From: MINISTRIES TODAY magazine

Where are the Apostles Today?

by Pastor Jim Buchan

While some commentators argue that apostolic ministry died out centuries

ago, the need for modern-day apostles continues.

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I'll never forget the chilly January day when I was visited in my church

office by a minister named Johnny Jones. Although I had never met

Johnny, he said he had been given my name by one of my pastor friends

across town.

"Pastor Buchan," Johnny got to the point of his visit, "I was wondering

if you could give me some meetings to preach at."

Somewhat nervously, he reached into one of the pockets of a rather

threadbare winter coat that was missing a button. Because on his unkempt

appearance, I was relieved when he only pulled out a crumpled business

card and not a gun or a knife. The card looked as if it had been offered

to at least 100 other pastors before me.

"JOHNNY JONES--Apostle, Prophet, Missionary and Evangelist," the card read. A phone number also was included, but it was a little hard to read because it had been crossed out several times so the current information could be provided.

Trying to be cordial, I explained to Johnny that we were pretty booked

at the moment and that ordinarily we only used guest speakers we had

some previous relationship with. Appearing disappointed, but not really

surprised, Johnny thanked me for my time and drove away in his badly

dented car. A cloud of black smoke emerged from his tailpipe, which was

held together by a metal clothes hanger.

Did I miss a chance to have an apostle minister at my church?

Some people, of course, argue that there is no place for apostles in the church today. Such a ministry, they say, ended many centuries ago, either in the first century or at least by the time the canon of Scripture was completed and recognized.

Other commentators are a little more open-minded, but limit the current role of apostolic ministry to missionary work in areas of the world where the gospel has never been preached. In fact, the word "missionary" comes from a Latin word meaning the same as the Greek word apostolos, "one sent forth."

Looking Back

Before responding to the various viewpoints on whether apostles are--or should be--present today, it is important to first take a scriptural look at the role of apostles in the first-century churches. They served six main functions:

1. Taking the gospel to unreached areas. Paul wrote to the Romans, "It has always been my ambition to preach the gospel where Christ was not known, so that I would not be building on someone else's foundation" (Rom. 15:20, NIV). This was a central apostolic passion.

2. Planting churches upon the foundation of Christ. Paul speaks of this important apostolic role in First Corinthians 3:10-11: "By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as an expert builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should be careful how he builds. For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ."

In some cases, apostolic ministry also included helping established churches return to this scriptural foundation (see Gal. 1:6-10, 3:1-3; Rev. 2:1- 5).

3. Appointing and training the initial leaders of a church. When Paul and Barnabas made their second visit to Lystra, Iconium and Pisidian Antioch, they prayed, fasted and ordained leaders in each church (Acts 14:21-23). Paul likewise instructed his apostolic understudy, Titus, to "set in order" the churches in Crete and appoint elders in every city (Titus 1:5).

4. Dealing with specific problems, false doctrines or sins. Paul spoke with apostolic authority to the church he planted at Corinth about a number of problems that had developed there: disunity, immaturity, pride, immorality, taking other believers to court before secular authorities, questions about celibacy and marriage, disputes about meat offered to idols, improper handling of the Lord's Supper, misuse of spiritual gifts, and confusion about the resurrection.

5. Promoting unity in the body of Christ (see Eph. 4:1-16). The need for unity was addressed on many different levels. In Philippi, Paul had to deal with contention between two women in the local assembly, Euodia and Syntyche (Phil. 4:2). In Corinth, Paul challenged the church's citywide disunity, brought about when believers lost sight of the centrality of Christ and rallied around dynamic leaders such as himself, Apollos and Peter.

In addition to dealing with unity issues in local assemblies or in the church in a city, Paul also performed the apostolic role of networking the church around the world (see Acts 11:27-30; Rom. 15:25-27; 1 Cor. 16:1-4; 2 Cor. 8-9).

6. Demonstrating and imparting the supernatural dimension of the kingdom of God. Although it is God's intention for all believers to heal the sick, cast out demons and perform miracles by the power of the Holy Spirit (Mark 16:17-20), apostolic ministers in particular are to bear this credential (2 Cor. 12:12).

Thus it is said that God did extraordinary miracles through Paul (Acts 19:11), implying the presence of supernatural manifestations greater than "ordinary" miracles. And it is said that "with great power the apostles gave witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus" (Acts 4:33, NKJV). Not only did the apostles demonstrate the power of God, but they also imparted it in special ways to other believers (see Acts 8:4-20, 10:44-46, 19:1-6; 2 Tim. 1:6-7).

In stating these six general functions of apostles in the first-century church, it must be realized that the apostolic role was carried out quite uniquely by each of the apostles described in the New Testament.

• Peter was particularly gifted in reaching the lost.



• Paul seemed to excel in teaching and in building believers together as a functional expression of the body of Christ.



• John was an apostle with a prophetic heart. His passion was that God's people would walk righteously and in a love relationship, both with the Lord and each other.



• James, the half-brother of Jesus, also was recognized as an apostle (1 Cor. 15:7), even though the focus of his ministry was apparently more pastoral and primarily localized in Jerusalem.

It is also important to realize that having an apostolic ministry did not automatically mean the apostle had the right to exercise full authority in all places and situations. It was a ministry based on relationship and not just on calling.

Thus, Paul says to the Corinthians: "Are you not the result of my work in the Lord? Even though I may not be an apostle to others, surely I am to you" (1 Cor. 9:1-2, NIV).

Paul had been instrumental in bringing the gospel to Corinth and laying the church's foundation there. Because of this, he claimed a special relationship with the Corinthians that enabled him to speak to them with a boldness that might not have been appropriate with the churches in Jerusalem or Rome, which had been established by others (see 1 Cor. 4:14-21).

Also, it appears that the authority of an apostle waned in certain ways after the local church was firmly established and provided with the oversight of local leaders. Although Paul intervened without apology to resolve major problems not being remedied by the local leadership (as in Corinth), at other times he seemed to assume the role of a father whose authority diminished after his son or daughter reached adulthood.

It is crucial to note that Paul's heart was not to establish a chain of "we are of Paul" churches, but to see each church function under the headship of Christ (see Col. 1:18; Acts 20:32; 2 Cor. 11:2-3).

But What About Now?

Many commentators have come to the conclusion that after the apostle John died, the "apostolic age" officially ended and there ceased to be any valid apostolic ministry. This view is based on two erroneous assumptions:

• That the role of apostle was limited to the original 12 apostles chosen by Jesus. A careful reading of the New Testament will show that additional leaders also are referred to as apostles, including Matthias, Paul, Barnabas, Silas, Timothy, Andronicus, Junias and Epaphroditus. The original 12 indeed are said to have a special role in God's purposes (Rev. 21:14; Matt. 19:28), but that certainly does not mean they were the only apostles.



• That there is no need for apostles today. This objection can best be answered by looking again at the list of functions of an apostle. Are the functions still relevant today?

Penetrating unreached areas:

Although the gospel has gone out to some degree to every nation, there are still thousands of unreached people groups that, because of geographical or linguistic isolation, have never even heard of Jesus Christ.

Church planting and foundation laying:

God-gifted church planters are desperately needed in America and all over the world. In addition, many existing churches have been built on human traditions and opinions rather than on the solid biblical foundation that apostolic- hearted ministers long to provide.

Appointing and training leaders:

Today the apostolic function of training leaders has been largely replaced by seminaries and Bible schools. Appointing the leaders of local churches generally has become a matter of congregational voting, selection by a denominational hierarchy or the increasingly common practice of aspiring preachers to simply start their own churches and appoint themselves the pastors.

A result of this lack of apostolic involvement is that leaders often have been put in places of responsibility they are not gifted or adequately equipped to fulfill. They may have been good students at the seminary, but they are unlikely to receive the type of personal training and character development that Timothy received from Paul. As in the first century, there are countless tutors today, but the cry of the hour is for true spiritual fathers (see 1 Cor. 4:14-17).

Addressing unresolved problems:

Almost every church occasionally encounters an impasse that is difficult to resolve without outside assistance. Who is available to furnish local pastors with wise input about these thorny church problems? There is still a need today for ministers with apostolic authority who can provide accountability and pierce through blind spots, ignorance and pride, speaking the Word of God to areas of sin, imbalance, false doctrine and division.

Promoting unity:

The disunity of the body of Christ is still a scandal that robs us of the full blessing of God and undercuts our testimony to the lost. Ministers with a genuine apostolic heart are burdened for God's people to care for each other's needs as a united family and reach the world as a united army.

Local congregations frequently are deficient in seeing the "big picture" of the church around the world and sensing the Lord's heartbeat that His body be functionally interlinked. This vision of unity is sorely needed in the church today, and only those with apostolic insight and authority have the necessary gifts to bring it about in a significant way.

Demonstrating and imparting the supernatural:

We live in a day when God is working mightily to restore signs and wonders to the church. For too long we have relied on our intellect, human wisdom and persuasive words--the very things Paul refused to put his confidence in: "My message and my preaching were not in wise and persuasive words, but with demonstration of the Spirit's power, so that your faith might not rest on men's wisdom, but on God's power" (1 Cor. 2:4- 5).

Today, more than ever--because of our society's increased interest in satanism, the occult and New Age practices--the church needs to be able to display and dispense God's power.

We would be horrified if someone suggested that all pastors, teachers or evangelists had passed away and were no longer valid parts of the church. Nevertheless, we often have allowed ourselves to be robbed of the ministries of apostles and prophets, which are found in the same list of ministries in Ephesians 4:11.

The church without apostles is like a car without all of its cylinders functioning: It may still move, but it is likely to sputter and lack the power it's supposed to have.

Still, as in my encounter with Johnny Jones, I've always been wary of people who go around calling themselves an apostle or some other high-sounding title. Sadly, those most eager to use such titles are sometimes woefully lacking in apostolic character and credentials.

Solomon warns that we should let someone else praise us rather than trying to promote ourselves (see Prov. 27:2). If we really are apostles or prophets, it is likely that someone will be able to figure it out without reading it on our business cards.

We need more people functioning with apostolic and prophetic impact and fewer people worrying about having the title. It's true that Paul didn't mind identifying himself as an apostle, but we need to remember that he always saw himself first as a "bondservant of Christ Jesus" (Rom. 1:1, NASB), which should be our primary motivation for ministry as well.

If somehow Paul could be transported through time and speak to a gathering of aspiring apostles today, he no doubt would warn them about the false notion that apostolic ministry is characterized by prestige and honor. He would point out that, quite to the contrary, apostles are likely to be persecuted, slandered and treated as the scum of the earth (see 1 Cor. 4:9-13; 2 Cor. 6:4-10).

Perhaps we have heard so many sermons on the mighty exploits of the original apostles that we have elevated the apostolic role to a position far higher than God ever intended. We need to take another look at the biblical record. Yes, the apostles were dedicated and marvelously gifted ministers--but they also had fears, flaws and shortcomings, much like many of the men and women we know in ministry today.

Despite our reservations and questions, God is raising up apostles to serve the church--and if we are wise we will recognize our need for such input. Discernment will be needed, for these ministers are unlikely to come with halos or with the word "apostle" engraved on their business cards.

So where are the apostles today?

Many with apostolic gifts have purposely steered away from describing themselves with such a lofty term. They may be even be serving in more traditional roles, such as denominational bishops or district overseers.

Others have adopted an uncontroversial designation such as "church planter" or "church consultant." And some ministers known to us as pastors or missionaries may actually have apostolic callings.

Jesus is restoring His church today! Let us be on the lookout for those He sends to be part of the restoration process. (to return to top of page)

Suggested article: "Calling All Apostles"

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