My oldest daughter is about to turn twelve. I can still remember the summer she was born. That summer a number of young adults (20’s and 30’s) starting coming to our Sunday morning church services. One of them was very outgoing and his first Sunday he asked what he could do to help. I love that question! So, I told him to invite people to lunch. Every Sunday this guy rounded up all the visitors and invited them to have lunch and our family would meet them at the restaurant. When the fall came around our small group of two families blossomed to over 50 people in total. It’s amazing what a simple invitation can do.

One thing many of us men had in common was a desire stay in shape. Kids and Sunday lunch can fatten you up quickly. One of the guys had a bicycle and asked if everyone would want to meet him to ride on Saturday mornings. We started out with 3 guys and then had anywhere from 5-15 men that showed up for Saturday morning rides. Doing something physical and productive is how men bond.

On our rides we discussed many things: fatherhood, husbandry, and a lot of jokes. However, with every ride, at least in the summer, the Tour de France came up. Here is what I discovered: Cycling is a team sport not an individual sport, it has individual titles, but these individuals ride in teams of 10-30 riders. In each group of 8 /9 there is one leader. The rest are called domestiques…it is the job of the domestique to protect the leader or head rider, typically the strongest and fastest of the riders, in order to preserve their strength and give them the best time. Then, at the end of the race, the leader splits the prize money within members of his team. 

The body of Christ works in a similar way. Paul writes about the function of the church in Ephesians 4:11-12

It was he (Christ) who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God’s people for works of service so that body of Christ might be built up.

It Was He Who Gave Some to Be Apostles (Builder/Manager)

It is important here to understand the difference between the office of apostle and the apostolic gift. The office or title of “Apostle” is reserved for only those who were chosen to be a part of the 12 and were eye witnesses to the life and ministry of Christ. They were given authority to establish the church.  However, the spiritual gift of apostling is one who establishes or plants churches.  This is a person who can go into a place with nothing and create something by organizing a group of domestiques into a team who can effectively perform acts of service.

 Some to Be Prophets (Climber)

The spiritual gift of prophecy, much like apostleship, is not the office of “Prophet” as we think of in the Old Testament.  It is however, the gift to proclaim a message to a certain group or people at a certain time, this message carries with it special insight that is often difficult to hear and, more often than not, directed at the church. These guys pull up hill, they do the tough work for a short time and tend to move quite a bit.

Some to Be Evangelists (Chaser)

The evangelist’s passion and heart is for the unchurched. They are the ones who have a hard time going to church on a Sunday morning because they are surrounded by Christians all the time.  They are always trying to convert the waitress, soccer coach, or cashier at the super market. They are at home with non-Christians and are always trying to engage them in spiritual conversations.

Some to Be Pastors and Teachers (Blocker)

The pastors or shepherds and teachers protect the flock from wolves educationally and emotionally.  A pastor is your advocate, your best friend and an all-around good guy willing to sacrifice themself for the good of the flock.  Teachers perform the same service intellectually, and apologetically, guarding the church from heresy. All these service positions are in place to build up the body and prepare them to do their function on the team….as it says in verses 12 and 13.

To Prepare God’s People for Works of Service, So that the Body of Christ May Be Built Up

I’m not sure where you fall here:

• • Are you a Builder/Manager?
  • A Climber?
  • A Chaser?
  • A Blocker?

Here is what I know, the word “Domestique” is a French word that means “Servant” No matter what role you play Spouse, Parent, Employee, Boss ultimately, we are all servants… We Ride for One.

Speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work. – Ephesians 4:15-16

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