The motivation for this series of teachings is to assist in the equipping of both the leaders and the members of each church to be able to more effectively fulfill their role in the great commission entrusted to the church of making disciples of all the nations (Matthew 28:19-20). This is the responsibility of the pastors and elders – to both ensure that they and their ministry team members, home groups leaders etc. are all equipped and prepared to effectively minister to their congregations, to visitors to their churches, and to anyone else, whether on the mission field or anywhere else.
This commission is in particular entrusted to the five-fold ministry leaders in the church, consisting of the apostles, prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. It must be noted that the Lord did not call the leaders to raise up impressive churches with lots of members; Jesus instructed His disciples to, ‘go and make disciples of all the nations’ (Matthew 28:19). This surely requires a far greater and more intensive commitment than simply to increase the number of members attending a particular church.
The Bible tells us the church is the body of Christ (Colossians 1:18) and that each one of us has a God-given place (1 Corinthians 12:18) and a part to play in it (1 Corinthians 12:27). The five-fold ministers have been given the responsibility to ‘build up the church’, i.e. everyone in it, to become more mature in the Lord, through increased unity, in faith and in knowledge of Jesus. These courses have been written with this very objective.
Colossians 1:18 Christ is also the head of the church, which is his body. He is the beginning, supreme over all who rise from the dead. So he is first in everything.
1 Corinthians 12:18 But our bodies have many parts, and God has put each part just where he wants it.
1 Corinthians 12:27 All of you together are Christ’s body, and each of you is a part of it.
Ephesians 4:12-13 Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ. 13 This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ.
I would like to be able at the end of my life to say that I have done everything I could have, with every talent, spiritual gift and opportunity given to or made available to me, and to be counted a worthy servant, just like in the parable of the talents being entrusted to the master’s servants, and those who invested them and showed a return being praised, ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant…’ in Matthew 24:14-30. Surely we, too, should ensure that we ‘invest’ and do not ‘bury’ our ‘talents’ – whatever they are – and use them all in the service of the Lord by serving each other.
Dr Brian Drury