This explanation begins to explore the interconnection between the offices of the five fold ministries. Hopefully the author will continue with the other offices and why they need each other.
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PROPHETS NEED EVANGELISTS
Evangelists stir up a vision for the harvest in the lives of prophets. They challenge them to prophesy beyond the four walls of a church and into the harvest fields. Without the influence of evangelists, prophets will be near sighted in their approach to the kingdom of God and constantly focus on prophesying to those who already know God and forget the lost who must be prophesied into the kingdom of God.
Evangelists thrust prophets into the harvest fields. At times prophets can tend to be harsh and intense toward what God is saying. Evangelists help to impart a revelation of the mercy and grace of God toward sinners to prophets. Evangelists teach prophets how to grow beyond using "churchy" terminology when they prophesy to the lost and get to the heart of the matter. Evangelists teach prophets that the word of the Lord can run swiftly at the gas station, grocery store, or homeless shelter. Prophets, you need evangelists to teach you that there is more to your calling than the wilderness. Evangelists will introduce you to the lost and dying world. Prophets: you need evangelists in your life!
PROPHETS NEED TEACHERS
There is a reason why in 1 Cor 12:28 prophets are specifically placed in between apostles and teachers when it comes to establishing the kingdom of God and the New Testament Church. When prophets do not have apostles AND teachers as their boundaries lines, they go off into dangerous doctrine and immature behavior.
Prophets have the tendency to form their own doctrine based off of their spiritual experiences. Teachers will call the prophets into line and ask them, "Where is that found in the Scriptures?" Rebellious prophets who answer to no one constantly mislabel God's teachers as religious and constricting when really they are operating in their divine purpose and function. Teachers help many prophets to realize that their good sounding "revelation" actually can't be backed up in the Word of God and needs to be thrown out. Just because it sounds good to preach, does not at all mean it's biblical.
Teachers function in a line upon line, precept upon precept reality when it comes to the kingdom of God, whereas prophets tend to function in a dream after dream, vision after vision, spiritual experience after spiritual experience reality. While the prophets and teachers each have their own function, they desperately need one another to bring balance to one another's ministries.
Teachers help prophets to unpack and thoroughly investigate the dreams, visions, and revelations they are receiving. They challenge prophets to seek God for more insight and clarity regarding what they are seeing and hearing. Without teachers, prophets are potential candidates for heretical doctrine based off of bizarre experience alone, they risk the opportunity of not being rooted and grounded in the Word of God by teachers, and most importantly, prophets will not grow in character and integrity without teachers taking them to task over whether their lifestyle lines up with who God is and what He has revealed in His word.
Prophets: you must surround yourself with apostles and teachers. You are not an island of revelation unto yourself! You are not the only one who "hears" and "sees" God. Let's grow in maturity and confess our great need of one another.
PROPHETS NEED APOSTLES
PROPHETS NEED EVANGELISTS
Evangelists stir up a vision for the harvest in the lives of prophets. They challenge them to prophesy beyond the four walls of a church and into the harvest fields. Without the influence of evangelists, prophets will be near sighted in their approach to the kingdom of God and constantly focus on prophesying to those who already know God and forget the lost who must be prophesied into the kingdom of God.
Evangelists thrust prophets into the harvest fields. At times prophets can tend to be harsh and intense toward what God is saying. Evangelists help to impart a revelation of the mercy and grace of God toward sinners to prophets. Evangelists teach prophets how to grow beyond using "churchy" terminology when they prophesy to the lost and get to the heart of the matter. Evangelists teach prophets that the word of the Lord can run swiftly at the gas station, grocery store, or homeless shelter. Prophets, you need evangelists to teach you that there is more to your calling than the wilderness. Evangelists will introduce you to the lost and dying world. Prophets: you need evangelists in your life!
PROPHETS NEED TEACHERS
There is a reason why in 1 Cor 12:28 prophets are specifically placed in between apostles and teachers when it comes to establishing the kingdom of God and the New Testament Church. When prophets do not have apostles AND teachers as their boundaries lines, they go off into dangerous doctrine and immature behavior.
Prophets have the tendency to form their own doctrine based off of their spiritual experiences. Teachers will call the prophets into line and ask them, "Where is that found in the Scriptures?" Rebellious prophets who answer to no one constantly mislabel God's teachers as religious and constricting when really they are operating in their divine purpose and function. Teachers help many prophets to realize that their good sounding "revelation" actually can't be backed up in the Word of God and needs to be thrown out. Just because it sounds good to preach, does not at all mean it's biblical.
Teachers function in a line upon line, precept upon precept reality when it comes to the kingdom of God, whereas prophets tend to function in a dream after dream, vision after vision, spiritual experience after spiritual experience reality. While the prophets and teachers each have their own function, they desperately need one another to bring balance to one another's ministries.
Teachers help prophets to unpack and thoroughly investigate the dreams, visions, and revelations they are receiving. They challenge prophets to seek God for more insight and clarity regarding what they are seeing and hearing. Without teachers, prophets are potential candidates for heretical doctrine based off of bizarre experience alone, they risk the opportunity of not being rooted and grounded in the Word of God by teachers, and most importantly, prophets will not grow in character and integrity without teachers taking them to task over whether their lifestyle lines up with who God is and what He has revealed in His word.
Prophets: you must surround yourself with apostles and teachers. You are not an island of revelation unto yourself! You are not the only one who "hears" and "sees" God. Let's grow in maturity and confess our great need of one another.
PROPHETS NEED APOSTLES
Prophets have the tendency to wander around in circles because their eyes are so focused on the future. They desperately need apostles to help them to build and live for the present. Prophets constantly get caught chasing never ending revelation and pursuing new spiritual experiences. They need apostles to hold their feet to the fire to study and actually know the Word of God. Prophets are prone to wander around and become lone rangers. They need apostles to father them, work alongside them, instruct them, and correct them.
Apostles help the prophets find their orientation and direction. Apostles will establish kingdom government in the lives of prophets and bring great emotional balance and stability to them. In many ways, apostles act as the anchor to the prophet's ministry. (Eph 2:20)
Apostles and prophets must learn how to function together as a team in this hour. Every apostle needs a prophet and every prophet needs an apostle. (1 Cor 12:28). The prophets bring great confirmation and revelation to God's apostles and the apostles bring great emotional stability and balance to the prophets of God. Healthy prophets are always connected to fathering apostles and healthy apostles are always connected to revelatory prophets. We must learn how to work together and not compete against one another in the days we are living in.
PROPHETS NEED PASTORS
Without the influence of pastors, prophets have the tendency to be harsh, arrogant, and disconnected from the saints. These two 5 fold ministries are the hardest to get to work together, but are also the most effective when they get along.
Pastors impart compassion, tenderness, and personal care for the prophets. Without strong pastoral care, prophets remain wounded in their souls due to the amount of rejection that they face because of their calling. Pastors are focused on the present issues at hand while prophets are caught up in the future. Pastors typically slow things down while prophets want to speed things up.
Pastors desire to counsel people while prophets would prefer to just cast the demons out. Pastors will sit with hurting and broken people for hours while the prophets want a quick solution now. Prophets just want to prophesy and leave, but pastors are willing to walk through the pain and trials of those who receive the prophetic ministry. Pastors love hospital visitation and more, prophets just want to walk in and raise the dead real quick. Every prophet needs a pastor and every pastor needs a prophet.
Prophets like to focus on maturing saints at an accelerated pace, pastors take time for the hurting, broken, and wounded. Pastors stroke, but prophets provoke. Pastors coddle, but prophets cut. Pastors comfort, but prophets correct. Pastors stimulate, but prophets impregnate. Pastors listen, but prophets challenge.
When prophets choose to join themselves with a pastor, they are greatly balanced and matured! Both of these ministries are so important and though they have separate functions, they must learn how to work together. Prophets are never given permission to be a lone ranger and pastors have the difficult function of teaching the prophets the joy of living in community and learning how to grow in love toward God's people. The most unstable and immature prophets that I have worked with around the globe are always those who refuse pastoral care for their own lives and don't think they need community with one family of believers.
Apostles help the prophets find their orientation and direction. Apostles will establish kingdom government in the lives of prophets and bring great emotional balance and stability to them. In many ways, apostles act as the anchor to the prophet's ministry. (Eph 2:20)
Apostles and prophets must learn how to function together as a team in this hour. Every apostle needs a prophet and every prophet needs an apostle. (1 Cor 12:28). The prophets bring great confirmation and revelation to God's apostles and the apostles bring great emotional stability and balance to the prophets of God. Healthy prophets are always connected to fathering apostles and healthy apostles are always connected to revelatory prophets. We must learn how to work together and not compete against one another in the days we are living in.
PROPHETS NEED PASTORS
Without the influence of pastors, prophets have the tendency to be harsh, arrogant, and disconnected from the saints. These two 5 fold ministries are the hardest to get to work together, but are also the most effective when they get along.
Pastors impart compassion, tenderness, and personal care for the prophets. Without strong pastoral care, prophets remain wounded in their souls due to the amount of rejection that they face because of their calling. Pastors are focused on the present issues at hand while prophets are caught up in the future. Pastors typically slow things down while prophets want to speed things up.
Pastors desire to counsel people while prophets would prefer to just cast the demons out. Pastors will sit with hurting and broken people for hours while the prophets want a quick solution now. Prophets just want to prophesy and leave, but pastors are willing to walk through the pain and trials of those who receive the prophetic ministry. Pastors love hospital visitation and more, prophets just want to walk in and raise the dead real quick. Every prophet needs a pastor and every pastor needs a prophet.
Prophets like to focus on maturing saints at an accelerated pace, pastors take time for the hurting, broken, and wounded. Pastors stroke, but prophets provoke. Pastors coddle, but prophets cut. Pastors comfort, but prophets correct. Pastors stimulate, but prophets impregnate. Pastors listen, but prophets challenge.
When prophets choose to join themselves with a pastor, they are greatly balanced and matured! Both of these ministries are so important and though they have separate functions, they must learn how to work together. Prophets are never given permission to be a lone ranger and pastors have the difficult function of teaching the prophets the joy of living in community and learning how to grow in love toward God's people. The most unstable and immature prophets that I have worked with around the globe are always those who refuse pastoral care for their own lives and don't think they need community with one family of believers.
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