Enjoyed teaching today at the Pepperdine Bible Lectures in sunny Malibu, CA. We ran out of seats in the room I was in, then we ran out of floor space. Made me happy! 🙂
Here’s a free recording of the class if you’d like to listen: Continue reading
The Overflow
"For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks." -Jesus
New Wineskins: Rethinking Apostleship in the Churches of Christ
In Ephesians 4:11, the apostle Paul informs believers of various leadership roles present in the church:
11Â So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, 12Â to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up … ~Â Ephesians 4:11 (NIV11)
Five roles are listed: 1) apostles, 2) prophets, 3) evangelists, 4) pastors, and 5) teachers.
Unlike gift lists found in other places (1 Corinthians 12:4-11; Romans 12:6-8), here Paul specifically calls different types of leaders the “gifts” Christ gave to serve the church. Each role was ordained by Jesus, and specific individuals were created, uniquely gifted, and “given” to fill them.
The goal driving this five-fold organizational scheme was exceedingly lofty – “so that the body of Christ may be built up” – so here’s my question: why does the traditional Church of Christ interpretation of Ephesians 4:11 eliminate one of these roles from the contemporary church equation? —> Continue Reading in New Wineskins
#pbl13 this week …
Quick plug for my class at the 2013 Pepperdine Bible Lectures: I’ll be teaching a lesson entitled Reaching the Missing Generation: Helping 20-Somethings Get Over the Idol of Self this Thursday from 1:30 to 2:15 in AC 280 on Pepperdine’s campus.
Continue reading
The Overflow 