Rightly Working Together

To the Evangelist, Preacher/Teacher, Pastor, Prophet, Administrator:

The evangelist has little care for this present world and sets his eyes primarily on the after. If not careful: He sees the prophet as harsh and too focused on works and fear and wrath. He sees the preacher/teacher as mentioning the cross horribly to infrequently. He sees the administrator as a religious task master confining his free spirit with man made plans and structure. He sees the pastor as one who is testing and either tearing down or confirming the work he, himself, has already gotten these believers to accomplish through surrender. And he sees every person, no matter how reprehensible, as a possible miraculous story of life transformed for Christ. 

The preacher/teacher has his eyes set firmly upon the lesson at hand and it’s being rightly divided and shared and received by those who might have ears to hear it. If not careful: He sees the evangelist as a sower of seeds and a blind gatherer of both wheat and tares to fill seats. He sees the pastor as distracted by the necessary hand holding, and visiting, and feeding of the poor, the needy, and the afflicted. He sees the administrator as a mincer of words and as one who would restrain the oxen while he is treading out the grain. He sees the prophet as questionable at best and an enemy at worst. And He sees every person as soil to be pounced upon and tilled up by the sword that shots from his mouth. 

The pastor has his eyes firmly set upon the needs of today and the opportunities to serve and love and discipline and heal. If not careful: He sees the preacher/teacher as a hypocrite with many words but few signs of love. He sees the prophet as harsh and careless with his words and warnings towards a people already loaded down with burdens. He sees the evangelist as lacking discipline and discernment, bringing far too many pigs, goats, and dogs into the fellowship. He sees the administrator as horribly unbalanced in his distribution of the resources at hand. And he sees every man in some level of self-deceit and lack of faith and discipline, to be set back upon the path, even if it means breaking their legs and dragging them along himself. 

The prophet has his eye firmly set upon the will of Almighty God, and has little use for the approval of men or leaders or even their own emotion or opinions, but is critically focused on what is or is not happening RIGHT NOW for the Kingdom, with little trust in crops “on the way” or promises for the future. If not careful: He sees the preacher/teacher, evangelist, and pastor as not much more than sugar coated candy dispensers to draw the hungry crowds to see the signs and wonders but to fall away quickly. He sees the administrator as seeking honor and glory and titles of men. And he sees every man (including himself) as horribly corrupted, stained by sin, and as unworthy before a holy and righteous God and needing to work out their salvation through fear and trembling.

If not careful: The administrator knows the horror of the task at hand, to get these to all fit together and work rightly towards the goals and aims of Almighty God for the glory of His name – and he hopes and wishes and prays that someone else might take on this task – and he hopes and wishes and prays that the Lord might return soon so this trial might end without him failing so many that he finds himself leading – and he wonders how in the world he ended up here.

But when operating correctly, the Lord has it all in His hand, and each knows his part, and none is higher than the other, and each honors the other as equal and as called in their purpose and gifting.