The 5 Dimensional Body Of Christ

Churches with a strong apostolic bias tend to break new ground, constantly pushing the bounds of creativity in ministry and forging ahead into new territory. In these communities, spirituality tends to be experienced as something dynamic, adventurous, and innovative. However, when the apostolic is dominant to the exclusion of the other types, the organization will be task-driven, demanding, and alienating.

Churches with a strong prophetic bias tend to speak truth to those in power and do well at justice-oriented ministry. In these churches, spirituality is equated with care for the poor, the marginalized and the outsider. These churches will also call forth a passionate response to God in worship and prayer. They will also engage in spiritual warfare and discernment of spirits. However, when the prophetic is over-dominant, the community can be outright whacky, overcritical, demanding, moralistic and judgmental.

Churches strong on evangelism and led by evangelists tend to be characterized by a heart for those who don’t know Jesus and have a strong emphasis on evangelism. In these churches, spirituality is equated with a heart for the lost and telling others about Jesus. When dominant, the church will feel like an Amway convention, relying on marketing methodology, charismatic leaders, and will very likely be shallow. The church will tend to be pushy, opinionated, and aggressive.

Churches led by leaders who are strong on shepherding tend to do well at loving each other and caring for the needs of the Body. Spirituality will be strongly communal and relational. But when the shepherding function dominates the others, the community can become risk-averse, co-dependent, cloying, exclusive, overprotective and cautious.

Churches with a strong teaching function tend to be well-informed, wise, patient and committed to discipleship. But when the function is dominant, the church will likely be an over-intellectual, objective, knowledge-based community where right doctrine is seen to be more important than right doing. Such a church is likely to be controlling, anxious, fussy and doctrinaire. In these teacher-dominated communities, spirituality can easily be equated with listening to sermons and acquiring Bible knowledge.