Last week, we looked at the state of Apostles, Prophets and Evangelists in the Church. Bringing the APE back from near extinction is a post that takes an honest look at the APE and the lack of place they find in current state of the Body of Christ.
This week we want to Release The APE Back Into The Wild, back into the Church, their natural habitat.
At his point in our history, most churches exist to perpetuate of systems of shepherding and teaching; and that isn’t a bad thing in itself, but the Shepherd/Teachers are internal functions, only some of the necessary systems of a healthy body. We need the outward, apostolic gifts.
Today we are going to focus on a Bible passage that I bet you skip when you read it. If you don’t skim over it now, I bet you used to. I’m just being honest here, until I began studying alongside Alan’s writing, I didn’t know it was there. It was like reading English, English, English, then (ugh) Klingon, Klingon, Klingon, then (ahhhh) English again.
Starting a church in a Starbucks in Europe, or in the open air at Bixby Park in downtown Long Beach, or doing open mic nights in a gay coffee house make for some awesome stories to tell. And…there are other moments that almost became stories, but thankfully never did. The reason for this has to do with the counterbalance that …
There are several mic drop moments in 5Q, moments where what we have read is so profound, we have to stop and allow it time to wrestle with our heart and minds; to give it permission to challenge our preconceptions and understanding.
This week, we want to point you to The Permanent Revolution: Apostolic Imagination and Practice for the 21st Century Church, as another tool you can use to help apply what you read in 5Q. In the excerpt that follows, Alan helps us engage a paradigm of “Thinking 5Q.” How do you begin to change the culture of your team? Try this!
Recently, I remembered that circle and decided to design a similar image as a teaching tool. On coffee shop napkins or office whiteboards, I draw this image to represent the five-fold ministry of Jesus and His body. As I draw the diagram this is how I often explain it.
Today we are going to zombie-proof your missional calling and help you navigate 5Q where you work. At the same time, we are going to show you how to get practical with some of the tables that you find in the 5Q book. Once you get familiar with the shapes of APEST, the core characteristics, you begin to see them functioning all around you.
After an amazing run with real reader reviews and some amazing guest posts, this week we wanted to return to the source and take a deeper look into a question that we run into quite often as we begin our favorite part of 5Q: Equipping and Training the Local Church.
This week, Jon Ritner, Pastor of Ecclesia Hollywood and L.A. Forge Trainer, helps us navigate 5Q through some important waters. One common issue with engaging new paradigms is simply how to move beyond the theory and put it into practice. Today, Jon shares with us how he is using 5Q to create an APEST culture in his home.
