Leading Ivy Leaguers
Read Time: 11 mins 19 secs
Now a Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria, arrived in Ephesus. He was an eloquent speaker, well-versed in the scriptures. He had been instructed in the way of the Lord, and with great enthusiasm he spoke and taught accurately the facts about Jesus, although he knew only the baptism of John. He began to speak out fearlessly in the synagogue, but when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him aside and explained the way of God to him more accurately.
Acts 18:24-26 NET
I am privileged to have a good number of family and friends with very impressive resumes. I have three family members that I can think of who work at NASA. One is the director of one of the world's largest manufacturing plants where crucial parts of NASA’s launch system and the Orion Spacecraft were assembled. Another one of those NASA employees is also a 6’5 former college basketball player who does triathlons in his spare time. Talk about an impressive resume!
I know people with 10 Grammys and 21 nominations and many others in the music industry. I know people who have worked at the White House and House of Representatives. I could point you to dozens of black professionals under thirty who serve as doctors, lawyers, teachers, authors, real estate agents, pastors, barbers, social workers, scientists, physicists, musicians, accountants, executives, and business owners. They’ve gone to schools like Vanderbilt, Meharry, LSU, Alabama A&M, Princeton, Columbia, Georgetown, Howard, Hampton, Morehouse, Spellman, and Oakwood. They're special with dazzling resumes
I could point you to young professionals who have worked in Hollywood, with the NBA, NFL, NASCAR, ESPN, and done marketing, design, and PR for brands with household recognition. They’ve worked at historic churches and with historic figures. They’ve modeled for brands you’ve regularly shopped. They’ve designed products you regularly use. And half of the time you wouldn’t know unless you knew what to ask.
The same way we are inspired and impressed by and proud of our family and friends who God uses to accomplish great things is the same way the early church would’ve viewed Apollos. The Bible says that he was an amazing speaker and theologian. He was a rising star. He had it all. He wasn’t just educated; he was eloquent. The Bible says that many people actually preferred him as a preacher and pastor over Paul, the apostle who wrote the majority of the New Testament. That’s a big deal.
In addition to that, there’s a detail in Apollos’ description that adds to the lore of how he could’ve been viewed. The text tells us that he was from Alexandria. This is a big deal because God in His sovereignty will often plant you and water you in cities, communities, and cultures that naturally influence and energize the gifts and perspectives He wants you to carry.
Alexandria was one of the major cities of the ancient world. The capital of Egypt held the Library of Alexandria, which was one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. One of the things that made it special was the fact that in a major trade and commerce city like Alexandria, officials would collect every book on every ship that came to its shores, copy it, and give the ship back the copy while keeping the original. This meant that this library held literary works on philosophy, rhetoric, medicine, theology, mathematics, astronomy, language, art, and architecture from every part of the known world, making Alexandria the intellectual capital of the world.
They even went as far as to create The Mouseion, which was like a research university where scholars would be given a stipend, lodging, and food just to study, research, write, and debate. Imagine the culture of education and innovation this would produce. This is the world and culture Apollos grew up in. He was raised in one of the biggest, most resourced, most respected, most influential, and most intellectual places possible.
It was like a Boston where you could throw a rock and hit someone who studied at Boston College, Harvard, MIT, Berklee, Tufts, or Northwestern, or like Silicon Valley, where you could easily find people who helped innovate and research with companies like Apple or Meta. But it was also an economic engine and cultural melting pot like New York City or London. Around a third of the religiously diverse population were Jews, which led to a thriving culture of study and reasoning around scripture and the creation of the Septuagint, an Ancient Greek translation of the Hebrew Scriptures that became one of the most important books in Jewish and Christian history.
Can you imagine how this influenced Apollos? This city is what helped make Apollos. Innovation likely seemed normal to him. Achievement was likely expected. He had the tools for influence and accomplishment and the charisma to match.
Use Your Difference
Many of you reading are an Apollos in your own right. I know so because many of you are the people I described in the first few paragraphs. I know you may not think so. You may not think you're anything too special or out of the ordinary, but I promise you that our God in His sovereign foresight has packed you full of everything He needs you to have to accomplish your mission on earth. He wants you to light up the world and spread His love in every room, level, and sphere of influence.
You may have even felt turned off or insignificant when reading about the accomplishments of others, but I want to assure you that while it may look different than what He has done for others, God has intentionally planted you around things and people to inspire your outlook too. Here’s the thing. God often lets a Moses see what life outside of slavery looks like so he can inspire, lead, and keep hope alive for those who have only known slavery for generations. Like Apollos, you've seen things in your family, church, community, or school that God intentionally allowed so that you could speak a language, handle a situation, or carry a perspective or vision that the people you are called to serve may not have. Education may be normal to you but not to the people you're called to serve. Healthy family structures may be normal for you but not for the people you're called to inspire. Integrity may be all you saw growing up, but it will be novel to the people you're called to impact. Your grit, people skills, empathy, work ethic, organizational skills, clarity under pressure, belief, or your ability to dream and carry faith have all been downloaded and developed in you for a reason, and while they may feel normal to you, they aren't.
God has given you gifts and experiences that may seem normal to you but are extraordinary to others. And you need to recognize this if you're going to use the gift He gave you for His glory. Something about the proximity God has allowed you to experience gave you something many others may wish they had. Like Joseph, your jacket may not be anything special that you earned or produced on your own, but it's extraordinary to those around you. Like Apollos, you need to use it.
So Apollos starts to use his gift, and as the Bible says will happen, his gift makes room for him. Like the stewarding servants of Matthew 25, he uses his talent, and it starts to increase. His charisma draws crowds, and his insight inspires. But while he taught accurately about Jesus, he only knew of John’s baptism. He knew a lot, but he didn't know everything.
Coaching vs. Critique
Aquila and Priscilla pick up on this, and instead of talking about him, they talk to him. This is more significant than many of us realize. Many of us would sit at lunch talking about what our pastor was missing. We’d complain and critique while commenting on what we'd do better if we were in charge. But they take him aside to coach instead of critique. What's the difference? For the purpose of our analogy, a critic focuses on what you have wrong, but a good coach focuses on what you can do better. A critic places you in the negative and keeps you there. A coach places you in the positive and moves you to better. A coach says this is what you're doing well; let me help you do it better.
While a critic says that you're at a deficit, a coach comforts you by pointing out what you're already succeeding in before helping you optimize. What we see isn’t this couple telling Apollos that what he has is all wrong. They instead go to him privately and tell him how to be better at what he is already doing well. They don't quinch his fearlessness with critique; instead, they add fuel to it with coaching. They don't make him second-guess himself. They push him to go even harder. Learning this difference won’t just help in your leadership; it'll help in your relationships and professional dealings.
They go privately and respectfully. This is important, especially as we allow iron to sharpen iron with other gifted and talented people. This is especially important as you grow and lead teams of other leaders, high achievers and “Ivy Leaguers”. Only a few people have the capacity to coach the U.S. Men's Basketball team. Why? Because it takes a very special person to be able to successfully coach, correct, confront, and bench someone who has been a superstar their entire life. The thing is, intentional or unintentional disrespect can often push an Apollos to close off and put on competitiveness and arrogance as a defense mechanism, and that ruins team chemistry and the process of what you are trying to accomplish. But when you lead with respect, humility, reassurance, and connection, correction flows without as many casualties.
This is something I've had to learn in leadership that I believe we all need to work on. I started pastoring when I was 23 years old, which means I've had to shepherd, correct, counsel, and lead people who are sometimes three times my age. It's difficult to confront, correct, and sometimes replace staff members who are more accomplished and experienced than me in some areas and have at times been in their position longer than I've been alive. But by the grace of God, I have been able to build good relationships with seniors and other accomplished leaders and even been able to disagree, correct, and confront them without much conflict. How? I came in on equal, if not submissive, footing.
I didn't come with an attitude of I know everything, and you don't. I often come asking more questions than I give answers. I offer more compliments than criticism. If I confronted them with an air of arrogance and disregard for their accomplishment and value, I’d likely trigger a competition with a very powerful enemy. But if I acknowledge their gifting, experience, position, and perspective and genuinely see them and what they bring to the table as valuable, I'm a lot more likely to make strides with them towards our goal together. If I asked for their opinion, they'd likely listen to mine. If I asked them to give me advice, they'd often let me give them advice. If I was humble and loving, they'd often be too.
There's much better fruit from coaching than critiquing. The issue is that many of us try to disrespectfully lead by trying to leverage our age, experience, position, or accomplishments to gain respect. I'm not saying those things aren't important and shouldn't be valued. But you can't lead with that. No one cares what you know until they know you care. When you value them, you'll be valued. But when you try to push and disrespectfully force them to respect you, they'll often respond with more disrespect. Don't push Apollos away with your arrogance.
A Listening Leader
What I love is that Apollos seems to listen to the leadership of Priscilla and Aquila. This is also big because it required humility and submission on the part of Apollos. Apollos could've been like Do you know who I am? What do these leather workers have to tell me about anything? I am already a better speaker than them. But he listens.
Priscilla and Aquila are mentioned six times across four books by two different biblical authors. They were partners with Paul who went on missionary trips with him and led a thriving church in their home. While we may not always recognize it, the Aquila and Priscilla in our lives have a lot of wisdom to offer to us Apolloses. But this concept of listening to counsel goes deeper.
While they're always mentioned together, the wife, Priscilla, is mentioned first the majority of the time. Not only does this force us to see her as an equal force in their missionary and pastoral ministry, but this also emphasizes her significance in leadership and authority. In layman's terms, Apollos didn't just listen to blue-collar workers that he could've easily and arrogantly seen himself as superior to; he listened and learned from a woman.
Some of you may have issues with this because you’re too insecure and arrogant to learn from those who society deems less than but God can speak through a donkey. He can work through an unclean raven or provide through a destitute widow. He can lead through a child and prophesy through a slave. The question is, are you submitted enough to listen? Are you humble enough to listen?
You Need What Others Have
Apollos could've thought he was fine. I mean, he was more than successful, but God wanted even more for him. Listening to Priscilla and Aquila increased his influence and energized his ministry more than he could have imagined. How?
The Bible says that Apollos knew of Jesus, but only he knew of the baptism of John, not the baptism Jesus preached. John’s baptism was just about repentance, which was cool and important, but even John said that he baptized with water, but one was coming that would baptize with the Holy Spirit’s fire. Could it be that what Apollos was missing was the power of the Holy Spirit? If so, that is major. Did he not know that the Spirit had been poured out? Did he not know about the Spirit’s power?
Apollos was preaching in Ephesus, the same place Paul would go in the next chapter and encounter believers who knew of John but not the Holy Spirit. The Bible says they had never even heard of the Holy Spirit. They had sincerity but not the power to do what God called them to. Could that be because their pastor, Apollos, may not have known himself to be able to teach them?
This is big, because many of us Apolloses are gifted. We have accolades. We have following. People believe in us; we've seen great things and were on track to see more. But could it be that by avoiding the counsel from sometimes unlikely sources, we're denying the power of the Spirit in our lives? Could it be that the arrogance that stops us from listening to the Priscillas in our lives is holding us back from what God wants next for us? Like bro, Apollos was already successful without knowing about the Holy Spirit. Imagine how much more successful he'd be with it.
So my call for you is not just to accept the outpouring of the Spirit as the focus often is in many studies from the book of Acts. My call for you is to not be too arrogant to listen to the unlikely sources that may be being led by the Spirit to upgrade you. My call is to be like Priscilla and Aquila and compassionately connect with the Apollos you see in your life who are beyond gifted but maybe missing the Spirit. They're just running on talent, education, and charisma now. How much more could they push the message of the kingdom with power?
Questions to consider:
How are you an Apollos? What from your upbringing or in your gifting or personality did God plant in you so that you could impact those around you?
How can you be like Aquila and Priscilla and respectfully connect with the gifted voices around you as you help them optimize their gift?
How well do you do at submitting to the counsel and listening to the leadership of others? How open are you to coaching?
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