Scattered Preachers

As a church, the most valuable asset we have, by far, is our people. It’s not this building, with beautiful stained glass. It’s not the newly renovated education space, hopefully ready this month. It’s not our collective financial generosity that raised more than $5 million in two years. It’s our people.

And so it was with both joy and sadness that we sent Pastor Josh out at the end of May, to plant a new church in NE Minneapolis; and Pastor Kenny, last Sunday, to plant in Orlando, FL. And today Pastor Joe preaches his last sermon, and in a month, we’ll say goodbye to the Rigneys as they go to strengthen an existing work in Idaho.

Recently, at one of our pastors meetings — to steady our souls in such a season of joy and sadness — we reflected together on Acts 8:4, after the stoning of Stephen, when a great persecution arose against the church in Jerusalem:

“Now those who were scattered went about preaching the word.”

Then Luke tells us the stories of those scattered preachers in the next four chapters.

First, Philip goes north to the city of Samaria, where he preaches, and they believe and are baptized (8:5–25). Then he heads south, toward Gaza, and explains the gospel to the Ethiopian eunuch, and the gospel goes further south, and west, with him into Africa.

Then, Saul, who approved of Stephen’s stoning, is amazingly converted on the road to Damascus. So he goes northeast, as a Christian, and preaches boldly.

Third comes Peter. He goes northwest, to Lydda, then Joppa, preaching, and sees a vision which leads to the huge breakthrough of the gospel going to the Gentiles without Jewish cultural baggage.

So, Philip, Paul, and Peter — scattered preachers — and then Acts 11:19 gives us this update: 

“Now those who were scattered because of the persecution that arose over Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia and Cyprus and Antioch, speaking the word to no one except Jews. 20 But there were some of them, men of Cyprus and Cyrene, who on coming to Antioch spoke to the Hellenists also, preaching the Lord Jesus. 21 And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number who believed turned to the Lord. 22 The report of this came to the ears of the church in Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch.”

And of course Antioch soon becomes the great missionary-sending church, commissioning Paul and Barnabas to the nations.

So, as pastors, we recently pondered several rays of gospel hope for our season of scattering as a team, sad as the parting can be — and one ray in particular concerns our Sunday gathering. Here’s how I captured it:

“Not only in our history as Christians, but we at Cities Church are accustomed to scattering for gospel advance. We rehearse this every Sunday when we say, ‘We have been the church gathered in worship; we are now the church scattered on mission.’”

As we disperse across these Twin Cities every week, we ready ourselves for the times when our scattering will be longer term. That is, if we really do scatter, as we say, “on mission.”

The exhortation this morning is this: let’s scatter like the church in Act 8:4, they “went about preaching the word.” They didn’t just meet new people and build relationships and hand out cups of water (valuable as that might be when done in Jesus’s name). They went about speaking. They opened their mouths about Jesus. They went about spreading his message.

And summer is a really good time for this, especially in Minnesota. Let’s pray.

Father, as we scatter, not just to Florida and Idaho but across these Twin Cities each week, we want to go about speaking the word. Put the name of Jesus on our lips. Give us the love and courage to commend him to unbelieving ears. Give us fresh opportunities to witness to his work and worth in our lives. Make us a people who not only do good but tell the good news — the very good news which reminds of our need, and invites us in grace, to confess our sins in the quiet of this moment…

Father, thank you for Jesus. Thank you that you appointed someone to tell us about him, and gave us faith to believe. And that you choose to use sinners like us, in the process of our own salvation, to be your means to speak the gospel to other sinners. 

Father, make us a speaking people as we scatter. Make us a speaking people especially this summer. Open our ears to listen well, and know what and when to speak. And loose our tongues to testify to our Savior. In Jesus’s name we pray, and speak. Amen.