Tag: local church ministry

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Go and Tell

Not long ago I was in a worship service in a large church in my hometown of Chattanooga, Tennessee. Connie and I were in town to enjoy a visit with my brothers who live there. After an opening welcome the pastor made a few brief announcements. One of them caught my attention. 

It went something like this, “If any of you are shy about sharing your faith and want to learn how to talk with others about Jesus, we will be offering evangelism training classes this Saturday. Lunch will be provided.” I thought to myself, “That’s exactly right! If I were a member here I would attend those classes and encourage others to do the same.”

Christian witness should not be construed as salesmanship. Evangelism should not be distorted as manipulation or coercion. It is not imposing our beliefs on reluctant victims of our enthusiasm. It is, as James Kennedy put it, “One beggar telling another beggar where to find bread.” It is simply sharing good news, or “gospeling,” an expression coined by Nepalese Christians.

I suspect that pastor wanted to see members of his congregation “gospeling” all over Chattanooga, sharing the good news of eternal life with neighbors and friends. I believe he was correct in this for several reasons.

First, the pastor’s job, according to scripture, is to “prepare God’s people for works of service” (Ephesians 4:12). One of those works of service is evangelism. Yes, the pastor should preach the gospel on Sundays, but he cannot go everywhere his people can go or have the relationships his people have. They are the ones the Lord is sending into the community as his ambassadors, speaking to others “with gentleness and respect” ( 1 Peter 3:15).

For too long American churches have relied upon the excuse that evangelism is the pastor’s job. After all, he is the specialist with all the training. But it wasn’t that way in the early church. Acts 8:4 says, “Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went.” The word translated “preached” means “conversed.” It is a word for informal conversation in day-to-day situations. The point I am making is that these were ordinary Christians, not church leaders. We know this because Acts 8:1 says that because of the persecution “all except the apostles were scattered.” And those who were scattered engaged in gospel conversations.

That pastor in Chattanooga preached the gospel the Sunday I heard him. But he also expressed the concern that the members of the congregation be equipped for their own ministry of “talking with people about Jesus.”

Another reason is that the Holy Spirit is given to all believers. One of the ministries of the Spirit in the lives of God’s people is empowerment for witness. Jesus promised his disciples that when he went away, the Holy Spirit would come to take his place. He said that Spirit would testify about him, and “you also must testify” (John 15:26-27).

This is reflected in one of the great promises of scripture, that believers would receive power from the Holy Spirit to be witnesses about Jesus “to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8). It is not all up to us. It is the Holy Spirit in us who is the best evangelist of all.

I was pleased to hear the pastor’s announcement for a third reason. It told me that witness and compassionate concern for others were central to the life of that church. Evangelism was not unusual or exceptional. It was being thought of as a normal aspect of healthy church life.

There is an outstanding example of this in the New Testament. The  church in Antioch of Syria was founded through the witness of those Jews from Jerusalem whom I mentioned earlier. They had been scattered by persecution. It came into existence when they shared the message of Jesus with non-Jews (Gentiles) many of whom believed (Acts 11:20-21). As a result, the church took on the multicultural character of the city of Antioch. The assembly at Antioch became identified as Christian and influenced many more of their neighbors to turn to the Lord (Acts 11:24). Sharing the gospel was part of that church’s DNA from its very beginning.

Jesus and his disciples went across the lake of Galilee to the region of Gadara. There they encountered a man who was demonized, living in tragic solitude among the tombs, chained hand and foot. Jesus healed the man and gave him his sanity and dignity. When it was time for Jesus to leave, the man wanted to join Jesus’ team and follow him.

“But Jesus sent him away, saying, ‘Return home and tell how much God has done for you.’ So the man went away and told all over town how much Jesus had done for him” (Luke 8:38-39). That is what the Lord is reminding us to do. That is evangelism.

Pastor Randy Faulkner

 

 

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There Comes a Time

There comes a time in life when changes are necessary. My new situation with Parkinson’s Disease has accelerated the pace of change for Connie and me. We have decided to move from our home here in Oklahoma to a retirement community in South Georgia. We are trusting in the guidance of God as we relocate.

This disruption has involved the sale of our house. (It has sold quickly.) It has meant that we are engaged in a process of downsizing and letting go of familiar things. (Our children are coming next week to help us with that.) It means saying goodbye to many, many friends whom we love and with whom we have shared life for over thirty years. (We are going to miss you.)

Connie and I are exceedingly grateful for the people of Metropolitan Bible Church who supported and encouraged my ministry. In every season, we served the Lord together seeking to grow in his grace and knowledge. Metropolitan has been, and remains, a congregation committed to love, grace, and sacrificial service in the advancement of the gospel. I can never thank you enough for the privilege of being your pastor.

We are also thankful for the friendship of the members of Heritage Presbyterian Church who welcomed Connie and me, Baptists though we are, with kindness and affection. We will never forget you.

Moving away means I must say goodbye to my racquetball buddies at the Northside Y.  I have known some of them for many years. They have given me friendship, laughter, and some pretty fierce competition. It’s been good for my mind, body and spirit.

The deep fellowship of the Penlights, a small group of men who love to read, is special indeed. We have met monthly for over thirty years discussing books of biography, history, philosophy. politics, theology and fiction. We have prayed for and supported each other through life’s changes. I am sure these friends are going to be praying for me now.

There is another long-standing relationship which I doubt can ever again be duplicated this side of heaven. It is a monthly gathering of fellow pastors for prayer. This interdenominational prayer group has been for us a source of strength as we have faithfully prayed for each other, for our churches, and for our city.

I will miss making music to the Lord with the choir at Heritage. They graciously welcomed me, an aging wanna-be tenor. Singing harmoniously with these wonderful people has been a source of joy.

I will miss my quiet neighborhood, the bike trails around Lake Hefner, the arts festival, Braum’s ice cream, reading Berry Tramel’s columns in The Oklahoman, watching the OKC Dodgers play at Bricktown Ballpark, the Patience Latting Library, the Oklahoma City Thunder, classical music on KUCO, and two, count ’em, two NPR radio stations, KOSU and KGOU!

The wise man of Ecclesiastes wrote, “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens” (Ecclesiastes 3:1). There comes a time to let go of the past and to embrace the future. That is what Connie and I are called to do now. And the future is as bright as the promises of God.

Pastor Randy Faulkner

 

 

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What Do Pastors Do All Week?

What Do Pastors Do All Week?

Eugene Peterson, in his delightful memoir The Pastor, wrote that when he started out in local church ministry he wasn’t entirely sure what it was a pastor was supposed to do. He said it was not obvious to the people of his congregation or community, either.

He went to a seminar led by a nationally-recognized authority on pastoral theology. The young Peterson was impressed by the brilliant man’s erudition and theological vocabulary. “For an hour or so I was under his spell. And then I began feeling that something was not quite right. What I was doing, working in a congregation characterized by interruptions, false starts, and unfinished work, seemed like a far cry from anything he was presenting.”

He pressed the man with questions about his experience in pastoral work. He was evasive. It turned out that he had been an associate pastor for only one year in a small town! Peterson checked the indices in the books the man had written. There was not a single reference to prayer in any of them. There were few if any, references to congregation, worship, preaching, and scripture.

“I still had a great deal to learn about the vocation of pastor, but I knew one thing for sure: the work of prayer was at the heart of everything. Personal conversation with God had to intersect with everything I thought or said, whether in the sanctuary or on the street corner.” He went on to say that “the vocation of pastor had to be understood entirely under the shaping influence of the biblical text.”

Hmmm. Prayer and the biblical text. Not exactly innovations or contemporary novelties. Prayer and the biblical text. Remind you of anything? Do you remember the priorities of the first church leaders who said, “We… will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the Word” (Acts 6:4)?

I am reminded of the provocative words of Dr. Donald Grey Barnhouse who said, “If I had only three years to serve the Lord, I would spend two of them studying and preparing.”

The famous evangelist Billy Graham was speaking to a large gathering of London clergymen. He said if he could repeat his ministry, he would make two changes. The people looked startled. What could he mean?

First, he continued, he would study three times as much as he had done. “I’ve preached too much and studied too little,” he said. The second change was that he would give more time to prayer. Surely this thinking was shaped by the priorities in the biblical text!

Every conscientious pastor gives a certain amount of time each week to pastoral care and counseling, to visitation, to evangelism and discipleship. Administrative work takes time: planning, decision-making, committee meetings, staff meetings. Important work to be sure.

But nothing, absolutely nothing, should take the place of prayer and Bible study. This is what produces, in the life of a pastor, clarity of vocation, depth of conviction, maturity of judgment, integrity of character, and sanctity of ministry — on Sunday, and throughout the week.

Pastor Randy Faulkner