Apostolic Leadership
Part 3
RE-DISCOVERING A NEW TESTAMENT PICTURE OF APOSTOLIC FUNCTION
Christian leadership, to be authentic, must be apostolic. (see Part 2 of this series).
In order to gauge whether a leadership team group is apostolic, we need to re-visit the New Testament. Over the past twenty years or so I think I might have read at least half of the books covering this subject. Generally, the Biblical research has been shallow and the conclusions skewed by theological or cultural preferences, especially the latter.
After the ascension and before Pentecost, the 120 disciples who were waiting in Jerusalem were convinced by Peter that they should appoint a replacement apostle for Judas. A question has always been raised as to how legitimate the appointment of Matthias might have been. Was it important to God or to the apostles to make sure they had twelve and not eleven? What is more to the point was their pre-Holy Spirit concept of the qualifications:
a. they had to have followed Jesus ‘from the beginning’ (Acts 1:21) and
b. they needed to be a witness to the resurrection (ibid).
c. they decided between the two qualifying candidates by praying and then casting lots.
While this may have been satisfactory for the first group of apostles, it certainly did not hinder the early church from referring to at least 25 (possibly 30) people as apostles. We have no idea what criteria were used to recognise or appoint them.
I am not so concerned about which individual gets the apostolic nod as much as I am interested in learning what could be identified as “apostolic function.” Focusing on the “who” (i.e., which personalities) is spurious and easily becomes the prey of pride and prejudice. Such a function is needed in every church. The lack of it has seen the church shrink in the west at the hands of an ever more strident anti-Christian culture. My suggestion is for us to look at apostolic ministry from the point of view of outcomes or results. A Bible metaphor for this would be “fruit.”
In truth, the whole of the New Testament is apostolic. We are told that Jesus was our apostle and high priest (Hebrews 3:1). We have four books that describe his apostolic ministry. Since the main criterion for including books in the canon of the New Testament was the test of whether they were written or authorised by apostles, it follows that all of the books will contribute brush strokes that paint the picture of apostolic authenticity for us and we need to do the work necessary to see the function restored to the church.
Apostolic function was new in the purposes of God, being specifically instituted by Jesus (Matthew 4:18-22; Mark 1:16-20; Luke 5:1-11; John 1:35-51). We should no more limit the ministry of apostles to the first century or think that such a ministry was replaced by the formation of the Canon of the New Testament (c. 325 CE). There have been apostles in every generation of Christian history but more importantly, it has taken apostolic function to get us back on track when we have been led astray. This is as true for the big story as much as it is for the story of a single congregation anywhere. That’s why every church leadership needs to be apostolic.
To start forming a picture of what apostolic ministry looks like in the church I have used the Acts of the Apostles as a sample case. I have been making my way through the rest of the New Testament books in order to complete that picture. What I am looking for is not a theological proposition, but a practical way of applying this to every local church anywhere. I commend that same research assignment to every pastor and every group of church leaders. To help that process along, I have included some questions that could be asked as a way of moving from information to revelation and then from revelation to active faith execution and then we will have a testimony of the outcome.
APOSTOLIC DISTINCTIVES from the ACTS OF THE APOSTLES
1. VISION Ability to know what God is doing in given situation so that the gospel can be proclaimed.
a. Acts 2:14-36 When Peter stood up to preach to the crowds who had no idea, he was able to explain to them what was happening in terms of God’s covenant purpose – as declared in Scripture. It became a platform for the gospel and thousands of people believed.
b. 3:12-4:12 Peter again was able to explain the man’s healing by telling people what they couldn’t see and didn’t know: the power to heal came from Jesus, not them. He used it as a basis for preaching the gospel and more people came to know Christ.
2. DISCIPLESHIP Pioneer gospel ministry – seeing the purposes of God beyond what is already there.
a. 2:37-41 Peter, and the other apostles saw beyond an amazing miracle to the formation of the very first church and were able to lead the new disciples to that destination.
b. 10:1-11:18 Through his willingness to follow the Spirit, Peter was able to see beyond traditional limitations to the purposes of God (i.e. Jews only) and the first Gentile church became a reality.
c. 11:19-30 Through the leadership of Paul and Barnabas, the church in Antioch was able to see the larger vision: they were part of a work of God that existed beyond the barriers of human tribalism and small-town thinking.
3. FAITH Signs and wonders performed as part of gospel proclamation.
a. 2:43 It seems that the apostles pioneered supernatural Holy Spirit anointing and ministry for the church community.
b. 3:1-10 The healing of a lame man at the temple turned an ordinary set of circumstances into a major gospel proclamation resulting in two thousand more people being added to the church
c. 4:33 supernatural miracles were performed by the apostles as a testimony to the resurrection of Jesus.
d. 9:32-42 Peter’s gospel ministry in Lydda and Joppa was again catalysed by supernatural ministry.
4. CONFRONTING SIN Expose and deal with sin in the church in a way that makes the ministry of the gospel more effective.
5:1-16 When Ananias and Saphira chose to secretly lie to the Holy Spirit, it was the apostles (Peter) whose word of knowledge led to the sin being exposed and dealt with. Regardless of the difficulties this incident creates for most of us, it remains a solemn warning about the high regard God has for integrity and honesty within the church.
5. REDEMPTIVE SUFFERING Bear the brunt of persecution.
5:17-42 It was the apostles who bore the brunt of early opposition to the ministry of the believers in Jerusalem. The testimony of their way of dealing with suffering and opposition was important for the whole church. Their refusal to be thwarted by the opposition and their commitment to be faithful to the ministry was important modeling for the whole church.
6. PROBLEMS TO PATHWAYS Resolve conflicts in the church so that the ministry of the gospel increases.
6,7,8 The series of events set in motion by the problems of discrimination against the Greek speaking widows was immense. Not only were seven Greek speaking leaders commissioned, but that commissioning saw Stephen bear witness to a young pharisee by the name of Saul of Tarsus, and the gospel being proclaimed in Samaria and Ethiopia by Philip. The apostolic character of these actions is not just problem solving, but in the way the whole ministry was expanded and multiplied by the way they resolved the presenting issues. It is apostolic to see problems as doorways to new opportunities rather than pain to be alleviated.
7. COLLECTIVE RECOGNITION Recognition from other leaders; not self-appointed
11:25,26 When Barnabas was commissioned to go and serve the first multi-ethnic (Jew/Gentile) church in Antioch, he immediately went to find Saul and involve him in the development of this pioneering church. Saul’s leadership ministry (and his apostolic calling) was thus confirmed by Barnabas and by the church, rather than being self-appointed. Apostolic leadership will always be authenticated by the church at large and we should always be suspicious of any form of self-appointment.
8. VISION Engaging local churches in the wider and longer vision of the work of God.
11:27-30 It was the apostolic leadership of Saul and Barnabas that was open to the prophetic revelation about the famine in Judea and it was apostolic for the Antioch church to see its role in meeting the needs of the church in Jerusalem. They were part of a big picture, not the centre of a small one.
9. SPIRITUAL WARFARE Leading engagement in the spiritual battle.
12:1-24 The incidents involving Peter’s imprisonment, supernatural release, and the demise of Herodian persecution through divine intervention is an example of apostolic strategic spiritual warfare. The outcome was an example of the spiritual battle involving Peter, an angel, the prayer of the church and then God’s intervention with Herod. The result is the flourishing spread of effective gospel ministry.
10. GREAT COMMISSION Sending church planting teams to unreached people groups.
13:1-3 The leaders of the church in Antioch were fulfilling apostolic function as they listened to the Holy Spirit and subsequently sent Saul and Barnabas on their first mission to Cyprus and then the Galatian region of Asia Minor.
11. CHURCH PLANTING Planting self-multiplying churches in previously unreached areas.
13:4-21:16 These chapters tell the story of the planting of churches in most parts of Asia Minor, Macedonia, and Greece. Apostolic vision will always involve the proclaiming of the gospel to regions not previously reached. It wasn’t saturation church multiplication, but strategic multiplication according to the leading of the Spirit. The result can be measured by Paul’s statement to the Romans: “there is no place left for me to work in these regions…” (Romans 15:23)
12. MULTIPLYING LEADERS Appointing and commissioning leaders for the churches
14:21-23 We saw in the example from Acts 6 that the appointing of leaders had little to do with hierarchy or institutional authority. It had to do with provision of a function vital to the ongoing ministry. It is also important to note that Paul and Barnabas didn’t gather people to themselves, rather they released them to serve and obey God through the word and Spirit.
13. PARTNERING Connecting with other apostles to resolve issues common to the churches in a way that strengthens churches and releases and makes the work of the gospel the more effective.
15; 15:40 It was a collective of apostolic leaders who gathered in Jerusalem. It wasn’t any kind of annual Synod or conference; it was a meeting organised to deal with the most difficult issue facing all the churches. It is also important to notice that the matter was resolved based on what God had been doing, not whose opinion prevailed. In fact, when James summarised what had been going on he based that summary on the testimony of Peter and Paul with Barnabas and then on relevant Scripture. We should note that the outcome was a blessing to the churches. That outcome is a sign of apostolic function being exercised, not personalities dominating or manipulating. God is in the midst of it.
14. PUSHING BACK DARKNESS Confronting opposition with revelation from God that bolsters courage and faith.
18:5-11 Both here in Corinth and the same previously in Philippi and later in Ephesus, Paul modelled apostolic faith by refusing to allow the opposition of the Jewish conservatives to hinder the proclamation of the gospel. Once again, opposition is met with prayer, a vision from God and an expansion of the ministry.
15. DISCIPLESHIP Making sure discipleship equipping is complete.
19:1-7 It was apostolic of Paul to notice that there was something lacking in the experience of the disciples in Ephesus. He found ten men (plus women and children) who had not been baptised in the name of Jesus nor filled with the Spirit. As we saw in the case of Philip’s ministry in Samaria, the apostles went up to Samaria where many people had been born again and baptised in water but had not received the Holy Spirit. It was the concern and faith of the apostles that motivated them to go and make sure that the believers were fully equipped. The same is true here for Paul. The outcome catalyses impact in the synagogue and then in the Hall of Tyrannus and then to every part of the province of Asia.
16. TRAINING Multiplying ministry through effective training and sending.
9:8-10 It is apostolic to train and send, not to create co-dependence and gather a larger crowd. Paul’s work in the Hall of Tyrannus saw the whole of the province reached for Christ in three years through the training and sending of leaders and teams.
20:17-35 See also, Paul’s final talk with the Ephesian leaders, some years later.
17. RELATIONSHIP Building strong and deep relationships.
20:36-38 It may be easy to overlook, but if you think about the kind of relationship built between Paul and e.g., the Ephesian leaders, it was clearly more than most itinerant leaders would ever replicate. Apostolic leadership is not just a visiting function where we get the expert to come and do our work for us, but the building of an ongoing relationship that gives strength, direction, and strategic vision to the church.
18. PERSEVERENCE Embracing and being faithful to the vision from heaven.
26:15-20 When Paul stood before King Agrippa and explained why he was in prison, he could only provide a single reason: he was being faithful to a vision from heaven that he received on the road to Damascus, that was confirmed when Ananias came to pray for him in Damascus, that was confirmed when the church in Antioch sent him out and was also confirmed when he visited Jerusalem to meet with the other apostles (Galatians 1,2) There will be nothing authentic about any leadership ministry except that which flows from a servant of Jesus living out a vision given from heaven.
19. KINGDOM OF GOD Proclaiming the kingdom of God and the rule of Jesus Christ without ceasing and to all.
28:30,31 It is significant that the last things we know about Paul’s ministry have him in prison in Rome, after spending two years in a prison in Caesarea, where he was constantly writing letters (we have four of them) to the churches and receiving visits from team members who were coming and going and carrying his instructions and encouragement to the churches he had planted. Through this means he was able to ministry to the churches of his own day as well as to the church through the centuries. His subject was always the same: the kingdom of God and the Lordship of Jesus Christ. That’s totally apostolic. No weird and wonderful mysteries. Just a constant reminder that we are citizen ambassadors of a new kingdom and subjects of a loving Lord and king.
Questions to Ask
The following questions are asked to help identify the degree to which the group you belong to is providing apostolic leadership.
1. To what extent are you able to see what God is doing in a situation and know how to proclaim the gospel based on what you see?
2. To what extent does your leadership pioneer gospel ministry to spheres where the gospel is not being proclaimed so that you see breakthrough?
3. To what extent does your leadership model and encourage supernatural Holy Spirit ministry and to what extent are you expectant for God to work miracles through your work?
4. To what extent are you able to expose and deal with menacing sin in the church, so that the ministry of the gospel is increased as a result?
5. To what extent are you modeling godliness by the way you embrace and endure suffering for the sake of the gospel?
6. To what extent are you able to see problems in the church as opportunities for the expansion of the ministry?
7. To what extent is your leadership recognised and affirmed by others – other leaders and the people you serve as a leader?
8. To what extent are you engaging the church in the wider work of God: region, nation, and the nations?
9. To what extent are you engaging in the battle fronts for the kingdom of God in your region, and seeing ground being taken?
10. To what extent are you sending and supporting church planting teams to other places?
11. To what extent are you involved in disciple making and church planting yourselves?
12. To what extent are you raising up leaders in newly planted churches?
13. To what extent are you connected to other apostolic leaders and churches such that you will be able to come together to resolve commonly existing issues for the church?
14. To what extent are you able to push back against opposition and see disciple multiplication and church planting increased?
15. To what extent are you making sure that new disciples are fully equipped to serve God?
16. To what extent are you training and sending leaders to expand the work of God?
17. To what extent is your leadership based upon building strong and deep relationships with the people you are serving?
18. To what extent are you fulfilling the vision of God given to you for the church?
19. To what extent are you majoring on the establishment and expansion of the kingdom of God and focused on the Lordship of Jesus Christ?