November, 2012 | Release the A.P.E.

Listening is a Key Function of Evangelism

no responses
November 15, 2012

This is a guest post by Don Bennett has spent the past 12 years serving as a Pastor in different roles. Currently he serves as an Associate Pastor at the Meeting House (Oakville – Main Site), a Multi Site Church throughout Southern Ontario. His passion is to invest in people and engage in conversation. You can read his last post on this blog here

“My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry…”

– James 1:19

What I have been learning recently is that listening is key to being effective in any form of evangelism.

Questions to Ask:

Do we take time to really listen to people or do we just angle our way in to talk and give insight?

Do we feel the only way to be effective is to make sure the crisp gospel message is proclaimed?

Continue Reading

An Open Learning Posture

no responses
November 14, 2012

On our InterVarsity Divisional Leadership Team we have been doing something very powerful.

The last few times we have met we have asked a leader to come prepared with a scenario in their ministry that they want to let the other people on the team speak into and give them advice about.

This might seem simple, but it has been so powerful!

Today was my turn to go and I presented a case study about Greek Ministry in LA and how I am doing with hitting my goals. I am in charge of starting new ministries to Greek students on 17 campuses in the Greater Los Angeles area. It is a giant planting mission and we have some great stuff going on two campuses and a couple of others emerging after just a few months. There are a couple of complexities bubbling up and some decisions to make about how I should use my time best.

So I presented the scenario to the team and they broke into twos and talked about and messed with my plan for 15min. Then we gathered back and team by team they offered me up their thoughts.

John The Baptist: A New Series Starting!

4 responses
November 14, 2012

[This is part of a series on John The Baptist as Prophet. You can read the other posts here!]

We are excited to announce that a new series on John the Baptist will be starting. We are going to look at the life of a prophet through the lens of John! Make sure to subscribe and stay tuned!

One of my favorite characters in the Bible is John the Baptist. Maybe it’s his eclectic lifestyle choices, his struggles with doubt, or his unfailing humility. One thing that’s clear to me is that John the Baptist was an APE. I think he definitely had a Prophet/Evangelist bent, but starting a flourishing baptism of repentance ministry from scratch gives him definite Apostolic points, too.

From birth until death, John’s life made way for the Messiah Jesus. Mark describes John by quoting Isaiah: “I will send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way—a voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.” John paved straight paths in many ways, from rebuking the current religious authorities to calling out everyday believers into a more just life, to literally pointing out Jesus to his followers.

Surprise!

one response
November 12, 2012

How do you feel about surprises?

Some people love them others hate them.

I am growing to love them and I think that is an important thing for planting.

One of the major things God has been teaching me and showing me over the last few months as I start this work in Los Angeles is to embrace surprise and learn to expect it. Planting has so many ups and downs, so many unknowns, that if we don’t live with a welcoming heart towards surprise, we just can’t make it.

We have to have the faith and expectation that God will surprise us with great results and new opportunities.

We have to have the faith and expectation that God is still good and in control when things crash, change, or fall apart.

Planting new works of God means many surprises…some good, and others bad.

Book Winners & Five Great Comments!

no responses
November 11, 2012

That was a fun contest and great to hear the responses about what people are shaping with Jesus! I really was impressed with how you all are pusuing God and letting him use you around the world.

I really felt a strong burden to pray for you as I read the comments and I also felt a strong excitement about this A.P.E. community and what God is doing!

I felt very grateful for this blog space and that you all have taken the time to comment and let us into your world!

This really is shaping up to be an online community and that was one of our dreams in starting “Release the A.P.E.”

It has been very exciting and motivating to read these dreams.

The Winners

Kevin Bennett
Russell Almon

Email me at beau@releasetheape.com to give me your address!

Five Comments

Here are five of the comments that were left on the post. I asked people to share about what they are shaping with God. I hope you enjoy these as much as I did. Please say a prayer for them as well for strength, vision, and encouragement.

Free Friday…Book Giveaway

24 responses
November 8, 2012

Hey Everyone!

I am starting a new thing on this blog where I will pick different Fridays to give away some free stuff!

Alan Hirsch and I were at a conference the other week together and he generously gave me a box full of books!

So I am going to share some of that wealth with you and give away two free books today!

“The Shaping of Things to Come” by Alan Hirsch & Michael Frost

I have not read this book myself so I cannot really comment on it. But I know it is about mission and imagination for the future of our church. I cannot wait to read it myself.

Here is how you can enter…

Tell us in the comments what kind of thing you are trying to shape!
- what is a dream or vision you are working on to bring the world to a better place in Christ’s name?
  - give us the 2-3 sentence version 🙂
Tweet this post for a +1 entry
share the Facebook Post on our page on your timeline +1 entry

Rhythms of Missional Discipleship

12 responses
November 7, 2012

As apostolic leaders we get fired up every time we meet students who want to step out in mission. We want to help them vision for what God could do in their lives and their friends’ lives. We want to go with them into their corners of the campus and help them plant the gospel there!

But we’ve become deeply aware during this season of ministry that we can’t do life on life discipleship with everyone. We long to see a generation of college students mobilized for mission on Nebraska campuses, but we’ve wrestled with the question of how we can empower every student we work with to grow in lives of missional discipleship.

Here’s our attempt at putting together a simple, reproducible tool to help students develop some rhythms of missional discipleship. There are three areas: Up, In, and Out and each one has a weekly and a daily practice. Almost none of this is original on it’s own. We’ve borrowed and combined ideas from Michael Frost, Alan Hirsch, and Mike Breen. Check it out:

12 Indicators that Leadership is Lacking

4 responses
November 6, 2012

Today I was coaching the staff on my team planting Greek ministry at UCLA. His name is Nick Kwok and he is a great leader with a desire to see God move big time in the Greek system on campus.

But he is also a new planter and is learning on the job how you create, with God, ministry from scratch. Like I have all people under my leadership do, Nick is reading through “Exponential” by Dave and Jon Ferguson and we are talking about what it looks like to develop leaders inside of a movement. How do we reproduce ourselves and others under us?

Well today, he came to me with conviction and said,

“I don’t think I am doing anything that Dave says a leader should do.”

Continue Reading

A Prophet’s Role

one response
November 5, 2012

Reading Beau’s post yesterday on the differences between evangelistic and apostolic gifting compelled me to offer this post about how prophetic gifts fit into the mix. How, or where, do prophets fit in this conversation about APEST giftings, and in the Church for that matter?

I would argue the prophets are the least understood of the five-fold gifts, and most broadly interpreted in different directions. It’s tempting to think of prophets as either doomsday preachers shouting about the end of the world or strange fortune-tellers predicting the future. While some could fit those stereotypes (and you could give examples from scripture), I think the prophetic gifts manifest in ways that are crucial to the present, and actually unlock and build on the work of the evangelists and apostles out there.

Walter Brueggemann articulates the role of the prophet in his book The Prophetic Imagination:

“The task of prophetic ministry is to nurture, nourish, and evoke a consciousness and perception alternative to the consciousness and perception of the dominant culture around us.”

Continue Reading

What is the Difference Between an Evangelist & an Apostle?

24 responses
November 4, 2012

Evangelists help churches grow up, while apostles help churches grow out

[This is part of a series called “What is the difference between an evangelist and an apostle?” check out the other posts here]

In a recent post I wrote about the apostolic role as planter and how they love starting new things. Especially when it is new things that involve lots of new people that are checking out Jesus.

But a question arose in my head as I was writing the post:

Why does that mean you are apostolic and not just evangelistic? What is the difference?

Continue Reading