a team of five disciples. It does, however, demand the inclusion and synergy of five distinct giftings as follows:
- Together, teams need to be like Jesus and possess a supernatural bent for activating followers into anointed ministry — an Apostle.
- Together, teams need to be like Jesus and possess a supernatural bent for aligning God’s people to Kingdom priorities – a Prophet.
- Together, teams need to be like Jesus and possess a supernatural bent for welcoming Kingdom outsiders into Jesus’ community – an Evangelist.
- Together, teams need to be like Jesus and possess a supernatural bent for catalyzing healing within His disciples and their families – a Shepherd (Pastor).
- Together, teams need to be like Jesus and possess a supernatural bent for accelerating a learning environment that fosters freedom and unity – a Teacher.
Jesus walked out all these capacities in perfect harmony and balance. His challenge to these three apostles as well as all subsequent five-fold teams? Go and do likewise!
So, how do these five (5) divergent giftings coexist in grace-filled unity?
Two Essential Process Steps
As already affirmed in this series, foundational trust that flows from godly relationships (Eph 4:1-3; 15; 32) is the first essential pre-condition for any Peter, James and John-like team. If this bedrock quality is not strong enough, nothing of any consequence will come from the team’s vision and efforts. And to be very clear: Trust does not exist apart from an intentional and ongoing focus.
The second essential process step is a decision-making strategy that honors the perceptions of all five giftings and prioritizes enduring unity (Eph 4:3). I know, I know: That’s a tall order, but check out Acts 15. A diverse group of Jesus’ leaders need to get on the same ecclesiastical page and it happens as they walk His talk! After all, the Master did not embrace or model His world’s top-down leadership paradigm and its related decision-making rights (Luke 22:24-27). Rather, His Kingdom teaching turned the Gentile’s ways upside down: The greatest is the one who serves with humility and honor!
From my vantage point, it looks like the Acts 15 community discovered a common-ground consensus that everyone could live with: “It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and us” (Acts 15:28)! After all their prayer, listening and discussion, all the stakeholders owned the resulting plan of action. (For a more in-depth summary of consensus, please review my overview on the Resource Page: https://houseofjesus.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Consensus-Decision-Making.pdf )
My decades of experience have resulted in a strong conviction about consensus decision-making: It is one of the best process strategies to foster Jesus’ culture and accelerate the effectiveness of “five-fold teams”.
How would you describe your community’s leadership culture? Does it smell and taste like Jesus’ succession plan?
Choosing Jesus’ ways again today,
