Who's In Charge?

Understanding The Apostolic Ministry

In a Waco Tribune-Herald article titled, Homestead Heritage fights back, disputing claims of deception, abuse, Homestead claims that: 

The group is led by a contingent of 20 men called ministers who are similar to what other churches call elders. Although the group was founded by Blair Adams, he has no more authority than the other ministers . . .

Homestead believes in what is known as the Fivefold Ministry. This is a system of church governance, more commonly seen in Charismatic and Pentecostal groups, whereby the Ephesians 4:11 offices of apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers "remain active and valid . . . in the contemporary Christian church."  In fact, in a series of books called The Order of Perfection by Blair Adams, the first one, Book One: God's Restored Order, is mainly about this Fivefold ministry. I am going to focus on what this book states about the apostolic ministry.

The individual functions of the fivefold ministry, like the five fingers of the hand, become fully effective only when they work together. Each of the fingers has its own particular function; each one is designed to perform particular tasks, and each of the fingers stands distinct and has its own particular place on the hand. . .(pp. 69-70)

 The arrangement and design of each of the fingers of the hand in turn corresponds to a particular function within the fivefold ministry. The thumb could be said to represent the apostolic ministry . . . It is the only appendage that can minister to, serve, all the other appendages. Notice also that when the fingers bend together to form a fist, the thumb covers the others. . . (p. 70, emphasis added)

Only the thumb naturally ministers to the heads of all the other fingers. None of the others can do that unless they are pulled out of joint, out of divine order.(p. 70, emphasis added)

This "opposable" nature, or we would prefer to say the "balancing" nature of the thumb, allows the other ministries -- prophetic, evangelistic, pastoral and teaching -- to come into their functions in the Body in a balanced way, without the tragic imbalances that so often mark the attempt of such ministries to find their place and exercise their functions without guidance or direction. . . The apostolic ministry must assume full responsibility for seeing that these other ministries come forth in a balanced and God-centered way . . . (pp. 78-79, emphasis added)

This corresponds to the meaning of apostello in the New Testament, which conveys the idea of identifying the sender with the one sent, and, as seen above, is the word used in Hebrew translations of the New Testament for "apostle." This direct sending by the Spirit also denotes in his function a more direct responsibility to Jesus Christ, with less interposition of men and accountability to them, thus the wording of the scriptures, "first apostles" (1 Cor. 12:28, NASV). (p. 90, emphasis added)

All this, of course, also carries the implication of a high degree of authority. Just as in the family there must be someone, the man, who remains "uncovered," does not cover his head -- in other words, who operates under the direct authority of Christ and is rebuked as dishonoring Christ if he refuses to express this uncovered Headship, this authority -- so, too, the church also must have someone in God's ordained arrangement who receives God's authority most directly. (p, 90, emphasis added) 

 In the Body of Christ, the apostolic ministry is the most used member in shaping and forming the corporate Christ on the face of the earth. This member "typecasts" the Body: a healthy, functioning apostolic ministry is both indispensable for, and the expression of, a healthy functioning Body as a whole. (p. 100) 

The apostle's is, then, an initiatory ministry within the fivefold ministry. Being "perfectly coordinated with the eyes and mind," and being directed by such a large area of the Head, it is through "the thumb," the apostle, that the foundational revelations of God come to the Body of Christ. The building revelations of God are then ministered by the apostolic ministry to the rest of the Body, and particularly to the other eldership ministries, which further minister these revelations to the Body and to the world. (p. 100, emphasis added) 

To repeat, the apostle's is a foundational ministry. . . The apostle lays a foundation for whole fellowships.(p. 101)

The apostle also initiates in the process of setting in order and arranging the members of the Body of Christ. It is through the revelations of his ministry that the entire right hand of power finds its order, and it is that right hand that then establishes the order of the Body as a whole by ministering to and feeding that order. This ministry has the responsibility to set particularly the members of the eldership in their place according to God's will. (p. 101, emphasis added)

The founder of Homestead Heritage is the one who has functioned in this apostolic ministry. It stands to reason that the person fulfilling this function will change with the passing of the previous generation, but there will be someone in leadership who carries a "high degree of authority."

The same Waco Tribune-Herald article cited above says that Homestead believes "that if critics can be shown to be lying about one thing -- even small matters -- it stands to reason they're lying about other allegations." Would they apply that to themselves?

Quoted material from:
Adams, Blair. The Order of Perfection: Authority and Submission in the Living Order of Relationships in the Body of Christ. Book One: God's Restored Order. 1992.