Types of Apostolic Ministry

One of the reasons that the church doesn't totally understand apostolic gifting is that we mainly study Paul as our only example of what an apostle did/does. But Paul was one of nearly two-dozen NT apostles and not every apostle operated like Paul.

Paul might have traveled a lot, but the Apostle Peter stayed put at one church in one city most of his life. Peter was not a serial church planter, nor was he a cross-cultural missionary. Peter was called to one type of person in one specific place. Peter was not only SENT, he was SET.

Timothy (called an apostle in 1 Thess) oversaw and pastored local churches in a particular region.

Junia (a woman's name) was considered "outstanding among the apostles" (Rom 16:7), suggesting that women could serve as apostles - a reality that some Bible translators would rather obscure.

And don't forget Apostle Jesus (Heb 3:1), the consummate "sent one" who forsook the comfort of Heaven in order to sacrifice and establish the church.

Statements like "Apostles wrote scripture" are misleading. A more accurate statement would be; "SOME apostles wrote SOME scripture."

Further, "Apostles planted churches" is misleading. In reality, "SOME apostles planted SOME churches, while SOME apostles appear to have never planted any churches."

SOME apostles were called to specific ethnic groups, others evidently were not.

SOME apostles were itinerant travelers, while SOME put down roots in an area.

Not all pastoral ministry looks the same.

Not all teaching ministry looks the same.

Not all evangelistic ministry looks the same.

Not all apostolic ministry will look the same.

(But NO apostolic ministry looks like a spiritual CEO!)

This is my main point - When we think about what apostolic ministry looks like, don't limit it to Paul. Apostle Peter did it differently than Paul. So did 20+ other Apostles. Consider the entire Biblical record. Then, whatever we do, DO NOT ADOPT A DEFINITION THAT EXCLUDES APOSTLE JESUS!