Ministry may be blooming, but apostolic leaders are focused on the edge; where things haven’t blossomed yet.

[Also check out “How to Identify and Evangelist in Your Ministry“]

By Jon Hietbrink

For most of my life in the church, “apostle” has been something of a dirty word.

Either because it’s assumed to be an expired gift, or because we’ve so often seen it abused, most of us (even those of us who are gifted as apostolic leaders!) struggle with the idea of calling something “apostolic” and have difficulty finding the right language to identify this gift in its emerging forms. Toward that end, here are five key indicators that might evidence an apostolic gift at work in you or your community, and some reflection questions to help you identify the emerging apostolic leaders in your midst!

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By Jon Hietbrink

In my last post, I shared about how we, as aspiring movement leaders, must seek to lead our ministries on, but not over, the “edge of chaos” and almost nothing highlights this tension more acutely than how we handle the people we lead. True movement is impossible without all-play empowerment, and this kind of mobilization hinges on our willingness to both trust and entrust those we lead.

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By Jon Hietbrink

We can’t lead movements the same way we lead organizations.

Many organizations run like machines–they thrive on alignment, order, discipline, and consistency, but movements are like organisms–they feed on change, complexity, empowerment, and freedom. Mechanical organizations can be directed by insightful strategic planning, consistent management and disciplined execution, but it’s debatable whether organic movements can be led at all–like a swelling ocean wave, movements are something we catch, not something we create. So the question becomes, “How do we lead in such a way that we’ll be ready to catch the wave when it comes?”

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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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[This is part of the A.P.E. Pitfalls series. Check out the other posts here.]

Earlier this week, I wrote about one of the first temptations planters face–not starting because we assume that it’s not harvest time. In our journey as a region, we’ve had to confront this temptation again and again as we set foot on new campuses and take Jesus at his word that “the fields are ripe with harvest”!

But what happens after you’ve succeeded at starting something new? Then what?

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[This is part of the A.P.E. Pitfalls series. Check out the other posts here.]

I know, I know. You’re busy. You don’t have time to start something new.

Mandy and Jon at DMACC

You’ve got no shortage of things to do–people to influence, teachings to prep, and to-do lists to tackle. Our lives as leaders are full and we often function with little margin. To be sure, many of us need to get better at saying “no” and not jumping at every opportunity that presents itself, but at the same time, I’m convinced that there’s a temptation that operates in many of us as planters– the temptation of not starting.

This year has likely been the busiest of my life–our region is growing and opportunities abound for fruitful ministry on our current campuses. But we’ve committed ourselves to becoming a planting movement, and so as a way to kick-off the Fall, it felt important for me to prioritize an opportunity to start something on a new campus.

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What if Jesus had given a different “great commission”?

Imagine the scene. The eleven disciples are likely still reeling from the dizzying effects of the last few weeks: betrayal, murder, failure, suicide, disillusionment, doubt, and now appearances of hope. Perhaps because they have no where else to turn, they find their way to “Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go”, and there he is. They see him and do all they know how to do–they worship and doubt.

Unwilling to let them merely look on him from a distance, Jesus “came to them” and issues perhaps the most compelling command in history– “Go and make disciples of all nations…”– and though impossible to believe at the time, their actions set in motion a movement that will one day fulfill that command.

But what if Jesus had followed conventional wisdom and given a different command?

Consider what Jesus could have said. Instead of “go and make disciples of every nation”, could he not have said, “Go back to the 120 disciples in Jerusalem and focus on them…”

If I’m honest, that’s likely what I would have said–focusing attention on what was already and attempting to build on that.

But Jesus was (and is) an apostolic genius, and here we see that brilliance on full display. Rather than focusing his disciples on what was (the 120 disciples in Jerusalem), he unswervingly commands them make disciples of all nations, and in a moment reframes our starting place for apostolic mission–not what is, but what isn’t yet. Fundamentally, it’s a question of “what are we responsible for?”, and Jesus’ answer is a resounding “all of it!”

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[This is a series designed to bring you into the the unique APE stories of each writer on this blog. We hope each one of you can find a little of your APE story inside of one of us. Read the other stories]

I had never thought of myself as a planter, let alone an apostolic leader.

I came of age as a spiritual leader in something of a “mega” campus ministry at Central College. It was the late 90’s, and the seeker-sensitive movement was gaining traction. In the space of a few short years, our InterVarsity chapter had grown from about 100 to averaging over 400 students a week (over 25% of the campus). We had the best worship band on campus, thoroughly relevant teaching, a compelling vision to grow, and a culture of invitation–we soon outgrew our room and had to find a different place to meet. I remember the crowd gathered for my first talk as a staff with InterVarsity. The room sat 625, it was standing room only, and I realized I was way over my head!

Go Plant

Three years later, ministry was still humming along. Our chapter was running about 350 students, we had seen more than 40 students come to faith over the course of the year, and our community had hosted a 24.7 prayer room for an entire semester (over 2,500 hours). On the outside, we were one of the largest, most fruitful InterVarsity chapters in the country, but on the inside, I was frustrated, tired, and restless. Was any of this effort making a real difference in the lives of students? Were students actually being transformed or just entertained? How long could I keep running the machinery of this ministry?

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