A Shift in Leadership

Building Antioch Churches

is sovereign and based upon the will of God. There are people who are called to be teachers and prophets. They can have an apostolic spirit, but their primary calling will be as a prophet or a teacher. Apostolic churches need to be places of strong teaching and strong prophetic ministry. There are many teaching centers that lack strong prophetic ministry. Many of them also lack a strong apostolic presence. If the dominant anointing of the church is teaching, the other gifts may be choked out. The teaching ministry is mentioned third in 1 Corinthians 12:28. To make it the dominating anointing of the local church is to be out of divine order. The problem becomes emphasizing teaching at the expense of the other ministry gifts. It is similar to the discussion we had previously concerning the pastor's anointing. This can happen when the senior pastor of the local church stays in a teaching mode and does not make the transition into an apostolic calling. Apostles teach as well as prophesy. There is more authority in the teaching of an apostle because they will teach out of the strength of the apostolic office. Teaching must be in the Church, and teachers must be released, but teaching should not be the dominant anointing of the Church. The apostolic spirit should be the foremost and primary spirit of the Church. We should be first and foremost sent ones. The same is true concerning the prophetic ministry. This ministry is mentioned as being second in the church. With the restoration of the teaching ministry in the seventies and eighties, we saw an emphasis on teaching.

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