Apostles and entrepreneurs share characteristics

The description of an entrepreneur shares many of the characteristics of the apostolic gift (Eph 4:11).

Blank describes entrepreneurs as “comfortable with change, chaos, and learning from failure and are at ease working in risky, unstable situations without a roadmap” (Blank, pg. 13).

Sinclair describes apostles as “[used] in a variety of ministries… the kind who tend to make things happen. Oftentimes they are good at making something out of nothing, ministry-wise, successfully starting new works from scratch…they thrive on doing things that are challenging and risky” (Sinclair, pg. 6-7).

There is a strong correlation between the characteristics of apostles in the New Testament and the entrepreneurs of today. Both operate in uncertain environments, have vision beyond the status quo, and face regular failure in their pursuit of the right model. Either one leaves the relative comfort of their respective community to launch a risky new venture.

Let us assume for a moment that God gives a calling and gift-set to every person alive. Exercising the gifts and pursuing the calling in obedience to God is what Christians mean when we speak about being faithful to what God’s given us.

Whether an individual is submitted to God or not, they are equipped with gifts and a calling. The entrepreneur who succeeds in launching startups may be the same who, were they submitted to God, the Church would consider apostolic. This doesn’t mean to obey God they ought to have abandoned business and planted churches, but it does mean their work had the potential to expand the frontier of God’s kingdom and bring Him glory.

Over many years I’ve struggled to identify with any of the gifts commonly exercised in church communities. While I care deeply for people I am constantly looking beyond the community to a larger vision - too much for pastoral ministry. Though I appreciate the order an administrator can create, I’m too willing to disrupt to have an administrative gift. I possess some measure of prophetic gifting, but it’s not prominent. I’ve found that my gifts are most effective outside the established church, but I’m not a successful evangelist. What am I? The closer answer to date is that I have some measure of apostolic gifting. It is therefore highly interesting that the descriptions of entrepreneur and apostle converge to a description not far from my personal interests and passion.

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