What Is An "Evangelist?"

“and some evangelists,”

 

Sometimes people will ask, “What’s an evangelist?”

An evangelist is one who takes the gospel, the “good news” of salvation to the world.  It is one of several gifts mentioned in the scriptures. The Holy Ghost bestows these gifts upon believers to equip them for service and to build up the church of Christ.  Spiritual gifts include not only evangelists, but apostles, prophets, pastor/teachers, healing, tongues, interpretation of tongues, etc.  Every believer is indwelt by the Spirit and receives spiritual gifts.  Our gifts may differ from one individual to the other, but we all have them.      

There’s a lot of confusion in today’s church about spiritual gifts.  Many confuse gifts with talents.  A talent is a natural ability someone has that sets them apart from someone else.  These can be the result of genetics or training and can be used for any purpose, spiritual or non-spiritual.  For example, I have an uncle on my father’s side of the family who is musically talented and can play any instrument he gets his hands on.  To my knowledge he has never had a single music lesson nor can he read musical notes.  Yet he’s been able to play music since the first time he picked up a mandolin.  Uncle Gerald would be the first to tell you that he has been blessed with the gift of music.  He wouldn’t get any disagreement from me because I have seen him use his talent to encourage and uplift scores of people over the years. But he could have chosen to use his talents for a secular purpose and probably made lots of money.  Instead, he chose to use them to be a blessing to people in his family and community.  He did have a choice, which makes it a talent.

On the other hand, gifts are the result of the power of the Holy Spirit.  According to Paul in the fourth chapter of Ephesians,  such gifts are for “the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ.” (Eph. 4: 12)  This verse gives us the litmus test for spiritual gifts and tells us why spiritual gifts are given.  Their purpose is not to set us apart from other believers or to show divine favor. They are to glorify God.  Anytime glory is being directed at a man or a ministry, what’s being demonstrated is not a “gift” but a “talent.”  These works will not stand the test of fire at the Judgment seat of Christ and will be burned up.

There aren’t many references to evangelists in the scripture.  The most common one is Phillip who is referred to as “the evangelist.”  We know from the book of Acts that Phillip was led by the Spirit of God to take the gospel to different places.  Most of us remember him as the one who met the Ethiopian Eunuch and led him to faith in Christ.  Therefore, an evangelist is someone who makes disciples for Christ, which is the great commission.  That’s why Paul told Timothy to “do the work of an evangelist.”  Whether it’s taking the gospel to one person at a time as Phillip did, or to thousands of them as Billy Graham has done over the years, the gift of an evangelist is to be used to lead people to salvation.

We often use the term randomly to apply to a visiting preacher who comes to a church or a community to preach.  I can remember attending revival meetings where a pastor from another church was invited to come and preach for a week or so to our church.   This person was usually referred to as an “evangelist.”  Certainly they were doing the work of one.  But the evangelist is a separate spiritual office from a pastor, and therefore their ministry differs from other offices.  A pastor must guide the flock of God, whereas an evangelist follows Christ’s teaching in reaching out to the “lost sheep.”  However, pastors must do that too, so their duties tend to be more broad in scope.  The ministry of the evangelists is more specific.  It needs to be understood that no one gift is greater than the other.  What has caused so much confusion in the church today is that the emphasis has been put on the gift rather than the gift giver.  All spiritual gifts are given freely and are to be used to further the ministry and uplift the name of Jesus.  Anyone who is not using their gifts for that purpose alone is taking the name of Christ in vain.

It was late in 2001 when I answered the call to be an evangelist.  It had been on me for a long time, and I struggled with it like all preachers do I suppose.  You sit and wonder if the call is real, and why is it upon you instead of someone else.  Another preacher who I had confidence in said that one way you could tell was to do what was close to your heart.  I had a burden for my country, that was intensified because of 9/11.  I still have that burden.  That’s not meant to ignore people all over the world who are searching for peace.  But this is my home, and I truly believe that the nation who’s God is the Lord will be a blessed nation.  If we can win America to the gospel, then God will bless her and use her to spread the gospel to the rest of the world where there truly is a famine for the Word of God.

It is my sincere hope that God can use this blog for that purpose, and I can win people over to the Cross of Christ – one person at a time, one family at a time, one community at a time, one nation at a time. 

The Evangelist

Where I'm Coming From

About me...

I was raised in a Christian home.  As a teenager I was "born again."  I realize for many that phrase is outdated or inaccurate.  Everyone is entitled to their opinion but here is how it happened to me.  I sat under Holy Ghost anointed preaching and fell under conviction.  It felt like I had a weight sitting on my chest.  At the end of the service when the alter call was given, I could feel something pulling at me and knowing I needed to respond.  I fought it for a long time until finally I gave in.  I don't remember what I said or prayed and I don't even remember walking up to the front of the church.  But afterwards I felt like I had a bath on the inside.  Our church had no baptistery, so one Sunday after church we drove up to a spot beside a creek simply known as "the old sycamore tree."  My uncle was the pastor of our church, so he and I walked out into the water and I was baptized in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost.

It was those days as a young Christian where I learned to study the Bible.  When I was 18 I was asked to teach the senior adults class at church on youth Sunday.  That was scary to say the least.  I took my friend Scott with me for emotional support.  After the lesson, he said I did well, except for my 140 "you knows."  Hopefully I've improved since then.

As I grew, I got more involved in church.  I started out as an usher, then later became an assistant Sunday School teacher.  In the meantime I graduated from high school then college, got married and started a family, and became more active in church.  At one point I was the teacher of the adult Bible class, Sunday School Superintendent, and I even led the Wednesday night Bible study during the months when our church didn't have a pastor.  Then the day came when I felt like God was calling me to be an evangelist.  I told the church one night, and afterwards started preaching.  Things were going as well as I could expect. I suppose it may sound like I'm bragging but keep reading.  I did everything right, or as right as I knew to do them.  That's when the bottom fell out of it.

Divorce.  I never expected it to happen to me but it did.  Me - a preacher - was getting divorced.  How could I face people?  What would happen to my ministry?  I never admitted it, but I was angry at God.  After all, I had done everything right - and now it was all gone.  How could he let this happen?  I laid the preaching aside and decided I would put my focus elsewhere.  After I did, I never felt like my life had any stability.  I was blessed enough to find someone who would love me as I was.  But my preaching was always at the back of my mind when it should have been at the forefront of my life.  I let go of the zeal for Bible study that I once had and my life took a bad turn.

Now here I am some years later, and for some reason the zeal for Bible study has returned.  Some won't understand what I am about to say, but others will.  I've started getting sermons again - like I used to.  I've sat up many nights when I was younger as the Spirit of God gave me sermons and messages to deliver.  For a long time that was gone, but it's back now.  I can only think that God still has a work for me. 

I know what many will say.  "You can't do that - you've been divorced."  I've heard it all before.  In fact, I was told by my pastor at the time that my ministry would no longer have any effect.  So I thought - "What's the use?"  But there must be some use left in me.  The world needs the gospel, and we are commanded to make disciples of all nations.  I have a responsibility - regardless of what anyone else says. You can disagree, but that isn't going to stop me from being obedient.  Maybe I'm entering the fields at the 11th hour, and I know there will be obstacles.  Yet, I am comforted to know that God is the God of a second chance.  I must respond, and I will. 

My first blog in a long time......

Have you ever said, "I'm going to _____________ (fill in the blank) if I can ever find the time?"  The truth is that in our busy world most of us never make the time to do whatever it is we want to do.  We get busy with our kids, our jobs, and our lives.  One day we will look back and wonder how time escaped us without seeing the fulfillment of our ambitions.  One such ambition for me is writing, and this blog is an attempt to make up for some lost time doing something that i truly enjoy.  I won't claim to be a great writer or even a good one.  Hopefully this blog will help me improve upon that.

A shout out to my friend Keebo.....who inspired me to resurect my writing and probably doesn't even know it.  I must say he puts me to shame in his zeal for the things of God.  I have watched him grow as a youth leader as well as a Christian and I am honored that he calls me his friend.

On with it...

I want to use this blog for several things.  First of all, I want to use it as a forum to speak on things close to my heart.  Don't be surprised if much of concerns the Word of God.  Other times I may write about my life or my job.  I might even degress into silly stuff  such as politics, sports, or cell phones.  This blog will also be useful in my study of the Bible.  In that regard, it might be more appropriate to call this a commentary rather than a blog.  Either way, I hope it benefits me as much as anyone who reads it.

I also want to vent here.  Everyone needs a forum to express their discontent, anger, or frustration with the things going on around them.  Many of us feel guilty when we complain but we shouldn't if it makes us feel better.  I think it's about being heard more so than it is being a complainer.  When someone asks me "How are you?" or "How's it going?" I often respond by saying "no complaints."  To be honest, I probably could complain if I wanted to, but I know that's not what the other person wants or needs to hear.

Finally, perhaps any who reads might learn more about me.  I'm aware that I'm a difficult person to get to know.  I'm a private person, and my mother often said that I was a "loner."  The truth is that being known makes me vulnerable and I don't like that.  I probably need to get over it.

So my friends, my countrymen, my kin, read on.  Do not judge me, accept me for who and what I am.  I may fail you often, but forgive me when I do. 

On with the show.