Note the words of Holy Spirit concerning Paul included Barnabas; that is, note that God sent them together, building team ministry by Divine design. This wasn’t a mission board strategizing but God designing.
In the maturing process, leaders develop the power and passion to do things as spiritual adolescents so they can prove they are capable – to themselves and to others. However, the ability to do the stuff on your own isn’t a level of maturity like working in team.
Consider that Jesus sent them out two-by-two, and by that He didn’t mean husband and wife. He sent them out in twos and then Holy Spirit sent Paul and Barnabas together.
The maturing to the apostolic isn’t about “doing the stuff” yourself as much as doing the stuff with others and making leaders who can do the stuff as well as or better than you can. The maturing of the apostolic means teaming with prophets at the same foundational level in terms of implementation of the blueprint and strategies for expansion at the foundational level. The maturing of the apostolic isn’t about “doing the stuff” to set an example so much as sharing that experience spiritually with emerging leaders so they understand the full weight of purpose that sets upon their shoulders.
My Experience
My experiences with leaders has been awesome and rewarding. I look back at the number of leaders available to the kingdom with hope and anticipation; I look now at the leaders becoming available for development and destiny and know that God is doing a quick work.
However, the previous spiritual generation continues to bleed over into this one with residue of the flawed definition of Ecclesia, void of kingdom, in which the dominance of performance and “lead by example” thinking bent toward “be amazed at my anointing” keeps people thinking the only way they can fulfill personal destiny is to have their own, personal, “do the stuff” identity.
Most leaders do not have the personal maturity to work in a team.
If I say, “Come to this conference and you will go away activated.” Consider the people who trudge off to conferences with the hidden hope that they will receive a magic wand impartation that will make them function at the same level as the “big boys and girls.” Consider how they return to show they can “do the stuff” but never have the maturity of connection in the Ecclesia so doing the stuff is part of fulfilling a purpose.
Here is the rub of apostolic alignment: if you are doing the stuff without building upon a blueprint foundation, you are building an outhouse more than a home. That is, you are building something that doesn’t connect with the plan and purpose of the kingdom so much as you are building your own show home for the purpose of advertising your building skills.
My experience has been that many leaders lack the maturity to work and function in team while they pursue ministry upon the basis of being called, gifted, and anointed. They fail to deal with fatal flaws while demanding that their ministry leadership be accepted for what it is, or worse, they assume they can have a ministry without providing leadership at all!
