E is for EVANGELICAL

[This is the MILLERWRITES contribution to the 2012 Blogging A to Z April Challenge  Here is my INTRODUCTION to this particular series, and an opportunity for you to influence which alphabetically aligned weird words I will comment on this month.  THANK YOU for stopping by!]

I think everyone should get 2 points every time they use a 5 syllable word!  E-VAN-GEL-I-CAL.  And make that 5 points if you know what the word means.

This word is not in the Bible, but the noun this adjective describes is found in its pages.  An EVANGELICAL Christian is a Christian doing the work of an evangelist, and this seemingly modern newsy type word is used several times to label various workers in the early Church.

In Ephesians 4:11,12 Paul tells us...
So 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.

This list differentiates between a few of the key component members of the Church.

An apostle was well defined and limited to a small number of people because one of the factors demanded that the person "had seen the Lord".

A prophet is someone who speaks for God.  The idea that a prophet always foretells the future is mistaken.  If a person speaks exactly what God wants him to say, he is a prophet whether there is a predictive element or not.  However, if a 'prophet' does speak of future events, he must prove to be absolutely 100% accurate to be recognized as speaking for God.  A man who claimed to be a prophet, but failed this test was to be stoned.  (This test tended to limit the number of those who might want to play around pretending.)

A pastor is kind of the CEO of a group of believers.  He is called to serve the flock and protect it is as a shepherd does his sheep.  Usually a pastor is also the teacher, but not always.

A teacher in the church, like a prophet, carries a heavy responsibility.  His job is to 'interpret' the scriptures, much like the duties of a professional guide in a museum or a national forest who is called an interpreter.  But the hired data handler in a museum does not work under such a threat as the one Jesus gave in Luke 17:1-3, 

Jesus said to his disciples: “Things that cause people to stumble are bound to come, but woe to anyone through whom they come. 2 It would be better for them to be thrown into the sea with a millstone tied around their neck than to cause one of these little ones to stumble. 3 So watch yourselves.

Should I get to the word of the day now, or keep piling on these bonus words that I could be using later in the month?  Oh well.

An EVANGELIST is a 'publisher of glad tidings'!  He has no official place in the Church.  No singular qualifications, no calling (other than the Great Commission from Mathew 28 that we read under D is for Disciple), and no heavy warnings hanging over his head (until he dares to teach!).

When you inform your friends of a great pizza place, it might be said that you are acting like an EVANGELIST, so please do not resent the approach of someone who wants to share with you, some very glad insight that he has discovered about the forgiveness of his sin, or a newborn eternal hope, or a life changing spring of joy!  These things are even BETTER than PIZZA!

The world could certainly use more publishers of glad tidings, no?  Maybe I should change my blog title to MILLERPUBLISHESGLADTIDINGS!?  Naa.