Last time we talked about the need for the equipping of the saints in churches.What shifts need to
take place?
What does this really look like in a local church, congregation or community? What does it look like – at work, in your home, with real family? Well, there are about five things in our present frame of reference that will need to shift. We need to progress from:
* Encouraging “services” to exhortational service: strong undergirding and strengthening;
* Inspirational worship to revelational worship: spending time in both the revelation and in the presence of God, hearing, speaking.
* Teaching to equipping/releasing believers: people actually go out and do the work of ministry somewhere;
* Gathering together in one building to going out: on the job and doing training in missional spheres;
* Assumed obedience (with very little actually being done after a sermon) to accountability to the task.
Here are groups of people, disciples if you will and this effort will need to work on with each of them. They will need:
1. Recognition of what their calling is and what sphere of skills they fit into [equipping];
2. An exercising of, or training in the gifts and skills related to that calling [training];
3. The acquiring of knowledge related to that field and those gifts [teaching];
4. Character to work those gifts in that field with integrity [equipping].
The equipping sandwich
1. Calling [an equipping task]
What is the person’s calling?
What does this really look like in a local church, congregation or community? What does it look like – at work, in your home, with real family? Well, there are about five things in our present frame of reference that will need to shift. We need to progress from:
* Encouraging “services” to exhortational service: strong undergirding and strengthening;
* Inspirational worship to revelational worship: spending time in both the revelation and in the presence of God, hearing, speaking.
* Teaching to equipping/releasing believers: people actually go out and do the work of ministry somewhere;
* Gathering together in one building to going out: on the job and doing training in missional spheres;
* Assumed obedience (with very little actually being done after a sermon) to accountability to the task.
Here are groups of people, disciples if you will and this effort will need to work on with each of them. They will need:
1. Recognition of what their calling is and what sphere of skills they fit into [equipping];
2. An exercising of, or training in the gifts and skills related to that calling [training];
3. The acquiring of knowledge related to that field and those gifts [teaching];
4. Character to work those gifts in that field with integrity [equipping].
The equipping sandwich
1. Calling [an equipping task]
What is the person’s calling?
“We can only keep on going, after all, by the power of God, who first saved us and then called us to this holy work. We had nothing to do with it. It was all his idea, prepared for us in Jesus long before we knew anything about it. But we know it now.” 2 Timothy 1:9 MSG
“Therefore, my brothers, be all the more eager to make your calling and election sure. For if you do these things, you will never fall.” 2 Peter 1:10 NIV
2. Gifting [a training task]
What gifts, skills and talents does the person display? In the world, a person’s gifts are recognized in various fields (sport, art, education, speaking etc.) and then trained/practiced.
Here is the model we use in teacher training:
1) Demonstrate the task (the learner watches);
2) Do the task together (I do, then you do);
3) Independence (you do on your own, I watch);
4) Review (you do it, I come back and check it).
“God's various gifts are handed out everywhere; but they all originate in God's Spirit. God's various ministries are carried out everywhere; but they all originate in God's Spirit. God's various expressions of power are in action everywhere; but God himself is behind it all. Each person is given something to do.” 1 Corinthians 12:4-6 MSG
“Do not neglect the gift that is in you, which was given to you by prophecy with the laying on of the hands of the eldership.” 1 Timothy 4:14 NKJV
3. Knowledge [a teaching task]
What information, knowledge or wisdom does the person need? Knowledge is not just book learning, but includes life experience, educational and mentoring.
“I myself am convinced, my brothers, that you yourselves are full of goodness, complete in knowledge and competent to instruct one another.” Romans 15:14 NIV
4. Character [an equipping task]
Will the person last in their calling? How is their character? This must include a mentoring element.
To be continued:
