Category: JDMC

Partying with an evangelist

Think of an evangelist as first and foremost a ‘people person’. They get their energy from being in the crowd. They love to talk, they smile and laugh a lot, they’re fun to be around, they tend to be party people.

A street party (Wikimedia)

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7 – activating church

A street party (Wikimedia) -Click images to enlarge

When apostles and prophets have done their stuff it’s high time for evangelists to join in. I don’t want to push the idea of a sequence too far; ideally we should be aiming for a situation where all the APEST gifts are operating simultaneously and abundantly, all at the same time. I’ve been using the analogy of building a house where apostles lay foundations and prophets make sure the structure is straight and true, but it should be very clear from Paul’s letters to the Corinthian church that all of the gifts need to work continuously. Unlike a house, when foundations are laid once and the stonework is raised once, for church to function as Jesus intended these are ongoing requirements. It’s not just urgent repair work as in Corinth, but it’s a living process of constant adjustment and calibration.

Following the apostle and prophet articles, the focus this time is on the gift of an evangelist – what it looks like, how it arises, how it affects a person who is expressing it, and how the rest of us can relate to it, support it, and, as an expression of church, benefit from it. Next time we’ll examine the gift of a shepherd in much the same way.

No room for wriggling

We all have this gift to some degree. You cannot be like Jesus without having some level of evangelist about you, so you can’t wriggle out of it completely. Jesus is the origin and source of all the gifts we’re discussing. If you believe him and follow him then Christ is in you. And if the perfect evangelist is in you then you are going to reflect that at some level. You may or may not be evangelical, but you will most certainly be somewhat evangelistic in character and nature.

We need to know how to recognise an evangelist, and that’s really not too difficult, but before I consider that I’d like to clear up a common misconception that can cause some confusion. There’s a (mistaken) understanding among many Christians that evangelists go out and convert people from whatever they currently believe. But that’s not quite right. It’s apostles who are called to go out and start new churches, very much following in Paul’s footsteps. But evangelists have a slightly different role. The Greek word is euangelion (εὐαγγέλιον). It’s a word of two parts εὐ which means ‘good’ hence a eulogy is a good word, and αγγέλιον or angelion meaning ‘messenger’, we get our words ‘angel’ and ‘angelic’ from this same Greek origin. So an evangelist is a ‘bringer of good news’, not only in the narrow sense of someone who preaches the good news but more in the sense that an evangelist is someone who is good news.

Think of an evangelist as first and foremost a ‘people person’. They get their energy from being in the crowd. They love to talk, they smile and laugh a lot, they’re fun to be around, they tend to be party people. Hence this article’s title Partying with an evangelist. Evangelists draw people in – ‘Come and have a drink with us.’Have you tried this amazing dessert?’ ‘Fantastic dog, what breed is it?’ ‘You’re looking really happy, it’s so good to see that’. They like to tell stories and will probably have everyone in stitches, and if you have a story they will want to hear it and will find comfortable ways to draw it out if they can. People gather around evangelists in a very natural way, and before long an evangelist will be telling them about things Jesus did in their lives, or asking them if they’ve ever met him in a meaningful way themselves.

An undemanding and comfortable gift

Where the gift of evangelist is operating, you’ll find a group of people who are both engaging and engaged. That’s why it’s such an important gift for joy, balance, and growth of the church (ekklesia) the called-out community of Jesus in a place. If we could only grasp and use this gift more fully, church would be the popular, local place for everyone to gather (not just believers). As always, Jesus has all of the gifts in a fullness we can never completely express. In part, that’s why the crowds followed him everywhere he went in Judea and Galilee – he was and remains really, really Good News! But I think I’ll leave Jesus as the fullest expression of the APEST gifts for a later article after we’ve worked through shepherd and teacher.

For now it’s enough to grasp that evangelists are about good news, not only in the message they bring but also in who they are (remember, who you are is far more fundamental than what you do).

On the more serious side

But there’s more to be said about the gift of evangelist. This gift to the body is not just about fun and being attractive and welcoming. Evangelistic people have a heart to welcome people, but they know the welcome should have the purpose of bringing people into Christ’s presence. They are passionate about this goal, but they also know they must bridge the huge gap that exists between ekklesia and the prevailing culture of the society beyond (and often it seems beyond the reach of) the church. But they also know that their particular gift can reach across that divide far more easily than the rest of us might think. Because the first step in reaching a person is to become a trusted friend.

The evangelist is propelled forward by a desire to see people come to know and trust Jesus and every opportunity to communicate the truth spurs them on. The evangelist may become impatient with slow processes and tend to be stronger at drawing in new believers than they are at discipling or teaching, those processes are not where their strengths lie.

In conclusion

One of the take-home messages from this article on the gift of evangelist is that we need to lighten up in church life and activity. We need a reputation of being the best and most sought after place and community in town! If this is not the way of things you may be lacking the gift of one or more evangelists. They’re there among you, but perhaps they’re regarded as lightweights, not learned enough, not Bible scholars or great preachers, not serious. Yet one of the reasons ordinary people avoid church is that it seems to be far too serious, dull, boring, a place for serious, dull, boring people. If this is how people see your church (or your small group), maybe you need to find the evangelists and apologise for suppressing them. Instead, invite them to lead a meeting or two, ask them to show you how you, too, could lighten up a bit. And if visitors are among you, for whatever reason, give the evangelists a bit of freedom.

This may not be the easiest of messages to hear, particularly because it is so rarely expressed or understood. Church was never meant to be a dull, hushed and deadly serious endeavour. Party food smells a great deal better and more exciting than the polish on Victorian church pews!

See also:

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You might also like:

JDMC study guide
Groups and group size
Jargon and the Holy Spirit

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See and hear with a prophet

Gratitude demands taking hold of whatever is being offered, unwrapping it, and finding out what it is for and how it works. It also involves actually trying it out, taking it for test runs, expressing it, seeing how others react to it.

An empty property

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6 – activating church

An empty property (Click images to enlarge)

We considered the gift of an apostle last time, so now we’ll look at the gift of a prophet. And let’s be clear, once again I’m not writing about an individual person here, we’re going to focus on the gift itself – what it looks like, how it arises, how it affects a person who is expressing it, and how the rest of us can relate to it, support it, and, as an expression of church, benefit from it. Next time we’ll take a look at the gift of evangelist in the same way.

Making it real

As with each of the service gifts, let’s begin by reminding ourselves that we all have this gift to some degree. You cannot be like Jesus without having some level of the prophetic. Some will have a high level of this gift, some may have it at a relatively minor level. And in all of us it will exist alongside various mixtures of the other four APEST gifts. But whatever the level – low, medium or high – the source remains the same, it always springs from the nature and heart of Christ himself. He provides all of the gifts as he thinks fit. Make this real for yourself, personally. Jesus has carefully chosen and bestowed these five gifts on you in whatever proportions will enable you to play your part in his ekklesia, his called and appointed community. He is special, but he has made you special too; whatever happens in your life, never forget that.

Remember that a gift requires activity from both the giver and the receiver. A gift that is offered but not taken is no gift at all; it never fulfils it’s purpose. Gratitude demands taking hold of whatever is being offered, unwrapping it, and finding out what it is for and how it works. It also involves actually trying it out, taking it for test runs, expressing it, seeing how others react to it. And to properly receive it you should also hug the giver, tell them how much you love their thoughtful gift and tell them how much you love them, the giver, too. That’s not a big ask when Jesus is the giver!

Seeing and hearing are words we focus on when we think of the gift of a prophet. But these words can easily mislead us as they have to do with eyes and ears whereas the prophetic gift is much more to do with spiritual awareness. Because of this it might help to think in terms of prophets communicating Papa’s thoughts and nature to anyone who will listen. Sometimes that’s about Father’s character, sometimes it’s about his heart or his will, or his purpose. It might sometimes involve a message from him to the church, to a particular person, or to the world in general. Prophecy tends to be declaratory. Because they are in touch with the heart of the Father, prophets are often very sensitive to wrong attitudes; things that he hates will be things the prophet also detests.

A demanding and uncomfortable gift

Prophets are highly sensitive to and outspoken about unjust behaviour, unjust words, unkindness and untruthfulness. They always point up to the Father too, to his character and nature and presence. They declare peace and long to see brothers and sisters living in peace. They want all people to be at peace with the Father in heaven and with one another. Prophets can make people feel uncomfortable, too much truth can be hard to assimilate and difficult to deal with. A prophetic person may seem to be over-demanding, pointing church towards Jesus too firmly, insisting on change right now. A half-hearted prophet is a contradiction in terms, they want to see change and they want it right away, not tomorrow or next week! So where a prophet is at work, and the hearers pay attention, people should be growing more Christlike in their thoughts and actions towards one another, towards Father, and towards the world. And because Jesus is sacrificial in nature, a growing willingness to be sacrificial will grow in and among the community that is church as well.

We should also think about how the gift of prophet fits with the gift of apostle that we considered before. First apostle, then prophet, wrote Paul. We saw previously that Apostle comes first, not in importance but in sequence, so in what sense does the gift of prophet come next? Well, if an apostle has been at work there will be an excellent foundation laid upon which church may be built. And the prophetic gift helps us build straight and true; standing firmly on the foundation already laid. In the early days of church construction it would be easy to come unstuck, a lot of people might be doing the best they can but without the ability to distinguish between what seems good (but might be unhelpful) and what is truly in line with Father’s vision and purpose. Having a prophet or two acting like plumblines and right-angled set-squares reveals where a wall is not quite vertical or a corner not at ninety degrees. And these details will matter as the structure grows in height and complexity, so prophets do indeed come after apostles though both are of equal (though different) importance and value.

Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. And God has placed in the church first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, of helping, of guidance, and of different kinds of tongues.  Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret?(1 Corinthians 12:27-30)

Notice that the quote from 1 Corinthians above is different from the list in Ephesians 4 that we looked at in the post on apostles. There’s a reason for that and we’ll investigate it later, but the first two items in the list are the same. Apostles first, then prophets. The paragraph below is copied from the previous part of this series. It bears repeating because it is so important.

Our mistake is to think that these are special roles that most of us are not called to. But the truth is subtly different. All of us have all five of these gifts, but to varying degrees. I might be strong in one and you might be strong in another. Most of us are reasonably strong in one or two, few of us are strong in all five. So what does that imply for his locally gathered people, the ekklesia (church) in a particular place. It implies that any gathered group of believers will have all five of the gifts in differing amounts – we will lack nothing! But it’s the togetherness in the church that ensures we lack nothing. We all need to do our bit.

So let’s get on with the process

Think again about the process of building a house, and how all the building skills and trades are required for success. We need apostles, prophets, evangelists, shepherds, and teachers to build a local expression of church. And all are present wherever people are meeting regularly with Jesus and hearing his call to go and make disciples, baptise them, and teach them to do everything that’s needed for the next generation. All five are present, but sometimes they are not active. And that’s usually because we don’t provide room for them.

Remember that ‘Church’ on Sunday and ‘Small group’ on another day are both fully ekklesia, they are both communities of people called out and following Jesus. All five of these gifts of service should be fully present and working every day in every size of community. If they are not, something is seriously wrong and we need to rethink our paradigms and change our approach. We are all required to carry out Jesus’ orders in the great commission and we will need all five gifts to be active in order to fully hear that commission, let alone carry it out.

If I’m not expressing something of all these gifts, and if I’m not hearing and seeing them all in others, regularly and often, then I’m either in a deficient environment or I’m not paying proper attention. I need to examine and change either my position or my activity (or both). Assuming apostles and prophets are being heard we now have a straight and true structure of living stones standing firmly and safely on a foundation called Jesus the Messiah. It’s ready for use, it’s fit for purpose, but it’s empty inside. In other words it’s fit and ready for the gift of an evangelist, the third in Paul’s list of the five gifts of service. (Eph 4:11-13)

Why are Paul’s two lists of gifts different?

I mentioned earlier that we’d investigate this puzzle. Since apostle and prophet are the first two in both lists, it hasn’t begun to matter yet, but soon it will. It will help to read Ephesians 4 in its entirety to remind yourself of the context in which Paul mentions these five gifts of service.

Evangelist is next in Paul’s list because the empty structure needs to be filled with people. Paul’s list in 1 Corinthians is about the community after it’s been filled with people, it’s more about the gifts needed to keep things on track, an important list for an ekklesia that seems to have been in danger of derailment followed by a serious crash. Paul compiles a different list because there’s a different need, these are gifts for keeping things going and correcting errors. These people needed the apostolic and the prophetic to straighten and strengthen the existing structure. Then they need teaching, they need a bit of a miracle and they need healing and helping and guidance. Paul wrote his letter to them to provide these very things, but he knows that all the resources needed are right there in the spiritual gifts of the Corinthians themselves too, if only they will stop squabbling and pay proper attention to one another.

Perhaps this is why Paul doesn’t mention the gift of evangelist in the Corinthian list. The ekklesia in Corinth doesn’t need filling with more new believers, it needs straightening out first and it needs recalibrating. It never hurts to ask ourselves the same questions, does our church or our small group need straightening out and/or recalibrating?

A new house

The photo at the top of this article shows an empty house, here it is again. This is a second-hand house as it happens, not a newly built structure. But that doesn’t matter, you don’t need a brand new build to feel the excitement and hope of moving into a new place and converting it to a home where the family can live and love, work and play, eat and drink, and invite visitors.

See also:

I have struggled to find much that I can recommend on the gift of prophet in the church today, there is certainly a good deal of nonsense out there. So instead of some links, here’s a video of Alan Hirsch speaking about the fivefold APEST gifts (including the prophetic gift). Have a listen, see what you think. It’s short, less than five minutes.

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You might also like:

The city on the hill
JDMC study guide
Jargon and the Holy Spirit

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The apostolic gift

Is Jesus apostolic? You bet he is! Did he lay foundations? He laid himself as the one true Foundation by dying for us. Was he sent? He was sent by the Father and was fully obedient in coming into our world.

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These single point extracts are intended to spark fresh thinking individually or in group discussions of up to ten people – (Christian Unions, church home groups, house churches for example).

JDMC extract – 3

House Foundations
Click pics to enlarge (Image from BuildIt

Remember that this gift is foundational; read Acts 1:1-4. We can think of the apostolic as a sending gift, an apostle is an emissary or, indeed, a missionary. People with a large measure of the apostolic gift tend to get things started and then move on to repeat the process again somewhere else; this is what Paul did, over and over again. He also returned from time to time to make sure things stayed on track; when he couldn’t be there in person he wrote letters for the same purpose.

Apostolic people prepare the ground for the prophetic gift to work. They also stir others up to do apostolic things. And they are always concerned about right foundations and right direction. Don’t think of this gift as more important than the others, it is usually first in sequence but if you are apostolic you are a servant in the church.

And don’t think in terms of ‘an apostle’, but rather recognise that we all have a measure of this gift, every follower of Jesus is apostolic to a degree. We need apostolic people around us to remind us constantly that Jesus is the only foundation and that he commands us to go out to the people around us. Apostolic people get troubled and upset if they see people veering away from the truth set out by Jesus and taking control of church life. They know that church life should never be controlled by people, but by the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Christ.

And is Jesus apostolic? You bet he is! Did he lay foundations? He laid himself as the one true Foundation by dying for us. Was he sent? He was sent by the Father and was fully obedient in coming into our world. Did he get things started? He is the Beginning, he is the Way, he is the Truth. It’s through him that everything started. Perhaps the most apostolic words in the New Testament are Matthew 28:18-20.

Discuss

We are all emissaries for Jesus. Is there a difference between reaching
people with the good news, and being apostolic? If so, can you identify this
difference? Discuss or consider carefully.

Based on JDMC page 41.

See also:

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If you enjoyed this or found it useful, please like, comment, and share below. (If you don’t see those links, click the article’s title above the main photo and they will appear.) Send a link to friends who might enjoy the article or benefit from it – Thanks! My material is free to reuse (see conditions), but a coffee is always welcome and encourages me to write more often!

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We are all priests

Doing it Jesus’ Way

It’s completely astounding that the Almighty Creator of the universe lived as a man among the village folk of Galilee for thirty years as a carpenter – and nobody noticed!

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These single point extracts are intended to spark fresh thinking individually or in group discussions of up to ten people – (Christian Unions, church home groups, house churches for example).

JDMC extract – 2

Be wary of reforming people, persuading them to wear different clothes, eat different food or change their customs, culture and language. This won’t reveal Christ to them. If you claim to represent Jesus, they will assume that he is like you. Jesus came to live among the ordinary people of Judaea and Galilee and he expects us to live among the people around us and identify with them just as he did; this demands that we go deep, something Paul understood and practised (1 Corinthians 9:19–23). Jesus shows us how to do it, he ate with Pharisees and tax collectors. He was fully present. He came as a servant and he shared the good news. It’s completely astounding that the Almighty Creator of the universe lived as a man among the village folk of Galilee for thirty years as a carpenter – and nobody noticed! That shows us how deeply he involved himself in the local culture, he became invisible.

Jesus is our example for going out and going deep. These two activities work together so that the gospel (good news) and the church (the gospel people) become firmly embedded in the local community. Rapid expansion is not going to happen any other way. We need to understand that knowing Jesus more deeply will lead us into both going out (Luke 10:1-4) and going deep (Luke 10:5-7). That will affect what church looks like in the place where we live. If we let him, Jesus will take us first into mission and then into new church life shaped as he wants it to be. And this will be different depending on whether we live in France or Fiji, inner city or village, or among the poor or rich.

Discuss

Will you identify with people as you find them, or will you bring your own culture with you as if that, too, is part of the good news? Jesus came in weakness, he came to give up his life. Talk about what that might mean for you as you follow him.

Taken from JDMC page 21.

See also:

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If you enjoyed this or found it useful, please like, comment, and share below. (If you don’t see those links, click the article’s title above the main photo and they will appear.) Send a link to friends who might enjoy the article or benefit from it – Thanks! My material is free to reuse (see conditions), but a coffee is always welcome and encourages me to write more often!

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The art of persuasion

A living organism-2

You will need good character, deep relationships, respect for others and appreciation for what they are and do. Do whatever you can to help others succeed in mission.

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This article is an updated extract from my short book, Jesus, Disciple, Mission, Church (JDMC). The bite-sized piece below is roughly two percent of the book. This is the first part of the fifth forgotten way.

Connect and communicate

Churches on mission usually connect with one another to form networks. Read Acts and the New Testament letters and you will see this everywhere, for example Acts 11:20-23, 21:3-4, 1 Corinthians 16:19-20. These networks may be formal or very informal, but where there is no network, encourage people to talk and swap ideas. Adapt what others have done rather than developing it again from scratch, and work together, especially for training. Host workshops, share books, DVDs and digital resources, go on retreats with other groups, share meals, share bread and wine together.

Don’t keep things to yourself (Colossians 4:16). Let others learn from your mistakes and tell them about successes. Share newsletters and calendars. Set aside time in meetings for people to share, use email and the web to send out materials and stories. Promote good books, provide lists of email addresses, perhaps set up a social network group.

Try to dream and plan with other groups. People with strong APEST gifts will wake everyone up and get them dreaming, thinking and planning. Ask questions like, “What is Jesus preparing for us?”, “Where is Papa already at work in the community?”, “What does good news look like for the people around us?” Make alliances.

You will need good character, deep relationships, respect for others and appreciation for what they are and do. Do whatever you can to help others succeed in mission. Identify the essential issues and choose to understand more than to be understood. Be willing to listen.

Discuss or consider – What have you already done as a group that you could share more widely? Even very early in your shared lives there will be good things to offer others; make a list of them. Can you think of other people or groups that would benefit from hearing some of your stories? How will you
contact them? Don’t just talk about this, but begin doing it.

Sneeze the gospel

The gospel will spread easily and widely if the conditions are right, just as it did in the first few centuries in the Roman world and beyond (Acts 2:36-41). Part of our task as Jesus’ followers is to match the message to the society and culture we are part of. Read Acts together and list the ways the early church did this.

Simple, deep, meaningful messages work best; “Jesus is Lord” is a really great example because it captures a central and essential truth in just three words. The message and the people who carry it need to be very easily and quickly transferable. Distil the essence of the gospel and make church as simple and reproducible you can. At the very least, avoid unnecessary complications in both the message and the messengers.

Experiment right away without waiting until you have a perfect approach, but learn from your mistakes. Look for new ideas, new people and shared learning. Value and celebrate anyone who pioneers new ways of thinking about mission and church life. Let new believers develop their own forms of church as you pass on the basics about gospel and community. Use the passions, gifts and lifestyles you find in groups of people.

The gospel should be really simple to catch and very infectious. But progress may seem slow so you will need to be quite persistent and very, very patient. Pray often and with great hope and expectation; think carefully and sympathetically about the host community but keep church as simple as you can, small and really easy for others to copy. Pray especially for more workers to gather in the harvest (Luke 10:2).

Discuss or consider – You are already far enough along to begin spreading the good news far and wide. I’m telling you – you are! Talk about how this process is going. Think together about better ways to work in the future. Can you simplify things? Pray for specific people you know who need to hear and see the truth. How will you demonstrate Jesus to them?

Facilitating growth and change

Think deeply and talk together about what you are doing; pray about how you might reach those around you (Ephesians 6:18-20). Ask the Holy Spirit to speak to you and guide you (as he did Peter in Acts 10:9-23). Consider re-reading this part of JDMC later and revising your approach as necessary.

Do your best to be practical but try to understand the underlying reasons for what you are doing. Bounce ideas off one another and keep thinking about how living things grow and reproduce – that is how church will grow and reproduce too. Something big can grow from the tiniest seed. Try to work out where you are weak and where you are strong. The objective is to keep moving forwards and trying new things. Think in terms of new ways and old ways, going forward but also reflecting on where you have come from, focussing on Jesus but not for one moment forgetting the people living all around you. Remember the seeds but don’t forget the tree, remember the tree but don’t forget the forest!

Discuss or consider – You decide to plant a daffodil in your garden. Would it be better to buy a plastic flower for immediate effect, or plant a bulb, water it, keep the weeds away, and wait for it to grow? How many daffodils will you have in ten years time? Did you make them grow?

More sections of JDMC

Introduction – JDMC, what does it contain? – Using JDMC – how to approach it

Working together in six ways – Intro and Way 1 – Ways 2, 3 and 4 – Ways 5 and 6, six ways

Way One, Jesus at the centre – Jesus at centre 1 – Jesus at centre 2 – Jesus at centre 3

Way Two, Becoming disciples – Disciples 1 – Disciples 2 – Disciples 3

Way Three, Outward and integrated – OutAndInt1, OutAndInt2

Way Four, Gifts for building – GiftsForBuilding1, GiftsForBuilding2

Way Five, A living organism – LivingOrg1, LivingOrg2

More sections will appear here…

The work of the Spirit – Intro – Jesus, disciples, outward – Gifts, living, community, help

Other church leaders – Intro, bishops, elders – Deacons, pastors, priests

Last words – The end can also be the beginning

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Read the book

This was extracted from Jesus, Disciple, Mission, Church (JDMC), pages 17 and 18. Download the whole thing or read it online – GetJDMC.scilla.org.uk

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If you enjoyed this or found it useful, please like, comment, and share below. (If you don’t see those links, click the article’s title above the main photo and they will appear.) Send a link to friends who might enjoy the article or benefit from it – Thanks! My material is free to reuse (see conditions), but a coffee is always welcome and encourages me to write more often!