HOW TO BE AN APOSTOLIC BUILDER, NIXING THE TERM MARKETPLACE APOSTLE & HOW TO ATTRACT AND COACH HIGH LEVEL LEADERS IN YOUR CHURCH A Synopsis OF USCAL REGION 1 ROUNDTABLE

—By Mark & Nicki Pfeifer

About 30 apostolic and prophetic leaders gathered at Valley Church in Hopewell Junction, NY where Greg and Susie Williamson are Lead Pastors now for over 30 years. 

🔥 Greg and Suzie have graciously accepted our invitation to the USCAL Region 3 Convenors!  To learn more about them, check out their website: https://valleyny.cc/

After an hour of powerful prayer in the main auditorium, we gathered in a second floor meeting room perfectly prepared for our roundtable.  

 ⭐️ B O N U S ! !  One unexpected bonus were the chocolate treats provided by Al and Deb Warner!  They were made by someone they have coached in business that has built a multi-million dollar chocolate company.  Al said that, “Mentoring ‘Willie Wonka’ has its benefits!” 😂

The chocolate treats were outstanding! 🍫

Here’s what we discussed in the inaugural USCAL Region 3 Roundtable:

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▶︎ APOSTLES ARE PRIMARILY BUILDERS 

The discussion started off simple enough.  We asked the question, “How do you define an apostolic leader?”  The overwhelming agreement was that an apostolic leader was primarily a builder.  

Paul said in I Corinthians 3:10, “According to the grace of God which was given to me, as a wise master builder I have laid the foundation, and another builds on it. But let each one take heed how he builds on it.”

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▶︎FIVE PHASES IN THE BUILDING PROCESS

What emerged from the dialogue was an agreed upon process that apostolic builders experience that looks something like this:

👉🏻 O N E | The Leader is Built.  

This means that there is a long season of preparation and mentoring that primarily comes from God and secondarily through people who are mentors, coaches, pastors, spiritual parents, etc.

👉🏻 T W O | The Leader Builds Individual People. 

The primary focus of a leader is to build up individual people.  These are sons and daughters; disciples and protégés; apprentices and pupils.  These develop a core for the next phase.

👉🏻 T H R E E | The Leader Builds Teams/Families. 

People are created for teams and families.  Some of the most rewarding times people experience are team projects completed in a family atmosphere.

👉🏻 F O U R | The Leader Builds a Culture/Community.  

As teams function over time, a culture develops that fortifies into a operational community.  This is when a congregation or a business begins to develop a corporate identity and to thrive.  

👉🏻 F I V E | The Leader Builds a Vision.  

This is what moves the community forward on a shared track that is specific and clear.  Each person and each team know their individual roles that help fulfill the vision corporately.  

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▶︎THREE TYPES OF APOSTOLIC BUILDERS

Paul affirms in I Corinthians 3:10 (see above) that he laid a foundation upon which others built.  In this analogy, he affirms that there are difference kinds of apostolic builders.

The following is a template that might help distinguish three different types of apostolic builders using the development of cities as an example.  

𝟙.  Some Apostolic Leaders are EXPLORERS.  Explorers are the brave souls first view and enter the land.  They construct minimal, temporary shelters built for survival in a hostile environment.  They exchange beauty for functionality.   

𝟚.  Some Apostolic Leaders are PIONEERS. Pioneers follow the explorers and patrician off land, build homes for their families and eke out a living as best they can.  Over time, they establish more permanent dwellings that reflect glimpses of beauty alongside utility.    

𝟛. Some Apostolic Leaders are SETTLERS.  Settlers are those who efficiently and effectively utilize natural and human resources to establish a prosperous community.  People continue to join the collective and create more complex and diverse economic and political structures. 

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▶︎THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN AN APOSTLE AND AN APOSTOLIC LEADER 

One interesting perspective that emerged was the idea that an Apostle and an Apostolic Leader were two different things.  

An apostle is one who is specifically called to “equip the saints for ministry” according to Ephesians 4:11-12, “And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ.”

An Apostolic Leader, on the other hand, is one who expresses apostolic gifts in a variety of Kingdom enterprises, including the workplace.

This distinction seemed important to differentiate those who are called primarily to the church from those who are called into the workplace. 

Which leads us to the second day’s discussion…

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▶︎MARKETPLACE APOSTLES?  NIX BOTH WORDS! 😳

WORKPLACE:  A change in terminology suggested by Peter Wagner years ago was substituting the term, “marketplace” with the word, “workplace.”  Marketplace often refers exclusively to retail sales or entrepreneurialism in many people’s minds.

The term, “workplace,” however, includes a variety of industries, occupations, or vocations in which a person might be engaged.  

For instance, working in education, government, military, or clerical positions are all in the workplace but not necessarily the marketplace. 

The group agreed that “workplace” is a much better descriptor. 

APOSTLE: Next, the word, “apostle,” as it relates to workplace leaders, was unanimously rejected as being both unwanted and unnecessary.  Those that shepherd workplace leaders all agreed that their people were uncomfortable with that terminology and they almost never used it. 

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▶︎CLOSING THE GAP BETWEEN PASTORS AND THEIR WORKPLACE LEADERS. 

Everyone agreed that no matter how great a person’s position is in the workplace, there is still a need for pastoral care with those who “keep watch over your souls” according to Hebrews 13:17. 

However, pastors and other church leaders feel inadequate to personally mentor or coach high level workplace leaders because they (church leaders) lack experience in many areas outside the church.  

These suggestions were given to help close that gap:

👉🏻 O N E | Lead for Influence – not for popularity or fame.  

One of the main purposes of the church is to influence your city.  It seems everywhere Paul went, the churches he birthed had city impact.  

There are two ways to grow your influence in your city.  First, grow your congregation to a sufficient size where it cannot be ignored.  Secondly, befriend and mentor significant leaders in your city. 

Leading for influence needs to be a mindset out of which pastors make decisions, hire staff, set agendas, devise plans, create ministries, plan events, and administrate the church.  Having an influential church is a done on purpose, not accident.  

👉🏻 T W O | Stay in Your Lane.  

The good news is that pastors don’t have to be experts on everything.  Trying to become an expert in various industries will only weaken their expertise in the things that matter. 

Most workplace leaders don’t need their pastor’s advice or motivation to enhance their performances in the workplace.  They have endless resources for those kinds of things.  What they do need - and don’t always get in their world - is what pastors can provide best…   

🎁 Pastors can help them personally with moral and ethical issues. 

🎁 Pastors can help them keep their marriage and family a priority. 

🎁 Pastors can help them maintain humility and dedication to God. 

These are things that workplace leaders need from their pastors.  All the rest, they can find in abundance in other places.  

👉🏻 T H R E E | Affirm Workplace Leaders in their Kingdom Assignments.  

Just like some leaders have assignments from God in the church, other leaders have assignments in the workplace.  But it’s all Kingdom work.  Affirm them and support them in knowing that one Kingdom assignment is no greater than any other.  Letting people see this will go a long way in attracting and maintaining a healthy relationship with workplace leaders.  

👉🏻 F O U R | Don’t View Them as Your Own Personal ATM.  

Yes, entrepreneurs and business owners can be a resource to the church.  They should be!  But that resource is so much more than money.  As pastors interact personally with their workplace leaders, they can find creative ways to utilize their gifts and skills in ways that allow them to participate in the health and growth of the church, not just the offerings.  Many of them are waiting for such a chance and will joyfully deliver on the other when fully utilized.  

▶︎CONCLUSION

On the whole, the members of ICAL/USCAL have pioneered many of these concepts in the last 25 years.  We have been on the cutting edge of connecting the dots between local church and city transformation.  We’ve seen many leaders increase their influence within their cities, blessing many people and earning the right to share the gospel with significant leaders and with the masses.  

We want to continue being a trendsetter in this and many other areas.

Let’s do it together!