Do the Work of An Evangelist (2)

Introduction

The biblical work of an evangelist might be one of the most misunderstood concepts among people.

Sometimes the preacher is perceived as nothing more than a snake oil salesman, or a car salesman. Maybe the preacher is thought to be seeking fame and pride by having a dynamic personality and being able to get more people to come to “his church.”

Then at other times, churches tend to think that preachers don’t really work or that their job is to run and manage the church for them — deal with difficult personalities within the church, teach all classes, visit all the sick, preach a couple of times during the week, and grow the church by evangelism.

I always appreciate when someone asks, “what is your job? what do you do?” because they tend to realize all of those misconceptions are wrong-headed and they want a clearer understanding of the biblical work of the preacher.

The apostle Paul wrote two letters to Timothy about preaching and doing the work of an evangelist - cf. 2 Timothy 4:1-5

Knowing the work of an evangelist is important for the congregation so that they can shape their expectations to what God expects and it is important for preachers to know what their real responsibilities are in preaching the gospel of Christ.

Misconceptions & Snares Concerning the Work of Preachers

Congregational Trap: Treating preachers as a church employee - 1 Timothy 4:6

When this becomes the predominant approach, it promotes laziness on part of the congregation.

…it discourages real, organic, and necessary change from within.

…it puts the preacher in the vicarious position to try to please the people and keep his job OR please the Lord and preach the truth.

The congregation does not dictate what is preached and how it is preached. The preacher must be shaped by the truth and the needs of the congregation - 2 Timothy 4:3-4

Congregational Trap: Discouraging the time commitment to read, study, and mentally prepare and treating self-education as unnecessary - 1 Timothy 4:7

All Christians in the local church are expected to love each other and to know one another (call and check on each other).

Many times we expect the preacher to keep busy preparing sermons, Bible classes, and studies throughout the week, while also visiting the sick and checking up on those who haven’t attended services in a while, dealing with complaints, and calling people throughout the week and be able to pass along news to the congregation. Only if you’re Superman could all of this come close to happening.

Studying, reading, and mentally preparing to preach the word of God is not something that should be taken lightly. We have all heard jokes (and made them) about preachers “not working.” Brethren, if the preacher ever quits working, it’s time to ask him to quit preaching. But we also need to understand what the true work of an evangelist really is...

…and it is not making social calls and being the one who manages the congregation.

We need to also be careful about who we encourage to preach and why we encourage them to preach. We shouldn’t treat preaching as something that you do if you can’t do anything else. Hopefully preachers didn’t go into preaching because they couldn’t do anything else. In fact, many of the best preachers I’ve heard could have gone and made a lot more money doing other things besides preaching.

We should want preachers to be intelligent, have common sense, be disciplined, and humble men who want to serve the Lord above everything else — and help you get to heaven.

Individual Preacher Trap: Having no self-discipline - 1 Timothy 4:7

Sometimes preachers can just have poor time management skills and not have the self-discipline to focus on their local work or themselves.

Individual Preacher Trap: Focusing only on worldly pursuits - 1 Timothy 4:8

Entertainment, telling stories, keep up with current events, and the latest marketing trends.

Persuasion and a sales approach - cf. Acts 18:4; 17:2-3 (persuasion is based on explaining the Scriptures)

Congregational Trap: Allowing others who might look down on you to discourage you - 1 Timothy 4:12

Sometimes we think we can get away with saying something to a young preacher because we might be 20 years older than they are. We might try to say things to the preacher that we would never say to anyone else in the congregation, which causes a whole host of other problems as well.

The Diligent Servant

Being a good teacher requires being a good student - 1 Timothy 4:6

Be nourished (fed) in the words of faith - 1 Timothy 4:6, 15

Constant

Absorbed in the Bible, not self-absorbed and self-promoting.

The work of preaching is first and foremost about being a man of the book. The preacher’s studies and attention should be on the inspired word of God and not research based upon opinion polls from social media.

Discipline your body and soul - 1 Timothy 4:7-10

Being a faithful and good servant of the Lord requires self-discipline.

While bodily discipline is a good thing for a healthy body and mind, what the greater focus in our lives needs to be about “the life to come” because our hope is on the living God and matters of eternity.

Teach and be an example - 1 Timothy 4:11-12

Example in speech, conduct, love, faith, and purity

Pay close attention to yourself because others are watching you - 1 Timothy 4:16

Your example is not about pleasing others. It’s about equipping others and showing them how they ought to live. It’s not about doing the work for them - Ephesians 4:11-13

Give attention to your work - 1 Timothy 4:13

Reading the Scripture

Reading books - 2 Timothy 4:13

Writing - 2 Timothy 4:13

The work of preaching may not be working with your hands and getting hot and sweaty outside in the noon day’s heat with a heat index of 110*F. But it is the work of eternity so we can know the way to God.

Put your heart into the work - 1 Timothy 4:15

“Take pains with these things...”

The work of preaching can be mentally, emotionally, and physically exhausting because it does not come easy.

It will come with pain and hardships - 2 Timothy 4:5

Conclusion

The work of preaching is a deeply personal commitment and work because its purpose is for the salvation of the preacher and those who listen - 1 Timothy 4:16

Let us appreciate those who have shaped us through their learning and sharing of the word of God.