Ministry may be blooming, but apostolic leaders are focused on the edge; where things haven’t blossomed yet.
[Also check out “How to Identify and Evangelist in Your Ministry“]
By Jon Hietbrink
For most of my life in the church, “apostle” has been something of a dirty word.
Either because it’s assumed to be an expired gift, or because we’ve so often seen it abused, most of us (even those of us who are gifted as apostolic leaders!) struggle with the idea of calling something “apostolic” and have difficulty finding the right language to identify this gift in its emerging forms. Toward that end, here are five key indicators that might evidence an apostolic gift at work in you or your community, and some reflection questions to help you identify the emerging apostolic leaders in your midst!
1. Apostolic Leaders START NEW THINGS[1]
Perhaps the surest sign of an apostolic gift at work is a litany of new things that have been started due to their influence, whether spiritual or not. Apostolic folks demonstrate a remarkable ability to get things off the ground (even if they don’t always last), whether it be a new initiative, gathering, or community. Whereas gifted evangelists leave a trail of new disciples in their wake, gifted apostles leave behind a trail of new communities that have come into being due to their vision and initiative.
* Whose vision was behind the new communities/initiatives that have started in your network?
2. Apostolic Leaders DEMONSTRATE SPIRITUAL INTENSITY[2]
Another indicator of the apostolic gift at work is a palpable spiritual intensity. Especially focused intensity towards starting new things that are not in existence yet. Apostolic leaders are zealous for God, God’s mission, and God’s people, and their passion leads them to act, even when the odds are stacked against them. In younger leaders, this passion can often create as many problems as it solves, either because they find themselves passionate about everything or sometimes the wrong things (notice I didn’t call this one spiritual maturity), but we can’t allow their immaturity to blind us to the potential latent in these emerging leaders.
* Who in your networks radiates an almost exhausting expression of intensity?
3. Apostolic Leaders THINK STRUCTURALLY[3]
Whereas evangelists and pastors tend to think more relationally about individuals or groups of people, apostolic leaders are consistently thinking about the systems and structures that undergird a community and how they could be redesigned to function more effectively. They might be constantly devising new overhauls to your current structures or suggesting brand-new initiatives, but apostolic leaders often demonstrate an aptitude for connecting previously disparate parts of a given network, in a way that releases new energy and momentum.
* Who in your community is regularly coming up with better ways to structure your ministry for greater momentum?
4. Apostolic Leaders EXPRESS A BURDEN FOR EXPANSION[4]
In contrast to teachers and pastors who tend to be concerned primarily for what is already, apostolic leaders express an almost overwhelming burden for what isn’t yet—for the people not in the room, the communities not being reached, the territory no one else is talking about. Apostolic leaders have more than a vision to reach new territory, they have a genuine burden to do so; it’s housed not just in their mind, but in their soul.
* Who in your community is constantly championing growth & expansion to new territories?
5. Apostolic Leaders RESPOND TO BIG CHALLENGES[5]
For better or for worse, apostolic leaders have huge vision, and consistently respond to big challenges—the more impossible the dream, the more motivated they are to take it on. Of course, this often gets them into trouble as they regularly bite off more than they can chew, but this willingness to act into the gap is a hallmark of emerging apostolic leaders.
* Who are the folks in your community who respond to your costliest challenges?
Because it wasn’t a part of the vernacular of community, I did ministry for years before I even considered whether I might have an apostolic gift. However, once I was given language that helped me understand my experience, I found the apostolic gifting in me fanned into flame and operating with far more boldness (and maturity). May these “clues” do the same for you or the emerging apostolic leaders in your midst!
[1] See Mark 1.38-39 and Acts 13-14 for examples of this trait in Jesus’ and Paul’s ministry.
[2] Luke 6.12-13 provides a great example of Jesus’ spiritual zeal, and Philippians 3.1-16 captures both the pre and post-conversion intensity of Paul.
[3] The “Sending of the 72” in Luke 10 is a terrific example of Jesus’ structural thinking, and we see the early apostles demonstrating this same trait in Acts 6.1-6 in their handling of the food dispute. Finally, Paul’s shift from focusing merely on synagogues to the Greek oikos provides another fantastic example (Acts 20:20).
[4] Paul’s words in Romans 15.20-24 capture this sentiment beautifully, and we see it too in Jesus’ decision to go through Samaria in John 4.1-42.
[5] Of course, Jesus’ Great Commission to the 11 apostles in Matthew 28.16-20 is the preeminent example of this, and we see it too in Paul’s choice to press onward to Troas (despite multiple closed doors) in Acts 16.6-10.
[Also check out “How to Identify and Evangelist in Your Ministry“]
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Thank you – this explains so much and makes me feel so much better.
an almost overwhelming burden – oh so true…
Claire- So glad you were blessed by the post. As I mentioned, having some concrete language for my experience (that was rooted in scripture) was a KEY part of my development–very grateful for the work of Hirsch, Breen, Cole and others who have helped pave the way for this vocation to become more “normalized” in the broader conversation! Thanks for reading!
I have just recently been told I have an apostolic ministry. Like you say the language that was used opened up a whole new understanding. I’m 69 years old and just finding out!! Always thought it was just organisational skills I had but when it was explained I knew right away that was right. Due to a prophetic word, IowaIt seems the Lord still has work for me to do and there’s no chance of retiring any time soon!
Pamela- Thanks so much for reading, and I’m glad you found the post helpful, I LOVE the way the apostolic is being activated in you (even later in life)–may God truly anoint you as an apostolic leader for this next season!
Great list of characteristics of the apostolic function!
Thanks Joshua–glad you enjoyed the post!
Oh, I bless the Lord for your effort to explain the apostolic ministry. I assure you that anyone (I included) who reads your piece will be transformed and motivated accordingly. Shalom!
Jesuloluwa, thanks so much for reading and commenting–glad you were blessed by the piece, praise God!
Jon,
Thank you for posting and sharing your insights and key specific language described in your post. I was recently given a prophetic word. As I was reading each distinct point being made I was discerning whether it applies to me. So, I cant help to think you really described who I am or the mantle we carry. I’m very burdened & feel the gravity of this calling and also feel choosen to complete a specific task God has assigned me to do. It just all makes sense and why the way I am. I am in the process of concencrating myself onto the Lord and desire learn more about this mantle we carry. I am interested with your story and additional insight you may impart.
All glory to Jesus,
Brother Joven
Brother Joven, thanks so much for your comment (though I was only just now notified of your comment!), I’m glad the article was a blessing to you; may the apostolic Spirit of Christ rest even more fully upon you!
I’m an Apostolic Leader as well often called into the Educational Sectors to lay foundations and establish new initatives—-I’ve been known for doing what isn’t popular lol
Eleutheriagroup, thanks for reading and commenting, though I only just now was notified of it! May God continue to bless you as you lay foundations and establish new initiatives!
I’m saving this article to use in class. It’s a great example of eisegeis (reading things into the Bible) versus exegesis (extracting the meaning out of the Bible). There are a few other interpretive fallacies for my students to find as well. Great class exercise.
Randy, thanks for commenting. I have a few questions:
1) how do you see the role of the apostolic in scripture?
2) what are the interpretive fallacies here?
Randy, was just notified of your comment, so only just replying now. While the point of this post was not one of biblical exegesis, here’s a link to a different post (written by Beau) that takes a deeper dive into the scriptural basis for APEST. Peace to you. http://www.releasetheape.com/ephesians-4/#.WSEK6BMrInU
Here it is 2017….And your message is still resounding….It just helped me
Thanks so much, Nadia–glad the article was a blessing for you!
Hi, Jon. I was praying with a man with a pastoral calling and another man with a prophetic calling in the same room, and the Lord began to reveal to us that many in the churches are trapped in bondage by leaders who won’t let them operate in their callings, people called to be prophets imprisoned in cells underground, and people called to be apostles bound inside tombs. Then I saw the Lord go to the tomb with the apostles (apostolic ministry) in it, roll back the stone at its mouth, and sit on it (like the angel did at His tomb). I understood this to mean that 1.) this is God’s will for this ministry (and the others in bondage) and that 2.) releasing the apostolic ministry was oh primary importance.
We then in that meeting understood that we should pray for the called apostles to be released from the tombs (symbolizing problems and difficulties and different forms of bondage holding down the called ones) first and then the release of the prophets and then the Body of Christ. This seemed scriptural to us (eg. the Bible says the apostles and prophets are the Church’s foundation with Jesus as the Cornerstone) and so we prayed about it. Thank you for this short and concise article. I’m not part of a local fellowship; how can I see these signs in average believers who aren’t even functioning yet in the calling?
Arendale, thanks so much for reading the post and your generous comment–that sounds like quite the prayer time, praise God, and may he indeed increasingly release apostolic and prophetic gifts in his body!
As to your question about how to best see these signs in “average” believers who may not be in a local fellowship or functioning in the calling, I do think it is possible (albeit perhaps more challenging) to recognize.
For more on the topic, I have heard terrific things about Alan Hirsch’s new work 5Q (https://smile.amazon.com/5Q-Reactivating-Original-Intelligence-Capacity/dp/0998639303/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1495338396&sr=8-1&keywords=5q), and I believe he does quite a bit of work about the ways we see APEST typology latent in all of creation…
Peace to you!
Thanks, Jon. Alan’s book seems to be again talking about the five-fold ministry. I am looking for a place where this is actually being practiced, not talked about. I have no idea where such a place is, and I believe that Western thinking nullifies the five-fold function though we talk much about it.
Also, why does Alan use a single eye on his book? It’s the symbolism of the all-seeing eye which is an occult symbol.
Hey Arendale, thanks for the follow-up, sorry the book wasn’t what you were looking for. Though there are many folks I’m not connected with, I’ve been grateful for the New Thing Network (Dave and John Ferguson in Chicago), and the ways they are seeking to practice 5-fold kinds of ministry with a deep humility (I know a few senior leaders in their movement), so perhaps that’s a place to look?
As to the all-seeing eye, I hadn’t caught that, you’d have to ask Alan what he was going for with that usage!
Thanks, Jon. I called their number and will call again tomorrow (Friday). I’ll let you know what I find. The apostolic ministry is necessary today, and I am looking to meet someone who is joined to such a fellowship. I can’t grow much anymore outside of apostolic ministry and teaching and living.
Excellent article! This really hot home and helped me identify my calling. Thank you for writing this piece.
I spoke to someone who claimed the days of the prophets and Apostles are gone when the Church was Establish in Act as well as the functions can someone give me clarity on this opinion
Read the article on the interpretation of Ephesians 4
Thank you so much for your post. EVERY word written about this mantle is mine and describes me perfectly. I now have a “label” for my burden and traits. I feel free!
Ann, thanks so much for your comment–glad it was a blessing to you, and may God use your gifts mightily for the sake of his kingdom!
Even though your insights into an apostle are interesting they are nonetheless way off base. In fact Paul states what an apostle is and the actual signs of an apostle. You might do well to get out Paul’s letters and read them until you find the 4 signs of and apostle. Brother, trust me, you may think you are an apostle but I can guarantee you that you have not yet arrived. If you can’t be bothered to do the search then my words are confirmed.
Good day my people. I have kept this particular blog for about 2 years and i think it is right for me to comment now. Having being called into the Apostolic ministry myself, these are spot on. I believe the Apostolic calling is by doing and not by title. Alleluia. Please, Check us up on http://www.hofm.co.uk. Founded in London, stretching across the globe, reaching for Heaven. We are self funded and don’t believe in soliciting for funds or creating fear in people to pay tithe, offering etc. If God has called, he will provide. Jehovah Jireh. God bless you all
You just put language to my LIFE! It explains areas of frustration and why the frustration was there….. Thank you! I just read this with tears…..
I am so happy to hear this! you are welcome