Does this resonate with you? It does with me.
I am reading through Creativity, Inc.: Overcoming the Unseen Forces That Stand in the Way of True Inspiration
The quote above is written just after Toy Story brought in $140 million and all the fears of his company failing vanished.
All of a sudden, in the most secure time of his 20 year career, he feels lost. WHAT?!
That would be like the pastor of the fastest growing church feeling lost after explosive growth…Could they ever admit that? I bet it happens.
The whole reason I started this blog was to try to find frequent ways to communicate to the tribe of people that resonate with apostolic, prophetic or evangelistic callings.
*One way to see this is that Ed needs Jesus and although he reached the pinnacle of a career, he still felt lost. Nothing can take the place of relationship and purpose with Jesus. But I want to focus on how his angst is also that of many apostles.
I think this quote above hits at the heart of the apostolic impulse in a powerful way. People who are wired by God with apostolic juices flowing through their body feel LOST when the goal of making something happen is not front and center.
Biblically we know that the apostolic call is given by God to further the expansion of the Kingdom of God to start new ministry (churches). These people are usually crashing across boundaries erected by culture to bring breakthrough with the gospel.
But often times, because of the amount of pastoral and teaching language that is covering the church, we cannot see very well what the heart of the apostolic impulse is.
I think the quote above captures it well.
How to Unleash the Apostolic
Truly apostolic people should not be running companies or churches. They best belong on the edge starting new works for God and making things that others cannot see come into fruition. Can they run a church or company? Sure. But is it special for them? No.
I will put the caveat that if the church can truly be a multiplying and sending church at all levels, then an apostolic can be lead. But the day to day managing and shepherding of people is not in their wheel house.
Apostolic people feel alive when they are creating and building and working on missions that feel as though the world is stacked against them. When the goal is accomplished or the dream becomes visible, something instantly becomes lost.
We have to recognize this and foster environments that talk about this. What would it look like if we were seeing this in leaders, and instantly realigning them to new projects that activated their creativity?
It is my hope and prayer, that we can recognize the apostolic calling in people more regularly and quickly and keep them on the edge in creative pockets. When something is grown, or actualized, lets hand it off to people who are wired to run and care for the group. The apostle is not wired to become the shepherd. Why do we make them function in this way primarily? It doesn’t serve them or the congregation.
What Now
I realize we have to engage the tensions and live in some blended realities. What if you have an apostolic person trapped in a shepherding role but you can’t just “release” them to the edge? What if you can? Here are some ideas to think about.
- Do yo have a person wired in a way like Ed describes in his quote?
- Spend some time talking to them and getting sense of how their heart beats for the mission of God. Ask God and your team how you could best align them to grow the Kingdom through your organization. What would releasing them look like?
- If you realize that you have “lost” yourself like Ed…
- Talk to a supervisor or team of leaders about what stirs you and them. See if you can realign your job roles so you can stay in positions that primarily tap into your dreaming, activating, and creating the unseen. You need to realign your working hours to be focused on something not “figured out” yet. Soon, you will come alive again.
- There are people who feel alive teaching and shepherding groups of people.
- Just a friendly reminder that we need the whole APEST. Yes, this a blog about releasing the APE, but we need the shepherd as much as the apostle. Put shepherds in charge of caring for the people and projects in place and release your teachers to train and disciple them. But please, for the sake of the mission release your APEs to the edge of the mission and don’t trap them by having them spend “most” of their time leading/managing existing structures.
I long for the day when the SUPER PASTOR or single head leader goes away and we can work better with teams of people (whether it be paid staff or working people in the church) to further the mission of God together. When we start aligning people based of calling and energy (not just by roles inside the church) to push for ward the Kingdom, we will see revival. I am convinced.
What is one thing that has become more clear about the apostolic for you in this post?
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