For the Saints

One of the primary calls that we have is to see every church healthy, to really see churches, which are bodies and the body of Christ on this earth, to see her healthy and representing Jesus in a way that would bring glory and honor to Jesus, and in a way which would see the Kingdom of God growing and advancing.

Equipping Every Saint for the Work of Ministry

And I think the whole point is the saints. And so even the Scripture in Ephesians 4:12, it's for the equipping of the saints. And that's something which is often, I think, neglected, especially when you've been a leader for a long time. There can be such a focus on you becoming this dynamic gift. You're becoming the pastor, you're becoming the apostle or the prophet, or the man of God or woman of God, and rather than, you know what, the whole point of this is that the body of Christ would be activated to be who Jesus has called her to be, which is Jesus to the world.

This is about every saint, and it's really when it becomes about the saints and about the saints doing it that something, something very different happens, and people recognize something very different, because this is not some guy paid to do it up front. It's not some, it's not some paid professional that is serving Jesus in this incredible way or laying down their lives for Jesus, you know, or someone that had a special revelation. This is about every person. This is about every mom that takes their kids to school in the morning and then goes and meets with a friend for coffee and then possibly has a part-time job or her own business.

This is about that mom serving Jesus to the fullness of what Jesus has called her to do and the inheritance He's given her, or wherever you might find yourself, in whatever situation. It's about, it's about every saint serving Jesus.

And so I think that's been a real mark for me over the years and a real aim and a real priority within 4:12, is to say, are we, are we actually achieving the purpose of this whole portion of Scripture in Ephesians? The purpose of the original apostles and what they wanted to bring to the church was not that they would be the superstars, but that it would be, that it would be every person, that it would be every individual, that it would be every saint being a minister of the gospel full-time wherever they might find themselves.