Aging APES: What happens when you become the leader of the movement?

Like a fine wine, A.P.E leaders need to develop well over time.

[This is part of a series on “How Do I Develop an Apostolic Leader?” You can read the other posts here.]

By Chris Nichols

Here’s the typical pattern.

A young, dynamic, energetic, gifted leader steps up and creates new energy and evangelistic zeal to a new (or existing) ministry context. Exciting things happen and the work grows. New dimensions are added and the work expands until the old structures can’t contain it any longer. The ministry begins to look for leadership to somehow get this new ministry animal in control and help it become sustainable. It’s the crucial moment both for the ministry and for leaders.

Who are they going to look for to lead it into the next season of development?

If the ministry chooses the individual who is a great organizer but is not gifted apostolically (or is able to draw the apostolic) it eventually diminishes to a manageable size, safely functioning without creating problems (or kingdom creativity) until it bores itself into an organized stupor, lying down to sleep and missing the kingdom opportunities the Holy Spirit is constantly opening around it..

If the ministry chooses the highly gifted but undisciplined A.P.E. who has energy and gifts but little ability to grow up into a greater sense of responsibility and vision, the ministry can become like a supernova, gaining supercharged momentum, shining with intensity until it explodes destroying everything around it.

Now these are two extremes. Most organizations dealing with change experiences most often fall somewhere between. But there is enough reality here that one needs to ask,

“How do aging A.P.E.s develop to the point where they can become the leaders of healthy, dynamic movements that produce a continuing outward press of Jesus kingdom activity?”

If You’re An Organizational Leader…

From the organizational side, choose the A.P.E. gifted leader and invest in mentoring them into maturity. You simply can’t organize yourself into kingdom growth. It doesn’t work that way. Always hire talent that is willing to mature and put in the hard work to use their gifts for kingdom purposes.

Here are ten steps for organizations that want to make space for Apostolic Leaders:

Recognize the apostolic leaders in your midst. Know the signs of their activity and select them for leadership.
Sponsor them through mentorship, making sure they have the resources they need to develop.
Allow them to make mistakes. Apostolic leaders will be strong in risk taking but can be clueless with regards to organizational sensitivity. Make room for them to lead and help them learn how to work within the organization.
Place them in positions that will help the organization break new ground. Don’t ask them to manage an established area that requires a high level of administrative giftedness.
Give direct and cogent feedback as they work so they can correct a mistake before it either becomes a habit or creates a problem that expands to an unmanageable size. Don’t wait until their annual review to help them learn.
Surround them with like-minded people who want to run, not walk toward the mission of your organization.
Let them influence the way you think. Welcome their feedback.
Expose them to models of leadership of other Apostolic leaders who function well either in your organization or in another.
Get their feedback their experience of the organization. Is it a place where others like them would be welcome?
Apostolic leaders can be strong and assertive but they are people who have feelings. Check in with them often on how they are doing. Build trust so you support the whole person you are bringing into leadership.

10 ways an organizational leader can make room for an apostolic leader. @releasetheape http://wp.me/p2D25o-10v

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If You’re An Aging A.P.E…

From the A.P.E side, be open to leading the organization. Apostolic leaders can get into a mindset that the only good leadership position is one that has no boundaries or existing structures. But it is possible to lead an existing work into exciting new directions with new dimensions. Be willing to take the risk.

Here are some simple but key steps to help aging A.P.E.’s step into leadership.

Put the mission first and help the team you are leading embrace it. Then explore the implications.
Take time during the first months of your leadership to explore the organization. What is the real mission that is being pursued and how does it compare to the stated mission? Who are the leaders present in the organization you need to gather around you for the next stage of organizational development? Who is committed to and leading an entirely different mission?
Be thoughtful as you consider how to gather the right leaders in the room and how to help those not on board with the mission move out of the organization or be converted to the real mission.
As an Apostolic leader, be ready to hear that some of the style that got you and the ministry you are doing to a place of dynamic growth may not help the organization move forward to take new ground and grow to have greater impact. Brashness, untempered language, extreme experimentation (with a high degree of failure with bright spots of success) ay all work in a setting where you are the only worker may not serve you, your gifts, or the ministry well.
Don’t try to be what you are not. Too many Apostolic leaders attempt to fit a managerial style that restricts the gifts they were hired to lead with. Lean into your gifts but with a more refined style of expression. Hire others to help with elements of the position that neither fit you well or are the best use of your time.
Develop the EQ side of your personality. Leading at the larger levels of an organization requires, especially for the Apostolic leader, greater attention to Emotional Intelligence. Increased EQ will allow you to communicate more effectively and understand verbal and nonverbal responses more completely.
Get out and see the organization in action. Look for the bright spots and see who is leading the mission effectively no matter where they are in the leadership structures. Be ready to highlight those stories as models of where you and the organization is going.
Be an expert in change culture. Read, study, learn what the leaders in leading change are saying. Always ask how their research applies to what you are doing.
Know your flat sides and bring partners in to work alongside you who are as committed to the mission as you are but are able to fill in those areas of leadership you find are missing in your gift set.
Be a person of prayer and spiritual depth. Shallowness for any leader is the death knell for their effectiveness. Take the time to know yourself and God and give yourself to that journey so that you don’t end up leading based on talent alone that will cause you to make bad choices, resort to reactive leadership responses, and bring you to a place of burnout.