This is a guest post by Greg Jao. He serves as a National Field Director for the Northeast US for InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, and is the author of multiple books, including Your Mind’s Mission (an Urbana Onward book), and Following Jesus without Dishonoring Your Parents. A second-generation Chinese American, he helped develop The Daniel Project, a leadership acceleration program for Asian American InterVarsity staff.
In addition, Greg serves as the MC for the Urbana Student Missions Conference www.urbana.org , where 18,000 participants will gather on December 27-31, 2012 to consider again the call to God’s global mission. Since Urbana is around the corner, we asked Greg to share his thoughts on how Urbana can help foster A.P.E. leadership.
“Who among us would make the best cult leader?”
We had collapsed in a lounge after an exhausting day, and we were identifying friends who would be the best (or worst) at various activities. We ran several scenarios involving people in the room. Some of our answers came quickly (e.g., The worst contestant on the television show, “The Amazing Race?” The consensus candidate: a cross-cultural specialist. We imagined him constantly getting distracted talking to locals during international missions). Some answers took time (e.g., the best friend to have after the zombie apocalypse? Did we choose the Asian colleague with multiple refrigerators, the petite friend living in the rural north with a side of beef in her freezer, or the urban leader who knew how to survive in resource-poor cities?)
It took less than 10 seconds, though, for the group to identify our best possible potential cult leader: the apostolic evangelist (who, it so happened, was not in the room while we played this (somewhat inappropriate) game. He was out calling a student to follow Jesus.) We named him, and then we fell silent, profoundly unsettled. He would be great at it: compelling, influential, disciplined, visionary, and systemic. We happily followed him, after all, and we knew students would follow him anywhere.
Someone giggled a little too energetically. “I’m really glad he follows Jesus. Imagine what he could do if he didn’t.”
You Can Be an APE for Anything or Anyone
More and more businesses and advocacy groups are using the language of “apostles” and “evangelists” to describe great sales people or raving fans who build a following for the brand. For example, Steve Jobs evoked this kind of language as people described him. His temperament and gift-mix map closely to the personality and strengths of the APEs that I know. Consider his evangelistic passion for Apple products, converting consumers into passionate fans and disinterested media skeptics into raving endorsers. Reflect on his prophetic viewpoint and messaging about style and ease-of-use, redefining the way generations of designers and technologists work (and the way we live.) Mull over his apostolic leadership, deploying his “reality distortion field” to shape a movement of app developers and manufacturing partners. (How many of us reading this blog have spoken of Apple with evangelistic fervor as we encounter PC-oppressed friends?)
APEs can deploy their passions, dreams, skills, and personalities into any cause. All alternative religions were birthed by APEs. The leaders of revolutions and rebellions, cultural movements and consumer manias are APEs. Many of the leaders we deride as empire-builders began as APEs (who, at some point, fossilized in the movements they began.)
Those of us playing the game spent time that evening trying to identify the factors that kept our APE friend centered in the Gospel. We identified two primary things:
Stay Centered on the Gospel
1. He continually re-shaped his story by immersing himself in Scripture’s story.
He immersed himself in the Gospel of Luke for the first decade plus of his ministry. He embraced Jesus’ mandate (Lk. 4:18, 19) as the contours of his own call. He aligned his vision to listen for God’s great invitation to those on the outside to find their way into the Kingdom. As a result, he weeps for the lost. He denounces the powers that oppress. His lifestyle and message reflect service and sacrifice. And he grounds his hope in a profound confidence in God’s vindication-by-resurrection. He fights and preaches not to conquer, but to redeem. His prophetic and evangelistic work has authority because it’s based in Scripture and it’s demonstrated in his life. When our programs and preaching emerge from Scripture (as opposed to programs and preaching which find convenient hooks in Scripture), we advance with greater power and confidence. It’s one of the reasons that the Urbana Student Mission Conference program begins not with “What do we need to say to this generation?” but first with “To which Scripture is God calling us?” and then with, “What does that Scripture have to say about God, God’s world, God’s people, and God’s purposes to this generation?”
2. He continually re-shaped his story by immersing himself in the Church’s story.
He didn’t satisfy himself in personal bible study. He studied scripture with groups whose diversity (in gender, ethnicity, race, nationality, socio-economic status, Christian tradition) challenged his own assumptions. As a white male, he wasn’t satisfied with listening to other white males. He wanted to hear what the whole church had to say about the whole of Scripture. He grounded his apostolic work in the broader context of what God was doing around the world and in history. (It’s no surprise that he heard God’s call to work as an apostolic evangelist at an Urbana conference. He believes he is working in continuity with the original apostolic commission and in community with the hundreds of thousands of missionaries sent out from conferences like Urbana.)
3. He continually renews his story by seeking people and places which reignites his apostolic, prophetic, and evangelistic passion.
A great worship event renews his calling as a disciple. Profound times of prayer renew his calling as an intercessor. However, only events which call leaders to devote themselves fully to partner with God in God’s mission renew his calling as an apostolic prophetic evangelist. It’s when the worship, prayer, teaching and community are focused on God’s mission that his vision clarifies, his passion burns the brightest, his calling resonates the loudest. (This may be why he heard God’s call at Urbana. The worship focuses on God’s mission. The prayers focus on God’s mission. The teaching focuses on God’s mission. Like all APEs, his discipleship is best shaped in the context of pursuing God’s mission.)
As A.P.E. leaders, it’s critical that we consistently recalibrate our leadership to Jesus, his word and his mission, and Urbana12 provides an unparalleled opportunity to do just that in community with the global church. Please consider joining many of the Release the A.P.E. writers at Urbana12! Get more info and register at https://urbana.org/urbana-12
P.S. we are going to have an A.P.E. gathering at Urbana! Stay tuned or sign up for the A.P.E. newsletter
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I agree completely to immerse oneself continually in the Gospel as well as the Church’s history, as it is furthering of God’s story. Great post! By the way, I am going to have a both at Urbana as well, representing the SEND extension of our ministry. It’d be great to connect in person!