Primal Fire: Reigniting the Church with the Five Gifts of Jesus

by Neil Cole, Dezi Baker, Ed Waken

For far too long the church has tried pathetically to function with only two or three of

the gifts available to Christ’s people. He gave us five unique gifts to build up His body so

that we think, look, and act like Jesus in this world—something desperately needed in this

critical hour.

In Primal Fire, Neil Cole shares the surprising truths about the five gifts of Jesus—

what they mean, how they reflect Jesus, and the remarkable power and synergy they unleash

when we all start to work together to ignite the church’s full potential.

These gifts are not just given to us but rather through us to bless and strengthen

everyone. Primal Fire’s message is that it’s time to stop having a gift and time to start

becoming one. Neil persuasively shows us how to discover the significant ways we all can

and should contribute to a better expression of Christ’s body to this broken world.

Genres: Church, Christian, Nonfiction

305 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 21, 2014

About the author

Neil Cole was born and raised in Los Angeles, CA. While studying at CSULB he encountered the Good News of Jesus Christ and turned his life over to Him, never looking back. His journey in God's kingdom brought him to serve in a mega church, a local community church and now small rapidly multiplying organic churches that meet in homes, campuses and places of business all over the world. Neil travels around the world sowing the seeds of God's kingdom, catalyzing the development of organic church networks and coaching leaders. He has been married for over 26 years to Dana and has three adult children--Heather, Erin and Zach.

Reviews

[Miguel · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is by far Neil's best work. In fact, it's probably the best book I've read in the last 10 years. Neil makes some boldly profound propositions throughout this work which are worthy of a robust and continuing conversation. The introduction and three following sections of the book build on one another in a crescendoing cadence that will make you want to read the whole book in one setting. If you do that, then make sure you read it again and again. This book can serve as a diagnostic tool for church, church leadership, church maturity, and mission. I did not want to do the kind of review of this book where I lay out its outline in such a way that will give you impression that you don't need to read it because "you get it." You need to read it for yourself. Instead, I'll reference one quote:

"Today the resistance toward the apostolic and prophetic from the religious institution is not any less. Instead of making martyrs of these people and then having to raise statues in their name (like the first century religious leaders Jesus spoke against), the religious leaders of our day have found it far easier to theologically define these gifts out of existence. Instead of killing them in public, they have aborted them in the wombs of their theological textbooks, classrooms, boardrooms and pulpits."

In order to completely understand the context of this quote, you'll have to read the book. I'll be starting a blog series on the book very soon here: Http://www.Deviations.in

[Robert Logan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Neil Cole has now put in his contribution on the APEST model of leadership– apostle, prophet, evangelist, shepherd, teacher.

You won’t find a lot of practical how-tos in this book. But you will find a thoughtful theological and biblical reflection on his experience of working with an APEST team. As is typically Neil, the book is very biblically based and very thought-provoking. It will challenge you on some points, and you may not agree with everything, but Neil has a way of looking at the biblical text in a fresh but thorough way. It’s worth the read to get to that level of depth and then extract useful elements for your ministry.

Primal Fire focuses more on the foundations and roots of APEST. If you want the practical out-workings and implementation of how to start churches using the APEST framework, then check out Beyond Church Planting (coauthored by Neil and me).

[Hanna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Det är inte något jag vanligtvis läser, men jag tänkte det skulle vara skönt med lite variation.

Primal Fire är mycket informativ, och hjälpte mig att på allvar komma underfund med vilken gåva jag har! Rekommenderas!

[Chris Woznicki · Rating 5 out of 5]

In the beginning there was “Missional,” then “Gospel-Centered,” and finally “APEST.” Don’t get me wrong I believe recovering the Ephesians 4 gifts (APEST) is super important, but at times it seems like it’s a niche that has been overpopulated, so when a new APEST book comes out you don’t need to take much notice – however that is certainly not the case with Neil Cole’s Primal Fire - you need to pay attention to this book.

Primal Fire is one of the clearest, most encouraging, and most biblically-theologically based APEST book out there right now. Not to mention, it will also ignite a fire up under you Primal Fire discover how you can best serve the church to reach the maturity that God has intended for it.

Over the years I have come to appreciate any work done by Neil Cole – in fact his talk at Exponential 2013 was life changing for me. I am starting to feel as though this book is going to be life changing for me as well. It opened up a new paradigm of ministry for me and helped me clarify the call that God has placed upon my life. If you are trying to figure out your role in the Church this book will definitely help.

Overview

The book is broken up into three main sections: 1)Recovering the Lost Gifts of Jesus, 2)Reinterpreting the Roles in Ephesians 4:11, and 3) Reimagining the Gifts in Practice.

The first part makes a biblical/theological/practical case for why these four gifts, not just Pastor-Teachers, exist today. The second part takes each of these gifts and explains how they function and what their role is in the church today. The last part paints a picture of what it would look like if the church really recovered these gifts.

Pros

Neil Cole knows how to spur on the church for the sake of the mission God has called us to. He dives into exegesis and historical theology – thus he makes a solid case for the existence of these gifts. But he is not just a theoretician – he is a practitioner. He has actually done ministry using the Ephesians 4 gifts. He is somebody we can really trust when he speaks about these gifts and how they can be used.

Another thing I really enjoyed about this book was how Christological it was. It was always pointing us to the gospel and more importantly it was always pointing us to the life and ministry of Jesus. He points out that these specific gifts are the gifts of Jesus (not necessarily the Holy Spirit) and that Jesus embodies these gifts – so if we want to learn about these gifts we need to look to Jesus

Finally, I personally enjoyed this book because it spoke to me where I am at. I have always felt that I had certain passions and strengths, but I didn’t feel like those fit the traditional categories of Pastor-Teacher. I have always felt my call was to “equip the church for the sake of mission.” That is what I have been doing in my role and that is what I am most passionate about. Being able to expand my paradigm beyond Pastor-Teacher to Apostle-Prophet-Evangelist-Pastor-Teacher has really helped me understand and clarify my calling.

Cons

There weren’t many things that I didn’t like or necessarily disagreed with. For instance, I wouldn’t come down on hierarchical leadership as hard as he does (even though I personally hold to a more organic style of leadership) but that isn’t such a big deal to me that he is very opposed to hierarchical leadership. The only thing I had an issue with though was his discussion of deacons and APEST gifts. He equates deacons with the Ephesians 4 equipping gifts. I don’t think this interpretation holds exegetically.

Conclusion

The Church began with all five gifts. Eventually we lost all the gifts except for Pastor-Teachers. But we have seen a mainstream revival of Evangelists, especially during the great awakenings. Eventually with the acceptance of Charismatic giftings, the Prophet entered the mainstream. And now we are seeing the rise of the Apostle. We are living in an exciting time. I honestly believe that God is taking the church back to its roots in order to do something big in this world; that is why he has raised up these five gifts once again. Neil Cole’s Primal Fire helps us to better understand what God is doing by rising up these Ephesians 4 Gifts. I highly recommend you read it if you are looking for encouragement in your calling, if you want to learn what the APEST gifts are, or if you want to learn how to incorporate APEST into your ministry.


(Note: Tyndale House Publishers has provided you with a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an impartial review.)

[Jerry Hillyer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Title: Primal Fire

Author: Neil Cole

Publisher: Tyndale or TyndaleMomentum

Year: 2014

Pages: 294

Free Study Guide: BookClubHub

Neil Cole on Twitter: @Neil_Cole

Neil Cole Blogs at: Cole-Slaw

Interview with Neil Cole & Frank Viola concerning the Organic Church movement

Alan Hirsch: The Forgotten Ways

[I include this link only because Cole frequently refers to Hirsch. Those who want more information can follow the link. I make no judgments one way or the other.]

[I am required to inform you that the FCC wants you to know I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my unbiased review here at my blog. I have also uploaded copies of this review to www.amazon.com & www.goodreads.com & www.shelfari.com.]

I spent the better part of 20 years of my life in the church as a 'professional' preacher. It was my life. I have lived and moved among congregations, read books & commentaries by the best scholars, and spent considerable time listening to other preachers and teachers who expounded upon the Scriptures. In short, I love the church and I love listening to those whose calling is to make sense of the church, the Scripture, and how the two relate to one another and, consequently, how the church relates and ministers to the lost and one another.

Today, April 27, 2014, I skipped church and instead stayed home and listened to a sermon by Tim Keller called Everyone with a Gift, based on Romans 12:1-8. It was unintentional. That is, it happened to be next on the list of sermons from Keller I hadn't listened to yet on my iTunes. So I listened to Keller who also announced, at some point during the sermon, that he had been at Redeemer for 22 years and had never preached on Romans 12. What intrigued me was how he began the sermon because the Lord seemed to orchestrate the hearing of this sermon with what I had just finished reading in Neil Cole's Primal Fire. Keller said:

[We are] talking about the kind of church we want to become. We are the kind of church that when you come here you get Gospel ministry. There are pastors, preachers--there are leaders that bringing the Gospel to bear on your life and you change and you grow. But we want to become a church in which you don't just come to receive that from a limited number of people, but a church in which everyone is equipped and knows how to give it to one another. Every member Gospel ministry. Every member not just receiving it, but knows how to give it, and how to serve others with it. (My emphasis)

So here is a man, highly respected by all who hear and read and listen to him, who has been preaching at the same place for 22 years, who seemingly all of a sudden realized that the church needed to become something different. Frankly, it makes me respect Keller even more than I did before because within this admission that the church needed to change is an admission that perhaps they had been doing something wrong or at least that they could do things better.

Primal Fire is a strange book for me because I grew up in the church. I mean, there has hardly been a moment in my life when I have not, at some level, been involved in church: altar boy in the Methodist church, preacher in the Christian Churches, Bible College student, member in an Anglican church--and all I have ever seen is a top-down style of church organization: preacher at the top and everyone else at the bottom; scarcely even a pyramid by pyramid standards. When I think about my own time in ministry in the local church, I have no problem at all understanding why I burned out, why I am no longer in ministry. Frankly, I don't know how any man or woman stays in ministry in that sort of environment--you know, the kind where the preacher is the visionary, the preacher, the shepherd, the teacher, the custodian; an elder, a deacon, a prayer warrior, a secretary, and so on and so forth. It is brutal. It is wrong. It is unbiblical.

Yet I also think about those times in my ministries when I tried to change things-- things such as, instead of writing on the Sunday bulletin: Minister: Jerry L. Hillyer we changed it and wrote: Ministers: All the People and then actually to have the nerve to begin the process of helping all the people learn how to serve. Or like the time when a member of my own family was dying and someone in the church had the audacity to ask me why I wasn't visiting a member of the church who was in the hospital and was going to live when no one was even attempting to minister to us. Or like the time when I thought a change to the order of worship was necessary in order to change the focus of the worship and...well, just use your imagination.

So, Primal Fire. There are points in the book when I find Cole's exegesis a little awkward and there are times when I find his exegesis absolutely brilliant. There are times when I shook my head in disbelief and other times when I shook my fist in glad triumph. There are times when I thought he was splitting a hair and other times when I thought he wasn't going deep enough. Yet, at the end of the book (which, to be sure, I thought was about 25-30 pages too long) I found myself mostly in agreement with the overall point he was attempting to make: "We have allowed [a] worldly and ungodly command-and-control system to infiltrate and dominate the church" (37). He goes on:

The devil himself wants us to remain stuck in the current quagmire of the cosmos. Imagine a Kingdom ruled by Jesus, where each person has direct contact with the King and moves at His impulse. Imagine what our loving and all-knowing Creator could do with a body so responsive to His voice. (37)

I believe Cole is correct: "Jesus didn't die and rise from the dead so that a small portion of the church could possess the authority that comes from a godly life...Jesus didn't bleed and die so that some of us can have a career" (38, 54). I agree and it is sad that in America, at least, we find this to be very much the case. And from my point of view, I'll tell you exactly what it has done: it has created a class of elitist ministers. We have not replicated servants, we have, by and large, sent some folks to the grave early: Jesus came not to be served, but to serve and give his life as a ransom for many. In the church we talk a lot about this; we scarcely live it out on a day to day basis which is a major reason why many of us leave or are forced out of ministry in the church. On the other hand, perhaps that is entirely the point: now that we are no longer 'professionals' of the church, we can truly be servants. Imagine if that were a part of God's plan all along. So rather than lament the loss of a professional class, perhaps we ought to rejoice in the raising up of true servants who serve the church for no other reason than to equip the saints and bring glory to God--and who do not happen to collect a paycheck for their services.

There are times Cole makes some rather sweeping generalizations that are a bit unfair and might reflect his bias for his own understanding of the church rather than represent actual evidence (maybe). For example, he writes that 'as it stands now, our people are ill-equipped and our churches do not adequately reflect Christ in the world (98).' Frankly, I think this is a bit unfair. If, as Cole himself notes, we do not need to have agreement on what church model or style is appropriate (page 71), then it seems to me that we probably should not sit in judgment of those churches whose model reflects something different than ours. What is important, however, is that each church examine themselves and see if they need to change to a more biblical model. (He also wrote: "The package we call 'church' today is an artificial construct that confines, imbalances, and even ignores gifts" (246). I think this is a bit harsh and a bit too sweeping; although, in many ways it is probably true. The corporate model of church 'leadership' really does hinder the church in many ways, among the ways it does so, is that the church needs more and more and more money to exist.)

There were also times when Cole simply caught me off guard and challenged my preconceived ideas and unmasked some of my theological 'prejudice.' For example, I am rather faithful to my cessationist preconceptions. I have struggled with this aspect of Scripture more than any other (except perhaps women's roles, another aspect of the book where Cole challenged me greatly) in part because of my denominational upbringing and in other parts because I simply have not been privy to such actions on God's part (television preachers have done nothing to lessen my skepticism). It was at this crossroads of skepticism and belief that Cole caught me off guard: "Perhaps if more of us took steps of faith into dangerous places, we too would see God work miraculously" (154). I had to regroup after reading this because I think he nailed it. Maybe the sort of miracles we are looking for are simply not the kind of miracles that God thinks are necessary. Maybe we Christians need to be a lot less concerned about what we can do comfortably without miracles and more willing to do something uncomfortable that requires the God of the Cross who does miracles.

Finally, I like Cole's attention to the short letter to the Ephesians (and other Scripture too, but the book is mostly about Ephesians). I mean to say that he really plowed that letter deep and if there is anything I appreciate in a book, it's a deep plowing of Scripture. If you like such things, you will not be disappointed. I'm not saying that I always agreed with his conclusions, but I am saying that I enjoyed the fact that he kept going back to the text over and over and over again, reworking his thoughts, squeezing more life from the text, looking at it from different angles, developing different 'outlines' of the text, and helping his readers to view it more carefully and thoughtfully each time. It's impossible to come away from the book thinking about Ephesians the same way after reading Primal Fire.

Future editions of the book ought to give serious consideration to including an index and an extensive reference or resource list. I get that the book is meant for a popular audience, but even some popular audiences want to dig deeper and do more research. Also, I seriously think that several of the chapters found at the end of the book (section 3, chapters 16-18) should be their own book and eliminated from this volume (or maybe linked to at an online source) They needed to be deeper, but by the time I got to them, I had read a lot of it already and it became very repetitive.

In Tim Keller's sermon I referenced above, he tells the story about a girl who wanted to be a missionary. She prayed and said to God that she was letting go of her life, giving it to God, and 'taking her hands off her own life.' To make a long story short, she never quite got her way because she realized at some point after all her training that she had never really 'taken her hands off her life' completely. This is a difficult story to swallow because if it means anything it might mean that the church hasn't either--far from merely a personal problem, this might be a larger problem some churches are facing. Maybe Primal Fire is one way of saying to such churches: It's time to take your hands off yourself and truly, passionately, lay down your life for Jesus.

At the end of the day, our lives, are about love. I think this book is pointing us in that direction: "That love is the relational authority that opens doors in conversation and provides the relational connections necessary to the [church's] work." (186) If the church ever truly grasps the significance of the APEST gifts, and every church will have to examine itself to see if the APEST needs more application among them, we must remember to do all things in and with love.

Yeah, that. Love.

4.5/5 Stars

[Jordan Shirkman · Rating 4 out of 5]

The core message of Primal Fire is powerful, timely, and essential—especially considering how the modern church has largely abandoned the gifts Christ gave to build His body(except for Teacher which now functions in isolation). Neil Cole calls us back to APEST (Apostle, Prophet, Evangelist, Shepherd, Teacher) with clarity and conviction.

That said, the first half of the book is a slog. If you’re already familiar with the APEST framework, skip straight to the midpoint—where he finally gets into the practical descriptions of each gift and what they look like in action. That’s where the gold is.

His analogy connecting APEST to the body’s systems is eye opening:

• Apostle – Endocrine System: Regulates growth and development
• Prophet – Central Nervous System: Keeps the body aligned with the Head (Christ).
• Evangelist – Muscular System: Facilitates movement and outreach, propelling the body into action.
• Shepherd – Circulatory System: Distributes life (blood/love) throughout the body, connecting and nurturing all parts.
• Teacher – Digestive System: Processes and assimilates nourishment, breaking down complex truths into digestible teachings.

The book would be twice as good if it were half as long. Still, if you can push through the wordiness or know where to jump in, it’s a valuable resource.

[Dylan · Rating 4 out of 5]

From face value, if I wasn't recommended this book, I think I wouldn't have liked it as much. However, the people who gave it to me made me take it a little bit more seriously (even with a quote from Yoda in it). I've read a lot of books on the gifts from Ephesians, but most of them seemed to be very "me" focused which usually pushes me away. However, this book goes against that. Neil Cole really emphasizes that the purpose of the gifts is to make much of Jesus, not ourselves. Rather than being a self-assessment of how I'm gifted, this book shows how the gifts really give us the fullness of Christ. The book pushes back on the idea that the part of the gifts (namely apostle/prophet) don't exist anymore which holds little support biblically and gives a wholistic view of all the gifts and how they play into the Kingdom. I definitely didn't agree with everything Cole promoted, but the book was a needed read. If you want a book that will challenge your paradigm for how each of us function in the Kingdom, I'd for sure recommend this book.

[Micah · Rating 3 out of 5]

The content here is good, but Cole took a whole lot of words to say it. I think the core of his message could be laid out in maybe twenty or thirty pages. I was probably impatient primarily because Cole spends a lot of his book answering objections that he anticipates from the Evangelical community - but since I am not from that community, I found myself skimming along saying, "OK, OK, you don't have to convince me of [insert potentially controversial point], just get on with it!"

That being said, I do think this is an important book about spiritual gifting in the church and our shared ministry as followers of Jesus. It's a good reminder that we operate out of different abilities and callings, and that God calls us to wholeness and synergy as a community gathered in Jesus.

[Nathan Phillips · Rating 5 out of 5]

I would give this book my highest recommendation. It points out how the Western church fails to utilize all five roles listed in Ephesians 4:11 and how we can use these gifts to build up the body of Christ and expand our outreach to a lost and dying world. Neil Cole exposes the hierarchical structure of the modern day church and how a true church should have apostles, prophets, evangelists, shepherds, and teachers present in order to function properly. This book also can help one to identify their own gifts in which Christ has bestowed upon them. If you are a believer, PLEASE read this book!

[caroline filler · Rating 4 out of 5]

My pastor lent me this book. Good read for those interested in the way the body of Christ needs to harvest the gifts of everyone and how the church is not doing that , not even close. The church in order to rise again needs to understand the gifts and how they all are important. Much food for thought

[Nick Tarter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful perspective

This is one of the best books on the APEST gifts I have read. Very helpful and informative. I appreciate these words of wisdom.

[Mollie Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m gonna be honest - the first half of this book is like 2/5 and I skipped a lot of it. The second half is 4/5 and was very valuable though! So. 3/5 it is.

[Brittaney · Rating 5 out of 5]

All the details any Christian needs to understand about the "5 Fold Ministry" of the Church.

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

Neil Cole has written a book designed to get followers of Jesus to engage in mission with the five-fold gifts described in Ephesians 4:11-12, “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”. The so-called APEST gifts (Apostle, Prophet, Evangelist, Shepherd, and Teacher) provide a template for Churches and ministers hoping to impact the wider culture with the reality of the Kingdom of God. This book is designed to help church leaders and members of the body of Christ understand their contribution by recovering the gift and ministry that Christ intends for us.

I believe the APEST acronym (originally APEPT) originates with Alan Hirsch who’s The Forgotten Ways (Brazos Press, 2007) covers similar ground. What sets Primal Fire apart from Hirsch’s is the level of detail he goes into looking at each of the gifts, and his rooting of each of the roles in the ministry of Jesus (the archetypal Apostle, Prophet, Evangelist, Shepherd and Teacher). In Cole’s first section of the book he points to Jesus as our chief exemplar, discusses the role of elders and deacons, and argues for the recovery of each of these gifts for our contemporary contexts. In section two, he profiles each of these gifts from Ephesians 4:11 and how they work together. He identifies the ‘start and go team’ (Apostles and Prophets) an the Stay and Grow team (Evangelists, Shepherds and Teachers). Section Three focuses on how these gifts, used together will enrich the church and re-invigorate it for mission. He also points to the danger of counterfeit gifts (super apostles, false prophets, Judaizers, hirelings, and false teachers).

As I said, Cole covers a similar ground as Hirsch (who writes a glowing endorsement). While Cole does refer to passages across the New Testament, Ephesians 4:11 with its list of the five gifts is central to the organization of the book. Some readers will fault his appropriation of the term “Apostle” as one ‘sent out’ on mission to pioneer God’s work (rather than a historical, limited list of leaders commissioned by Jesus himself). Other readers may find his biblical case shallow as he does tend towards prooftexting. I think his profiles of each of the gifts are as rooted in his experience as a church planter as they are in his exegesis. Throughout this book he says what each of the gifted ‘tend to do’ (i.e. Apostles tend to…, Prophets tend to…). In many of these cases he is sharing personal observations of things he’s seen among the gifted.

He also doesn’t spend much time explicating his central passage, Ephesians 4:11-13:

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.

Verse 11 provides list, and verse 12 tells us that these gifts are given for the building up of the church. Verse 13 gives us the telos: these gifts are given to build up the church until they reach unity in the faith, knowledge of the Son of God, maturity and attain the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. Coles use of verse 13 is as proof for the continuing of each of the five gifts (63). He uses it show that the work is still incomplete, but his profile of each of gifts would be more grounded if he showed how these gifts serve this end (verse 11-13 are one sentence!).

Though I think pastors and leaders will find much food for thought here and a challenge to recover the character and content of mission in the early church. I give this book 3.9 stars

Thank you to Tyndale for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

[Steven Hinkle · Rating 3 out of 5]

“I want to be part of an unstoppable Jesus movement in our day–a wildfire of the Spirit that spreads rapidly and uncontrollably and leaves behind people who are transformed into healthy, mature, life-giving followers of King Jesus . . . I believe we are about to witness the eruption of a spiritual wildfire like nothing seen since the First Century . . . I have waited my whole life for this. I believe it is inevitable and coming soon, and I’m willing to give my life for it. Are you?”

Primal Fire is a well-written and thorough expose’ of the five core spiritual gifts in the church. Whenever the gifts of apostleship, teaching, pastoring, prophesying, and evangelizing are introduced, the author does a good job not only explaining what each gift encompasses but also what each is not and the dangers they all carry for the gifted.

After reading the first chapter of Primal Fire (a descriptive text on the five core spiritual gifts found in Scripture), I immediately went online and once again took an APEST test to determine my gifting. The answer (just as before when I took a like test) left me confused and slightly bewildered. Later in this review, I’ll explain how this book helped me better discern my own gifting.

The text starts by talking about being created to make a difference in our world and how we have each been entrusted with these gifts that are meant to build up and serve the church body. I love the fact that there is a good emphasis on the church not being a hierarchal institution with elders and deacons and the gifted in special authority or preference. Each gift is important and they all work together serving one another in building up the entire body of Christ.

The APEST test I took after reading Chapter One resulted with a tie between two gifts with another gift in close third place. The author of the text explained that as leaders mature and find themselves in new roles they will often develop other latent or hidden gifts. The results began making more sense to me and yet I continued to wonder about the test, it’s questions, and my gift(s) as a whole. That’s when I read that these gifts should NOT be discovered by tests or surveys or even personal preferences. Our APEST gifting is best discovered through our failing, hard work, God’s calling and verification from others who know us best.

I went through the gifts with my wife who verified my “top three” and my main strength or gifting. We concluded that it was apostleship, closely followed by teaching, and then shepherding. The only question I was left with after reading the book was how personality comes into play with the results and our giftings. My being an introvert probably affects the lower shepherding score despite my intense compassion for other people and their stories of brokeness.

I would highly recommend this book for all church leaders who want to help see each individual reach his or her full potential in the church body. Tyndale House provided me a free copy of this book in exchange for this review which I freely give.

[Mike Jentes · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve had the privilege of walking with Neil Cole and his cohorts (Phil Helfer, Ed Waken, Dezi Baker, and Paul Kaak) in varying degrees over the last 15 years. I’ve been an “insider” to the learning that has fleshed itself out into the work Primal Fire. Keen attention to the APEST (apostolic, prophetic, evangelistic, shepherding, teaching) gifts has been part of my experience with the CMA movement throughout. (http://CMAResources.org). This is the best articulation of a true APEST team that I’ve experienced on the planet.

Many in mission circles are talking about the need for this APEST community of leaders, but hardly anyone really has that kind of community. What Cole and friends express in Primal Fire is the real deal. It is not merely theory, but theology, theory, principles, practice, victories and pains through real life and ministry. It is a treasure to have this snapshot as captured in Primal Fire.

A word of warning: Don’t merely flip to the chapter on your favorite or perceived gift (chapters 9-13) and read about what an apostle, prophet, evangelist, shepherd or teacher does. I was tempted to do that, but if you do (or maybe when) make sure to take the time to engage with the first 8 chapters of the book! If you don’t, you will be missing some VERY important foundations from the whole of the New Testament. Most importantly, you’ll skip a tremendous exegesis and exposure of Ephesians chapter 4 (which Cole appropriately dubs the “Magna Carta” of the church [primarily chapters 5-8]).

In those foundational first eight chapters, you’ll be challenged in your theology and your practice. For instance, Cole draws out that church leadership isn’t merely to servant-hood, but to truly be servants. And beyond that leadership in Jesus’ church and hierarchy have no place together! Into church practices, elders and deacons are addressed thoroughly. In fact, a revolutionary biblical proposal on deacons will have you chewing through the Scriptures again.

In the portions of the book that expose and articulate the five APEST gifts that Jesus gave (chapters 9-13), I believe that the authors’ hope is that these pages in Primal Fire will affirm what Jesus has given and will draw together fully functional APEST teams. In fact, as I finished this book (the first time), I left it with a missionary team in Chad (Africa) with the hopes that they would be able to capitalize on these insights to fuel a burgeoning church-planting movement there.

Since this is Jesus’ idea and His gifts for the maturing of the Body, I whole-heartedly encourage you to chew on the content of Primal Fire for the greater multiplication of disciples, leaders, churches and movements all over our globe.

[April · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is blowing my mind!!! Four months ago I had little to no idea of what an apostle was, much less the 'five fold gifts of ministry' (apostle, prophet, evangelist, shepherd, teacher). This book is a perfect introduction to the five gifts mentioned in Ephesians 4:11. If you grew up in a mainline denomination like I did, it will challenge your ideas of what 'church' is and what a mature body of believers can look like.

Since Cole is apostolic, he sketches the role of those with each of the five gifts in terms of apostolic movements. When it comes to advancing the kingdom of God, Cole argues that it is the apostles and prophets (AP) that go first to 'lay foundations' (in totally darkened and unreached areas, commissioned by God). Subsequently the 'stay and grow' team of evangelists, shepherds and teachers further establish a believing community and build on the AP foundation until the community can stand on its own and start sending out their own AP teams to lay more foundations!

Great macro-level stuff here. I'm still processing all the information!

[Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this book to be an interesting explanation of the gifts that the Spirit gives when one becomes a Christian. I have read other books about these gifts and even took a test or two, but I had never really had such a detailed understanding of these gifts until I read this book. The author not only lists the gifts, which are found in Ephesians, but he also explains each thoroughly using examples of what each gift looks like when they are used properly. I found the author’s book to be very informative and it is so well-written that you do not need to be a Biblical scholar to understand what he is trying to say. This would be a great book for every Christian to read because I think it is important for each Christian to not only know what their spiritual gift is, but also how to use it effectively. This book would also be a good candidate for a Sunday school class or a Bible study too.

[Donise Cheeks · Rating 5 out of 5]

To any Christian who has become complacent in their faith, this is the book that will reignite that fire. Neil Cole does an outstanding job tapping into the emotions associated with your faith. I realize we're all at different places in our Christian walk and its that confidence which assures me that you will not be disappointed with this short read. I have read this book twice and will read it again for its uplifting affect on me. Highly recommended. I was interrupted with my first reading as my dad passed away in April 2016. Then my stepdad in Oct 2016. Then my exhusband in March 2017. And my brother in July 2017. I cant tell you how much I needed the experience over again.

[Hugh Harmon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Written with a definite focus of having believers rethink the application of the five fold ministry giftings.

[Angelo Gonzalez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book on APEST Leadership in the church.