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“Don’t you know that those who work in the temple get their food from the temple, and those who serve at the altar share in what is offered on the altar? In the same way, the Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel should receive their living from the gospel” (1 Cor. 9:13–14). So wrote Paul, though he was quick to point out that he was not feathering his own nest. He told the Corinthians that he personally was not after any remuneration, only that the church should financially support the work of evangelists generally.

This is the third primary commitment of a missional-incarnational church’s infiltration of society. If the church is living an intriguing new lifestyle that is so marked by goodness that it makes the gospel attractive, then to truly be effective it follows that this lifestyle must be lived in close proximity to not-yet-Christians. Paul took this seriously in his mediation of the Corinthian factions that had split over the issue of eating food offered to idols (1 Cor. 10:27–11:1).

If the Christian church is to be incarnational and missional, as we believe the New Testament anticipates, and if it’s to abandon an us-and-them mentality, it will need to rediscover the biblical mode of impacting the world around it. The traditional-attractional church thinks about evangelism as sending out church members to share their faith with others and to bring them into the church. But the New Testament writers saw it much more organically.

The following article is an excerpt from an interview between Ed Stetzer, Alan Hirsch and Tim Catchim that was first published on the CT site. The book that is referenced is “The Permanent Revolution,” which is officially unofficial required reading for the apostolic thinker. Why aren’t more theologians writing on the apostolic ministry of the church? Two things come to …

Today’s article is a re-post from Marg Mowczko’s blog, margmowczko.com. Given the recent tweetstorm surrounding this article and Beth Moore’s reponse, it couldn’t be more timely – AND – it provides us with a richer, deeper lens to grow our 5Q awareness around the powerful call of women to lead the new testament church. For most of the Church’s history, …

Every Christian can learn to know and listen to God’s voice; the promise of Jesus is for all of us. But to grow in our ability to hear God requires active engagement and intentional pursuit. In a world full of competing voices and a myriad of distractions we have to take the time to create the space and to learn the disciplines that will help us tune in.

When I planted a church many years ago, I realized pretty quickly that I did not fit the traditional “pastor” role. I worked hard at trying to be a better shepherd. As I began to engage APEST, I realized my calling, or vocation, was much more apostolic. For the first time, I understood how my gifting fit into the body of Christ.

In Alan’s book, The Forgotten Ways, he describes a moment in the life of a particular church where the leadership team formed itself around APEST. Each area of the organization was activated according to its 5Q – the gift that made most sense to lead it. This is a very practical look at the intersection of team leadership and the five fold gifts. You will be able to get a very good idea of the Ephesians 4 can provide structure for ministry teams. We can’t wait to hear your thoughts about it!

Most conversations on team development default to recruiting ministry positions such as a worship leader, children’s minister, youth pastor, etc. But, I believe planting a healthy, multiplying church that is effectively engaging its context must involve team dynamics that are informed by the five-fold typology of Ephesians 4; Apostle, Prophet, Evangelist, Shepherd, and Teacher (APEST).