Latest / Eurasia Region Podcast / S2-E3 | Everyday Eurasia |  Antonie Holleman

Transcript

S2-E3 | Everyday Eurasia |  Antonie Holleman · Eurasia Region Podcast

• 0:22
  This first week of Season 2, they'll be joined by the Co
• 0:25
  Regional Education Coordinators for the Eurasia region.
• 0:28
  Today we will join Antoni Holloman.
• 0:30
  Antoni also serves as District Superintendent of the Benelux
• 0:34
  District, which includes Belgium, the Netherlands and
• 0:37
  Luxembourg, and as the Field Strategy Coordinator for the
• 0:40
  Northern Europe Field. At the end of the first chapter
• 0:44
  of Paul's letter to Timothy, he returns to his command to
• 0:48
  Timothy to stay in Ephesus and rebuke the false teachers in the
• 0:54
  church. He writes this command, I trust
• 0:59
  to you, Timothy, my son, in accordance with the prophecies
• 1:04
  previously made concerning you, that by them you fight the good
• 1:10
  fight, keeping faith and a good conscience.
• 1:15
  Later in the letter in chapter 4, he also states, do not
• 1:21
  neglect the spiritual gift within you which was bestowed on
• 1:26
  you through prophetic utterance with the laying on of hands by
• 1:31
  the presbytery. Take pains with these things, be
• 1:35
  absorbed in them so that your progress will be evident to all.
• 1:43
  Pay close attention to yourself and to your teaching.
• 1:47
  Persevere in these things, for as you do this you will ensure
• 1:52
  salvation both for yourself and for those who hear you.
• 2:00
  Probably both descriptions concerning the prophecies made
• 2:04
  concerning Timothy in chapter 1 and the bestow all of the
• 2:09
  spiritual gift through prophetic utterance with laying on of
• 2:12
  hands in chapter 4 both refer to 1 and the same event.
• 2:20
  Apparently there was a moment when Timothy was commissioned in
• 2:25
  a special ceremony with prayer and laying on of hands similar
• 2:31
  to what is described in Acts 13 when the church in Antioch
• 2:36
  prayed and laid their hands upon Paul and Barnabas prior to their
• 2:42
  first missionary journey. Fruitful teaching in and
• 2:49
  teaching for the church is not just a matter of natural
• 2:53
  giftedness and study. There is also a divine element
• 3:00
  involved. Timothy is challenged to not
• 3:06
  neglect the spiritual gift. This is a gift that Timothy
• 3:12
  needs to nurture so that he will make progress within the Church
• 3:19
  of the Nazarene. One of the roles of ordained
• 3:23
  ministry is that of being an educator, a person serving on
• 3:29
  the administrative staff or faculty of one of our Nazarene
• 3:33
  schools. Another role is that of a
• 3:38
  minister of Christian education. This concerns a person who is
• 3:43
  part of a Christian education program at a local church.
• 3:49
  These two roles of ordained ministry show how much we as a
• 3:54
  church value education. Our teachers are not less than
• 4:01
  our pastors, missionaries or evangelists and also a lay
• 4:06
  minister can be placed in the role of a teacher.
• 4:11
  Teaching can be a lifetime calling for which a person can
• 4:17
  be set apart either as ordained or lay minister.
• 4:24
  The conclusion is that within the church, our teachers are
• 4:29
  ministers, be it lay or ordained, and they need to be
• 4:35
  recognized as such. This means that our teachers
• 4:41
  serve the church as much as our pastors.
• 4:46
  They do their work for the well-being of the church and the
• 4:50
  enhancement of the ministry of the church.
• 4:55
  And so from this conclusion, I have three sets of questions.
• 5:02
  First, for our teachers, are you aware of your ministerial role
• 5:10
  within and for the Church? Do you nurture the spiritual
• 5:16
  gift as much as you develop your intellect and your expertise?
• 5:25
  And second, for the Church, do we as a Church value our
• 5:30
  teachers as ministers of the Church?
• 5:33
  Do we install them in their office with the laying on of
• 5:37
  hands and our prayers like we do with our pastors and
• 5:41
  missionaries? And do we lift them up in our
• 5:44
  regular prayers? And 3rd, do we at the local
• 5:50
  church level see the importance of recognizing our teachers for
• 5:55
  children, youth, and adults? Do we invest sufficiently in
• 6:01
  their ministry and do we pray for them regularly?
• 6:06
  Just as Paul encouraged Timothy in his role as teacher and
• 6:09
  preacher in the church, may we also encourage our teachers at
• 6:14
  our theological schools, in our district programs, and in our
• 6:18
  local churches. Lord, we thank you for those who
• 6:22
  feel called to teach. Anoint them with your Spirit.
• 6:28
  Give them the gifts of the Spirit they need to equip the
• 6:33
  Saints for ministry. Amen.
• 6:37
  Thank you for listening to the Everyday Eurasia podcast,
• 6:41
  Inspiring Fate for Everyday. For more Everyday Stories,
• 6:45
  subscribe on this podcast channel, follow our socials,
• 6:48
  Facebook and Instagram, or our newsletter Snapshots.
• 6:51
  For our newsletter and further information about the Eurasia
• 6:55
  region, visit our website, eurasiaregion.org.