Preparing Churches For The Great End-Time Harvest
Revivalist K.D.Anderholm
Chapter
One
Establishing The Five-Fold Ministry
In The Church
“When He ascended on high, He led captivity
captive and gave gifts to men.”
(Eph 4:8)
When Jesus completed His ministry on earth and ascended into Heaven, He broke His ministry anointing into five different gifts—apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor and teacher. Concerning the distribution of these five ministry gifts within the Body of Christ the apostle Paul writes: “And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers....” Notice the word some. The gift of Holy Spirit is available to all through Christ, but five-fold ministry gifts are only given to some as the Lord wills. This is not favoritism on the Lord’s part because God does not give ministry gifts to individuals for their own personal benefit, He gives them for “...the equipping of the saints for the work of the ministry....” (Eph 4:12; Rom 2:11)
These five ministry offices are not career choices, they’re divine callings. They’re not developed skills or human abilities, they’re supernatural anointings. They’re not lofty titles or exalted positions, they’re spiritual functions. They’re not rewards for good behavior or special entitlements, they’re weighty responsibilities.
The five-fold ministry represents the fullness of the Lord’s ministry anointing on earth. How do we know this? First, because during His earthly ministry, Jesus functioned fully as an apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor and teacher. Secondly, because God has commissioned the five-fold ministry to bring the Body of Christ into the fullness of Christlikeness. If the five-fold ministry did not consist of the fullness of the Lord’s ministry anointing on earth, then it wouldn’t be equipped to bring the Church into, “...the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.” (Eph 4:13; Rom 8:29)
The ‘Great Restoration’ Has Begun!
Throughout history, organized religion has done its best to overthrow the five-fold government of God and replace it with false religious governments. (2 Tim 3:5) Since the days of Martin Luther and the great protestant reformation, God has been restoring every scriptural function and truth that religion has tried to excommunicate from the Church. In the last 100 years, the pace of God’s divine restoration program has greatly increased. During the Azusa Street outpouring in the early 1900s, God began to restore our knowledge of the Baptism in the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in other tongues (Acts 2:4). In the late 1950s, during the time of the traveling tent evangelists and the ‘Voice of Healing’ movement, God began to restore our understanding of the office of the evangelist. In the 1960s, He brought honor again to the office of the pastor, and in the 1970s He focused on restoring the office of the teacher. In the 1980s and 1990s God began to bring the offices of the prophet and apostle back into plain view. These are just the first few ripples of what the Bible calls, “the times of restoration of all things….” (Acts 3:21-24)
The Focus of The Holy Spirit Today
At the onset of the new millennium, the predominate focus of the Holy Spirit around the world has been the restoration of the apostolic ministry and the establishment of apostolic churches for the purposes of sanctifying, equipping, activating and commissioning God’s people. In certain regions of the earth, however, there are churches lagging two and three restorations behind. The growing momentum of the prophetic and apostolic restoration will help to close the gap in the days ahead. God is sending His prophets to ‘update’ these lagging churches and help them get ‘plugged-in’ to what the Holy Spirit is saying and doing today.
Prophetic Preparations
Without certain ‘depths’ of inner dealings which come through the full and mature expression of the prophet’s office, these churches won’t develop the level of inward purity that is necessary to carry the apostolic anointing correctly. David said, “Behold, You desire truth in the inward parts, and in the hidden part You will make me to know wisdom.” (Ps 51:6) The true condition of our heart and mind is often hidden from our own sight. The book of Proverbs tells us that, “all the ways of a man are clean in his own eyes.” (Pr 16:2) The prophet Jeremiah said, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it?” (Jer 17:9) God has anointed prophets to deal with the hidden heart conditions of His people. He has given the prophet’s eyes the ability to peer deep into the hidden parts of the human soul and accurately discern unseen pride, stubborn attitudes, wrong motives, false humility, evil suspicions, self-centeredness, passive rebellion, self-deception, inaccurate thought patterns, wicked imaginations, unspoken objections and arguments, internal strivings and competitions, bitterness and unforgiveness and many other demonic strongholds. The prophet’s anointing is even precise enough to reveal subtle tendencies and slight inclinations that may exist towards these things. No other five-fold gifting deals with cunning craftiness as effectively as the prophet. Through strong prophetic teaching and preaching, even the most treacherous heart can be convicted and brought to a place of sincere brokenness and repentance before the Lord.
If a church begins to move into the tremendous might and power of the apostolic anointing before it receives the proper amount of prophetic preparation, it won’t be long before the leaders and the people begin to “stomp” in the their anointing with self-will and reckless arrogance. In this we see the great wisdom of God in emphasizing the prophetic office first, for God knows that it is a far more difficult task to deal with the human heart once it has been inflated with the unteachableness of iniquity and shackled with the chains of power intoxication.
The Five-Fold At Antioch
In the Bible, God sent prophets to prepare churches to receive the apostolic ministry and anointing. There are several examples of this in the New Testament, but we see this pattern played out most clearly in the book of Acts. When the Church in Jerusalem was scattered by the persecution which arose over Stephen, certain believers traveled to Antioch and evangelized the gentiles there, “...and a great number believed and turned to the Lord.” (Acts 11:21) When news of these things came to the ears of the elders in Jerusalem, they sent Barnabas to pastor the work and “a great many” more were added to the Lord. (Acts 11:24) Seeing that he needed help teaching the people, Barnabas went in search of Saul of Tarsus, who later became known as the apostle Paul. In Acts 11:26 we read:
“And when he (Barnabas) had found him (Saul), he brought him to Antioch. So it was that for a whole year they assembled with the church and taught a great many people. And the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch.”
So far in this account, we see the evangelistic, pastoral and teaching anointings working together to establish a church in Antioch. Under these three anointings, the church there experienced a season of explosive growth. This growth would have leveled off and eventually decreased if the prophetic and the apostolic anointings had not been included in the work. We know this by Ephesians 2:19-22 and 4:11-16 which show us that long-term church growth can only be perpetuated by the fullness of the five-fold ministry of Christ speaking into the people.
The Prophetic & Apostolic Are Added
Once the evangelistic, pastoral and teaching offices had ministered to the church at Antioch, we see that certain prophets came from Jerusalem and began to minister there prophetically. (Acts 11:27) When the fullness of the prophetic office was allowed to speak into the people, the prophetic anointing was established residentially within the church. We know this is true because two chapters later we find several prophets ministering there residentially. (Acts 13:1) Once the prophetic anointing found a residential place within the church at Antioch, the spiritual platform was set for the apostolic anointing to be added to the work. Suddenly the Holy Spirit spoke and said, “Now separate to Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them. Then, having fasted and prayed, and laid hands on them, they sent them away. So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia....” (Acts 13:2-4)
The prophetic office and anointing brought the church in Antioch to the level of spiritual maturity that was necessary to hear, receive and execute specific apostolic commissionings from the Holy Spirit. If the voice of the true prophetic ministry had not been allowed to operate in Antioch residentially, the apostolic anointing would not have been added to the work there and the church would not have received the whole counsel of God. When a church does not receive the whole counsel of God through the full expression of the five-fold ministry, a “blindness in part” comes over it causing the people to fall prey to carnality, false religious voices and counterfeit ministries. (Acts 20:27-32; Rom 11:25)
Chapter
Two
Recognizing Five-Fold Anointings
In order to move into the fullness of what God is saying and doing at this time, churches must make an honest assessment of their true spiritual condition. They must determine which of the five-fold anointings have been lacking and which have been working in sufficient enough measure to produce Christ in the people.
When I walk into a church, I can usually tell which of the five-fold anointings have been working strongly and which have not. When the pastoral anointing is strong, the people are secure in God’s love for them and in their love for each other. When the evangelistic anointing is strong, the people are full of excitement and have a burning passion to reach the lost and share the gospel with everyone they meet. When the teaching anointing is strong, the people aren’t board during a teaching—they sit on the edge of their seat, take notes and act like they can’t get enough of what they’re hearing. When the prophetic anointing is strong in a church, the people ‘see’ and ‘hear’ spiritually and a good majority of them are able to prophesy. (1 Cor 14:31,39) They have accurate dreams and visions and they are very aware of what is happening around them in the realm of the spirit. In a true prophetic environment, the people don’t just complain about how hard the territory is and what the devil has been doing, they discern the enemy’s strongholds accurately and “knock them out” with faith-filled words and actions. (2 Cor 2:11) Churches that are strong in the prophetic anointing are not casual about matters of personal holiness, either. They understand that they are “...the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus,” but they also understand that sin is not to be taken lightly because, “...a little leaven leavens the whole lump.” (1 Cor 5:6; Gal 5:9; SoS 2:15) When the apostolic anointing is strong in a church, a clear tone of divine authority will be heard in the people’s voices and the ‘might and power’ of God’s Spirit will rest upon them all in a visible way. The people will be ‘work horses’ in the spirit and even small groups of them will accomplish seemingly impossible feats for the Lord. Apostolic churches are filled with diversity, yet they move as ‘one man.’ They’re not busy for the sake of being busy, and they don’t waste time and precious resources on irrelevant tasks, experimental programs and good ideas—they’re a people of focused movement. They’re busy executing God’s divine strategies in their city, their nation and the world. Within a mature apostolic environment, the people will develop a deep sense of purpose, worth and meaning as their gifts and callings are discovered, stirred-up and utilized. A sense of destiny and greatness beats within their hearts because they know they’re a part of something significant that God is doing in the earth. A church that’s strong in the apostolic anointing will pray like everything depends upon God, but will work like everything depends upon them. They will plan like the Lord’s coming is years away, but they will live like He is coming back tomorrow.
When all of these anointings are functioning strong, the church is thriving with life and there is an over-whelming sense of God’s presence that “crackles” in the atmosphere like electricity. Churches like this are exploding with uncontainable growth and there is a high degree of spiritual maturity and intensity in even the “new-born” believers.
The Office of the Teacher
Some of the churches that have fallen behind in the move of God haven’t come into the fullness of teaching movement yet—that’s why they’re nervous about moving into the prophetic and apostolic. They lack the depth of scriptural foundation that comes through the full expression of the teaching office. Because of their scriptural ignorance, they are too insecure to live around mature prophetic and apostolic operations. Some of these churches still think the office of the teacher is referring to a Sunday school teacher or someone in the congregation who walks them through a nice Bible teaching once and awhile. They have never actually heard the Bible taught with the forward thrust of faith under the full capacity of the teaching office. If they have received any teaching at all, it was either through a believer who carried a teaching anointing; an insecure minister who imparted fear of the false instead of faith for the real; or a heady theologian who taught from the Bible with no anointing at all.
How To Recognize Five-Fold Teachers
In the teaching movement, God showed us that there is a vast difference between a believer who carries a teaching anointing and someone who stands in the five-fold office of the teacher. (1 Cor 14:26; Eph 4:11) Obviously, someone who stands in the office will teach under a much stronger anointing than someone who does not. More than that, the full teaching office carries with it the supernatural ability to reach into the depths of the human spirit and construct a scriptural foundation that is strong enough for an individual or church to move into higher levels of spiritual operation. When you’re done listening to someone who teaches from the full expression of the teaching office, you won’t just leave with a notebook full of words or a head full of knowledge—you’ll leave with a fresh understanding in your spirit that didn’t exist there before! When a true teacher is finished, explosions of supernatural understanding will continue to flash deep within your spirit, connecting scripture with scripture and enlarging your capacity to handle greater spiritual responsibilities. You’ll find yourself saying, “Wow! I’ve read that scripture thousands of times and I thought I understood it—but now I really understand it!”
True teachers don’t use ‘the letter’ of the Word to impart fear of extremism or keep the people from entering the move of God. True teachers aren’t moved by fear and insecurity—they’re moved by faith! Teachers look into the future and by faith, begin to post scriptural ‘guardrails’ on both sides of the road to perpetuate the church’s forward motion and keep the people from falling into a ditch of scriptural error somewhere down the road. Once the ‘guard rails’ are firmly set, true teachers won’t keep drawing attention to them week after week, instead they’ll point the people in the direction of the next move of God and help to accelerate the pace of their divine progression by teaching from the Bible with the forward thrust of faith! Fear and ignorance will slow and eventually stop divine progression, but faith with understanding added to it will accelerate divine progression. (1 Pet 1:5-12)
God builds brick upon brick, layer upon layer. One move of God prepares the way for another. The teaching movement in the 1970s laid the scriptural foundation for the prophetic movement in the 1980s. Unfortunately, some churches jumped into the prophetic movement without the foundation of the teaching movement and went off scripturally. The same thing will happen to some in the apostolic movement if they do not diligently pursue the scriptural foundation that came through the teaching movement as well as the strong inner dealings that come through the prophetic movement.
Chapter
Three
Overcoming Prophetic Paranoia
If we truly want to hear what the Holy Spirit is saying to our churches today, we must not underestimate the importance of having the full and mature expression of the prophet’s office operating in our midst. When the prophetic movement first began to rise in the early 1980s, it was opposed by some that lead the teaching movement in the 1970s. Why? Mainly because God didn’t choose them to lead it, but also because many were comfortable where they were at spiritually and they didn’t want to pay the price of ‘change’ to cooperate with what God was beginning to emphasize in the earth.
Whenever you leave the forward thrust of faith, fear will automatically begin to dominate your words and your actions. In the absence of faith there comes fear of loss, fear of change, fear of the unknown, fear of controversy, fear of church-splits, fear of extremes, fear of error, fear the of loss of control, fear of holy silence….I hear the Lord saying to some, “I have not given you a spirit of fear! Fear has come to you from the enemy to paralyze your spiritual progression! Was it not the fear of the ten spies that robbed the whole congregation of their faith and caused an entire generation to perish in the wilderness? Was it not fear that caused Job to say, “That which I greatly feared has come upon me…”? Is it not fear that has brought you to the place in which you now stand? For you have lived in fear of splits, of lack, of loss… And why is fear among you? Is it not because of sexual immorality? Is it not because of covetousness? It is not because of the sin which wages war against your soul and so easily besets you? For a double-minded man is unstable in all his ways, let him not think that he will receive anything from the Lord! Have you not lingered long enough in this wilderness of fear and disobedience? For I know the thoughts I have toward you, says the Lord, thoughts for good, to give you a hope and a future! Arise now and shake yourself, Joshua! for tomorrow you will cause the people to pass over the river Jordan and be cleansed, and in not too many days thereafter, you will lead the people into battle and take your promised land!”
When the prophetic movement began in the early 1980s, there were some that feared it because it signified that another divine change of emphasis had begun in the earth. Instead of cooperating with what God was doing, they began to “dig-in” and fortify themselves with reasonings and arguments in order to remain comfortable in the level of spiritual understanding they had at the time. Some attempted to keep their churches camped around the teaching movement by instilling in the people a fear of the prophetic movement. “Watch-out-for-this” and “watch-out-for-that” was the predominant theme of their messages in those days. There were certainly things to watch out for in the prophetic movement, but the emphasis on the prophetic in the 1980s was divine.
Don’t Throw Out All Caution!
The residue of this prophetic paranoia still lurks in the shadows of many churches today, and it’s hindering some from fully progressing into the present move of God. It’s true that in the last days there will be many false prophets, but many does not mean all! Some ministers today are so skittish and insecure that they think that any anointing that operates differently than theirs is false! We need to stop instilling the fear of the false and start imparting faith for the real! The apostle Paul said, “I want you to be wise in what is good, and simple concerning evil.” (Rom 16:19) When you know the real inside and out, you’ll automatically recognize the false!
I’m not suggesting that we throw off all caution, because there is already a great cloud of false prophets in the land. They’re a “smoke-screen” from the enemy to hide the genuine from the eyes and ears of God’s people. And how shall we know the genuine from the false? By the gossip and slander hurled at them from sinner and saint alike? No! For in warning the Pharisees Jesus said, “Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for so did their fathers to the false prophets.” (Luke 6:26) Shall we know true prophets by their peaceful and united families? No! For the Lord said, “Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword. For I have come to ‘set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law’; and ‘a man’s enemies will be those of his own household.’” (Matt 10:34-36) Shall we know them by their hours of fasting and prayer and their perfect Christian character? No! “…for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God….” (Rom 3:23) Shall we know them by their harsh voices and their ability to call down judgment and fire upon anyone who opposes them? No! For the Lord rebuked the ‘sons of thunder’ saying, “You do not know what manner of spirit you are of. For the Son of Man did not come to destroy men’s lives but to save them.” (Luke 9:54-56) Shall we know them by their grand prophecies and their ability to cast out demons in Jesus name? No! For Jesus said, “Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’” (Matt 7:22-23) Shall we know them by their soft words and warm welcomes? No! For if such were the case, John the Baptist, James, Jude and even the Lord Jesus Himself would have been disqualified!
You Shall Know Them By Their Fruits!
How shall we know the true prophets then? We shall know them by their fruits! (Matt 7:20) True prophets are motivated by God’s love and the fruits of God’s Spirit are evident in their life! That doesn’t mean prophets are perfect, it just means that they’re allowing God’s love to be perfected in them, just like everyone else in the body of Christ. It’s the grace of God that causes prophets to operate as they do. Those who are used prophetically know all too well that it’s not their own message they are bringing, it’s God’s! They also know that it’s not their own righteousness their speaking from, it’s Christ’s!
It’s God’s love that moves the prophet to speak the truth, even when everyone else remains silent! It’s God’s love that compels prophets to cry out against sin’s poisonous bite! “There’s a snake in the garden,” the prophets cry! God forbid that any of His little ones perish because they were ignorant of satan’s devices!
So we will know true prophets by their fruits. Do their words and actions cause others to become fruitful workers for the Lord, or do they simply flatter God’s people by “reading” their soul desires and speaking them out for deceitful purposes? Do their words bring a true repentance and change in the attitudes in the people or do they bring a false comfort by saying, “Peace, peace, all is well with your soul,” when all is NOT well with their soul? Do their words and actions bring people into a closer walk with Jesus, or do they strengthen their inner rebellion and cause them to continue on a path that leads to death?
Jesus said that in the last days there would be many false prophets. Let us not forget that in the Bible, the few who were true were always called false, and many who were false were commonly accepted as the true! Let’s not get so paranoid over the false that we miss the real, either! Paul said, “He Himself gave some to be...prophets….” (Eph 4:11) Jesus is the one who placed prophets in the Church. If the Lord wants the prophet’s anointing operating strongly among us, we can’t just say, “Sorry Lord, but I don’t like the way that anointing operates. I think we will do without it.” No one in the Church has been given that much liberty. Concerning His prophetic ministry in the church we must say, “Even so Lord, let it come.”
True prophets are not after money, position or recognition and they’re not after a following. They’re not after the honor that comes from man, they’re after the honor that comes from God! They are respectful and submissive to God’s leaders but they are not political ‘butt-kissers’ who play religious games and only tell people what they want to hear! True prophets are the servants of the Most High God and they are under tribute to speak only what the Lord is commanding them to speak.
Apostolic leaders and senior Pastors—if there are true prophets in your church or on your staff, you have to understand that they are not political “Yes” men who walk around saying, “Yes, pastor! Yes, pastor! Everything you say and do is right, pastor!” Sure, they’ll love and respect you and they won’t try to split the church by spreading gossip, but if the word of the Lord comes to them for you, they’ll let you have it! They won’t water it down with soulish explanations or nervous apologies either! If you can’t handle that, then you’re full of pride and your heart isn’t right before the Lord. Even in the height of his kingly ministry, David was open to prophetic corrections. (2 Sam 11:1-10) If you can’t handle the full expression of the prophetic anointing, then you’re not ready for the fullness of the apostolic anointing! (Gal 2:11; Pr 9:8; 13:18)
The Devil Fights Prophets Hard!
The devil fights the prophetic anointing in a church with everything he’s got! He knows that if he can keep the prophets from being able to do their job, the apostolic anointing won’t operate correctly and the church won’t fulfill it’s function. That’s why the enemy works so hard to isolate prophets from the leaders of the church. He accuses the prophet of being false, or being in pride. He stirs up all kinds of gossip, rumors, false visions and dreams, false grievances and false prophecies. People will start coming out of the woodwork saying, “I just don’t feel right about so-and-so. Yeah, they’re arrogant! Who does he think he is? Something’s really wrong with that person! I was at his house they other day and I heard him say…I heard that she did…See I knew that there was something wrong with that guy! I feel grieved! It must be the Holy Spirit trying to tell me something. Yeah, I had a dream that someone is going to rise up and cause you all kinds of problems….” This is how a religious spirit attacks a true prophet! He counterfeits the operations of the Holy Spirit in order to stir up fear and evil-suspicions within the leaders and the people. This is exactly what happened to Jesus! The leaders and the people said, “Who do you think you are, Jesus? You’re just Joseph’s son! How dare you call me a snake and a viper! You’re a false prophet! You do miracles and speak great swelling words by the devil! Who gave you the authority to do what you’re doing! You’re a glutton and a drunk! We know it because you were seen with those sinners and greedy people you hang around with! We’re gonna keep our eyes on you because we know you’re up to something!” I could go on and on. The point is, you can’t discern a true prophet by the seeing of your eyes or the hearing of your ears; you recognize them by the fruits of the Holy Spirit and by the Word of God. If everything they say and do lines up with the Spirit and the Word, then they’re real! Many times, if you’ll begin to pray fervently in the Spirit, what you thought was a ‘grievance’ will turn out to be your own insecurity around the prophetic anointing, or your close identification with a territorial stronghold the prophet is beginning to confront!
If you have said some negative things “off-the-cuff” to others about a true prophet, it’s not too late make things right. Don’t defend your statements and try to protect your ego, admit your mistake! Tell God you’re sorry and then go to the ones you made those statements to and say, “I was wrong about that person…” If you try to defend the impulsive things you said and did, you’ll just end up digging yourself into a bigger hole! Just swallow your pride, change your posture toward that man or woman of God, and fix the damage you did to their ministry the best you can. God’s grace and mercy will cover the rest.
The Prophetic Ministry Is Not All Negative
The prophetic ministry is not all negative like some may think. There are some wonderful benefits to having the real thing in your midst! The prophetic ministry purifies the hidden thoughts and intentions of the heart and it perfects holiness in the fear of God. It adds boldness and courage, dissolves doubts and imparts clearer hearing and vision. No other five-fold ministry office works as deeply and accurately to produce these things. Without this important ministry, not even the apostolic ministry will stay on course. That’s why the Holy Spirit often sends prophets and apostles together to break open hard territories and pioneer new works. Apostles and prophets are called by God to work together in the establishment of firm foundations. There must be a divine corporation between these two ministry gifts or impure motives and wrong thought processes will go uncorrected in the leaders and the people, opening the door for the flesh and religious spirits to slowly suffocate the work.
Chapter
Four
The Apostolic Office
& The Spirit of Iniquity
The need for apostolic and prophetic teamwork is unprecedented in this time. Yet, there is already a rift appearing between these two offices. The spirit of iniquity, which thrives in atmospheres of increasing order and perfection, is seeking to find a place at “the mount of the congregation” in order to keep the full expression of Christ from coming to the people. (Is 14:13-14)
Satan is the originator of self-will—he is the spirit of iniquity. In the book of Ezekiel chapter 28, we read that Lucifer was perfect in all his ways until iniquity was found within him. (Eze 28:15) Lucifer was set into a prominent place within the divine government of God, but his heart was lifted up because of his anointing and because of the structure of his own perfection. He suddenly became headstrong, rash, reckless, impulsive—he began to stomp his feet in his anointing and say, “I will... I will... I will...!” (Is 14:13-14)
As the five-fold ministry helps the Church move closer toward the perfected image of Christ, the spirit of iniquity, which thrives in atmospheres of increasing order and perfection, will seek a place at “the mount of the congregation” and especially among the highest ranking representatives of the Lord’s five-fold government—the apostolic ministry.
The Big “I” Must Die!
Because of the authoritative and dominant nature of the apostolic anointing, senior pastors who are moving into apostolic function will have to be careful not to develop an exaggerated sense of self-will or independence. Some are already beginning to display an “I’m in charge, I’ve got the goods, I can do whatever I want,” attitude. It’s true that God has given the apostolic ministry ‘final decision power,’ but when young apostles begin to ‘stomp their feet’ in their anointing and say, “I will... I will... I will...,” it undermines the very thing God is trying to establish within the people—a team mentality. Our “I’s” must turn to “we’s” if we want to see the work of the harvest completed. God is calling us to become team players in these last days.
Iniquity In the Pew
If the spirit of iniquity is not ‘rooted out’ of the pulpit early in the apostolic movement, it will find its way into the pew and cause the people to become stiff-necked, rebellious and uncooperative. When the spirit of iniquity is working in the leaders and the people, they will develop an, “I can hear God for myself” attitude like Miriam and Aaron who said, ‘Has the LORD indeed spoken only through Moses? Has He not spoken through us also?’” (Num 12:2) It’s true that every child of God can know God’s voice and be led by the Holy Spirit, but the apostle Paul said that we only “...know in part and we prophesy in part.” (1 Cor 13:9) If all the members of the Body were mature from the point of new birth and able to receive complete spiritual understanding directly from God’s Spirit, there would be no need for the five-fold ministry. No one in the body of Christ is fully developed yet, not even those who carry five-fold giftings. We all need to sit at the feet of Christ’s five-fold expression and learn from Him.
When the apostle John says, “... you have an anointing from the Holy One and you know all things...” and “...you do not need that anyone teach you...,” he is not eliminating the Church’s need for the five-fold ministry—he is reaffirming the role of the Holy Spirit who helps us discern between the truth and a lie. (1 John 2:20-21, 27) It’s not the apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor and teacher who teaches the people anyway—it’s the anointing which rests upon their gifts. John said, “...the same anointing teaches you concerning all things, and is true, and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you will abide in Him. (1 John 2:27)
Chapter
Five
The One-Man-Band Syndrome
& The Spectator Mentality
Apostles walk in a unique office. By God’s Spirit they are able to move in and out of other five-fold anointings quite fluently. One minute they can be prophesying, and the next minute evangelizing. They can pastor the flock and teach with the best of them. If they’re not careful, they can become a ‘one-man-band’ and end up creating a ‘spectator mentality’ within the people. The people will start to say, “Come on, Ruthie, let’s get in our car, drive down to the church and watch the apostle do his thing!” While the apostle is busy trying to keep the people’s eyes on Jesus, without even meaning to, he can end up keeping them on himself! This is why many churches today are built upon their leader’s dominant anointing and personality and not upon Christ.
A Word For Apostolic Leaders & Pastors
Apostolic leaders and senior pastors—in order to inoculate your church against the ‘one-man-band’ syndrome and the ‘spectator mentality,’ you’ll have to make sure that all five-fold ministry offices are speaking into your congregation regularly. Don’t just settle for all the traveling ‘circuit preachers’ who come knocking at your door—most of them are not five-fold ministers anyway. They’re exhorters who sing, shout and stir up the excitement of the people. They might be a good religious political connection but in truth, they don’t add much substance to the people. Others are simply traveling missionaries needing financial support or nice Christians who hold end-time prophecy seminars to share their latest view of the book of Revelation. These ministries have their place, but they are not of the five-fold nature.
Don’t get caught up in that feeling of power that comes when you are being pursued—keep your spiritual posture correct before the Lord and hold to an attitude of divine pursuit! Go on a spiritual treasure hunt for the kinds of five-fold anointings your congregation needs and don’t stop until you find them! Call them in by faith! Ask the Lord to send you the right kinds of ministry anointings—the ones who have a degree of spiritual maturity and seasoning. And when they come your way, treat them right financially! When you treat the Lord’s servants right, God sees that you mean business and He’ll bless your congregation with stronger anointings and greater responsibilities! He’ll allow you to develop divine relationships with these five-fold ministries and they’ll want to come back the next time you invite them!
If you’re blessed enough to have true five-fold ministers in your congregation or on your staff, allow Christ to manifest Himself through their giftings. Don’t just grab the church janitor, hang a title around his neck and put him behind the pulpit because he has been faithful to clean the toilets for ten years! Thank God for faithfulness, but faithfulness cannot replace the anointing! Don’t grab those ‘gossipy’ intercessors who have a degree of anointing but always complain about you behind your back, either! They’ll just try to manipulate you with false dreams and visions and end up becoming a real pain in your backside! Develop the ability to recognize distinct five-fold ministry anointings and allow them to speak into the people. This is how the Holy Spirit builds the church on a more complete expression of Christ.
Don’t Let Insecurity & Fear Dominate You!
You’re a leader! You can’t allow insecurity to dominate you! Fear will keep you so worried about the false, the flaky and the ‘doom-and-gloom’ that you refuse to allow anything to operate! Don’t live in fear of controversies or church-splits—obey God and have fun! So what if somebody says or does something that you don’t agree with! It doesn’t mean you have to lose your composure and spend eight weeks ‘unteaching’ the people and trying to “unscramble” what was said! Most of the time you’re just defending your ‘pet doctrine’ or your inflated ego anyway! Don’t go into ‘hyper-protection’ mode, just smile and let the Lord build His Church! If something is beginning to go in a strange direction, God will give you the ability to make the adjustments that are necessary without overreacting and bringing greater attention to the problem. Trust Him! The Lord is perfectly capable of taking care of His church—all He asks is that you obey! It’s that simple! Sometimes it’s good to just take a step back and remind yourself that you’re not God. When you learn to think this way, it takes the pressure off you and puts it on God, where it belongs. It shows the people that you’re secure in your God-given identity and that you’re not tossed ‘to and fro’ by the changing tide of men’s opinions or approval.
Take Seasons Of Downplayed Visibility
Take seasons of downplayed visibility, submitting fully to the other mature five-fold expressions of Christ. (Eph 5:21) Allow them to speak into yourself as well as into the people. Don’t just invite ministry gifts to minister to your congregation while you go on vacation! Be at the meetings and don’t go just to ‘police’ the atmosphere! Cooperate with what God is doing, even if there’s a flow you’re not used to. Sit on the edge of your seat, taking notes and showing the people how to get the most out of the anointing that is manifesting in front of them. Allow the other five-fold giftings to lay hands on you and impart additional giftings and anointings. Show the people how to remain teachable and correctly value what God has placed in front of them. And when that five-fold minister is finished obeying the Lord, give proper honor and respect to him or her. (Rom 13:7) Teach the people what kind of anointing they’ve been sitting under and listening to and how best to receive from it when they encounter it again. (Mt 10:41) After the word has been delivered, don’t just ‘steamroll’ over it with your dominant anointing and act if nothing significant was said—acknowledge the message! Show God and the people you value it and that you’re thankful for it! If you have to, work the message into the people yourself until they understand it! Work it for weeks if necessary! Refer back to it often; “Remember what the Lord taught us when brother so-and-so was here.... Remember the word of prophecy that God brought us last February through sister so-and-so....” Sometimes leaders are so concerned keeping people humble that they end up robbing the Lord of the praise that is due to Him for the way He has chosen to manifest Himself. Most of what man calls humility, is nothing but pride in disguise anyway! (Col 2:18; 23) It takes true humility to be the leader and yet remain submissive and respectful when the Lord chooses to express Himself in a strong way through someone else.
Three Areas of Spiritual Responsibility
When the full and mature expression of the five-fold ministry is in operation, the people will be equipped to fulfill their spiritual responsibilities, causing the church to ‘edify’ itself in love. (Heb 2:11; Rom 1:1; Eph 4:16) The word ‘edify’ is an architectural term meaning to build up, construct into an edifice or ordered structure; to promote growth or cause increase. (1 Cor 14:26) If a local church has not been seeing consistent growth through self-edification, it’s because the fullness of the five-fold ministry is not being adequately represented, and the people are not being sanctified, equipped, activated and commissioned to fulfill their spiritual responsibilities. (Heb 2:11; Rom 1:1; Eph 4:16)
For many today, church involvement is nothing more than a ‘spectator sport’ where the leader says, “I’ll do all the spiritual ministry and the rest of you can sit there and watch.” I hear the Lord saying, “This must change!” In this hour, the head can no longer say to the feet, “I have no need of you!” (1 Cor 12:21) God is calling all His people to enter into their spiritual responsibilities and fulfill their obedience in three arenas—the home, the church and the world.
Concerning our spiritual responsibilities in the home, we are instructed to, “...rule our own house well, having our children in submission with all reverence...raising them in the training and the instruction of the Lord.” (1 Tim 3:4; Eph 6:4)
Concerning our spiritual responsibilities in the church, Paul writes, “Whenever you come together, each of you has a psalm, has a teaching, has a tongue, has a revelation, has an interpretation. Let all things be done for edification.” (to construct growth and bring constant increase) (1 Cor 14:26)
Concerning our spiritual responsibilities in the world, the Lord commands us to, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.” (Mark 16:15-18)
When we’re adequately trained by the five-fold ministry to fulfill our spiritual responsibilities in all three arenas, our children will grow up and remain fruitful members of the church, our gifts and callings will be activated to bless those around us, and we’ll be preaching the gospel, casting out demons, laying hands on the sick and bringing in a harvest of new souls to the church. This is how a church edifies itself in love.
Discerning Houses of Deception
True love provokes action. The apostle John tells us, “...let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth.” (I Jn 3:18) James warns, “...be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.” (James 1:22) This is precisely why many churches today are quickly becoming houses of deception—they’re caught up in the ‘spectator mentality’ and they’ve become centers of hearing only and not centers of doing.
Jesus will not come back until the Church has been made glorious and the gospel has been preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations. (Eph 5:27; Matt 24:14) Even though the season of Christ’s return is growing near, the Church’s work is far from being complete. Yet, many in the Church are forfeiting their rewards by waiting for the Lord’s return instead of ‘hastening’ it. (2 Pet 3:12) When apostolic leaders and senior pastors ‘team’ together with the rest of the Lord’s five-fold government, it will create a team mindset in the people and cause them to come out of a “waiting” mentality and into a “working” mentality. Jesus said, “Do business till I come.” (Luke 19:13) There is a specific job that the Church is called to do in these last days and I hear the Lord saying, “Blessed are those who are found doing it when I come!” (Luke 12:43)
END
BOOKS
by K.D. Anderholm
You Need Dispensational Understanding
Beware of Men...Exposing The Spirit of The Modern-Day Pharisee
Discovering Apostolic Teamwork
CDs
by K.D. Anderholm
CDs Out Of Stock
Antioch Ministries International
Antioch Publications
143 Bragg Hill Road
Westminster,MA 01473