By Phil Longmire

When I received my first call to plant a church, many moons ago, I was directed by a church planting organization to take a spiritual gift assessment. What was alarming to me was the result of the test, and I have to admit I was extremely embarrassed and disappointed by the results.

The test came back and said that I was an Apostle?

I am not sure at that point in my life that I had ever heard a modern day person called that before. I did not even know what an apostle was. I was not even sure I could have taken that information back to the church I was a member at. I mean, what do they do with people proclaiming to be an apostle...burn them at the stake or something? What in the world was an apostle and how did they fit in the local church? As far as I knew, they didn't...and it might even be heresy or something to say that they did!

That was 20 years ago and looking back on it, I wish I had explored the idea more.

Because that one identification of being an Apostle explains a lot about how I work and fit within the mission of God. Up until recently, the only way I could explain my behavior and patterns in life was to refer to myself as a spiritual gypsy.

My pattern as a pastor was to spend about three years in any one location. The whole time I was standing on my watch tower I was equipping and releasing people into ministry, doing everything I could to work myself out of a job because the call to go somewhere else was always so strong. I just knew it was time to move to a place where they needed me more!

But over the last 18 months, all of that has changed and I was fortunate enough to have my eyes opened to the opportunities within the mission of God to launch movements.

I am now seeing that there is room in today's faith for apostles again.

I am even seeing that the teachers and shepherds of the local church are searching and seeking to hear the voice of the apostles and prophets for guidance on how to lead their own congregations.

So to help in this discussion I wanted to share something that I recently read. It is one of the better descriptions of an apostle that I have seen. You have to keep in mind that this is framed around the language of starting movements. Not so much in the language of the western church, but more along the lines of elevating the name of Christ among the nations.

But the reason I want to share this is because in the local church one of the offices that has been overlooked or not given much credence over the last couple of years is the role of the Apostle. I think there is some confusion around the calling and gifting and some misunderstanding of the role.

From my own experience, I have seen where the local church really does not know how to equip or release these people within their own congregations. We were never set up to have a lot of apostles running around in the local church. We did not know how to give direction and focus to the calling.

What we are exposed to within the local church are the shepherds and teachers, because they are the ones who are left to care and grow what the prophets and apostles started. Without them, we would have an overwhelming amount of destroyed people, because the very nature of an apostle is to keep going.

Think of the work of the Apostle Paul. He was always planting, equipping, and releasing. He never stayed anywhere for any length of time, but was always starting and coaching those around him. Paul was always bringing people back to the call of the movement.

Not everyone is wired this way, and thank the Lord that they are not. But there are people who are! And unfortunately in our society and functioning of religion, there was not always a lot of space and place for them to serve outside of missions. But when we begin to see the call differently, begin to see that God is about the movement or mission; all of a sudden the apostles have a place where they can thrive and survive.

This is better described by John and Annette Eastiseng. This is what they wrote...

The Apostle is called to go where there is no Water. They are drawn by the Spirit and if yielded to Him there is nothing that will get in their way to reach that area to bring the Water.

As persons get hydrated and filled with this Water they begin to overflow into others around them. Gifts start to sprout and the apostle starts to see some tiny apostles about them. While doing this they also hear of other lands that there is no Water and inside that desire to GO again pulls at their core.

However, because of MANY years of maturity/trials/and plan old learning (Even from books) the apostle will not leave until there is enough Water in the area and those that are gifted in making sure that Water continues to flow regularly.

Another way of looking at the role of an apostle...
Alan Hirsch described them this way on his website:

APOSTLES extend the gospel. As the "sent ones," they ensure that the faith is transmitted from one context to another and from one generation to the next. They are always thinking about the future, bridging barriers, establishing the church in new contexts, developing leaders, networking trans-locally. Yes, if you focus solely on initiating new ideas and rapid expansion, you can leave people and organizations wounded. The shepherding and teaching functions are needed to ensure people are cared for rather than simply used.

There is a reason why Apostles are the "sent ones" because there is nothing else they can do but to continue going and being sent. I hope this has helped place a frame around the role and function of an apostle in your mind and that you remain open to this role being utilized within your church.

Phill Longmire is the founder of Milestone, an organization focused on equipping people to elevate the name of Christ throughout the nations.