Leadership Anointings

But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it…

So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.

Ephesians 4:7, 11-13

As the church shifts into this new post-pandemic culture, I believe we must move from teaching to training. We must shift to become equipping centers. Each believer must be equipped to take the power of the gospel back into their own neighborhoods, workplaces, and spheres of influence.

In the above passage of scripture, Paul describes the leadership anointings that were given to the church in order to accomplish this kind of equipping and training. Each leadership anointing is a gift from Christ to empower the church.

Apostolic: this leadership anointing breaks new ground. It allows a person to push into enemy territory and take new ground for the Kingdom of God. It often leans into miracles, signs and wonders to do so. This anointing often receives God’s blueprints for the way things should be and God’s designs and strategies for moving things forward.

Prophetic: this leadership anointing sees what’s coming and is able to say it. It allows a person to have an intensified ability to hear from the Lord. It often leans into dreams, visions, and impressions from the Lord. This anointing can often expose the plan of the enemy before it happens and call people to repentance.

Evangelistic: this leadership anointing has a heart that burns for those who don’t yet know Christ. It allows a person to know how to articulate the gospel in a way that reaches through to people. It often leans into an emphasis on outreach, hospitality, and connection to the wider world. This anointing often comes with a boldness to proclaim the gospel and a focus on the person who is not yet a part of the church.

Pastoral: this leadership anointing cares for the hurting. It allows a person to sense other people’s wounds and have insight into how to bind up the brokenhearted. It often leans into counseling, listening, and care for the marginalized. This anointing often receives words of knowledge and words of wisdom about what is happening inside a person, their motivations and broken spots.

Teaching: this leadership anointing identifies truth from error. It allows a person to have insight into ideas and concepts and apply those truths to people in a practical way. It often leans into study, instruction, and training. This anointing often comes with the ability to break down difficult concepts into more easily understood truths. It also comes with a keen discernment for what is true and what is not.

I have found, in my own life and in the life of others, that leaders in business and in the church may operate out of one or more of these leadership anointings. I often find that people blend at least two of these together as they lead an organization. What Paul was telling the Ephesians is that the church needs all five leadership anointings in operation in order to fully equip the Body of Christ. A church becomes mature when all five are in full operation and are bringing their leadership anointings to bear in the equipping of the community.

These anointings are gifts from Christ to the church. They are His way of empowering leaders to build up the church so that we all can attain to the whole measure of fullness of Christ.

Do you see one or more of these anointings operating in your own life?