THE PROBLEM WITH EVANGELISTS

 THE PROBLEM WITH EVANGELISTS

The ancient amphitheatre in Ephesus

When Paul wrote to the Ephesians he was writing to a church that had grown from 12 men meeting on a river bank (Acts 19:1-6) to what some scholars suspect was now a church of around 6,000 members meeting in houses around this major city. It was also a church that he had invested two years into (Acts 19:10). Ephesus was major port city and the centre for the worship of the idol, Artemis (Acts 19:24). From this strategic city Paul was virtually guaranteed to reach most that region (Asia-Minor) which Doctor Luke tells us Paul was actually able to do (Acts 19:10). Almost certainly, one of those who heard Paul preach and explain the gospel was a young man by the name of Epaphras. He was from the nearby town of Colossae. His life was transformed by the preaching of Paul. His soul was set on fire by the flame of the Holy Spirit. Maybe the apostle Paul himself also laid his hands on Epaphras whereby he was baptised in the Holy Spirit—just as the founding members of the Ephesian church had experienced (Acts 19:6). After spending some time sitting under the teaching and training ministry of Paul, Epaphras returned to his home-town of Colossae.

Upon returning to Colossae, Epaphras preached to his townsfolk. The result was that a church was founded that quickly grew. Paul had never been to Colossae but when he wrote to them he commended the young Epaphras as a fine minister of the gospel.

just as you learned it from Epaphras our beloved fellow servant. He is a faithful minister of Christ on your behalf
Colossians 1:7

But Epaphras soon ran into trouble. His obvious evangelistic gifts had reached their limit. The church was now being infiltrated by false teachers who claimed to be Christians but held some very contrary views to what genuine Christianity was all about. In AD 62 and in desperation he went to find the Apostle Paul who had moved on from Ephesus and was now a prisoner in Rome. When Epaphras arrived there he sought Paul out and shared with him about the struggles he was having in correcting the errors that were leading people away from the true gospel. Paul decided to send Epaphras back with an epistle to the believers in Colossae.

Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ Jesus, greets you, always struggling on your behalf in his prayers, that you may stand mature and fully assured in all the will of God.
Colossians 4:12

Colossae today

In the first century, there was no postal service. Messages were carried by couriers and could be written or oral. When Paul sent Epaphras back to Colossae, he probably also gave him two other epistles to deliver as well. Since Epaphras would have had to sail into Ephesus, he probably carried the epistle to them (which was written as a circular letter [an ‘encyclical’] meant to be distributed to each of the seven churches in Asia-Minor). He would have also had Paul’s epistle to his old friend Philemon which Onesimus would have personally delivered to his old master. 

¶ Epaphras, my fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus, sends greetings to you
Philemon 23

Paul’s three epistles carried by Epaphras (and then one of the three by Onesimus) are very revealing about three important insights. Firstly, to the church that Paul formerly pastored, Ephesus, there is no imminent threat of false teaching. Why? Secondly, to the church where his young protégé Epaphras had pioneered, there were serious doctrinal threats from false teachers which had the potential to eternally jeopardise the believers there (we explored this in our small groups earlier this year). And thirdly, Paul’s letter to his friend Philemon reveals how he helped to resolve an extremely serious conflict between an upset slave owner and a fearful runaway slave (ponder why Paul had the runaway slave that letter the last leg of the journey to his estranged master).

From what Paul wrote of Epaphras we see that Epaphras was a competent evangelist and loving pastor. Many pastors are excellent evangelists. While Paul had to write to Timothy to do the work of an evangelist (2Tim. 4:5) he had no need to say this to Epaphras. (I wish I was.) And I wish we had more evangelists—especially pastor-evangelists—today! But there is a problem with evangelists which is borne out in this episode with Epaphras. Paul’s apostolic calling manifested in his teaching-pastoral ministry (note Acts 13:1). He pastored the Ephesian church for two years – lecturing everyday (that’s equivalent to preaching each Sunday for about 12 years!)! Paul would later write to the next pastor of the Ephesian church, Timothy, and instruct him to continue to preach and teach sound theology to the Ephesians (2Tim 4:1-4) in which he condemned the errors and myths of false teachers and then urged Timothy do the same. 

¶ I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by His appearing and His kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.
Second Timothy 4:1-4

But doing this requires years of study and training. The apostle Paul was eminently qualified to do this due to his years of training as a scholar under the famous Jewish professor Gamaliel (see Acts 5:34 and 22:3). And no doubt, the two decades or so that Timothy was mentored by Paul would have equipped him to be able to do what Epaphras was unable to learn in the few months that he was mentored by Paul. But here’s where I have to admire Epaphras. Although he was overwhelmed by the sophistication and eloquence of the Gnostic teachers who were increasingly leading many Colossian believers astray, he was humble enough to seek out expert help. By appealing to Paul for help, Epaphras was acknowledging the limits of his own gifting. He was also recognising that God places different people with different gifts into different places within the Body of Christ. Thus, while Epaphras was a great evangelist and church-planter, he soon realised that he was not a philosopher-theologian—which was what was needed to deal with the Gnostics.

And that’s the problem with most evangelists. There are some evangelists who try to sound like teachers and worse still, theologians. This rarely goes well. That’s why Epaphras is such a great example for any evangelist today (especially church planting evangelists). And the relationship between Epaphras and Paul is also a great model for how we can all work together and contribute our strengths where others might be lacking and call on those with strengths where we might be lacking. Therefore, we don’t need to be an apostle or an evangelist to discover some great insights from the chemistry between Paul and Epaphras. But if you are an evangelist and you’ve never discovered these insights, you’ve got a problem — and that’s the problem with some evangelists (and some pastors and some teachers). 

 

Your pastor,

Andrew

THE SIMPLE A.F.L. SOLUTION TO SOCIETY’S WOES

THE SIMPLE A.F.L. SOLUTION TO SOCIETY’S WOES

Dr. Louis Pasteur, Pioneer Biochemist

By the late nineteenth century, the rate of women dying during child-birth had reached epidemic proportions. Louis Pasteur proposed a simple solution and wrote it up as a scientific paper for medical doctors to consider and at least trial. But unfortunately, for the tens of thousands of women who died, they didn’t! Their main reason for rejecting it was that it was “too simple”! But by the early twentieth century the rate of women dying during child-birth had reached alarming heights. In desperation, someone read Pasteur’s paper and thought that it was at least worth a try. And it immediately and dramatically reduced the rate of birthing mother morbidity! Pasteur’s solution? Doctors and nurses need to wash their hands before they delivering a baby! Sometimes complex problems really do have simple solutions.

A photo of a sickly mother and baby taken in the 1890s. Both Mrs Gilmer and her baby died a few days after this photo was taken.

But oh, that God would speak and open His lips to you,
and that He would tell you the secrets of wisdom!
For He is manifold in understanding.
Job 11:5-6a

Our society is also faced with seemingly complex problems. We have an alarmingly high rate of suicide, a growing alcohol/substance/drug abuse problem, a disgracefully high rate of domestic abuse, the highest rates of internet pornography ever, a disgracefully high rate of sexual abuse of women (note the recent #metoo movement) and children (note the recent Royal Commission in Australia), appallingly deteriorating mental health, and a rise in family breakdown and marital divorce. To make matters worse, many of those institutions which used to prevent or alleviate these problems are themselves in decline, struggling for resources, or closing. These include – various clubs, charities, and sadly, churches.

¶ “If your brother becomes poor and cannot maintain himself with you, you shall support him as though he were a stranger and a sojourner, and he shall live with you.
Leviticus 25:35

Fortunately though, this is not our situation – which means that we are still equipped to help our society prevent or alleviate some of these ills it battles with. And while our society’s problems may seem too complex and too big to overcome, I hope to show you that the simple A.F.L. solution is precisely what our society needs (and is looking for) and it is the church which is actually best positioned to deliver it.

COMPLEX PROBLEMS ARE OFTEN SOLVED WITH SIMPLE SOLUTIONS 

The story goes that a town was having a continual problem with people being swept downstream its main river. At first it was just kind-hearted passers-by on their bush-walks who dived in to help the screaming person battling to avoid drowning. But there were so many of them, that the Council voted to employ a life guard and station them at the riverside. But soon he too was unable to keep up with the demand of saving drowning people being swept away to their deaths by the river. The Council voted to fund the building of a permanent ambulance station near the life-guard’s station to make things more efficient in getting the drowning victim to the hospital as quick as possible. But even more people had to be rescued. The Council decided to fund the building of a hospital next to the ambulance station to further improve efficiencies. They then hired a General Manager and an administrator to help run the precinct. Pretty soon though there were government funding cut-backs, so it was decided to make the life-guard’s position redundant so that the other positions could remain being funded. As the now retrenched life-guard gathered their things and headed up the river, they took a leisurely walk over the foot-bridge and noticed a $5 plank of wood was missing which is why all these tourists were falling into the river. After obtaining a replacement plank and installing it in the bridge, a government report later identified that the only cause they had been able to find for so many near-drowning victims was  the direct link to employing a life-guard since when his position became redundant the drowning incidents suddenly stopped! This is not meant to be a parable about how government works, rather, it is meant to highlight that by sometimes going “upstream” from a problem it is possible to find a very simple solution!

Think over what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything.
Second Timothy 2:7

THE SIMPLE A.F.L. SOLUTION

I think we, our church, has something that we regularly enjoy and a vexed world desperately wants – and needs! I think the fact that we treat it all too casually at times, means that we don’t treasure it enough, or realise how much we should share it. In fact, we are sometimes so cavalier with these treasures that we leave them lying around gathering dust. Let me explain.

Everything we do as followers of Christ flows out of who Jesus is. 

¶ Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, the offspring of David, as preached in my gospel,
Second Timothy 2:8

As we consider who Jesus is and His attributes of kindness, mercy, justice, intolerance of evil, deep spirituality, thankfulness, concern for the marginalised, compassion for the weak, and mercy for the broken, we too begin to develop these traits. I think we could classify nearly all of Christ’s attributes under these three headings: acceptance, forgiveness, and, love. I would conclude by highlighting what should be immediately obvious about these three groupings – that it is precisely the lack of these three qualities infiltrating the lives of every broken person in our society which is at the root of all society’s woes, despite society thinking they already enjoy them.  

By this all people will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”
John 13:35

HOW A.F.L. MEETS EVERY PERSON’S MOST BASIC NEEDS

Without genuine acceptance, people feel alone, misunderstood, rejected, and prone to social anxiety. Jesus accepted people – especially the outcast and marginalised. He demonstrated acceptance of people who had only every really experienced rejection for most of their lives. He went to the hiding demoniacs (Matt. 8:28). He waited in the heat of the day for the scorned woman – and talked freely with her (Jn 4). He honoured the prostitute who washed His feet with her tears and dried them with her hair (Luke 7). He touched the lepers who hadn’t been touched for so long (Lk. 7:22). Christ’s acceptance involved the giving of time, dialogue, and appropriate touch. The world offers fake acceptance when it confuses acceptance with endorsement. Christ’s acceptance of the woman caught in the act of adultery, did not involve accepting her as an adulteress but as a woman created in the image of God. Acceptance by Christ never involved Him tolerating a person’s sin.

Jesus stood up and said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.”
John 8:10-11

We, the accepted by Christ are called and enabled by the Holy Spirit to be agents of God’s acceptance of those who feel lonely, ugly, awkward, unwanted, or unworthy.

Forgiving is confused by the world for acquitting. To be acquitted is to be found innocent. Christ does not find any of us innocent! This is why we each need His mercy which enables us to be pardoned. Without genuine forgiveness a person often just throws themself deeper into sin in the hope that it won’t hurt anymore. The final instalment of the Godfather movie Trilogy powerfully illustrates how futile this can be. The murderer is wracked with guilt so murders again and again and again all the while hoping that he won’t feel guilt anymore to no avail. 

We, the forgiven by Christ are called and enabled by the Holy Spirit to be agents of God’s forgiveness toward those who feel guilty, ashamed, unclean, or unworthy.

Love is a verb (a doing word) which produces a feeling. The world swaps these around and comes up empty every time. Consider First Corinthians 13:4-6. Count how many actions flow out of the decision to love are in that passage. The world confuses lust, infatuation, or desire for love, and then wonders why they “fall” in and out of it so often! Christ’s kind of love involves commitment and a cost. It is other-focussed. It is grounded in rightness, goodness, and truth, rather than mere attraction, lust, or desire. Christ’s cross is the ultimate example of love and we who have experienced Christ’s love cannot but help to have our hearts transformed and lives realigned to care for others in committed way that will cost us.

We, the loved by Christ are called and enabled by the Holy Spirit to be agents of God’s love toward those who feel empty, lost, unneeded, or unworthy.

Ordinarily I would close these weekly pastoral epistles by urging us to reflect each of these traits this Sunday. But there’s no time to waste. We need to commence right now – and keep doing them each Sunday for as long as there is breath in our lungs! The solution to society’s biggest, most complex ills, are as simple as A. F. L. – Acceptance | Forgiveness | Love.

Your servant in Christ,

Pastor Andrew