Volume 49 Number 9 September 2007
However, recently I have been blessed in a special way. I was given an entire year’s worth of lessons from one church. These lessons are somewhat different than the ones recorded from special meetings - these lessons are presented by “common ordinary brothers”, probably not unlike those who teach at the churches you regularly attend. These are not evangelists, and they do not ‘sound’ like evangelists, and they certainly are not necessarily highly trained speakers as some churches insist upon.
These men are your average brothers who probably puts in 40 to 50 hours each week at work. Yet they are willing to take time out of their schedules from family and necessary relaxation to consider and study a topic that would be good for the church to hear. You can tell by these lessons these brothers have not simply “thrown together” a few hastily-gathered thoughts in a few minutes on the evening before. They have given thought to what they wanted to say, for their words were important for hungry souls to hear and digest; they take their responsibility as teachers seriously! They did not wish to “waste” this precious opportunity, for the church deserves to hear good and thoughtful words that lead to godly edification and strengthening.
On this particular CD I have heard lessons from the shepherds of this particular church speaking words to the flock entrusted to them by the Holy Spirit, and you can hear that they take their office very seriously. Several lessons from evangelists speaking to this church at various times throughout the year are included with these files, but the vast majority of these lessons are from the brothers of the church. One brother was commenting on how he had learned good spiritual lessons from his father while being instructed on how to maintain an engine. One brother was teaching on how he feared that many do not take the Holy Spirit as seriously as he felt they should. One younger brother was teaching on how important it was to honor those older among them. Space in this article does not permit me to go on and on with these valuable topics, but I think you get the picture.
Do you recall where the above quote is from as the title for this article? It is found in
Acts 15:35 as it describes those whom Paul and Barnabas joined with as teachers in the church at Antioch. Some of these same teachers are mentioned in Acts 13:1 and 15:32. Yes, at least 2, and possibly more were evangelists, but some of them surely were average brothers willing to help with the burden of teaching the church at Antioch.Now I certainly do not wish to be misunderstood. We surely should appreciate those evangelists who preach God’s word among us, for their talents and abilities have a proper and God-ordained work among the churches. At the same time we should appreciate the brothers who teach in the many congregations scattered throughout this world we are privileged to hear and be part of, for it is their labors that make up the primary teaching responsibilities of these same churches from meeting to meeting. And certainly according to His divine will these average brothers will continue teaching the Word of God to the churches until Christ comes.