Before You Call Yourself an Apostle!

[Mark H. Stevens, Th.D]

Apostles are leaders and visionaries... they bring direction to the church. They have the courage and ability to keep the Church moving forward, growing, and building in new directions. Apostles are also fathers, able to nurture and disciple the other ministry gifts. They have maturity and experience beyond their fellows and can give guidance as well as leadership. They wear the Helmet of Salvation, which means they walk "within" salvation. They know the mysteries of Christ's salvation. Such knowledge is only acquired through time and experience, trials and testing. An apostle is proven by his example of holiness and demeanor in Christ Jesus. The Helmet of Salvation is not a royal crown: it is the hat of a warrior general who is accustomed to putting his life on the line, for the sake of the Kingdom of God. Many who are in this office will never be recognized as APOSTLES! The reason is this, when a man is truly led by God to establish a work of any kind, it may bristle against the establishment.
The Apostle Paul is a good example of a man on a “Mission from God”, I laugh as I write this because I am reminded of the movie The Blues Brothers, They were the oddest of odd, yet they went through every obstacle because they believed they had a mandate from God. Listening to God is not easy; it can cause you to be treated like an outsider and at times even a rebel! I believe men that are in the office of Apostle are always MISUNDERSTOOD and treated like oddballs. Based upon scriptural precedence apostles are usually the recipients of dreams and visions, Apostles receive an abundance of Revelation from God, Why? They establish ministries and churches. It is quite possible to be an Apostle and NEVER pastor a church.
Contrary to popular belief Paul WAS NEVER A PASTOR! Paul was a TEACHER/APOSTLE. Now another shocker is that PETER was not a PASTOR either, the PASTOR of the church in Jerusalem was JAMES (The Lord’s Brother); Peter was an EVANGELIST/APOSTLE. Apostles usually carry dual roles! Here is another curve for you, Barnabas was an Apostle too, but he was a DEACON/APOSTLE, his ministry was one of service and support yet he was counted as an APOSTLE! I do believe that there are Apostles today, Men that are SENT to establish works according to God’s divine mandate. Now too many guys are starting storefront churches and calling themselves “Apostle”. Real Apostles don’t run around calling themselves APOSTLE! They know it, and they walk in it! The Five-Fold Ministry Gifts are to operate in all of our churches, and each ministry gift is vital. The Pastor is just ONE piece of the puzzle.