We need a hand
I love coffee. I love DIY projects. I love creating things from cheap stuff. A few years back all these things collided into my mind in a very Pinterest kind of way. I wanted to create a pour-over setup for a coffee spot in my office. For those that don’t know, that is just basically a stand to hold the filter above the cup. I had been hunting in the woods and found a log of cedar and thought “I will use that!” Thus the project began. A few cuts with the miter saw, drill a big hole, and screw it all together was my thought process. I wasn’t really that far off. After just a little bit of time I had things done, but because I was going really rustic, some of the bark made it wobble a little. So on an unplanned, not-thought-out whim, I put a very small piece under that miter saw to create two legs for the bottom. Well, the next moment is kind of a blur. The wood slipped and my finger went into the blade. Instinctively I grabbed my index finger and ran inside to the sink. I thought I had lost my left index finger, but fortunately no surgery was required - not even a stitch. They actually couldn’t stitch it but in order to keep this blog “G”-rated, I will just say the nurse had an alternative idea to stitching that involved “an old Civil War technique”. We can leave it at that.
Have you ever thought about losing a finger, or not being able to use one? Maybe you are missing one and this has become a normal aspect of life. Maybe you could just learn to live with it (or without it). Well, there is an aspect of the Church that I believe we have just learned to live without.
In Ephesians 4, Paul is speaking of church unity and how a real, genuine church is to look. He speaks of how God has given us, the Church, everything we might need to navigate life. These gifts from the Lord are found in one another in order for the Body of Christ to be built up or as some might say “fully formed”.
11 And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, 12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, 13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, 14 so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. 15 Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, 16 from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.
A few things a very clear when we read this.
There are 5 positional gifts.
These 5 positional gifts are meant to be used to equip other believers to do the work of ministry.
These 5 positional gifts are meant to be used for the building up of the Body of Christ.
These 5 positional gifts are used to bring maturity to the Body of Christ.
Sometimes the Lord speaks to me in funny ways but I have always thought of a hand with a thumb and four fingers to best illustrate this 5 fold ministry idea.
Starting with the thumb…
The Apostle is one sent out to start a new work. I think of the gifting of apostle as one who is an entrepreneur of the Gospel. This could be a church planter or one who starts things for the Lord. Sometimes, they’re off starting new things while the other 4 fingers a still all together.
The index finger…
The Prophet is the mouth piece that speaks to vision and direction. God gives the words about direction and/or a topic and the prophet says it. The Prophetic gifting can point to the thing God is saying in the life of an individual or group. Thus the pointer/index finger.
The middle finger…
No, there is no current day cultural symbolism here so leave that aside. Ha.
The Shepherd or Pastoral gifting is at the very center of the hand and the Church. Jesus is the Good Shepard but this gifting is the embodiment of servant leadership in the Church. This gifting helps the rest of the Church interact with the other 4, continuing the work the Apostle has started, by listening to the direction given through the Prophet, helping to apply the things taught by the Teacher, and loving and seeing the world as like the Evangelist.
The ring finger…
The Teaching gifting is one that can’t be altered or diluted. Teaching others to walk in the Spirit by faith is the way we can all grow in maturity but it takes a heavy layer of commitment. This is similar to a wedding covenant - a vow to only teach the things the Spirit is saying and the things found in scripture - nothing else.
Finally the pinky finger…
While the Apostle is starting a new thing and thus on one end of the hand the Evangelist is reaching for those who haven’t heard yet on the other end of the hand. The Evangelist gifting sees the world through the eyes of the Lord and thus reaches out to them in love.
In this way, we have a fully functional hand. These are the “greater giftings” we should earnestly desire that Paul speaks of in 1 Corinthians 12, but I believe that in Ephesians 4 Paul is telling us this is what the Church is. In the churches I have grown up in, there has not been a major focus on these giftings and who is in these roles. However, when we talk about the Body of Christ it seems to be very clear that the way the hands work is in these 5 giftings.
Sure, I can live life without a hand or just missing a few fingers but it isn’t my preference. If I had the choice I would chose for my body to be fully operational - including hands, finger, and thumbs. My hands are my primary method in helping others. From a pat on the back, a handshake, to holding hands, and even laying on of hands, hands are used to minster.
It’s time for the Church to fully “lend a hand”. Let’s embrace these giftings, not in a hierarchy like a fist, but more like an offering to help and support others to grow in the maturity of Christ.
How?
First, you must be in an intimate, healthy community of believers in order to discover your gift and then allow that community to speak into your giftings. We are called to think of ways to motivate one another in love and good deeds and the only way I can “think of ways” is to be in an intimate setting.
Second, you must be in an intimate, healthy community of believers in order to grow in maturity with the Lord. Growth happens in community, not in isolation. In this type of community, you can pour into others and also be poured into. This is how the Body of Christ is fully formed.
Lastly, if you think you have one of these 5 positional giftings, come under the authority of others to allow them to speak into your life to affirm this. God commissions us and the Body of Christ affirms.
The goal of these giftings is simple - being the Body of Christ that grows and builds one another up.