The evangelist is not an officer in a church, or for a church, but his
work is at large, to build up the churches, strengthen them and turn
sinners to the Lord. He should introduce the gospel into new places,
establish churches, and in due time set them in order. He is not an
ecclesiastic, an official dignitary, who has much to say about his
_office_ and _authority_, but a _gospel man_, a man of influence, and
can command respect and do a good work.
A shepherd, or, which is the same, _pastor_, is not an officer at all,
but a figurative term applied to him who takes care of the flock. The
flock means the church, and the shepherd is the correlative of flock,
and is applied to an overseer, or one who oversees or looks over the
flock as a shepherd. “Pastoral work” is, then, the work of a shepherd,
or overseer, who can not be a novice or a young convert.
The work of the evangelist is now needed as much as ever, and the
evangelist is by no means done away. So the shepherds to take care
of the flock are now needed as much as ever, and the teachers are in
demand as much as ever. These are not now raised up and qualified by
miracle, but by ordinary means; nor is the work gone that they are
severally to do. The evangelizing is now needed as much as ever; so is
taking care of the churches and teaching the disciples all things that
Jesus commanded. True, as our brother has said, there is no office in
the church except overseer and deacon. The office of an evangelist is
not a church office.
We have a glorious army of young men now called into the field, capable
of one of the noblest works ever done by men. They have it in their
hearts to do that work; but if they are perverted they will be ruined
and will never accomplish the work to which they have given themselves.
They must not, on the one hand, be discouraged and disheartened, but
encouraged and their way opened; and, on the other hand, they must not
be arrogant, conceited and vain, but humble, gentle, and kind; examples
of piety, purity and moral excellence. They must not think to leap into
authority by virtue of being preachers, but, by faithful labor and
noble deeds, win their way and gain an influence among the people of
God. If, now and then, one of them is puffed up, filled with conceit
and arrogance, the same is true of other classes of men, and it is no
argument against them as a class, but against the individual.