Contact Us
MADISON MEETING LOCATION
1702 S. Park St.
Madison, WI 53713
MAILING ADDRESS
PO Box 259913
Madison, WI 53725
PHONE
1702 S. Park St.
Madison, WI 53713
PO Box 259913
Madison, WI 53725
When Jesus ascends into heaven He tells His disciples to wait for the Holy Spirit to come in power. Ten days later the Holy Spirit comes and fills the early church with power allowing it to expand quickly around the world. In Ephesians, we find that through His Spirit, Jesus gives the church five different gifts to receive and grow in together:
Together, these gifts allow the church to act as Jesus’ lived presence to the world where His Kingdom can break through.
As we have been exploring these gifts over the past four weeks it has been my prayer that you would discover the gifts that Jesus has given to you.
Now what is amazing about these gifts is that when you look at them you can break them up into two categories — the pioneers and the developers.
The pioneers are the apostles, prophets, and evangelists. Pioneers are those who take new ground for the Kingdom of God.
The developers help keep, maintain, and develop those in the Kingdom of God.
If, in the past few weeks you have found yourself thinking, I don’t feel like any of these gifts are me yet, it is very likely you are a developer and we need you!
If the church were only pioneers we would be like shallow soil producing quick growth with little depth or sustainability.
Yet, if the church were just developers we would become thorny soil choking out new growth, and eventually it would become hard soil where everything would eventually wither and die.
The beauty of the gifts is that we need both the pioneers and the developers to rise among us. It is here where the fertile and rich soil can be cultivated and new growth can take on deep roots.
The developers among us are the teachers and the shepherds.
Teachers develop the body into a deep love of scripture and the truth of God.
The main question the teacher is asking is: “Do the people of God know, understand, love, and apply God’s word in their life?”
When we look at scripture we find that Jesus is THE TEACHER.
He comes to us as a Jewish Rabbi or teacher. Jesus is referred to in many instances as teacher. And when we look at the life of Jesus we see that He taught people no matter where they were.
But Jesus wasn’t just merely a teacher. He is also The Word of God. In the beginning of John’s gospel, Jesus is referred to as The Word, and Colossians opens with a passage declaring how all truth, reality, and existence is found in Him. Jesus is the teacher and He is the Truth.
There is even one point where Jesus makes this clear to His disciples by saying “I am the way, the truth, and the life.”
So the teachers among us are those who point us back to Jesus. They are the ones who open our eyes to the truth of Jesus in the scriptures in a way that transforms us and grow us. They are the ones who walk beside us exposing the truth in order that we might be developed further into the image and likeness of Jesus.
The best teachers understand that the best form of teaching and learning happens through imitation and shared life. It will be through shared life that you will find that imitation happens in four steps.
You might be a teacher if:
We have all been called to teach. We have all been called to know the truth and to imitate and follow the way. As we enter into knowing and living the truth (who is Jesus) we are given wisdom and knowledge that we are called to pass down to others.
Some questions we can ask ourselves as we grow as a teacher are:
The reality is that teachers teach. They do not need a large audience. They do not need a stage or venue. They need a humble spirit who hungers after the truth of God and is able to speak that truth in love to those around them.
To the teachers among us we need your leadership. We need your wisdom. We need you to show us what it is to follow after Jesus as we together strive after him.
With you,
Pastor Justin
Comments
Login/Register to leave a comment