to remember that “ the work of an evangelist ” is part of the ministry of a Christian pastor . It is very easy for the modern pastor to easily focus on the important duties of serving the church but forget to “ do the work of an evangelist .” There are so many distractions faced by pastors every day that they can forget about the Great Commission .
Sometimes we get so busy working on sermons , reading , studying , and parsing verbs in the original languages that we forget why we ’ re doing it in the first place . Just think about all the things a pastor is responsible for each week : births , deaths , and everything in between . Marriage counseling . Teaching and equipping . Message prep . Deacons meetings . Committee meetings . Meetings with angry people . Meetings with happy people . Visiting the sick . Following up with the guests . Coaching his staff . And we haven ’ t even mentioned praying .
Pastors are some of the busiest people in the world , and the devil has a way of using that busyness to prevent us from focusing on the main thing . We can ’ t let the good distract us from the essential .
These ancillary duties often distract the pastor and turn him into little more than a figurehead who is respected in the community as a professional . However , he cannot ignore his responsibility to be salt and light in a dark world that is desperate for hope . For the pastor to maintain focus , he must create a habitual lifestyle where an evangelistic heart is his primary nature .
Then he won ’ t have to remember to do evangelism ; it ’ ll go from being something he does to the person he is . And when the pastor has become an evangelist , his church will begin emphasizing evangelism as well . The sheep will follow their shepherd .
I learned how to throw a baseball by watching my dad throw a baseball . I also learned how to shoot a basketball , ride a bike , tie my shoes , shave my face , and tie a tie the same way — by watching my dad model them . Come to think of it , that ’ s how I learned how to share the gospel as well . I can ’ t tell you how many living rooms I sat in — never saying a word , just sitting there like a fly on the wall — watching my dad ’ s pattern of navigating the dialogue and fielding the questions and always , always leading the conversation back to Jesus .
I ’ m not sure if it was intentional , but as he exposed me to that environment and gave me a seat at the table while he modeled personal evangelism , he was training me in more ways than one . To this day he ’ s never sat me down and walked me through a stepby-step training guide on how to share my faith ; he didn ’ t have to because I ’ ve had the opportunity to watch him model it my entire life .
Pastors do the same thing when they give an invitation at the end of the sermon . When a pastor walks his congregation through the process of repentance and faith and salvation , he is evangelizing the sinner , but he ’ s also equipping the saint . The sheep
43