Alan Hirsch retweetledi
When someone asks me what got me interested in the topic of #APEST. I shared how I found APEST to be part of the solution for two different issues.
Church Planting.
When we planted a church many years ago, I realized pretty quickly that I did not fit the traditional "pastor" role. I worked hard at trying to be a better shepherd. But despite all my attempts to sharpen those ministry skills, I knew I didn’t live up to the expectations others had of me as their leader. Instead, I knew I was created to start things, to pioneer, to architect, and innovate. As I began to engage APEST, I realized my calling, or vocation, was much more apostolic. For the first time, I understood how my gifting fit into the body of Christ.
Activating all the people of God.
I always struggled with how "non-pastors" fit into the mission and ministry of the church. The only lens I had in my early days of ministry was for "lay-people" to become pastors/teachers (like every other pastor and me) or to volunteer for empty slots in my ministry plan.
APEST helped me see that the five-fold gifts are given by Jesus to the body, not simply leaders. Therefore, APEST provided a biblical framework to activate ALL the people of God for the maturity of the body (help to diminish the clergy-laity divide), but at the same time, it also provided a way to understand how our vocations fit into the marketplace, or broader culture (help to diminish the sacred-secular divide).
Since my introduction to APEST, I would add that there has been a progression in my understanding and convictions. In the beginning, it was helpful to see APEST not as roles or offices in the church, but as individual callings. It was also important to see that these vocations existed not for the benefit of the individual, but for the maturity of the body.
Later, with the help of @alanhirsch’s writings, I came to see that Jesus is the perfect expression of APEST. As Alan shares in the book 5Q, the Ministry of Christ (MOX) is given to the Body of Christ (BOX), which results in the Fullness of Christ (FOX).
Finally, one of the most powerful aspects of APEST is seeing the gifts not merely as personal callings, but as functions of the church. Ask if the church is to be apostolic? Is the church to be prophetic? Is the church to be evangelistic? Is the church to be a shepherding and teaching community? Of course, the answer to each of these questions is a resounding yes! If this is indeed the case, then there are no better "marks" to help define who the church is and what the church does.
If, for some reason, you have reservations about an aspect of APEST, please take the time and do the research. Your church will thank you.
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