The problem with the pendulum swinging too far and the vast weighting of thoughts of “destiny” being on the ministry or gifting side of things, is that we can have a ministry in which the Holy Spirit is active but be eternally lost. Jesus makes that clear.

I think R.T. Kendall talked once about going for the anointing that rests on character not just the anointing that rests on gifting. Our supreme calling put into place before the world was here is to become like the Son of God. If we only could get hold of that we would see that nothing and nobody external to us could ever frustrate our highest calling. Sadly folk focus so much on destiny in terms of gifting and ministry that they find themselves frustrated at many turns; by so doing we make ourselves manouverable, frustratable by what others may or may not do toward us; others can help us or can seem to get in the way; church encourages or seems to create no opening or give no support….plus we are in danger of doing what the secular world does; raising false confidence and hope as we train lots of folk for non existent or at least non supported (at the moment) openings….It is a bit cruel and demoralising and perhaps even a tad dishonest.

Aim for being like Jesus and we will fulfil our highest unifying God ordained calling  and other subsidiary callings in terms of ministry and gifting will take care of themselves. Right now, I have no idea what I would call my ministry gifting or calling, and don’t feel I need to give it a name, but it happens all the same. We protest at the clergy laity divided that is thankfully now lessening, and yet have introduced more divides more hierarchy with a wrong interpretation of the so called five fold ministry by which we have turned the description of the historical foundation of the church (the foundation of the Apostles, Prophets Evangelists, Pastors and Teachers) into a series of titles and ministries which somehow the rest of us are to support with our gifting. It is presented as the missing and necessary formula for church effectiveness. In Ephesians it is neither of these things. I cannot understand why ministers and teachers I know who normally preach the bible accuratley go haywire when it comes to what the bible actually teaches about “the five fold ministry”: in fact Scritpure teaches nowhere on the five fold ministry as being the key to “doing church” as we are in the horrible habit of saying today….

God Bless

Kenny