One of the key tasks of leadership is to get people to buy in to the mission – especially talented people that are all over the place.

One of the sad things that I see is apostolic, prophetic, and evangelistic leaders written off too quickly because they don’t fit ministry contexts primarily driven by shepherding and teaching activities. Because they are not fitting in well, they get distracted, pull in different directions, and often times are not brought into the center of the mission.

Put a Dog into Their Hands

Every Sunday I walk two of my kids to the donut shop that is just under a half a mile away. It is a fun way for us to get exercise, talk, and of course eat donuts! But recently it has been difficult to go with my four year old Noah because he is so slow and trailing on the walk. He likes to stop and pick daisies, hit sticks against the tree, look at ants, and imagine whatever else is going on in his head. Obviously this is a great thing for a four year old to be doing – just not on Sunday mornings when we are trying to get to church an hour later!

Today I decided to take my dog with us, and my four year old was adamant that he wanted to walk the dog the “whole way” to the shop. I rolled my eyes because as all dogs do, mine pulls the leash and likes to run after stray cats. How is my boy going to hold onto the dog? I don’t want my dog running into the streets and my boy either!

But I decided to let him walk the dog and I was surprised at the outcome. When given the challenge he actually did a much better job than I thought he would do. There were only a couple of times that I had to help him and we got to the donut shop fifteen minutes earlier! There was no dragging and we moved along at a great pace.

He had more fun, I had more fun, and we got to where we were going more quickly.

All my son needed was for me to put a dog into his hands.

I laughed inside as God spoke to me about leadership and APE callings specifically.

As my son just needed an invigorating task to help him focus and be more apart of the walk, so do APEs need central tasks that bring them into the core of the mission. It is my hunch that all of our organizations have these leaders inside of them and what we need to do is put a dog into their hand – give them a task that brings them into the center of the mission. Yes it may be a bit beyond their capacity and it could get a little hairy if the leash is dropped. But it also could be the very thing that focuses them, aligns them with you and the vision, and gets you to where you are trying to go much faster and peacefully.

How do you help an APE leader that is on the fringe come into the center of the mission?

Put a dog into their hands.

• Give them something to do that is meaningful.
• Give them something to do that excites them.
• Give them something to do that takes all their energy and focus.
• Give them something to do that will lead them to the target.

When it comes to apostolic, prophetic, and evangelistic leaders many of them are bored in our churches and ministries. Most of our churches are about Sunday mornings and the rest, generally speaking, is about caring for the people that are ALREADY in the church. So, when every now and then an apostolic, prophetic or evangelistically inclined person shows up, they seem to be off the path or distracted from where the majority of the churches energy is focused and moving. Why? Because they aren’t energized by teaching and shepherding people already in the fold. So they stay on the fringe of the mission.

I have seen it time and time again within my self and with other younger leaders that are APEs. If you ask them to join you on a “walk” that doesn’t give them tasks and places to serve that invigorate the apostolic, prophetic or evangelistic calling inside them, then they are going to drag their feet, bend down to pick daisies, and seemingly drag them mission and you along. Instead of being a gigantic ball of energy that drives the mission forward, they can feel like a thorn in your heel slowing you down.

Are they annoying and not fit for this mission or are they just bored on yours?

What Can You Do?

APE type people often times are just going to stop coming to more shepherding and teaching gatherings after a while. In an APEs mind, there is only so much teaching and gathering we need. So pay attention to who is not around much that you wish was there. Who is it that you have to keep saying, “Hurry up, lets go, you are lagging behind on our walk!” They may be APEs that are just bored or distracted from the activities you have going on that primarily serve who is already coming.

But they could be APEs that are more the “annoying” types. The kinds that are trying to get you to walk in a different direction and take a different route. They are asking the hard questions about what new things are going to start, why aren’t more new people and non Christian people engaged, or how come our church is so un-diverse and barely engaging in the injustices of the world:? When you are busy preparing for and steering Sunday worship and many small group meetings during the week, those questions can be tiring, and sometimes annoying to the “course” you are on.

But what these leaders and your church needs is for you as the leader to put a dog into their hands.

If you have an apostolic, prophetic or evangelistic person in your church that seems distracted and is dragging in the mission, here are a couple of things you can try:

Apostolic

• Is there something new God wants to start outside the walls of your existing church or ministry?
  • Ask them to be on the team or even lead that team forward.
  • Let them lead the charge to start a brand new ministry aimed at people not already in the church.
  • Ask them who their heart beats for and set them free to go reach them.

Prophetic

• Are there places in your church that seem unaligned? Are there places in culture that are broken and filled with injustice that God is calling your church to minister to?
  • Let this person speak into those areas and give you unfiltered thoughts about what they think God wants to do about it.
  • Let them lead the way in starting new programs to bring justice or healing to areas that are broken inside the church or even outside in surrounding areas.

Evangelistic

• How are seeking people being engaged by your church?
  • Ask this person to start a new class for seekers
  • How can they be part of a team that plans an event that you put on outside the walls of the church aimed primarily at skeptics and seekers? Like in a pub, or a coffee house.

How has this post encouraged you today as a leader? Please share in the comments!