By Brian Scott
In this month’s article, I thought I’d begin a series on one of my favorite subjects. For those of you who know me, you won’t be surprised. No, it’s not “kenotic” leadership! I’d like to take the opportunity over the next five articles to share how I’ve experienced the beautiful expressions of the five-fold gift of leadership found in Ephesians 4. I’ll also share some of the not-so-beautiful expressions.
My belief is that the list of five, “A”postolic, “P”rophetic, “E”vangelistic, “S”hepherd, “T”eacher or APEST, are functions of the ONE gift of leadership and are NOT titles. Each function carries a different role in equipping the body of Christ for the works He has prepared in advance for them to do. Therefore, if one or more are missing, the discipling culture and mechanism will suffer. We also know that unless there is interdependence, these functions that leaders carry will be very combative. Again, the main purpose of the gift of leadership is to EQUIP!
There have been many books and articles written on the characteristics of each function of APEST. To keep it simple, I’ll use Alan Hirsch and Dwight Smith. We’ll get started with the Apostolic leadership function.
Apostolic function
Hirsch – Pioneer, Innovator, Designer, Entrepreneur, Strategist, Visionary
Smith – “(Apostles) extend the gospel purpose”
For an apostolically functioning leader, their main role is to keep the group moving. To be at a place of stagnation causes great angst in the heart of someone who is always pointing the group beyond its present realities. Their unique vision gives them opportunities to speak into leadership groups possibilities that aren’t currently in existence. The effect of the gospel is too important to remain centralized or contained to a certain group of people. The apostolic leader is the main voice that decentralizes the church.
To use a military illustration, when the apostolic has determined a hill to take, they have an inner drive to mobilize the army and get on with the attack. They will see opportunities on that hill and will envision the people around them. They will also do the due diligence to understand the dynamics of the land that is to be conquered, even sending out reconnaissance in order to anticipate possible obstacles.
The apostolic leader also places a higher value on achieving victory at any expense with less attention on how the move affects people. Those who operate with apostolic imagination usually do not have the natural bent to come alongside those who are stragglers or late adopters. Mobility and advancement are too important and captivating to delay on the account of others. If need be, the apostolic leader will carry on the attack alone which is a shadow of the apostolic leader operating in immaturity. Whether mature or immature, the apostolically functioning leader can cause great irritation to the other functions.
We haven’t defined the other functions yet but let me briefly comment on the relational dynamics. If interdependence is lacking, the apostolic leader will be unrelenting and uncompromising in what they believe should be the next step of action. To the prophetic function, this disposition can come across as haste, making the prophetic uneasy about direction. The prophetic function will not allow a leadership team to operate in chaos or lack in clarity before movement. The prophet often feels like they are the ones who must follow the apostolic function in order to clean up the mess left behind the apostolic’s wake.
The evangelistic functioning leader will resonate with the apostolic’s vision and will be one of the first to step in-line. Initially, the evangelist will rally all their networks around the idea and vision of seeing lost people found in new areas. Because the evangelist is more people oriented, they will be sensitive to how a vision will either impact or prohibit a person from finding a relationship with Jesus. As the apostolic gets more passionate and involved in the creation of new expressions, they will be less incline to recognize the impact on the individual lost person. The evangelist will also not move on to new areas at the expense of sacrificing a soul in their current environment.
The shepherd and teaching functions are normally agitated with the apostolic’s push to new horizon’s, particularly when not demonstrating a submissive heart. The shepherd will not feel comfortable diverting energy, money, and/or people away from the programmatic of the gathering. They will see a move forward as risking all that would be deemed as inward momentum. Are the people healthy enough for the change that will be demanded with following an apostolic imagination? Will the people currently being ministered to be able to withstand the journey to a new place of ministry? Do we have the capacity to minister to those who will be encountered in this new place of ministry? Will these new people understand and submit to our culture? Will we be able to maintain both what we have and what we will be developing elsewhere?
I’ve included a diagram that can help us in the coming articles. As you can see, there is great need for apostolic imagination in leadership that is equipping disciples. There is also danger if an apostolically functioning leader operates in immaturity. These leaders are not to be feared but embraced. Here are some questions that might trigger some discussion around your leadership table.
- Have we invited apostolic leaders around our leadership tables?
- Are our apostolic leaders confident that they’ll be heard?
- Are we open to the dreams or ideas of our apostolic leaders?
- How can we develop apostolic leaders who are in our churches?
