I was talking to a pastor who is a good friend of mine. He has a significant prophetic anointing. He was told by an older prophet who has a very public and recognized ministry that he needed to graduate from his pastoral assignment to embrace his prophetic calling – a graduation that would move him to a higher place of ministry. 

When I heard the word “graduate”, it didn’t sit well with me. The counsel given to my friend revealed a subtle demeaning of the other equipping gifts. It elevated a prophet to a higher rank in God’s Kingdom lessening the significance of the other equipping gifts. 

When Paul wrote I Corinthians 12:28, he wasn’t creating a totem pole of gifts. “And God has appointed in the church, first apostles; second, prophets; third, teachers” and so on. The word “first” in this verse means to be first in sequence, not first in importance. All the gifts are intended to function at ground level with different purposes and different timing for their release but each functioning within the same Kingdom blueprint. 

The apostle carries a heavenly blueprint. and the prophet announces that blueprint. They are the first ones out of the chute when God is doing something new. If we think a blueprint can come to spiritual fruition without the influence of evangelists, pastors, or teachers, we are mistaken. Without the evangelist, we would have no one to recruit the human resources required to carry out the mission. Without pastors, we would not have an environment where the blueprint could grow and flourish. If teachers were not present, we would not learn the finer points of truth and theology needed to build an enduring structure for our faith to support what we have been called to accomplish. 

To diminish the importance of any of the equipping gifts, or to elevate one gift in importance above the others, reveals a lack of understanding on our part regarding the organic unity the Lord intended when He gave these gifts to the Church.

The next time you see an ad announcing a conference promoting apostles and prophets somehow creating the impression of their significance over the other equipping gifts, pause before you register. Without a “first in sequence” understanding of how these gifts function, you will attend a standalone event without the framework and understanding needed to take a Kingdom blueprint to its fullest expression.