[This is part of a series on “How Do I Develop an Apostolic Leader?” You can read the other posts here.]

By Chris Nichols

I Peter 2:9-11

11 Beloved, I urge you as aliens and exiles to abstain from the desires of the flesh that wage war against the soul. 12 Conduct yourselves honorably among the Gentiles, so that, though they malign you as evildoers, they may see your honorable deeds and glorify God when he comes to judge. 13 For the Lord’s sake accept the authority of every human institution, whether of the emperor as supreme, 14 or of governors, as sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to praise those who do right. 15 For it is God’s will that by doing right you should silence the ignorance of the foolish. 16 As servants of God, live as free people, yet do not use your freedom as a pretext for evil. 17 Honor everyone.

If we are fully engaged in the missionary enterprise we will find ourselves at the front edge of life in dynamic interaction with the secular world.  At that confluence of worldviews we will be debated, misunderstood, “maligned as an evil doers,” feeling like a constant outsider. We never quite fit, pointed at as the one who doesn’t belong.  We often feel alone. It‘s easy to wonder if we’re in the right place, have the right message, or are in the right job.

We are discovering life as an alien and exile.

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By Brad Brisco

Within the missional conversation people often speak of how God’s mission (the missio Dei) needs to be the organizing principle around which all activities of the church should operate. In other words, participation in God’s mission should inform or shape how the church does small groups, youth ministry, children’s ministry, corporate worship, teaching, etc.

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By James Choung

From Numbers 10.29-32, Moses is having an interesting conversation with his brother-in-law, Hobab. In the previous chapter, it was clear that God was leading the camp. When His cloud lifted, they would march. When it settled, they would stay. And they would follow the cloud.

What’s clear is that God is guiding them, right?

But when Hobab declares his intent to leave the Israelite community to head back to his family in Midian, Moses begs him to stay. His reason? “You know all the best places to camp in the wilderness. We need your eyes.”

Wasn’t God leading them?

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Kimberly Culbertson is a Shepherd Teacher who recasts the story of identity and community. She has taught in the inner city of Chicago, founded a publishing company, and designed group life strategy for both Axis at Willow Creek Community Church and for the newly-launched Mission Church. These days she works as Forge America’s Director of Communication & Care, where she gets to help equip missional leaders all over America, and blogs at BeBeloved.com, where she journeys alongside some amazing women in pursuit of healthy identity. As wife to Ben, mommy to Jack, and family-by-choice to Christa, Zeke, Zekie, and Elli, she spends her energy to move her family toward a full life. Kimberly is a recovering approval addict, a paint brush loving workaholic, and a walking billboard for hope in all its many manifestations.

We Culbertsons are an adventurous family.

In just over a decade of marriage, we’ve moved into Chicago to teach at an inner-city high school, adopted some family-by-choice, started an independent publishing company and snarky Christian literary journal, moved to help plant a church, and then moved again to become apartment missionaries in Schaumburg, Illinois.

After this last move, we started to refer to ourselves as gypsies.

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Here is a great post from Linson Daniel’s blog I came across. Check it out

I have been discouraged to see many young men losing vision for their lives. I have observed this both on campuses and churches at which I speak. It seems that many men are caught in perpetual adolescence. They don’t want to move into the “major leagues”. Some of these men see themselves as 16-yr old boys, and consequently everyone treats them that way.

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By Jon Hietbrink

As APE leaders operating on the fringes of traditional Christianity, we’re keenly aware of a couple things.

• First, we’re desperate for authentic spiritual vitality in our lives. We know that to see the Kingdom come in power in unreached places requires far more than giftedness or charisma, it takes the presence of the living God. We yearn for genuine spiritual authority that flows out of who we are; we long to embody the message we proclaim.
• Second, because we’re operating in the margins, the path we tread is far less worn. Whereas many of us were surrounded by plentiful mentors and models when we were younger, now there are fewer folks we can depend on for the spiritual development we need; it can be lonely on the frontier.

As movement leaders, we must obey Paul’s command to “Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord.” (Rom. 12.11)–we must fuel our own fire.

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By Sarah Carter

It’s a beach-worthy Saturday morning as they often are here in San Diego, even in the winter.  But instead of soaking up some rays, I’m with a friend at church learning how to catch feral cats.  We put out metal traps, line them with tuna, hide them in the tall brush and watch from a distance. Part of me has that rush of adrenaline when hunting something, and the other part of me is wondering…”What the heck am I doing?” (This thought becomes especially acute when I catch the cats, and then have to keep them overnight, lug them to a vet, and stand in a line to get them fixed. Lest there are some worried cat-lovers out there, we are partnering with a very humane organization.)

The reason I’m spending my Saturdays catching cats is because our church property has become a breeding ground for wild cats, with litters of kittens in the bushes, pooping all over the property.  It might not be that big of a deal, if you can stand stepping in cat poo every now and again, and avoid the cats criss-crossing the church grounds.

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