Go into the world

Having read Acts 19/20 and the amazing ministry of Paul who preached the gospel across what we used to know of as Asia Minor for many years, in some places staying for months at a time, I was reflecting and thinking about some of the great preachers of the word that I have known, who have spoken the gospel for years in churches that they have led yet have seen very little, if any, fruit of their labours in terms of people coming to know Jesus whereas Paul saw hundreds if not thousands come to Christ. Yet Paul spoke in synagogues and places where people assembled for the purpose of hearing some new ideology or teaching, as was the customs of the Greeks, and Paul capitalised on this to bring the Gospel to Jews and Gentiles alike. In his many letters Paul often talks about the different gifts and therefore roles within the church; as Paul says, “Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles?” So, if we believe we are called to spread the word of God then it’s no good standing up in church and preaching to the converted, we need to find those places where people can hear our message and speak, and if we believe we are called to teach and pastor a flock then we should find a church and do so accordingly. It is true that some people will have a gift for both preaching the gospel and ministering to the people of God, such as Paul who “was appointed a preacher and an apostle……a teacher of the Gentiles”, but I have personally witnessed ministers who are fantastic and shepearding God’s people but pretty hopeless at preaching, conversely I have seen those who are brilliant at preaching but only did damage when it came to leading God’s people. Today’s landscape is so much different from first century Asia Minor, people have more choice, more knowledge, more distractions, and life is much more complex than at any other time in history, this makes it more difficult, not just for the preacher, but also for the teacher, but that shouldn’t make us shy away from the task especially as the Church in the West is shrinking and becoming sidelined. We should be seeking out those who, like Paul, are willing to sacrifice everything for the Gospel, to strive for the building up of the Church, and actively work to find a platform where they can preach the Good News to a world that desperately needs it.

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