Work of an Evangelist

By Ellis Crum

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     The congregation under the supervision of its elders needs to make sure that those who are sent out as evangelists are truly responsible persons. Heavy is the responsibility that will rest upon the shoulders of an evangelist. He must have the characteristics of accountability, reliability, and amenability. At all times he should be willing to give an account of himself, his conduct, his time, and his teaching. He must be reliable before he could be "well reported of by the brethren." An evangelist needs to be trustworthy, stable, and even tempered. He must be amenable to the elders of his home congregation. He should be as free from fault as possible, and show a willingness to correct any mistakes.

     An evangelist is responsible first of all to God. While in one sense it does matter what others think, his first concern is "What does God think?" He must realize that God's thoughts are higher than man's thoughts. The proclaimer of the ancient gospel will not covet the approval of men, neither will he long for their praise. The theme of all true evangelists is summed up in the words of the apostles: "We ought to obey God rather than men (Acts 5:29). They will soon learn that "It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man" (Psa. 118:8). Fellow evangelists may forsake one another as Demas did Paul; yet God will never forsake His faithful ones. Preachers should keenly feel their responsibility to God. Paul expressed it in these words: "Woe is unto me, if I preach not the gospel."

     The gospel preacher also has a responsibility to himself. While it was Shakespeare who said, "To thine own self be true," it is none the less a fact that all Christians must consider. Paul instructed Timothy to "Take heed unto thyself" (1 Tim. 4:16). Elders were likewise instructed to "Take heed therefore unto yourselves" (Acts 20:28). The same thought was expressed by Jesus and directed to all Christians when He gave commandment to "first cast out the beam out of thine own eye" before attempting

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to remove the "mote that is in thy brother's eye."

     Paul fully recognized the responsibility of watching himself and practicing what he preached. Concerning his conduct he wrote: "But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection; lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway" (1 Cor. 9:27). A modern-day story is told of a father and son who shared the same house, the one a medical doctor, the other a clergyman. One day when the telephone rang the party calling enquired: "Is this the Dr. Smith that preaches or that practices?" Faithful Christians and evangelists must do both!

     An evangelist has the responsibility of self-improvement. Paul charged Timothy: "Meditate upon these things; give thyself wholly to them; that thy profiting may appear to all" (1 Tim. 4:16). The evangelist should be growing in grace and knowledge of the truth. His improvement should be noticeable to all the brethren. This improvement, however, should not be at the "expense" of the congregation. Sometimes evangelists greatly develop their speaking ability by doing all the preaching, teaching, and praying. Ample opportunity must be afforded the congregation for development. He will better know their needs if he sees the congregation in action rather than attending to all the phases of public worship himself.

     A preacher needs to engage in much study even though it is "a weariness of the flesh." A study of the scripture is always profitable. Some are "Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth" (2 Tim. 3:7). The reason? They leave the Book for the books. A study of the holy scriptures will "make thee wise unto salvation -- not wise in worldly wisdom. The word of God contains all truth, i.e., all saving truth. No man knows all of the truth in the Bible. Even if the Bible should be committed to memory there would still be new truth to learn. No book contains all of the saving truth but the Bible. We should read to learn, not just to confirm our errors. We pray to God for wisdom and understanding, yet some are disturbed when they hear brethren thank God for the "new truth" that they have learned. Of course the truth has always been in God's Word, but it should yield new truth to our mind with each reading. Why is it right to pray for wisdom, yet wrong to thank God for the blessing received? May we all as individuals and congregations continue to learn new truth from the old book.

     The story is told of an old Norwegian sculptor who upon the completion of a beautiful piece of sculpture stepped back to admire the work of his hands. He then came forward and gave his work a careful, close examination, and with this final inspection burst into tears. Those about him praised his work and said they could see no room for improvement and certainly no reason for his grief. The aged artist gaining control of himself replied: "That's the trouble; I, too, see no room for improvement, and I know the only way for me to go is downward!" When evangelists get to the place where they can't improve, they will already be on the downward trail. A man cannot practice law or medicine without regular and extensive reading and research. An evangelist needs daily study too. If he regularly "relies on his resources" it will be evident to his brethren. There is the need of constant improvement and regular refresher courses on the things previously learned. "Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip" (Heb. 2:1) applies to evangelists as well as all Christians.

     Abraham Lincoln was a great student, a self-made man. If you try and divide his life into two parts, "Preparation" and "Work" you will find it extremely difficult. There are no distinct boundary lines; he always worked and he never ceased to prepare! As evangelists and as disciples let us prepare to meet our God and in so doing train for greater work in the Master's Vineyard.