06 WORK AND QUALIFICATIONS OF AN EVANGELIST

WORK AND QUALIFICATIONS OF AN EVANGELIST WORK AND QUALIFICATIONS OF AN EVANGELIST

Lee P. Mansfield—If I were selecting a text from which to make this talk, I would choose 2 Timothy 2:15 -—“Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”

We have spent a great deal of time discussing this passage, and we always talk about the phrase, “rightly dividing,” but have failed to discuss the subject of “study,” and “workman approved of God.”

I regard the evangelist’s calling the highest, and his work the greatest that man can do. Hence, we give you some of his qualifications, and tell you something of his work.

Qualifications:

1. He must understand men. All men are not alike, and all men have not faith. We sometimes fail to convert persons just because we do not understand them. No one can reach the heart unless he understands the peculiarity of the one addressed. Paul says, “I became all things to all men.” If we would study men more we would do more good.

2. He should know the history of the people, and countries mentioned in the Bible. Many things in the Bible would not be understood if we knew not the manners and customs of the people. How could we get a lesson from Matthew 20:1-3 if we did not know the custom on which this parable is founded?

3. He should know the Bible as a whole, and in all its parts. If you know the Book, it will cause people to have confidence in  your ability as a teacher. Here are some things one must know in order to understand the word of God:

Who? what? where? and when? (a)Who is speaking, to whom and of whom? (b)What kind of writing is it, prose or poetry, law or history? (c)Where—in what place was the writer? (d)Why—why did the author write—purpose?

These are some qualifications as to his knowledge, but there are others as to his character

1. Keep thyself pure. No man can be a successful evangelist, unless he will live the gospel. The most powerful preaching we do is by the lives we live. How often is a preacher’s discourse destroyed by the fact that he does not live a pure life.

2. Guard your influence. Be careful of your company and of your speech. To tell smutty stories and to associate with all classes of people will kill your influence.

3. Be yourself. Don’t be a parrot. If you use others’ ideas, put them in your language. If you quote give your author; by so doing you render to all their dues.

4. Be earnest. If you are not in earnest, quit. The world doesn’t need a clown, but men and women who are in earnest. The poet has said:    “Life is real, life is earnest, and the grave is not its goal.”

5. Preach in the spirit of Christ. Don’t be dogmatic. I fear some preach in the spirit of the devil, and not the spirit of Christ. Make every one feel that you have an interest in him. With a heart filled with love for God and man, go the story telling.

6. Be cheerful. Look on the bright side of life. Be sunshine, not storms. Be gladness, not sadness. Be happy, not gloomy. Some have the idea that a preachers life is a sad life. I don’t believe in that kind of religion. I am not like the little girl. She climbed upon the barn-yard fence, and putting her little hand up between the ears of the old family mule, drew it to the end of his nose, and said: “Dear old muley, I fear you are going to be a preacher; you have such a long face.” If there is any one in this world that ought to be happy, cheerful and gay, it is a child of God; one who has the forgivness of his sins and the prospect of a home in glory. Paul says:    “Rejoice always, and again I say rejoice.” I don’t mean for one to engage in frivolity, but be happy. It is true that storms will arise and clouds of sorrow will cover our sky. But look above the clouds, where God’s eternal sun is always shining. The poet has said:

“There is a dark and troubled side of life, There is a bright and sunny side, too;

Though we meet with the darkness and strife, The sunny side we may also view.”

7. Have confidence in every one, until they destroy themselves, but do not help them. Speak a good word for all, and do not assist in destroying the standing of any one. Be ready to help all. It is better to help an unworthy brother now and then, than it is to fail to help one who is worthy.

8. When you preach, hide yourself, but show your hearers the message you bring. In other words, do not preach self, but Christ, and him crucified. Once I entered a restaurant run by a friend of mine. He introduced me to a very beautiful girl, who waited on the guests. After spending about one hour in the restaurant, eating, and talking to this beautiful girl, I could not tell whether I ate eggs or oysters. I saw the waitress, but did not see what was on my plate. Some preachers go to a town, and the entire town is talking, not about the sermon, but about the preacher. May God help us to preach Christ, and not ourselves.

Work.

There are three things that constitute a preacher’s work:

1. He must preach the word—by precept and example.

2. Commit it to faithful men. He should train others to take his place when he is called from this world.

3. Correct errors in the church. This is the kind of work Paul did, and the kind he committed to Timothy, and told him to commit to others.

Now, in conclusion, let me say just a word by way of advice to the young preachers. Young gentlemen, live within your income. Take care of your money. Save something every week or month. $50 a year is not much, but at 6 per cent interest, in ten years, you would have $660, which would be enough for you to purchase a small home. A sad sight to me is an old, worn-out, poor, neglected preacher.

Take God for your Father, Christ for your Saviour, humanity for your brethren, the world for your field, and the Bible as your guide, and you will succeed.

W. E. Morgan—An evangelist should be instant in season, out of season. He should preach, whether he feels like .it or( not. He should study to show himself approved unto God. He sjiould go where he can do the most good. Do not he egotistical. Meekness is the greatest qualification. Show to the church and the world that you are in earnest. We should make our efforts personal. Be consistent; deport yourself correctly. Givq no one a chance to suspicion you. “Let no man despise thee.”

G. W. Harvey—Paul was an evangelist when he did the work of an evangelist. Egotism is wrong. And it is not necessary to tell people how little you know; they will find that out. Imitate, if you imitate the right thing. I know parents by their children. The stork will show itself. A preacher is known by his work, by his converts. Every evangelist should take care of his young converts. Do not leave them as orphans for some one else to care for and train. I am getting tired of that kind of work. Teach fathers and mothers to pray. Do personal work; go to the homes of the people. Work from house to house. This is the real work. Go to the poor; go to their homes. Talk to them personally; you will thus learn to adapt your preaching to their needs. Don’t reach too far above the people.

G. W. Cypert—An evangelist should seek to please God, not men and women. But it is too much to expect an evangelist to nurture his young converts. One great characteristic is meekness. This is very much needed. A preacher should be prayerful. I believe when he preaches he should lead his own prayer. It has a good effect on the audience. An evangelist should have a good standing at home.

J. C. White—Approve Brother Harvey on personal work. But what do we mean by being an evangelist? An evangelist should know his work. Let him ordain elders in every church, as they did in New Testament times. We must not say, We do not know how.

U. G. Wilkinson-—What is ordinarily called a pastor, is what I call an evangelist, but an evangelist is not a pastor. The evangelist should be able to preach the gospel without turning his sermons into challenges. I don’t like challenging for debate in the pulpit; it is too egotistical. Don’t be personal in your preaching. I do not mean any one should be soft. Firmness is always attended with gentleness. Be gentle, be courteous. Don’t take sides in church troubles.

R. L. Whiteside—An evangelist should be a pious, godly man.

He should be full of reverence for God and sacred things. The light use of such phrases as “Before God, brethren.” etc., indicates an irreverent spirit. A man who realizes the majesty and glory of Jehovah will not use his name as a by-word, nor in any light, frivolous way. Let his name be adored above all others. The Bible nowhere limits the duration of one’s stay at one place. It is preaching, not traveling, that makes a man an evangelist.

C. R. Nichol—One failure with the evangelist is, he neglects to use the Bible as he should. He should keep it prominently before the people, and read out of it, rather than quote from it. Whiteside approved—Cypert dissented.