Tolbert Fanning on Evangelists and the Lord’s Day

April 5, 2013

Brother “J. R. W.” of Kentucky tossed Tolbert Fanning a softball in the June 1858 issue of  the Gospel Advocate (pp. 170-171).  It was a subject he had constantly addressed as an editor and evangelist. It was one of the great themes of his life beginning with his time as an evangelist supported by the Nashville (TN) church from 1832 to 1836.

Question:  Are the disciples authorized to perform the service without an Evangelist?

The question contains several. What is the “service” to perform on the Lord’s Day? What is the function of an evangelist? Does the evangelist have a clerical function such that without an ordained evangelist the congregation could not “perform the service”?

Concerning the function of an evangelist, Fanning writes:

it is the duty of the Evangelist to preach the Gospel to the world, plant the taught with Christ in Baptism, congregate the converts, teach them all things in which they are to walk, to see that they keep the ordinances, ordain the Elders in the congregation, and set in order everything wanting for the perfection of the body.

In other words, the evangelist evangelizes the lost, plants the congregation, equipts members, and appoints leaders. Then an evangelist moves on to a new field and repeats the process. The evangelist should not linger and serve as a priestly mediator for the congregation. “It is not the work of the Evangelist to perform the service of the congregation.” Rather, the evangelist equips the congregation so that they might “perform the service” themselves.

When the disciples give the worship into the hand of a hired preacher, as one who works merely for the profit or place, to lord it over God’s heritage, they abandon, in fact, the religion of the Bible. The healthful soul invigorating life giving and life sustaining ordinances, have been given into the hands not entitled to them. The hired, or voluntary services of the church in the hands of preachers, enrich not them spiritually, and make the disciples poor indeed.

To hand the service over to “a hired preacher” is a form of “Popish” clericalism, according to Fanning. It destroys the faith of the congregation as they become passive receivers rather than active participants. The legitimate field for evangelists (preachers) is within the “world” rather than in the established congregation. Let the congregation do its own work, including the work of sending out evangelists to plant new congregations.

What the evangelist should do, however, is plant the congregation, equip the members, and appoint elders to lead the church. Fanning is quite insistent that evangelists appoint bishops or elders. On what authority, another querist asks? “In the Apostolic times Evangelists were consecrated by the hands of the seniors” (Acts 13:3; 1 Timothy 5:14; 2 Timothy 1:16), “and Elders were set apart to the Bishop’s office by Evangelist” (1 Timothy 3; 5:22). Remember, however, that the evangelist does not settle into the congregation but is sent to other places. Consequently, it is the elders who lead the church rather than the evangelist.

But what is the “service” that members are to perform on the Lord’s Day? Fanning lists seven particulars:

1. The assemblage and Christian greetings on the Lord’s day.
2. Prayers of the Saints.
3. The teaching, reading of the Divine oracles.
4. The exhortations and confessions of the disciples.
5. The Lord’s supper.
6. The songs of praise.
7. Communicating, or putting money into the treasury, a sacrifice with which God is well pleased.

“We cannot see how it is possible,” Fanning adds, “for disciples to neglect any of these parts, and still maintain a position in the church of Christ.”

No Evangelist necessary; no clerics needed. It Is the priesthood of (male?) believers; there are no clerics, only the gathering of disciples. It is simply the gathering of Christians to greet, pray, teach, read, exhort, eat & drink, sing, and give. This is the fellowship of the saints on the Lord’s day. No preacher required; just committed, active disciples who gather to listen to each other and the word, sing their praises, share their resources, pray, and sit at the table together. Ad all that to the glory of God and the building up of the body.

16 Comments | Stone-Campbell | Tagged: , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by John Mark Hicks

Profiles in Character: A Look at Shepherding and Spiritual Leadership V

July 27, 2009

[This is a brief small group/Bible class series that parallels the sermons of Dean Barham at Woodmont Hills Family of God in Nashville, TN, for the month of July 2009. The is the final installment. Unfortunately, I offer the homily on this one to which you may listen here when it becomes available.]

Leadership in Community

1 Thessalonians 5:12-24

Paul had to make a quick exit from Thessalonica (cf. Acts 17:1-9) and shortly thereafter passionately pens this letter. His absence created a vacuum but his letter encourages them to live worthy of the kingdom of God that he himself modeled among them (1 Thessalonians 2:12). Addressing the newly planted but the seemingly tentative condition of the Thessalonian church, the letter’s final segment naturally, I think, divides into three sections.

  • He begs the community to respect and esteem its leaders (1 Thessalonians 5:12-13).
  • He encourages them to live as a hopeful, grateful, caring community (1 Thessalonians 5:14-22).
  • He concludes with a prayer and an assurance (1 Thessalonians 5:23-24).

Paul’s brief stay in Thessalonica (perhaps less than a month) did not give him much opportunity to develop leadership for the new church, but apparently he did charge some to give it direction. These leaders are described as people who “work hard” among them (that is, labor to the point of exhaustion), “rule” over them (etymologically, they “stand before them”), and “admonish” them (that is, warn and instruct, and the same word is used in verse 14). The verb “rule” or “over you” is the most complex word here. It may indicate either the exercise of direction or management (as in 1 Timothy 3:4, 5, 12; 5:17) or of care and assistance (as in Romans 12:8; 16:2)—or both. It has the ideas of directing, managing, caring for, and protecting. “In the Lord” reflects a kind of spiritual authority invested in these leaders.

Whether we should title these leaders as “elders,” “evangelists,” “deacons,” or some other category is uncertain but it is clear that they are the spiritual caregivers for the Thessalonians. They are, in some sense, responsible for the community. I understand it is broader than the category of “elders” and at least includes Paul’s broad notions of “co-workers” in the kingdom (like Silas and Timothy who co-author the letter with him).

Paul quite literally begs the congregation to “respect” (literally, know or recognize) and esteem (“hold in high regard”) their leaders in love because of their work (identified in verse 12). Their function is important for the body—it is not their power but their work that grounds this respect and esteem. Where there is such respect and esteem in love, there is also peace.

Turning his attention to how the members of the body treat one another, Paul rattles off in rapid fire a series of imperatives that direct the community toward a particular way of being community. The virtues, ministry and attitudes expected here would shape a community into a peaceful, loving and serving body of people who are attentive to the Spirit in their lives.

A Christian community is…..and one can fill in the blanks with this series of imperatives—warning the disorderly, comforting the hurting, serving the weak, treating everyone with patience, resisting revenge, practicing kindness, praying unceasingly, rejoicing always, loving, giving thanks in everything, listening to the Spirit, testing everything, holding to what is noble (good) and avoiding every evil.

That kind of community is utopian but it is the “God of peace” who makes it possible. Paul prays that God would fully sanctify the Thessalonian community so that they might be “blameless” when Jesus appears again. God “will do it”—he is faithful.

The goal here is not utopian as if it is generated by human means, but it is the kingdom of God breaking into a broken, fallen world. God will do it, and God has called us to live worthy of that kingdom.

Questions for Discussion:

  1. Why do you think Paul thought it important to urge the congregation to “peace” in the context of living with leaders in community? How might his instructions here lead to “peace” in the community?
  2. Reading through the imperatives again, which do you think need the most emphasis within the current context of the Woodmont Hills Family of God? How do we need to “admonish” or encourage each other with these words? How can we encourage these attitudes within the family?
  3. Reflecting on what it means to be attentive to the Spirit, how does this apply to our current elder selection process and its results? How do we listen to the Spirit in this process?
  4. Reflecting on this text, what might you add to Paul’s own prayer for the Thessalonians in 5:23-24 as you think particularly about the situation at Woodmont Hills. Pray that prayer together with the confidence that “God will do it.”

1 Comment | Theology | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by John Mark Hicks

Leadership: A Teaching/Discussion Resource

March 9, 2009

Leadership Series
Cordova Community Church, Cordova, TN (1998)

This material was presented in the form of 30 minutes of teaching followed by 30 minutes of discussion within small groups.

The new church plant was moving toward appointing their first shepherds. We probably moved too quickly as I think about it now, but this is the material we studied together. As with anything over ten years old, I would probably phrase things differently, emphasize different things, import some ideas that have become more significant to me (e.g., missional, eschatology, etc.), and rethink the way I handled gender in this series (e.g., I would definitely add Romans 16 into this discussion mix [some of that material is available in the series Women Serving God]and offer more alternatives for understanding 1 Timothy 2 [also available in that series). Nevertheless, it was a healthy study at the time and, for the most part, still is. Anyone who makes use of this, of course, will have to make their own judgments about what is helpful now and what is not…as even I would today.  :-)  

I have uploaded the nearly fifty pages of notes and discussion questions onto my Classes page for those who are interested.

The series had a theological and christocentric starting point.  Shepherds should shepherd as God shepherds; they should imitate the Good Shepherd in his humility, service and loving care. It moved through some of the classic texts on elders and ultimately ended discussing the relationship of evangelists (“located preachers”) and elders. 

Below is a list of the lessons:

  1. Our Model: The Humiliation of God (Philippians 2:1-11).
  2. The Divine Shepherd (Psalm 23)
  3. God and His Shepherds (Ezekiel 34:1-22)
  4. Jesus as the Good Shepherd (John 10:1-18)
  5. Servant Leadership (Mark 10:32-45)
  6. Jesus and His Shepherds (1 Peter 5:1-4)
  7. Priorities in Leadership (Acts 6:1-7)
  8. Giving Elders Perspective (Acts 20:25-35)
  9. Gender and Leadership (1 Timothy 2:1-2, 8-15)
  10. Respecting Leaders (1 Thessalonians 5:12-15)
  11. Qualities of Leadership I (1 Timothy 3:1-7)
  12. Following Leaders (Hebrews 13:7-8, 17, 24)
  13. Qualities of Leadership II (Titus 1:5-9)
  14. Elders as Caregivers (James 5:13-20)
  15. Leaders as Equippers (Ephesians 4:7-16)
  16. Evangelists (1 Timothy 4:6-16)
  17. Elders and Evangelists (1 Timothy 5:17-22)

1 Comment | Pastoral Care, Theology | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by John Mark Hicks

New Items Posted, Again

March 2, 2009

A.  I have conducted several seminars on 1 Corinthians, especially for newer church plants (e.g., Kiev).  I have uploaded the lecture outlines and small group question materials for a series on 1 Corinthians that I put together for the Cordova Community Church in the late 1990s.  This was the congregation that Gary Ealy and I, along with others, helped plant.  Our method was to present some teaching material for 30 minutes and then we would discuss it in small groups for 30 minutes. There are sixteen lessons which I have uploaded on my Classes page in one document:

  1. What Unites Us (1 Corinthians 1).
  2. What Might Divide Us (1 Corinthians 3-4).
  3. Community Standards (1 Corinthians 5).
  4. Community Ethics (1 Corinthians 6).
  5.  Healthy Marriages (1 Corinthians 7).
  6. When Love is More Important Than Knowledge (1 Corinthians 8).
  7. When Others are More Important Than My Rights (1 Corinthians 9).
  8. No Presumption: The Lord’s Supper and Ethics (1 Corinthians 10).
  9. Male and Female in the Worship Assembly (1 Corinthians 11:3-10).
  10. Whose Meal is This? The Lord’s Supper or Ours? (1 Corinthians 17:17-34).
  11. Body Language: Whose Job Is It Anyway? (1 Corinthians 12).
  12. Love Language: Love Heals Disunity (1 Corinthians 13).
  13. Worship: Rational, Emotional or Both? (1 Corinthians 14:1-25).
  14. Order Rather than Chaos in the Worship Assembly (1 Corinthians 14:26-40).
  15.  The Gospel: Our Foundation and Hope (1 Corinthians 15:1-19).
  16. The Collection: Sharing God’s Gifts with Others (1 Corinthians 16:1-4).

B.  The second piece I have uploaded is my thirteen page handout for the Midwest Preacher’s Seminar in Wisconsin on September 22-24, 2000.  The seminar was entitled “Stress These Things: Theological Reflections on Titus.”  I have put it on my General page.  I structured the epistle in this manner:

Introduction (1:1-4)
     Salutation (1:1a, 4a)
     Theological Summary (1:1b-3)
     Greeting (1:4b)
Thematic Concern (1:5)
     Appoint Elders (1:6-16).
          The Character of Elders (1:6-9)
          The Character of False Teachers (1:10-16)
     Teach Sound Doctrine (2:1-3:11)
          First Directive (2:1-15)
               Moral Exhortation (2:1-10)
               Christological Ground (2:11-14)
               Encouragement (2:15)
          Second Directive (3:1-11)
              Moral Exhortation (3:1-2)
              Theological Ground (3:3-8)
              Warning (3:9-11)
Conclusion (3:12-15)
     Ministry Details (3:12-14)
          Ministry Partners (3:12-13)
          Ministry Purpose (3:14)
     Benedictory Greetings (3:15)

C. I have upload a presentation I made to Korean Ministers visiting America in the late 1990s on church polity to my General page. This document also served as a theological backdrop for leadership in the new church plant in Cordova, Tennesseee. It surveys a theology of leadership, the function of evangelists, elders and deacons, as well as the concept of a “leadership team” to serve a church. As evangelists instruct elders with knowledge and elders guide evangelists with wisdom, together they equip the church for ministry.

1 Comment | Biblical Texts, Theology | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by John Mark Hicks

Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.

Join 938 other followers

%d bloggers like this: