.png){kind=logo}
So far in this series, I have briefly surveyed the different meanings of mission mobilisation in the introductory post and then argued for the crucial thesis that the Triune God is the first and primary mobiliser of the missionary in part one. It is now time to dive into the main body of this theological reflection, focussing specifically on how the early church first mobilised Christians to spread the Gospel. In this post, I thought that I would narrow the focus to one particular case study in the Book of Acts, namely Apollos. Using the example of Apollos, I hope to analyse the different ways he was mobilised and what this can teach us as we seek to raise up new missionaries for the kingdom.
The primary text for this is Acts 18:24-28:
"Now a Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria, came to Ephesus. He was an eloquent man, competent in the Scriptures. He had been instructed in the way of the Lord. And being fervent in spirit, he spoke and taught accurately the things concerning Jesus, though he knew only the baptism of John. He began to speak boldly in the synagogue, but when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him aside and explained to him the way of God more accurately. And when he wished to cross to Achaia, the brothers encouraged him and wrote to the disciples to welcome him. When he arrived, he greatly helped those who through grace had believed, for he powerfully refuted the Jews in public, showing by the Scriptures that the Christ was Jesus."
Context and some conjectures
Firstly, Apollos came from Alexandria, a city renowned in the known world at this time for its wisdom and intellect. This seemed to rub off on Apollos as he was “eloquent” and, as a Jew, “competent in the Scriptures”. Church tradition in Egypt believes that John Mark founded the first church in Alexandria in AD 33, so it is possible that Apollos arrived in Ephesus already having been exposed to Christian teaching and may have already possessed a saving faith in Christ. Alexandria will grow into one of the most important centres for Christianity in the early centuries after the birth of the church, so it stands to reason that it was given a good head start by the apostles. However, despite being “instructed in the way of the Lord” and teaching “accurately the things concerning Jesus”, he “knew only the baptism of John”. Interestingly, in the next chapter of Acts, Paul travels to Ephesus and meets disciples who also were only baptised “into John’s baptism” [Acts 19:3] and needed the completed teaching that what John had prophesied had been fulfilled in Jesus. The half-baked doctrine of Apollos and the disciples of Acts 19 are indicative of the period. As the truth of the Gospel spread through the ancient world, it would take time before it was fully assimilated in the existing Jewish dogma, so it is unsurprising that many early Christians would have incomplete teaching.
Secondly, Apollos travels to Ephesus from Alexandria, where he begins “to speak boldly in the synagogue” and teach “accurately the things concerning Jesus”. Is Apollos an early missionary? He certainly appears to be carrying out a cross-cultural outreach in the vein of Paul and Barnabas. Paul himself in 1 Corinthians waxes lyrical about Apollos’ prowess – he was pivotal in watering the seed of the gospel that Paul had planted in the Corinthian church. Whilst we cannot be certain that Apollos was trained in the Scriptures by his church and then commissioned to spread the gospel to the nations, it is certainly a reasonable claim that he has a clear mission in mind to preach the gospel to the people of Ephesus. Luke does well to emphasise his “being fervent in spirit”, perhaps this is an example of missionary zeal. Furthermore, Apollos sees his work continuing into Achaia, and in the book of Titus Paul expects Apollos to join Titus in Crete.
Discipleship for Mobilisation
The melodic line in this story is Apollos’ need for further discipleship. Despite having a strong passion and a good background in the Scriptures, it was clear that Apollos was lacking in key areas of doctrine. He may have known the things concerning Jesus, but there were more crucial areas of “the way of God” that he did not possess. If he wanted to be an effective missionary to the nations, these gaps in knowledge would need to be plugged. Enter Priscilla and Aquila.
Priscilla and Aquila were already experienced missionaries and travelled frequently with Paul on his journeys. It must have been very interesting hearing this passionate, eloquent man preach boldly in the synagogue, but not quite have all his ducks in a row. Why did they take it upon themselves to teach Apollos the full truth of the Gospel? I think this clearly shows the unified, cooperative spirit that existed in the early church, especially among missionaries. Priscilla and Aquila wanted to ensure that Christ is represented accurately, not just for Apollos’ sake, but for the Lord himself. They clearly saw potential in this budding missionary, and wanted to equip him so that he would be more effective for the Kingdom of God. Here are a few points worth considering:
Even though he was from Alexandria, Apollos was still humble and teachable.
If it is questionable why Priscilla and Aquila decided to take Apollos to one side in order to explain things, it is equally intriguing why Apollos chose to listen. He had been educated amongst the intellectual elite of the world. His qualities were evident to many, and probably to him as well. But rather than dismissing the views of Priscilla and Aquila, Apollos shows humility in accepting this new learning. Perhaps he was already aware of the gaps in his knowledge. But what is clear is that as a new missionary, Apollos knew that he still had to remain teachable, even while on the field.
This encounter speaks to the relationship between the missionary and supporting individuals/agencies.
The community in Alexandria that Apollos came from, whether an established church or not, could not support him directly from Ephesus. But Priscilla and Aquila represent those who come alongside missionaries on the field to supplement the knowledge and training that had been given to Apollos when he was in Alexandria. It is important for mission organisations who have a further-reaching scope globally compared to sending local churches to ensure that they provide auxiliary support to missionaries when on the field.
After their intervention, Apollos was more effective and a powerful ally.
Priscilla and Aquila’s discipleship of Apollos was a way of mobilising Apollos to be a more fruitful missionary. As he began ministering in Achaia, the report from the disciples there (we must assume this is Corinth) was glowing in terms: “he greatly helped those who through grace had believed, for he powerfully refuted the Jews in public, showing by the Scriptures that the Christ was Jesus”. Whereas before there were key omissions in his knowledge, the work of Priscilla and Aquila in Apollos’ life had been effective to complete his training. Now he was not only armed with his eloquent rhetoric to battle with the Jews in Achaia, he also had the full-orbed Gospel to preach. The time take to mobilise Apollos made him a more successful minister for the Kingdom and helped those other brothers and sisters on the field.
Alexandria to Receiving Church…and beyond
Apollos’ time in Ephesus ends with a final coda. As he expressed his desire to cross into Achaia, another group came alongside him so that his passage to Achaia would be a lot smoother. The Christian brothers in Ephesus “encouraged” Apollos and then “wrote to the disciples [in Achaia] to welcome him”. Apollos had likely come from a Christian community in Alexandria, but now in order to be mobilised for his next venture in Achaia, his receiving church in Ephesus attended to him so that he could be sent off well. This mobilisation may not have come in the form of training, but they discipled him through their encouragement. They obviously knew him well enough to be confident of his success in Achaia, otherwise they would not have written a letter of recommendation. Mission organisations and churches in our day must learn from this case study – it is key to assess the missionary not just on the basis of zeal, but on skill, knowledge and readiness. Apollos had evidenced this, first to Priscilla and Aquila, and now to the brothers in Ephesus.
Concluding Remarks
The case of Apollos is a very worthy example of how the early church used their discipling in order to mobilise missionaries for cross-cultural work. Knowledge and training are vital for the missionary, not just to be effective on the field but, more importantly, to represent Christ in the fullest and best way. This example also shows the relationship between the missionary (Apollos), the sending community (Alexandria) and supporting entities that may be other individual missionaries (Priscilla and Aquila) or churches/organisations (the brothers in Ephesus). All of these parties relate to one another and have influence over the missionary’s mobilisation.
In part three, I hope to expand on the key role that this latter group, the church, has in the mobilisation of missionaries.