New Warhorn Media post by Tim Bayly:
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⌠This does not mean all Christians are barred from making disciples of all the nations, teaching those disciples to observe all that Jesus commanded. Many parts of the New Testament teach and demonstrate this work is is also the witness and confession of every believer. But acknowledging this is no contradiction of the apostolic authority of the Eleven and their successors right down to our own day and churches.
On a small point, thanks for making this clear. I admit that I was pretty surprised when I first came across the idea that Matt 28:19-20 also meant that the responsibility for evangelism lies principally with the ordained leadership. I would observe that nowadays, most people who come to faith as adults, do so through the witness of their friends.
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Yes, there is much truth to the centrality of Christian witness to the work of the Holy Spirit in regenerating sinners. Still, the principal method God has ordained and employed is preaching. It might be good to put it, âthe responsibility for evangelism lies, firstlyâŚâ Love,
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⌠which, for anyone who is interested, raises some questions about the enthusiasm for what I will call âcourse-basedâ evangelism - Alpha and Christianity Explored (=Rico Tice) to name two. The way in which they preach the Gospel is closer to the âreasoning in the synagoguesâ approach of Acts 17:17-18.
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Coming back to this, if I may. May I recommend something from the Pentecostal/SBC/IFB playbook(s)?
In the movement in which I grew up, it was quite common at the time, if less so now, to set aside men as full-time, itinerant, Evangelists. They were generally ordained, and specifically commissioned to the role.
I wonder if this sort of thing would work in your setting(s)? The idea is that these men would generally be sent out by their respective presbyteries.
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Generally, in the presbyterian tradition, the presbytery designates a pastor as an âevangelistâ in order for him to do the initial work of planting a churchârather than being an itinerant evangelistic preacher. This is not to say he doesnât or shouldnât preach evangelistically, but that is not the expectation. We presbyterians are, at best, diffident towards the public riverside and areopagus evangelism of the New Testament church. Which is wrong, for sure. Love,
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Or if I may put this another way: âIt is the Christians who make the effort to get out and preach the Gospel, along the public riverside and areopagus and elsewhere, who will have the privilege of seeing the Elect come to faith and will then have the privilege of discipling themâ?
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