Christian Living
There are two types of people in the church. There is the pioneer and the settler.
Settlers
Settlers serve INSIDE the church and they ONLY really serve the church. There are tons of settlers; frankly, this is the majority. They are the reliable ones who show up to do ministry every week. They may not have a strong sense of adventure. In fact, they may be risk-adverse. Likely they aren’t the crazy ones...the amazing crazy ones. They prefer to be labeled solid and stable. You may never see them do anything controversial or cutting-edge. One thing about them is that they are consistent. If they ever get bored with serving only the church, then they turn into pioneers.
Of the equipping gifts, these settlers would be the pastors and the teachers. Of the motivation gifts you could say that these are the solid administrators, servers, and givers. Some intercessors fall into the category if they pray for inner-healing or are the counseling types. But many times healing is a gift that accompanies the evangelistic and apostolic types who run with the pioneer pack.
Pioneers
There are the pioneer types like the captain, Meriwether Lewis, who led the Corps Discovery group. These are the restless ones who don’t quite fit into the conventionalite mold. Of the equipping/ascension gifts, these are the apostles, evangelists and prophets.
There are church prophets who teach the body of Christ to hear God but they don’t quite fit into this category. More so, these are the risk-takers who are a part of launching more spontaneous outreach ministries or are led to do specific strategic missions. Many intercessors fit into this tribe as well. These people generally serve OUTSIDE of the church and they TAKE TERRITORY be it souls or land.
A decade ago I was part of a team in a mega church and we were called the Corps Discovery. We created a class to help the body of Christ (in that church) discover their calling. This team of four set up a curriculum along with spiritual direction sessions to help people discern for themselves what their gifts and purpose may be.
This is where I began to realize that I didn’t comfortably fit the settler mold. Plus, I was mostly prophesying the new thing that was to happen. I like to wave a light green flag that is the color of spring which represents the new thing. Yep, that is what the apostolic bent is all about - the new things.
When you think about the Corps of Discovery, most people are aware of Lewis and Clark and some have heard of Sacajewea. The truth is it was army-led trip with over 20 canoes of 45 people. It was well-planned with clear instructions. President Jefferson asked his good friend and personal secretary Lewis to lead the trip. Since Lewis knew he didn’t have all that it took to lead this adventure, he asked Clark to co-lead (or become his lieutenant). The rest of the team was a bunch of volunteers from the army.
When it comes to the church Meriweather Lewis represents the pioneers. Legend has it that Lewis tried to go back to settling after completing the journey but he died of bullet wounds - allegedly from suicide. After the trip, Lewis suffered from alcoholism and financial instability. You could say that Lewis just couldn’t go back to a normal life because trail blazing adventure was in his blood. This is pretty much true of any pioneer. Once you’ve been on an apostolic adventure it is hard to go back to doing church as a settler.
I tried to be on an altar team again after going on a strategic apostolic trip to New York and as Graham Cooke would say, “I lost the grace for it.” It no longer worked for me. After discussing it with my pastor, he said, “I think you belong out there.” as he pointed outside of the building.
Lewis was more of the visionary adventurer but William Clark was the more practical and tactical one. Clark returned to civilization just fine because he was more of an administrator. There are administrators amongst the pioneers but most administrators are more comfortable being orderly settlers.
Nobody ever mentions this but Clark had a black slave named York. I think there is some prophetic symbolism to interpret here and that is settlers need to be careful that they don’t make slaves of others with their traditions and religion. Lewis didn't' have any slaves.
Intercessors
I like to think of Sacajewea as symbolic of an apostolic-prophetic intercessor. About six months into the Corps Discovery expedition, Sacajewea and her husband Toussaint (and his other Native American wife Otter Woman) were recruited to join the team. This young Native American gal knew the region and interpreted the language when the team ran into other Natives. She also symbolized peaceful camaraderie between the white and red people to the Native Americans. This was because she was a pregnant woman traveling with the discovery party.
There is a lot of symbolism in the names.
- Sacajewea means bird woman or boat puller. She certainly saved the team from much damage by turning that boat back over when it almost tipped. Also, when people think of birds they think of the freedom of flying.
- Toussaint means all saints in French. Tuossaint was actually abusive to his wives. The point is that all saints need to take an apostolic adventure so they learn about freedom and don’t become too obsessively controlling and/or abusive. The lack of structure in these adventures will shake a person up.
- Otters are a keystone species of marine life near the shores as they keep that area clean. We need otter-like Christians who help others with the transitions betweem land and river or shift between settling and pioneering.
- Meriwether means cheerful weather. You could say a healthy apostle is one who can bring cheerful weather with his/her authority and not duty-driven fear.
- William means resolute protector. This is a typical trait of a settler.
- York is a kind of ever green tree. Just a reminder that if you keep your tree planted in the waters of the Holy Spirit than you won’t become a slave to an institution. Instead, you become a slave to Christ and thus you are free.
Incidentally, Sacajewea gave birth along the way and named the baby John Baptiste. Apostalic-prophetic intercessors prepare the way for apostles to move into new territory. They establish peace between Heaven and Earth and give birth to new things. Sacajewa also kept some of the equipment and journals from falling into the water. In the same way, intercessors make sure that the apostolic missions go as smoothly as planned and that missions are completed fully.
I’ve been on many apostolic adventures with several apostolic leaders and have chronicled these expeditions. I’ve held the banner of the King's crown as we entered unfriendly territory. Many do not know that Lewis and Clark almost lost their life but one of the chiefs had mercy on them. This goes to show you that these adventures can be life threatening. When you go on these trips you truly experience tangible warfare.
Lewis and Clark documented what they discovered along the way. This kingdom scribal (Matthew 13:52) writing process is more than describing what happened along the way. It is putting the puzzle pieces together to make sense of the patterns within the revelations. Pioneers make a way for settlers to settle.
We need both pioneers and settlers. Wise leaders know that the person who seems to not be digging the status quo is likely to be a pioneer.
Which one are you? A pioneer or a settler?
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