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By Dave DeVoll Editor-in-Chief
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“. . . and what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also,” 2 Timothy 2:2.
This verse reminds me of two things: relay racing and preaching/teaching. First the relay racing: There are four runners to a team and a baton to be passed from runner to runner and carried to the winning line. Each runner must hand off the baton to the next runner within a certain zone, usually marked by triangles on the track. In some relays, runners use what is called a "blind handoff,” where the second runner stands on a spot pre-determined in practice and starts running when the first runner hits a visual mark on the track. The second runner opens a hand after a few strides, having caught up with the first. Usually a runner will call out an auditory signal when ready to pass the baton, repeating it several times. The recipient of the baton is to put out his hand, and if one runner drops the baton, the entire team may be disqualified. So it is imperative that the team really operates as a team.
The second thing this verse brings to my mind is the theme for this issue. Recent events in the life of the church of God in the area where I have served most recently remind me of the importance of passing the truths we love to the generations following. A good number of pastors have retired in the past two or three years. In just a matter of months both Bro. Wayne Burch (a former editor of Reformation Witness, precursor to Truth Matters) and Bro. Bill Neece, one of the elder statesmen in the Church of God Reformation Movement, have gone to be with the Lord. Those retired will be missed by their congregations, and those who are in eternity will be missed by the church at large.
It is a Biblical mandate in our text that we entrust what we have received to faithful ministers who will “be able to teach others.” It is not enough that we teach the truth, we must teach it to those who are capable of teaching others. Not everyone who hears us, or even receives what we teach, has the ability to teach others. That takes a divine call.
If you notice the runners in relay races who pass on the baton never look backwards. They are confident that the next runner will be where he is supposed to be and will receive the baton and carry it even farther towards the goal. He who receives the baton does not go back to the beginning and start over again—he runs over new ground. So it is with each generation who receives the truth.
It must carry the message into new territory, so let us not hinder them by expecting them to “cover the same ground” we have covered. They must receive the truth from our hands, but be allowed to carry it in a way that their generation can receive it without looking backwards.
The theme impressed itself on me when, after serving in full time ministry in the church of God nearly continuously since 1973, I recently retired from pastoral service. I have been doing what ministers have been doing for as long as there have been ministers reaching retirement—asking myself, “Have I made a difference? Will my efforts have accomplished anything of lasting value? Will there be anything of my ministry after I have died and been buried?” The only way I can see is if I have been able to pass the truth I have received to younger ministers who will, in turn, pass it on to those following them.
This issue, then, speaks to passing on the truth, much as these racers pass on the baton to others to finish the race successfully. The church will win the race only if we successfully pass on the truth to those who can, in turn, pass it on to others. Many of the articles are written by ministerial candidates who are preparing for ordination in the church of God. They have received the truth and are preparing to pass it on to others. Some of the articles are written by ordained ministers, sharing with us some truths that need passed on, or ways in which we may effectively pass on the truth—because Truth Matters.
The pillar of fire by night along with the pillar of the cloud by day dwelt continually upon the Tabernacle in the wilderness, and when the pillar moved, the priests with their households packed the Tabernacle and the Ark of the Covenant. The priests, bearing the Ark with the rest of the tabernacle furniture, preceded the children of God as they followed the pillar of fire and the cloud. The Word and the Spirit were prefigured in the pillar of fire and the pillar of the cloud. God’s Word and Spirit still go before God’s people when they carry the eternal truth to the next location or into the next generation. Who are the priests today? Rev. 1:5-6, “. . . Jesus Christ . . . washed us from our sins in his own blood, And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father . . . .” It is our duty to bear the truth faithfully to the next generation. --Richard M. Bradley
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