I helped beta test APEST 360 recently, developed by Alan Hirsch.
The APEST assessment is a profiling instrument designed to assist you in finding your ministry style in relation to the philosophy of the fivefold ministry of Ephesians 4 (Apostles, Prophets, Evangelists, Shepherds, Teachers). It has emerged from 10 years of practical application of this model in various ministry contexts.
The 360 version integrates feedback from others into your profile as well.
My personal results: ATPES – Apostolic 44 / Teaching 25 / Prophetic 22 / Evangelistic 19 / Shepherding 8
Apostolic + Teaching
The Apostle Teacher inspires by communicating the need to pioneer new endeavors. The AT takes time to explain so others understand the dynamics of mission. The AT has a keen sense of systems, particularly the inherent logic of Christianity as a whole. The AT is creative and inventive with words, moving people forward with new ideas. The AT promotes active learning in the process of mission. The motivation of the Apostle Teacher is the urgency of taking the Faith outward, crossing boundaries of understanding to reach those who need to know. The AT is thus a natural activist-philosopher – ideas serve the cause.
My friends think: APETS – Apostolic 31 / Prophetic 25 / Evangelistic 24 / Teaching 22 / Shepherding 19
Apostolic + Prophetic
The Apostle Prophet is motivated engage great causes – no matter where it may take them. The AP is one who knows what needs to be done, and will mobilize others to engage in mission. The AP is not the most politically sensitive type and can put people off Their sense of urgency and vision makes up for their lack of political savvy. The nature of the AP is to see the world through a relative black ad white mentality. The motivation of the Apostle Prophet is to further the message of God’s kingdom through an urgency of the immediate tasks and large strategies
Note – Out of 9 responses however – 2 of my friends skewed my results because they thought they were taking the test on behalf of themselves! I can’t seem to take their results out of my score.
Apostolic is clearly up there, obviously my friends don’t think I’m that hot at teaching, and we can agree that my shepherding abilities are poor.
As with all of these types of profiling tools, I’m always left with, “uh huh, now what?”
by Lon on January 3, 2008
I’ve been chewing on Alan Hirsch’s latest book, The Forgotten Ways, over the past few months. It’s somewhat of a follow up to The Shaping of things to come by Hirsch and Michael Frost.
It’s a fairly dense read and Alan coins a number of new terms, which might be why it took me so long to dig through… but it was well worth it.
There are plenty of reviews around on the book, a few personal gems:
All great missionary movements begin at the fringes of the church, among the poor and the marginalized, and seldom, if ever, at the center.
An advertising executive recently confessed to me that they are now deliberately stepping into the void that was left by the removal of Christianity from Western culture… Much of that which goes by the name advertising is an explicit offer of a sense of identity, meaning, purpose, and community… If through advertising marketers can just link their products to this great unfilled void, they will sell.
If we don’t disciple people, the culture sure will
The fact that God was in the Nazarene neighborhood for thirty years and no one noticed should be profoundly disturbing to our normal ways of engaging mission.
Start with the church and the mission will probably get lost. Start with the mission and it is likely that the Church will be found.
Some other resources by Alan Hirsch and on The Forgotten Ways
- The official forgotten ways website
- Alan Hirsch’s Blog
- Interview of Alan Hirsch
- PDF of The Forgotten Way’s first chapter
- Rodney Olsen interviews Alan Hirsch on sonshine.fm here
- Jordon cooper does an excellent reflection on The Forgotten Ways
- Soularize podcast roundtable with Spencer Burker, Neil Cole, and Alan Hirsch
- Two audio sessions with Alan Hirsch and many others at Forge
- Audio downloads of Alan speaking at the Canadian Church Planting Congress
A visual of mdna (missional DNA)
by Lon on December 30, 2007
Since posting earlier on Wolfgang Simson’s Houses that change the world, I’ve began reading the follow-up, or big-brother, of that book titled the Starfish Manifesto.
A few interesting thoughts so far…
On the church entering Babylonian Captivity… the Holy Spirit is no longer the driving force of the Church, Mammon is. Part of this captivity is the current obsession with hyper-activist, high adrenalin programs and methods and approaches, celebrated as saviors for a run-down system.
The current average cost for Christian evangelism and missions is $330,000 for every newly baptized person.
We have stolen the church from God, and he wants it back from us thieves.
God wants a veil-less church without pulpits and clergy-laity distinctions. A pastor, no matter how godly he conducts himself, actually
stands more in the way of this than he is of help, because he has become a symbol of that very discrepancy.
* I had read the pre-release edition – The book will be available officially in June 2008.
Also you can find the audio downloads for the Wolfgang Simpson Conference 2005
* Posted at LeadNet Books as well.
** A 2009 reworked copy of starfish manifesto is now availabe here.
