What is the Five Fold Bible dot Com?
The Purpose of fivefoldbible.com is to expand the paradigms
of Apostle – Prophet – Evangelist – Shepherd – Teacher
through Christ, Culture, Community and Creativity
Telling The Five Fold Story
Does One Discipleship Fit All?
Most of our discipling paradigms do not take APEST into account when we “teach” people how to become disciples. In this post, we explore more pathways to discipleship that include all five gifts and the different ways that each personality processes what it means to grow closer to Jesus.
An Unexpected Portrait of the Evangelist
In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus tells a parable about a man who throws a great banquet (if you’re not familiar, read Luke 14:15-24). It’s a beautiful picture of who is invited to come and be a part of the Kingdom of God.
Is It Time To Kill Your Quiet Time™?
Quiet time is not a spiritual law. It is a tool for Spiritual Development.
It’s not the only tool, but one I, and millions of Christians around the world, observe as a part of our spiritual growth and daily discipleship. I go through seasons where I am more and less satisfied in my soul as a result of what I do in my “quiet time.” I’ve been thinking about it, talking about it, praying about, thinking about blogging about it…but recently, APEST and my Quiet Time have started to collide like Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup!
The Love of Christ and The Fullness of God
“I ask that you’ll know the love of Christ that is beyond knowledge so that you will be filled entirely with the fullness of God. (Eph 3:19;CEB) Deeply embedded in the assumptions of the whole APEST/Five Fold conversation is the understanding that Ephesians 4:11 is...
Understanding The Gifts Of Grace
Today we are going to focus on a Bible passage that I bet you skip when you read. If you don’t skim over it now, I bet you used to. I’m just being honest here: until I began studying alongside Alan’s writing, I didn’t even know it was there. Reading this passage was like reading English, English, English, then (what?) Klingon, Klingon, Klingon, then (ahhhh) English again.
The Problem With Good Guys: Infinity War
For far too long, in our Christian echo chambers, we have talked about about non-Christians like they are super-villains bent on the destruction of the Universe; people who, by their very nature desire nothing more than the corrosion of our timeless morals and values; disrupting the habits and rituals of the faithful with their liberal practices of freedom. We have talked about “them” like they had a disease, like they were another species. You know I’m not lying.
In our mythology, Christians are the good guys, the superheroes tasked with overcoming evil in all of its forms, but we know that’s not true.
Five Fold Bible Update: Good Times Ahoy!
Hello readers! I saw this morning that there was a new feed subscriber - Welcome, Scott - and I felt the weight of not having posted in a while. This morning, we are moving into a new home, which marks our post- Hurricane Harvey recovery goal. It's a great day and a...
Blog: Guerrilla Wordfare
Must Obey – Abusing Romans 13
Does God Get Mad When I Say Bad Words?
It’s Guerrilla Wordfare. PG-13 edition. Don’t let Alexa read near 8 year olds. I’m going to quote the President. This is the beginning of a feeble response to the President’s careless and racist commentary toward the people of Haiti, El Salvador and Africa.
There is no defense in the Biblical worldview. None. There is no room for racism in the heart of God. None.
(What follows is more of a bible study on race reconciliation than rant, but still. I’ll post and then clean up as a feel. Guerrilla Wordfare is messy business.)
Breaking Free From Church, Inc™
In a couple of posts on the Shepherd, I’ve alluded to Church, Inc™, the idea that the super-nature of the church can be reduced to mere nature; that calling is reduced to hiring, pastor is reduced to employee, elder is reduced to board member, sermon is reduced to entertainment, worship is reduced to music, ministry is reduced to volunteering…it goes on an on.
Knowledge Isn’t What You Think
It’s no secret that the stats say the Church in the West isn’t doing well. Oooh! Great blog post! I didn’t know that! Thanks. There’s an easy fix to it, though. Well, it’s simple, actually I’m damn pretty damn sure that it isn’t easy. In fact, I’ll probably get death...
When Your Relationship Becomes Your Religion
Let’s look at a couple of reasons why it’s such a terrible idea for your Girlfriend to Become your God -or- your boyfriend to go from your sexy beast to sacred blessing…just…Oooh.
I Would Serve More, If I Got To Play Guitar
My hat is off to Carey Nieuwhof. When it comes to blog posts that equip leader like never beofre, he is knocking them out of the park. In a recent post titled, Basic Mistakes Churches Make Over And Over Again (which if you haven't read yet, then click the link...we'll...