"He gave some to be apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers, for the equipping of the saints, for the work of service, and for the building up of the body of Christ" (Eph. 4:11-12).

Jesus gives supernatural leadership gifts to those He chooses to accomplish His work. Let's review the supernatural leadership role of an apostle in business.

Role of a Business Apostle

"Apostle (apostolos) – one who is sent out, set apart, special messenger, one commissioned for a particular task or role."

Business apostles are visionaries who lead their companies into the future. They establish and create new companies, pushing into new markets, territories or product groups. Business apostles are innovators, creators and identity-givers to their organizations, as well as a "father" to their team setting the right environment for maximum productivity and kingdom impact.

Some biblical examples of business apostles include Paul (tent-maker), Joseph & Daniel (administrators) and Nehemiah (architect/building contractor).

Key Characteristics of Business Apostles

• Passion to launch new ventures and create new pathways in business.
• Invent the future and do not settle for redesigning the past.
• Willing (even thrilled) to try new things, dream and take on challenging tasks.
• Discern what is the Holy Spirit's leading and discard/eliminate what is not.
• Gifted to "see" into the future through both revelation from the Holy Spirit alongside an intimate insight into their business marketplace.
• Gifted to lead, organize and administer.
• Started or involved with multiple business or marketplace ministries.
• Willingness to be recognized more for their accomplishments than their title.
• Provide solid structure and internal processes.
• Recognize the role and value of the other five-fold gifts.

How Business Apostles Equip Their 'Saints'

Since business apostles are the ones who set the pace and create new things, they possess a strong desire to train up others to maximize the business impact for the kingdom. Some of the ways a business apostle equips his team include:

• Serve as both the marketplace and spiritual leader of the team.
• Provide platforms and internal processes that allow people to excel.
• Promote others based on their role gifts as much as their skill set.
• Help others troubleshoot and solve business problems.
• Willingly bring along others to pass their mantle and launch their own kingdom endeavors.
• Mentor, coach and train up the next generation(s) of godly business leaders.

The Business Apostle's Mandate

Business apostles carry a huge responsibility. Their mandate is to discern the will of the Lord through the leading of the Holy Spirit, then transform His will into productivity, profit and marketplace impact. With such a monumental mantle, is it any wonder that so few today willingly step up to be a modern day Elisha (2 Kings 2:13-15).

Yet for you, perhaps you are so gifted. If so, I exhort you to not step back but leap ahead into your gifting. Ask Holy Spirit to give you revelation on exactly where He desires you to go, create, build and profit.

Note: This is an excerpt from Dr. Jim's forthcoming book, Anointed to Lead: How to Discover and Unleash Your Supernatural Leadership Gifts to be released this summer.

Dr. Jim Harris is president of The Jim Harris Group, an international speaking and advising firm dedicated to helping believers in business unleash their unfair advantage in the marketplace. He is the author of Our Unfair Advantage: Unleash the Power of the Holy Spirit in Your Business. Download his FREE tool, 55 Critical Resources for Believers in Business. Connect with him on Facebook LinkedIn, and Twitter.

For the original article, visit drjimharris.com.

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