As we continue studying how to comply with II Corinthians 13:5, “Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith,” we will continue with the essentials of finding our place in His body and functioning in the gifts and ministries of the Spirit.
Most Christians are atrophied because they have not been equipped and are therefore not functioning in the part of the body to which they are called. To see our own personal calling and purpose with clarity can be one of the most revitalizing things that can happen in our spiritual lives as well as in the life of the church. Contrary to popular belief, the body of Christ is not a spectator sport where a few people play the game and the rest just pay money and cheer them on. Every Christian is called to be “in the game” and has a vital role to play. Seeing this and moving in this direction of equipping all the saints to know and do their part can create great momentum in a church body.
For those who have this vision for what the body of Christ should be, there are four basic steps to having each member functioning in their right place. The first step is teaching. This is necessary for solidifying the vison and resolving to accomplish it.
The second step is training. Training begins when those who have been taught can start doing what they have been taught in the ministry to which they have been called. Unfortunately, it is rare to have such training in local churches right now. Instead, nearly all ministry teaching and training are done in seminaries or Bible schools. This would not be required if local churches were turning Christians into disciples and equipping them in their callings as part of their basic purpose.
When I was a flight instructor, I was tasked with turning novices who had never touched the controls of an airplane into safe pilots. I started by teaching each student the basics of aircraft, aerodynamics, airport operations, FAA rules, weather, etc. However, I would only cover the very basics before getting them in the plane to practice what I had taught. When they could take the controls and do it themselves, that is when the training began, and the teaching came alive to them. Their training involved much practice and repetition until the maneuvers became easy and natural to them.
Today, the level of preparation most Christians receive is level one, teaching. Most Christians’ experience with church life is going to services, singing a few songs, listening to a sermon, shaking a few hands, and going home, where they are expected to do what they were taught. If we question these Christians shortly after a service, most will not even remember what the sermon was about. For the body of Christ to become what it is called to be, we must be as devoted to training as we are to teaching.
After my student pilots demonstrated they could safely perform basic maneuvers without my coaching, I would get out of the plane and let them fly solo. Isn’t that what Jesus did when He commissioned His disciples in Luke 10? The Lord sent out the seventy to preach the gospel, heal the sick, and cast out demons, then they returned ecstatic about their success. Then, in Luke 11 the disciples asked Jesus to teach them to pray. Jesus commissioned them before they even knew how to pray!
This is the model He gave us for training His people. They do not need a seminary degree to get started. In fact, we should immediately begin teaching new believers to seek their calling, become part of the body, then train them in what they learned right away.
Even the most exciting churches today seem boring to most people because they’re just spectators. Anything associated with God that is boring should be considered an apostasy! God is not boring, and the true Christian life of “growing up into Him” is the most exciting, fulfilling life on earth. That is what true church life is supposed to be and will be for those who hear the call to ride this wave that is coming.
© 2022 Rick Joyner. All Rights Reserved.
