Christ's Gift of Developmental People to Mankind

Paul, in his letter to the Ephesians, outlines the five types of developmental people Christ provides to his body for their up-building, and growth together into full maturity in Him (Eph.4:1-16) . As the Greek phrasing can be read in such a way that the last two types are one hyphenated item, these developmental people are sometimes listed a s being four in number rather than five. Nevertheless, the functions remain the same:

1. Apostle a person who gets individuals and groups moving again when stalled in life.
2. Prophet A person who gives individuals and groups a sense of direction and warning.
3. Evangelist A person who brings others into the body life of the "new community"
4. Pastor a person who gives local leadership and nurture, weaving members into a functioning local expression of body life
5. Teacher a person who instructs and assists tin the ongoing maturity needs of individuals and group.

The individuals who are given to these body-life tasks may not always be recognized, accepted, or funded, and may even be folks who have taken such tasks unto themselves without any sending being involved, but when the functions are performed, there is frequently a sense of the person being there at the right time and place, with "just what was needed" as being "a God-send". That is, there is as sense that Christ does indeed express his concern for bodily life and growth in practical ways, through the provision or gifting of certain folks to the tasks of body life-maintenance.

The question of "status" rises whenever leadership issues emerge in group life. Frankly, my own feeling is that the problem could be solved somewhat if everyone of these types were given a pair of blue coveralls like the ones worn by garage mechanics with a little nametag stitched on the front saying "Bob", because they are in fact ground crew for the fleet, keeping it on the road, as it pours life into the community around it in its daily dealings with its neighbors.

But there is one problem with such a solution: it has been tried before and does not work for long. The "clerical collar" originally was taken on as a symbol of the slaves' neck fetter, and symbolic of the servanthood of these folks in body life. Within a few generations, it became for some people a status symbol of a power position in a group and "reverence" (gag) in the community, complete with the title "Reverend". Another title "Parson" came from the idea that there was one "person" set free in the community from the dynamics of everyday commerce to circulate and just be a person, working to remind others to be persons in their occupations and daily lives, end assisting them to do just that. Within a short time, it too became a power-title. As in Community development, it is always faster to take on power positions and status, than to equip and build others into being able to do things for themselves.

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