Ephesians 4:11 - Evangelists, Shepherds, and Teachers

Ephesians 4:11 - And He gave . . . some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers. 

Message: Evangelists, Shepherds, and Teachers

Time: Paul wrote the letter to the Ephesians sometime in AD 60–61, around the same time he wrote Colossians and Philemon. Ephesians deals with topics at the core of being a Christian - faith and practice, no matter the situation.

What the Lord is Saying: 

I've allowed myself to get busy this past week and also sort of struggled taking time to get to the Word. Had some early morning meetings at 8 and sort of waking up late or busying myself with other things in the morning. So I came back to this series and these thoughts on church leadership. 

Last time I looked at the offices of prophets and apostles, the consensus from Ligonier ministries is these leadership positions are temporary while the offices of evangelists, shepherds (elders), and teachers (pastors) are addressed in places like I Timothy and I Peter and Titus, places in scripture that more thoroughly talk about the positions of people in the church.  

I Timothy 3:8-13 - 8 Deacons likewise must be dignified, not double-tongued, not addicted to much wine, not greedy for dishonest gain. 9 They must hold the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience. 10 And let them also be tested first; then let them serve as deacons if they prove themselves blameless. 11 Their wives likewise must be dignified, not slanderers, but sober-minded, faithful in all things. 12 Let deacons each be the husband of one wife, managing their children and their own households well. 13 For those who serve well as deacons gain a good standing for themselves and also great confidence in the faith that is in Christ Jesus.

I Peter 5:1-4 - 1 So I exhort the elders among you, as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed: 2 shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly; 3 not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock. 4 And when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory.

What I found interesting is it seems just about every church out there agrees that a church has a position called pastor and yet pastor is really only mentioned in the New Testament as a church role in this verse of Ephesians 4:11. It makes me wonder if the practice that has resulted in churches is out of convenience. I think of the many churches in towns that are smaller. These churches have the paid pastor that is called and then there are the unpaid elders or deacons that are bi-vocational - working a job in society and then also in a leadership role at church. I think it is interesting because everywhere seems to be this paid position of pastor leading the church. And yet how did we get here? Why do we have these paid positions and non-paid positions. 

I worked as a treasurer at church for many years, taking care of the checkbook of the church, paying people, receiving tithes and offerings and depositing them and taking care of the monthly financial report to the church. I helped set up the budget and report on it. I was paid. I started out at $80 every two weeks and then when the church got larger, moved up to like $350 every 2 weeks. It was a good source of extra funds for me that helped our family. But, even though I received it I always wondered if it was correct that I was being paid for this work. Granted, this is the work I had been trained for in school. But, others were working and serving in the church and not being paid.   

My daughter attended a church recently I recommended. One of my close friends is one of the pastors at this church in the area of congregational care. I did not realize though that the church approves of women pastors, not lead pastors, but part of the staff. This is definitely something that has changed in churches in the last 10 years or so. It changed in a church we were attending. In many ways, it is different from how I have been trained growing up in the churches I've attended. At times, it says leaders are "the husband of one wife" while at other times it does not specify gender identity when speaking of spiritual gifts and this is often where it is inferred the roles of church leadership. 

My friend's church website says, "While we understand that there are differing views and interpretations of scripture around this subject, our practice at Crossings is to affirm and support both men and women who are called and empowered to ministry and leadership in the church." It says there are differing views, but our practice is to affirm and support both men and women. I think there is a recognition there that we are doing our best to define scripture the way we see it and yet also understand that we are fallible people. We are sinners. And though we walk forward in peace about what we believe God is telling us, we realize that there are differing views and interpretations. The reality is the body of Christ is big as I have discussed and talked about. It is visible to us, but invisible to Him. 

Often what I hear is people saying that the goal is the gospel of God and leading people to the Savior. And with that goal in hand, why would it matter if the person leading is a man or woman. 

Honestly, I am not sure what my conclusion of this is for now. I could keep analyzing it over and over. But I am not sure where I would end up. I do know that I do not have comfort in hearing a woman get up and preach a sermon. And yet in the last church we attended, there were times when a woman might share a short devotional. 

There are teachers and evangelists also mentioned in this lesson that I didn't even touch on. Again, I think our hope is to role all of these roles into one pastor system. 

Summary: God has clearly given us officers of leadership as evangelists, shepherds, and teachers. 

Promise: It is easy to be critical of these leaders, but we need to be thankful for them. 

Prayer: Lord, I do not know what to think right now about this subject. I do know what I am comfortable with but I do not know what is right or wrong on this issue of one pastor versus a plurality of leaders over a church and whether we should allow women to be in this role. It seems hard to reconcile at times what is right and wrong. Are we simply looking like the World or is it rather our tendency to uphold a single sex as the one leadership type model in our world today. I do not know God. I ask for your wisdom and your direction. I need your help. 

Note: I follow the readings from the Tabletalk Magazine devotional, though I am now working through 2017 devotionals. 2017 is a study of key biblical doctrines celebrating the 500th year of the Reformation. The month of August is about the Body of the Lord - the Church recovered in the Reformation; July was the right use of God's Law; June was justification by faith alone; May, Christ Alone; April, salvation by grace alone; March, the sovereign providence of God; February, the doctrine of revelation, Scripture; January, the doctrine of God. 

Christ's Body

The Body of Christ - The Church is the Body of Christ and Christ loves the church. We are to imitate Christ and see that the Church is how Christ carries out His purposes in the world. The Head of the Church - Christ is Head of the church and he only has final authority and gives life to the church. Life is found only in Jesus Christ our Lord. - The Church We Can See - Belonging to a church is not optional, for anyone. We are meant to live in a community with other believers, to hear the Word of God preached, and to grow. The Church We Cannot See - What we see is the Visible church, the invisible church only God knows because He is omniscient and that is the Church we cannot see. 

Truths about the Church from the Apostles Creed

Church Unity - The church is bigger than our local assembly; there are core beliefs among the invisible church. One People Throughout History - God has only one people; throughout the world there are people that share doctrines and truths despite their being differences in where we attend or belong. God's Holy People - By being in Christ, though we still have a fallen nature, God has set us apart as holy, as his saints. True Catholocity - God's people includes men and women from every tribe and every tongue that hold to the biblical gospel. The Apostilic Church - we are fellow citizens with all people from all tribes and tongues throughout history, united by being built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets teaching, thus apostolic, with Christ Jesus being our cornerstone.

What the Church Does and Believes

Preaching Christ and His Commandments - A church needs to be committed to faithfully preaching the Word of God. Administering Sacraments - Sacraments (The Lord's Supper and Baptism especially) need to be part of a church existing, but they also need to be rightly administered. The Discipline of the Church - We need to be a people that encourage repentance to keep the church pure and set apart.

Church Leadership Offices

Prophets and Apostles - There is a foundation of how the church begins and that foundation is the apostles and prophets.