By Luis Palau
Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God.
— EPHESIANS 4:11–13
Deep in the jungles of a Latin American nation that shall remain nameless, I met three young men. Much like any passionate young fellows, they enjoyed time with friends, liked a good joke, and dreamed of settling down with a special someone. I suspect that the only difference between them and the average teenager was that these young men were never without a rifle and a few grenades. You see, they were guerrillas.
They came from evangelical homes but became rebels, and although I disagree with their method, they were fighting for a good reason. Everything was upside down in their nation. The military and police had become a merry-go-round of corruption. The injustice had gotten so bad that these young men were willing to put their lives at risk in hope of something better. “Enough,” they must’ve said to each other. “Let’s try to change this.” So they did.
These kids joined a band of rebels way out in the Amazon jungle. Things didn’t go quite as they had hoped, and the revolution stalled into a slow-moving stalemate that just entrenches and makes everything worse. There would be a skirmish here, a retaliation there, potshots at anyone careless from the other side, and never any lasting change.
Their hopes had withered. To cheer each other up, they gathered around the shortwave radio any chance they got. Radio programs are sparse out there. As it happens, I’m on about 4,000 radio stations in Latin America. Odds are pretty good that you can turn a radio on just about anywhere on the continent and fiddle with the dial until my voice comes out of the speaker.
I later corresponded with three of those rebels, and they told me their story. “We started listening to you out there in the jungle,” they said, “and slowly we started to say something to each other: ‘If we ever make it out alive, let’s preach the gospel.’ ”
Well, they made it out alive. When they wrote, they shared incredible stories of how they extricated themselves from the cycle of violence. Then those three young men began to use the incredible grit and jungle skills they learned as revolutionaries to begin planting and leading churches in the same remote areas where they once packed weapons. Bibles replaced their bandoliers of ammunition. The whole area would be called godforsaken by many people. But he has not forsaken it.
I see my entire ministry—from evangelism to teaching, from broadcast ministry to representing Christians to politicians and world leaders—as supporting the church. Yet one of the main historical critiques of mass evangelism from other Christians has been that it undermines the role of the local church.
In American Christianity, the evangelist has often been seen as an enemy to pastors. Evangelists are often looked down on. Sometimes they deserve it, but there’s more to the story than that. Evangelists and pastors should be the closest allies. All the giftings of Ephesians 4 should be working together to build up the body of Christ.
I feel that prejudice goes back to the days of George Whitefield, an evangelist and a companion of John Wesley. When Whitefield came to town, he had a bad habit of disparaging local pastors. It was one of his weaknesses. Not that he didn’t make a few good points, but the principle was wrong. Ever since, the pastor and the evangelist have gone toe-to-toe. The image of Whitefield as the mass evangelist has become ingrained in American minds and culture. Pastors think of evangelists as flighty, self-seeking, self-aggrandizing celebrity types. Evangelists look at pastors as having lost their fire. Yes, pastors care for souls, but only if those souls join the church and tithe. Both attitudes are horrible.
Anybody can criticize. It takes maturity to build up. If you want to serve Jesus, show us by doing, not by attacking others. Remember the verse: “Who are you to judge someone else’s servant? To their own master, servants stand or fall. And they will stand, for the Lord is able to make them stand” (Romans 14:4). Leave others to the Lord. See that you are standing first in your own calling. What does another person’s calling matter to you?
Mass evangelism does not have to oppose the local church. Neither does mass evangelism need to be an indictment of the local church. Evangelism is a separate gift of the Holy Spirit, mentioned more than once by Paul. Not all pastors are evangelists. Not all evangelists are pastors. While both need to shepherd Christians and share the gospel, they have a different calling. In fact, their gifts ought to work in tandem, hand in glove.
People sometimes pit evangelism and discipleship against each other, as if energy toward the one somehow detracts from the other. At this, I scratch my head and think, What?
How can you disciple someone who has not been converted? How are you going to teach and train and form them to be like Jesus if they have never committed to following him in the first place? The beginning steps of the Christian life are the result of a choice to forsake what has gone before and turn to new life in Christ, freely offered. Evangelists work to lead people to that choice, not to choose it for them. There is no way around that choice. Not choosing is itself a choice. The opportunity may return because God pursues our souls with a gracious and patient love. Then again, the opportunity might not. This day, like any day, might be your last.
The evangelist helps lead converts to the beginning of discipleship. The evangelist draws them so that the church can grow and mature them. I heard it said once that an evangelist stands at the door of the church crying out, “Come in! Come in! This is the door!” For the new believer, stepping inside is the end of one journey, but that first step is also the beginning of a new one.
From the beginning, I have pledged that our work would strengthen and uplift the body of Christ. No one has done a formal count, but I venture to say that we have ministered to hundreds of thousands of pastors around the world. Our goal has been to bless and encourage God’s appointed shepherds.
I have traveled the world over. I have gone from the lowest slums in the world to the halls of the most powerful world leaders. I can tell you clearly—there is no institution in the world like the church. We are more diverse, more adaptable, more creative, tougher, more committed, more joyful, and more unified than any other religion, nation, or interest group on earth.
We have faults, and they are many. Many. Those faults sometimes mar the beauty. But the faults do not take away from the beauty. They besmirch us. But the stature of our grandeur in Christ is not reduced. In the big picture, the body of Jesus is better than we think. For all the nastiness some of us inflict on others, the body of Christ can be counted on when the chips are down. The body will be there. They genuinely love you.
Taken from Palau: A Life on Fire by Luis Palau. Click here to learn more about this title.
One of the world’s most influential religious leaders, Luis Palau, shares his legacy message and spiritual memoir for the first time. Tracing his faith journey from humble beginnings on the streets of Buenos Aires, Argentina, to sharing the good news with millions and counseling world leaders, Luis’ life is filled with adventure, risk, and faith.
A very personal book with never-before-told stories and a 16-page photo insert, Luis recounts losing his father at an early age and caring for his five siblings and his mother. He shares how as a teenager, he heard Billy Graham speak and decided to follow in his steps. How he was brought to the United States by a faith-filled pastor named Ray Stedman from Palo Alto, California. How he came to find friendship and support from Mr. Graham later in life. And how the Lord Himself has blessed, challenged, and guided Luis and his team into some of the most exciting evangelistic campaigns the world has ever seen.
With each chapter, Luis shares a foundational lesson that influenced his life and will inspire and challenge your faith. Learn about his mother’s indomitable trust in God. Ponder what it means to live fully surrendered to Christ like Luis’ beloved wife, Pat. And when you hear of the quiet heroes who touched and saved Luis’ family, you’ll discover his life message: that the gospel of Jesus is good news shared by humble, even unseen, servants of God.
Palau: A Life on Fire is a deeply spiritual and intimate interview with a man who knows life is drawing to an end, but is only seeing the light grow. This collection of guiding principles from one of the most respected evangelists of our day will spark in you a fiery faith to live out the good news of Jesus Christ.
Luis Palau and his ministry have shared the gospel with more than 1 billion people through evangelistic events and media. He has spoken in person to 30 million people in 75 countries, with more than 1 million registered decisions for Jesus Christ. Luis Palau festivals have produced some of the largest audiences ever recorded in cities from south Florida to South America. His radio broadcasts in both English and Spanish are heard by millions on 3,500 radio outlets in 48 countries. Among other top-tier programs, Luis currently hosts Luis Palau Responde, an international Q&A program in Spanish, and Reaching Your World, a devotional-style program emphasizing biblical wisdom. He has authored close to 50 books, contributed articles on issues of faith to countless publications, and counseled business leaders, political leaders, and heads of state around the world.
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