March, 2014 | Release the A.P.E.

The Five-Fold Symphony: How the Gifts Work Together

6 responses
March 31, 2014

By Jon Hietbrink

God gives us gifts to play a symphony, not a solo.

Every significant discussion of spiritual gifts^[1] in the New Testament is situated in the context of a complex system—we are “one body with many parts” designed to operate in symbiotic harmony with one another. The problem is that the way we’re taught to understand and express our spiritual giftedness can often be a very individualized and siloed experience—we’re taught to understand our personal gifts, but we’re left to wonder how those gifts actually work together in the way God intended.

Free Ebook: Discipling Skeptics & Seekers

no responses
March 30, 2014

I am excited to announce that James Choung and I (Beau) have created a new ebook and it releases today! It is short (about 3 chapters of a regular sized book) so it will be easy to read through and could be a great book to give a leadership team just starting out in evangelism.

You can get it for free here.

How to Stop Running Fruitless Events

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March 28, 2014

Here is a great article from the InterVarsity Evangelism blog. If you are calibrating your church or campus ministry to be more fruitful evangelistically, please read this. It has great advice. Here are a few excerpts below and a link to the whole post.

That’s right. Sixty newcomers have a great evening listening to someone explain the message of Jesus, love what they hear, and spend a long time discussing it afterwards with their Christian friends. Somehow, though, not a single one becomes a follower of Jesus.

Very odd. It’s not like this was a tough audience. What went wrong?

Continue Reading

How To Welcome A Prophet

2 responses
March 27, 2014

Yikes!

This is a guest post by Brian Sanders. He leads an incredible church network in Tampa Bay called Underground. He is one of the most inspiring leaders I know. I love listening to him teach and I love the way he thinks about leadership, church planting, and missional communities. He is an apostolic leader through and through and you see this no better than in the way he is the chief architect for his network of churches. But he also comes hard with timely prophetic words. One of which was his last post you can find here.

Prophetic types might be the hardest to welcome because their gift is often unwanted. Even the most refined prophets are hard to hear. The history of, well, history—is that religious people don’t just fail to welcome prophets, we kill them. Here, then are some tips on how to welcome (and not kill) your prophets.

Love Not Angst: What is Fueling the Change You Bring?

6 responses
March 25, 2014

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By Jon Hietbrink

As A.P.E. leaders, a key part of our gifting is the ability to see things shift and be catalysts for change. By God’s grace, we’ve been equipped with the capacity to imagine new possibilities and lead others into new realities, BUT it’s critically important that we take stock of what’s fueling the change we bring.

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

no responses
March 23, 2014

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?

How To Identify A Prophet

4 responses
March 20, 2014

Alexia Salvatierra is a prophet in our midst

This is a guest post by Rev. Alexia Salvatierra. She is currently the Special Assistant to the Bishop for Welcoming Congregations for the Southwest California Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. She also serves as a consultant to many major organizations and just released a new book, “Faith-Rooted Organizing. See her full bio, and book her to speak, train, or consult your group here.

What is a prophet? For many evangelicals, the calling/category of prophet is more confusing and controversial than apostle or evangelist. Some believe that the Old Testament prophets’ focus on communal repentance for culturally common sins (idolatry, adultery, social injustice) has been replaced from the New Testament forward by prophets who speak particular divine messages to individuals about the consequences of specific choices.

Urban Church Planting Plantations

2 responses
March 19, 2014

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I just read this chilling article by Christina Cleveland and we need to listen to her as we plant. I am curious about your thoughts for those of you who are starting and multiplying churches – especially in urban areas.

I don’t want to be an unhelpful, ignorant, or overbearing white guy, so listening to voices like this is helpful for me. Furthermore we are a body of christ in mission and we need to remember that – especially as we start.

The Best Quote St. Francis Never Said

2 responses
March 18, 2014

Knight of St. Francis – Assisi

This is a guest post by Jason Gaboury. He is the Regional Director of New York/New Jersey with InterVarsity. He directs and oversees the work of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship to undergraduates in that massive area!

The yellow edged paper on Mom’s desk had the words printed in elegant script. “Preach the gospel at all times, when necessary use words.” A thin script underneath identified St. Francis of Assisi.

The script, the hand, even the composition of the paper suggested a scriptorium, monks copying aphoristic sayings of the saints by candlelight.

More than two decades later I still think of this quote when I remember my mom. The phrase captured a way of being that extended beyond the pulpit and pastor’s desk of her small parish church. It propelled her into Habitat building projects, compelled her to visit the imprisoned, and made her a companion to the suffering.

Imagine my surprise to learn, after mom’s death, that this quote was something St. Francis never said. Often attributed to St. Francis, the quote above (along with several variants) doesn’t appear in print before the 1990s.

How To Start A Ministry At Work

3 responses
March 17, 2014

Let’s be praying for ministry to start in the work place all around the world!

This is a guest post by Carolyn Chow. She wants to give you 5 principles to help you create a vibrant faith community in the workplace.

As a 23-year recent grad, I feel that I have already found my calling – I am a minister. My job title does not actually say “minister”, but The Lord has made it abundantly clear that I am called to love and minister wherever I am while doing what I love, currently unleashing my career in the unlikely place of an advertising agency.