How NAR (The New Apostolic Reformation) misses the mark and sows discord
Absolutely — for a blog post, I’d make it more flowing, less like a formal doctrinal statement, while keeping the biblical foundation clear and strong.
Fivefold Ministry, Elders and Deacons: How Should They Work Together?
I believe strongly in the continuing work of the Holy Spirit and in the ministries described in Ephesians 4: apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers.
These ministries are gifts from Christ to His Church.
Ephesians 4:11–12 tells us:
“And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry…”
That passage is important because it tells us not only that these ministries exist, but also why they exist.
Their purpose is to equip the saints.
They are not given to create another layer of hierarchy over the Church.
They are given to strengthen the Body so that the Body itself can minister.
That distinction matters.
Who Leads the Local Church?
When we look at the pattern of leadership in the New Testament, we repeatedly find elders and deacons.
Acts 14:23 says:
“So when they had appointed elders in every church…”
Paul instructed Titus:
“Appoint elders in every city…”
— Titus 1:5
And when Paul writes to the church in Philippi, he addresses:
“…all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi, with the bishops and deacons.”
— Philippians 1:1
In 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1, Paul gives clear qualifications for overseers, elders and deacons.
For me, the pattern is therefore straightforward.
Elders oversee the local church.
Deacons serve the local church.
That does not make the fivefold ministry unnecessary. Far from it.
It simply means that fivefold ministry and local church leadership are not the same thing.
The Fivefold Ministry Equips
The fivefold ministries bring different graces to strengthen the Church.
An apostolic ministry may pioneer, plant, establish and strengthen churches.
A prophetic ministry may bring encouragement, challenge, discernment and direction.
An evangelist keeps the Gospel and the lost before the Church.
A pastoral ministry cares for, restores and nurtures people.
A teaching ministry grounds believers in Scripture and helps them mature in truth.
But these ministries should not exist above the local church as an imposed governmental structure.
They should work with the elders.
Not over them.
Apostles and Elders Working Together
Acts 15 gives us an important picture.
A serious doctrinal dispute had arisen in the early Church.
What happened?
Acts 15:6 says:
“Now the apostles and elders came together to consider this matter.”
Then Acts 15:22 says:
“Then it pleased the apostles and elders, with the whole church…”
I find that significant.
We do not see one apostle issuing an unquestionable decree from the top.
We see apostles and elders discerning together, with the wider Church involved.
That is much closer to a New Testament picture of shared discernment, relationship and mutual honour.
Apostolic Ministry Does Not Mean Apostolic Control
Paul and Barnabas clearly exercised apostolic ministry.
They pioneered.
They preached.
They planted churches.
They strengthened believers.
But Acts 14:23 tells us that they then:
“…appointed elders in every church.”
That tells us something important.
The apostolic ministry helped establish the churches, but elders were appointed to carry local oversight.
The apostles could return, encourage, advise and strengthen.
But there is a difference between relationship and ownership.
There is a difference between spiritual influence and hierarchical control.
Prophecy Must Be Weighed
I also believe strongly in prophetic ministry.
But the New Testament never tells us that the words of a modern prophet should be accepted simply because that person carries the title “prophet.”
Paul says:
“Let two or three prophets speak, and let the others judge.”
— 1 Corinthians 14:29
And:
“Do not despise prophecies. Test all things; hold fast what is good.”
— 1 Thessalonians 5:20–21
That means prophecy should be welcomed.
But it should also be weighed.
Tested.
Discerned.
And always measured against Scripture.
A genuine prophetic ministry should never be afraid of biblical accountability.
Christ Alone Is Head
Perhaps this is the most important point of all.
No apostle is the head of the Church.
No prophet is the head.
No pastor is the head.
No elder is the head.
Colossians 1:18 says of Jesus:
“And He is the head of the body, the church.”
Everything begins and ends there.
Christ alone is Head.
The Holy Spirit leads His people.
Scripture remains our final authority.
Every gift, ministry, prophecy and leadership structure must remain underneath that authority.
What About “Apostolic Covering”?
I believe deeply in accountability.
I believe in relationship.
I believe in honour.
I believe ministries should not operate in isolation.
But I do not see a clear New Testament basis for a system in which a church must come under the “covering” of a recognised apostle in order to be spiritually legitimate.
There should certainly be strong relationships across the Body of Christ.
There should be fathers and mothers in the faith.
There should be wise counsel.
There should be mutual accountability.
But relationship must never become ownership.
And authority must never become control.
Jesus addressed this directly.
In Matthew 20:25–26, speaking about worldly leadership, He said:
“You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them…”
Then He added:
“Yet it shall not be so among you.”
That should challenge every model of Christian leadership.
Elders Must Not Become Controlling Either
There is another side to this.
Rejecting apostolic hierarchy does not mean elders should become independent, isolated or controlling.
Elders also need the wider Body.
They need prophetic voices.
They need teachers.
They need evangelists.
They need apostolic pioneers.
They need pastors.
Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 12:21:
“And the eye cannot say to the hand, ‘I have no need of you.’”
No ministry has everything.
Healthy churches recognise the gifts Christ has placed both within the local fellowship and beyond it.
The answer is not independence.
The answer is healthy interdependence.
The Goal Is the Whole Body Ministering
This may be the most overlooked part of Ephesians 4.
The fivefold ministry is not the destination.
The saints are.
The purpose of apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers is:
“…the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry…”
— Ephesians 4:12
The biblical vision is not a small number of highly gifted people doing the ministry while everybody else watches.
It is the whole Body functioning.
Peter says:
“As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another…”
— 1 Peter 4:10
And Paul says:
“But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all.”
— 1 Corinthians 12:7
Every believer matters.
Every believer has something to bring.
Every believer can be equipped.
How I See It
So my position is simple.
Christ leads.
Scripture governs.
The Holy Spirit empowers.
Elders oversee.
Deacons serve.
The fivefold equips.
The whole Body ministers.
I wholeheartedly believe in the fivefold ministry.
I believe we need genuine apostolic ministry.
We need genuine prophetic ministry.
We need evangelists.
We need pastors.
We need teachers.
But I do not believe these ministries were given to create another hierarchy over the Church.
They were given to serve it.
There should be:
Mutual honour without domination.
Accountability without control.
Relationship without ownership.
Partnership without empire-building.
Ephesians 4:15–16 brings us back to the centre.
We are to grow:
“…into Him who is the head—Christ—from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies…”
That is the picture I believe Scripture gives us.
Not a Church built around titles.
Not a Church built around personalities.
Not a Church built around control.
But a Body where every gift is honoured, every ministry is accountable, every believer is equipped, and Christ alone remains Head of His Church.
This version should work well as a standalone blog article and could also be adapted into a shorter Facebook introduction linking to the full post.
Gordon Whyte
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