In the final portion of The Shaping of Things to Come, the authors advocate a new type of leadership/ministry matrix, based on the passage found in Ephesians 4:1-16. APEPT is the acronym given to the framework which values the following functions: apostolic, prophetic, evangelistic, pastoral and teaching. In Christendom and North American evangelicalism a strong emphasis has been placed on the pastoral and teaching functions, thus making ministry a clergy vs. laity endeavor. Through APEPT functions, ministry becomes an endeavor for the whole church, the whole body of Christ, and is not simply delegated to the leadership community within the church. This shift in church leadership has great implications for increasing agency (Vincent Miller). Increasing agency and ownership, through the use of an APEPT framework, ensures that the church community is working towards embracing all these functions/gifts. Church members and the congregation-at-large can begin to take part in ministering to the people around them and fulfilling the mission of Jesus. A greater sense of wholeness and missional responsibility are fostered when the church community works together.
To conclude my learning synopsis of this book, I point to an idea introduced by the authors, yet attributed to Seth Godin: the ideavirus. An idea becomes contagious and spreads in the same way a virus would, through multiplication or metabolic growth. It is no surprise that the authors applaud this notion and I venture to say that they have written this book with the idea that this missional, incarnational, messianic, and apostolic ecclesiology would spread in the same way.
What better way to spread the Gospel and fulfill our mission than to share an idea, a message, a hope that is contagiously and continuously transmitted through our relationships and our lifestyles.
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Too often the church has actually combined all those roles into one person. We expect our pastor to be the APEPT instead of recgonizing that people have different gifts. Part of it is we're lazy and want one person to do it for all of us instead of seeking what everyone's gifts are and getting them to use them.
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