What is that quality that goes into making a great apostle?  The raw material must be especially chosen at an early age for this honor.  He has begun with thieves, murderers, dock workers and doctors.  Some were timid, afraid of their own shadows while others would fight any number in the streets.  Occasionally they had the mind of a scholar while for some a book was a convenient doorstop. 

I believe Peter said it best; “a CHOSEN GENERATION, a ROYAL PRIESTHOOD, a HOLY NATION, a PECULIAR PEOPLE.”  We were chosen, washed, set apart and changed to fit a master plan.  An apostles pedigree can best be summed up in two words, “Yes Lord.”  When we’re maligned and spoken against, “yes Lord.”  When the entire world turns against you and the church of God leads the charge, “yes Lord.”  When you hold out the hand of friendship and mercy time after time only to have it bitten by lost, ignorant and dying people, “yes Lord” and you hold it out again. 

An apostle isn’t perfect.  He or she might rant and rave inwardly and sometimes outwardly over all the injustices that come their way; Paul did.  They might be afraid and unwilling to pay that final price at some point in their walk; Peter was.  It’s possible that none of their words may seem to bear fruit and like Jeremiah or Noah; the messenger might not see it come to pass for many years.  In such a case, an apostle might sigh, or weep or rage at the unfairness of it all before raising their eyes to say, “yes Lord.”  An apostle surrenders.  Their will; desires; goals; feelings; all that they are is kept under subjection to those powerful words.  They are sometimes spoken in a melancholy way or with great conviction and power; but they never change. 

An apostle is sent.  They are not their own and their example shines throughout the community of pastors, evangelists, prophets and teachers.  They are the example.  Like the prophet, they must speak the words God has given, but they must love the hearer.  Like a teacher, they bring understanding to the ignorant, but they know you must live that knowledge.  Like an evangelist, they reach out to the lost with signs and wonders, and then help those dazzled by miracles and powerful words find a home where those words might find root.  Finally, like a pastor, they are Christlike, an example for all to see. 

Above all an apostle IS integrity.  They do not live their lives for vainglory.  Apostles esteem everyone more highly than themselves.  Like a strong foundation, they are below the surface, working quietly in the background to ensure the rest of the structure is sound.  Prophets speak aloud and spare not; yet an apostle is likely to whisper a quiet word in the ear of a prepared vessel.  The very life of an apostle is a teacher of highest order.

As a young woman, Beatrice Marie Sims stated categorically, “I refuse to marry a preacher!”  When her husband began his own church she said he had her support, “but I’m not a pastor.”  An intelligent woman with a forceful personality she didn’t always find marriage to “that old testament prophet” easy.  Nevertheless, she discovered two words that always seemed to help when submission seemed impossible …“yes Lord.”  Always an avid student, she became a wife, mother, business executive and finally, co-pastor.  Her husband, well on his way to becoming the foundational minister he would be recognized her willingness (albeit reluctant) to submit, a quick mind full of God’s wisdom and a perceptive spirit, able to discern between said and unsaid, seen and unseen.  During these years, it was almost unheard of for a woman to be ordained and to lead from the pulpit.  Her examples of excellence and wisdom became a beacon for many women in ministry.

Pastor Bea as she is affectionately known far and wide is a master teacher, a prophet of great power and clarity.  She has often been heard to say, “I observe.”  A multitude have come and boldly informed her that God called them to various POSITIONS.  With a tender smile she directs them back to the altar of service, submission and of course, “yes Lord.”  An apostle is about their Father’s business, not his own.  An apostle will put their own needs, wishes, hopes and dreams under those two little words.  An apostle is precious, powerful, controlled, humble and full of wisdom.  Experience has shown that men and women of God rarely rush forward to receive that honor.  Those who do, after counting the cost, almost reluctantly, breathe deeply and prayerfully say, “yes Lord.”

Beatrice Marie Sims has said,