‘I really believe God wants you to step up and step into being an apostolic leader in the city here. Gather with other leaders and talk with them about what it means to be the apostolic church for the twenty first century. It’s what he’s put on you for the city and beyond.’ 

I was meeting in Sainsbury’s café with my friend Rob White, himself one of my key models and mentors for ministry since I came to the city nearly 16 years ago. Every word resonated, I knew it was what the Lord had been saying to me for quite a few years. Now it was being verbalised by someone I knew and trusted really clearly. 

I wish I could say I acted on the word straight away. That must have been 5 or 6 years ago! 

I could of course point to various other things I have been part of during that time, churches planted, resources produced, relationships developed, LAUNCH starting and continuing – join us here.. the truth however is that I didn’t do what Rob / God said. 

There are all kinds of reasons and excuses I could give, of course we get busy but that’s not the truth of it – most of them boil down to insecurity. You know that ‘Who am I?’ question? 

And ‘What do I know anyway?’  

And ‘Someone else/ loads of other people could do it better!’ (true, which is why I’ll include some of them in the future). 

By the way I realised last year on my sabbatical how often the enemy has done a number on me by telling me for decades I was too young, and now he tells me I’m too old…

When I came back from that sabbatical last year I knew God was saying ‘I want Ivy church to be a supernatural community that’s all about Jesus.’ We have leaned into that since and it’s glorious. 

Then as 2023 closed out he said to me ‘I want Ivy to be an Apostolic Resource Centre!’

I’m going to talk more about both things in more details at our AGM next week, including various incredible partnerships locally nationally and globally he has opened up. 

But in delayed and reluctant obedience, next week here at Ivy Didsbury M20 2GP rather than just have our monthly leadership emphasis meeting for staff team which I always do, we are going to have our own very quick catch up then open the doors for the morning and invite in others who want to grow in leadership by learning to listen to Jesus more. 

At the heart, rather than a strategy, a skill set or a personality type or certainly a title – I have come to believe that ‘apostolic leadership’ starts with something as simple as that. 

APOSTOLIC LEADERSHIP = LEARNING TO LEAD BY LISTENING TO THE LORD

Too often apostolic leadership has been reduced to ‘a pioneering spirit’, ‘entrepreneurs for Jesus!’. I have certainly led like that and continue to, but as the years go by I now realise it’s not about me having too many great ideas for tomorrow, it’s about hearing who the Lord wants us to be and consequently what the Lord wants us to do today. It’s leading by listening. It’s being a shepherd who’s still sheep enough to be led and fed by the Good Shepherd whether by the still waters or through the dark valleys. And learning to lead as you yourself are being led. 

On that basis, I can get over my own insecurities and ‘I’m not good enough/ don’t know enoughs’ to invite you (especially if you feel the same way, if not we can’t learn from each other and I can’t teach you anything anyway) to join me for a couple of hours, and we are then going to start doing this on a monthly basis, only in person, as friends connecting to learn together. Bring a couple of people you lead with if you like? 

To book please go to ivychurch.org/ARC so we have enough coffee and croissants.