Apostles for Today?

Neil Thielke, January, 2006

Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord and that he may send the Christ, who has been appointed for you--even Jesus.  He must remain in heaven until the time comes for God to restore everything, as he promised long ago through his holy prophets.  (Acts 3:19-21, NIV)

In the last century we saw many components restored to the church that were present in the first church Jesus established over 1900 years ago.  The church was the new wineskin that Jesus spoke of that would be able to hold the new wine of the Holy Spirit.  Once again God is building His church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it.  Apostles are a gift Jesus gave to the church that is being restored today. 

“Foundation” versus “Building” Apostles

The first apostolic job after Jesus ascended into heaven was to establish the fledgling church’s foundations as a separate entity from the Jewish nation that God had worked with since the time of Abraham.  These were “foundation” apostles.  Jesus referred to new wineskin issues when he said to the Jewish leaders “You have made the Word of God null and void with your traditions!”

Jesus being the word of God incarnate came to make the Father known to us- so much so that he could say to Philip, “[if] you have seen me you have seen the Father (John 14:9, NIV)!” Today Christians are still to represent Jesus and the Father to the world.  Jesus said in John 20:21, “As the Father sent me, I am sending you (NIV).” We also have the Word of God in us. What an awesome responsibility and privilege Jesus has given to us.

One of the gifts that Jesus gave the church were apostles “so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ (Eph 4: 12- 13, NIV).”  It seems like God had his tongue in his cheek when he inspired Paul to write this. When will the church “attain to the WHOLE measure of Christ?” or “ALL reach the unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God”?  We are not there yet.  Will we arrive there before Jesus returns?  Probably not.  This brings us to the inevitable conclusion that apostles are for today.

What would “building apostles” who are constructing on top of the original parameters of the “foundation apostles” in the Bible look like today? That is our question. Referring to his job of establishing the foundation that would test future parts of the building, Paul wrote:

By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as an expert builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should be careful how he builds. For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man's work. If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward. If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames (1 Corinthians 3:10-15, NIV).

Talking elsewhere of that foundational work Paul wrote:

Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God's people and members of God's household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit (Ephesians 2:19-22, NIV).

To retain the effectiveness God ordained for the church, the first century apostles built on the foundation of Jesus Christ, who is the chief cornerstone.  Today we are building on top of that foundation. To alter the original foundation would be sacrilegious, but to ignore the ongoing critical need for apostles to be involved in the work of building on that foundation would be disregarding one of God's permanent gifts to the church.

One of the ways we can tell what is really important to a person is what they say before they leave on a long trip. After experiencing the insane driving “over there” I have witnessed first-hand the wisdom of telling my friends where my will is located before leaving on some overseas trips!  Just before his departure from planet earth Jesus told the apostle Peter, “feed my sheep”.  One of the ways Peter fed Jesus’ sheep was by shepherding the pastors in the first century church. Evidence of such shepherding is abundantly found in Paul's pastoral epistles to the churches.

Much evidence abounds that pastors still need personal shepherding today.  Behind almost every transfer (or resignation) of pastors there is a sad story that often remains undisclosed.  The reason for relocation is clothed in spiritual language: “I feel called to a different place”. But often the real reason for the exit is hardship in leadership relationships because of the lack of an outside referee. What some authors call “church dragons” are too often left to control and manipulate the flock because of their past unresolved hurts and issues. When the new shepherd arrives to pick the discarded baton off the floor the dragons lie in wait with smiles till the honeymoon period is over and then begin to pounce.

A leader of a church denomination in Minnesota has administrative oversight for over 500 licensed ministers. He gets frequent phone calls from pastors, mostly when they are in dire circumstances.  Sadly the most he can do to stop the hemorrhaging in those local churches is to deal with the aftermath of ruptured relationships. However, there should be much more to the role of an apostle than just operating as an emergency room medic.  Consider for a moment what that would look like in a marriage:  “Call me, dear, if you have any dire problems; otherwise I will see you at the rapture.”

One of the top qualities of successful churches recently listed by a prominent author was “the pastor has been there a long time”.  Consider the time difference in terms between a hired shepherd and the shepherd/owner.   In the United States , the average length of service for pastors is only two years per church. The congregation is dreaming of the perfect pastor and the pastor of the ideal pastorate.  But the relationship between a pastor and his church is somewhat like the marriage covenant between a man and wife.  The pastor is a covenant gift given to the church by God. Just as there are no perfect wives or husbands, there are no perfect pastors or churches. Perfect marriages result from two parties who are committed. The same should be true in many aspects of pastor-flock relationships.

One pastor told me that he had probably been in his parish long enough. He was having difficulty keeping from crying at the funerals, because he had come to know the people so well.  My thought was that he had finally arrived!  He was no longer a hireling, but had become a true pastor.  Many veteran pastors declare that this does not happen till the 7^th or 8^th year of their pastorate.

Paul model for the depth of his apostolic relationships with the leaders of the churches was that of a shepherd.  While saying goodbye for the last time to a group of local leaders, Paul said:

“Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood.   I know that after I leave, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock…

    When he had said this, he knelt down with all of them and prayed.   They all wept as they embraced him and kissed him.  What grieved them most was his statement that they would never see his face again. Then they accompanied him to the ship.

    After we had torn ourselves away from them, we put out to sea and sailed straight to Cos (Acts 20:28-29, 20:36 - 21:1; NIV).

This is a model for all time. Although the foundation of the church was laid in the first century, the need for true shepherds has not diminished- especially for apostles, the shepherds of pastors of local churches.

Shepherding- A Sign

The job description for an apostle modeling his ministry after the ministry of the apostles in the New Testament would include the following functions:

1) Mediator- Philemon, Acts 15

2) Church consultant- 1 Corinthians 7:1

3) Troubleshooter- 1 Corinthians 1:11

4) Training leader- 1 Timothy and 2 Timothy

5) Counselor-

6) Team leader- Paul in Book of Acts

7) Discipline consultant- See 1 Corinthians 5:1

8) Doctrine consultant- Galatians 4, 5

9) Church planter- Book of Acts

10) Pastor to local church leaders - the pastoral epistles of Paul to the churches

11) Visionary

All of the above functions are necessary for an apostle today.  Without apostolic input,  local church boards are left to duke it out among themselves in a real life game of “Survival”.  An apostle could facilitate a peaceful change or kingdom building problem resolution. But the one job definition and gift from God that is most important and so desperately needed by many pastors today is ongoing, constant, caring shepherding to the shepherds.

How to Test an Apostle

Frequently, when this part of God’s restoration, the ministry of apostle, is disclosed everyone with a ministry is quick to proclaim that they are an apostle.  “I’m an apostle!” becomes the cry at every corner. Revelation 3 talks about a church that was able to test apostles to see which were genuine.  Incredibly, as important as it is, we were left without the substance of the “test”.

Often it is assumed that signs and wonders are required to prove an apostle because of  2 Corinthians 12:12:

“The things that mark an apostle--signs, wonders and miracles--were done among you with great perseverance (NIV)."

However, this verse does not say that these signs are required before an apostle begins their work.  Paul is looking back retrospectively on what had transpired at Corinth to appeal to them concerning their dismissal of his oversight. 

Wouldn’t true pastoring be a sign of the genuine apostle?  Can’t a child tell when it is “dad” they are relating to compared to others?  Unfortunately, being an apostle is often times relegated to a status symbol rather than a job with a cross and a huge responsibility.  True apostles should be quick to pick up the staff of serving as a shepherd.  The title of “apostle”, or how many churches they oversee should be the last thing on the mind of a true apostle.  Their shepherding service to pastors is the proof of the apostolic gift in them.

The Scope of What One Man Can Do

How many pastors can one man apostle? Anyone who tries to personally oversee 500 churches ignores the “shepherding of pastors” function of apostleship. There are apostolic teams who share the ministry of shepherding to cover many churches. However, unless each pastor receives personal shepherding attention from someone on the team, the “apostle” designation is empty and formless- as well as senseless, and the apostle is little more than a hireling.

Jesus related to twelve men who he would leave in charge of the Jerusalem church. How many men can we relate to on a personal basis? How many can we give personal care to? When the apostle gets stretched, relationships fall into neglect, and the breakdown in relationships may be blamed on the pastors. There is a need to personally shepherd those God has put in our care. Nothing can replace time: not anointing, miracles, or personal charisma. These may facilitate our relationship, but even the US military has to place men on the ground of the country that they wish to occupy in order to build governmental structure. Simply tossing bombs, supplies, or pamphlets from the air will not establish order.  Hands-on work on the ground is critical. The same holds true for apostolic oversight.

The Acquisition of an Apostle

The actual implementation of apostleship in a local church needs to be a work of the Holy Spirit, because the apostolic gift is from Him.  Many pastors have striven to quickly get under an umbrella of authority only to find that the resulting situation is worse. Some have discovered after making the arrangement for oversight, that those overseeing a large network of churches do not actually shepherd the pastors. 

We were blessed at Morris Community Church to have had God speak to us at our inception in 1982 about God-given authority.  While reading Ephesians 4 in a small group setting, there was a God-breathed pause.  Neil and Ruth Thielke saw that the 5 fold gifting from God was for today and took time to pray that God would lead them to a group that modeled themselves after the Word of God.

But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ's gift. Therefore He says:

"When He ascended on high,

He led captivity captive,

And gave gifts to men."*

(Now this, "He ascended"--what does it mean but that He also *first descended into the lower parts of the earth? He who descended is also the One who ascended far above all the heavens, that He might fill all things.)

And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head--Christ-- from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love (Ephesians 4:7-16, NKJV).

Two weeks later an elderly man in Morris died, who was the father of Ruth’s best friend, Judy.  Neil and Ruth went to the funeral. Judy’s brother, Doug, was also at the funeral and Neil and Ruth began to talk with him. Doug explained that the church that he had been connected to in the Twin Cities, New Testament Church (later to become City Hill Fellowship), had apostles and prophets. Seeing this as the answer of their prayers, Neil and Ruth asked Doug to arrange a meeting with the folks at New Testament Church.

At the first meeting in Morris, they were introduced to Jim McCracken who began to shepherd Neil over the ensuing 20+ years. Following that period of time he set Neil in as the overseer of Morris Community Church.

Neil Thielke has begun planting other churches. The Outfitters for Adventure network of churches is a grandchild organization within TrueBridge Fellowship. It utilizes the apostolic model of shepherding pastors that Jim McCracken has taught--the model Jesus established for apostolic ministry in the New Testament.  The apostolic ministry is the gift that Jesus gave the church, enabling the church to stand the test of time, and to hold fast to the teachings that Jesus had poured into his first generation of apostles.

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