Heart to Heart!

A close pastor friend of mine, who recently accepted a new pastorate, said to me, “I never fully understood how dependent an evangelist is on pastors being sensitive to the Spirit of God in giving them an opportunity to serve the Lord and use their spiritual gift until I realized how dependent I was on a pulpit committee being obedient to God's still small voice regarding my ministry.”

I have told him that hopefully he won't have to go through that very often — but, I added, “Just think! I have to go through that process at least 35 times a year for me to survive in full-time evangelism.”

No — I don't have to wait on a pulpit committee...but I do have to wait on a pastor to call for an opportunity to serve the Lord in the area of evangelism. I thank God for those who realize that the “gift of the evangelist” is still relevant and needed for the church today.

Without a pastor search committee — a pastor has no ministry.

Without a pastor — an evangelist has no ministry.

We need each other as never before.

There is no question that America needs revival! Though it is true that no evangelist can bring revival to a church; to not expose God's people to those who are called to this area of ministry deprives them of an opportunity to hear the truths of God's Word from a different perspective.

In this day and time — many young people have never heard an evangelist because so many churches have not scheduled a revival in recent years. We are raising a generation of young people who couldn't even tell you what an evangelist is or what they do. And that is sad as most pastors can relate how they were influenced by an evangelist in their formative Christian years.

It is possible we may have a generation of young people who never answer the call to evangelism because the “gift of evangelism” was not presented to them during those sensitive times when they were seeking the face of God as to their Christian vocation.

Recently, a pastor called and said, “David, I can't be expected to provide all the Biblical insights for my people. My folks need a different face and a different voice from time to time that will give them additional insights to the Word of God. We haven't had a revival in five years — it has been way too long.”

This dear pastor is right! Please let me hear from you!