Mere Missions

162 • M ere M issions : M oving F orward to M ultiply

be indispensable in apprenticing church planters and emerging leaders of church plant movements. a. Listening. As I mentioned on the apostolic missions plank, the Holy Spirit, there is no missions apart from His leading. Leadership requires the discipline to hone ones listening skills to hear from the Holy Spirit. When apprenticing church planters and movement leaders I have two primary agenda items: 1) what is the Spirit of the Lord speaking to you about, and 2) what is on your agenda. It’s not that I don’t have things that are on my agenda, but these two agenda questions require me to listen before speaking. I want to hear that they are hearing from the Spirit, and what is on their agenda is more important than what is on mine. James wants all men and women to be quick to listen (James 1.19). How much more the leader. b. Communication. Napoleon Bonaparte, the French military leader, and emperor who conquered much of Europe in the early nineteenth century said, “The secret of war lies in the communication.” Our prayer communication with God, in this spiritual war, is meant to be a walkie-talkie, calling down fire on enemy positions on a battlefield where all is at stake. Our communication with our co-laborers, in this spiritual war, must be clear, regular, and honest. This quality in the apprentice must be refined as it is the secret in the expansion and advancement of God’s Kingdom in the spiritual war, we find ourselves in. c. Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE). You would know this by the brand name, Teflon. In leadership, when the rains of life and ministry come and the floods rise all around, when the irritations from the spiritual enemy are grating your inner spirit raw, and when the unbelievable and unforeseen attacks against you, your family, and the vision