Denique Coelum
Member
I ask this because I have, just this minute, been reprimanded by my parents for preaching in the street, unaccompanied. Assuming this was because of some concern for my physical safety, I was about to patiently explain to them that I was standing in the middle of the busy high-street just after noon, with a police car parked not too far off, when they hit me with the statement that it was unscriptural to preach alone, that there should be someone else as a witness. 
:
This revelation has puzzled me to no small degree! I think this doctrine, held by 'The Church with No Name' or the 'Two-by-twos' as they're also known, is derived from the Lord's direction in Luke 10:
"Now after these things the Lord appointed seventy others also, and sent them two and two before his face into every city and place where he himself was about to come." (Luke 10 v 1)
To my understanding, this direction was regarding the limited commission on which the Lord sent the 70, and was not to apply to every preacher from that moment onwards. After all, Philip, Peter and Paul all went alone to preach in various places in the Acts.
The Lord also sent his preachers out without a purse, or scrip or sandals and instructed them to salute no-one on the way. By that reckoning, taking the scripture in its literal sense, my parents should be exhorting me to leave my wallet, rucksack and shoes behind and avoid saying 'Hi' to the postman, as well as bringing someone else along.
It's simply not practical for me to bring someone else with me when I preach. During my periods of unemployment and university breaks, my time is relatively free, so I use it by going into my local town centre and preaching every so often. I have a lot of brethren with whom I walk in happy fellowship, but all of them, without exception I think, have either jobs, or are at school or university. Others would not, understandably, be willing to take up such a public service. So, when the Spirit moves me to preach, I can't expediently bring someone else along with me. When I'm at university, I sometimes stop on my way through the city of Glasgow and preach, as the Spirit prompts me. I don't plan to do so well in advance and arrange for someone to accompany me.
Should I simply not preach, because I'm alone? Should I ignore the promptings of the Holy Spirit and the urgency of the message? Well, I don't want to weight the question, but, as you can see, my feeling is that this is decidedly strange doctrine. Mind you, this is coming from my parents, who, among other things, think that mixed-race marriage is wrong. To quote my father's words, "You don't need a scripture for everything, nature itself teaches you certain things." That, however, is a whole different kettle of fish.
I'd appreciate your prayers, my friends, to keep me from error, help me to be humble, and help me to live with my parents, despite our many differences.
:This revelation has puzzled me to no small degree! I think this doctrine, held by 'The Church with No Name' or the 'Two-by-twos' as they're also known, is derived from the Lord's direction in Luke 10:
"Now after these things the Lord appointed seventy others also, and sent them two and two before his face into every city and place where he himself was about to come." (Luke 10 v 1)
To my understanding, this direction was regarding the limited commission on which the Lord sent the 70, and was not to apply to every preacher from that moment onwards. After all, Philip, Peter and Paul all went alone to preach in various places in the Acts.
The Lord also sent his preachers out without a purse, or scrip or sandals and instructed them to salute no-one on the way. By that reckoning, taking the scripture in its literal sense, my parents should be exhorting me to leave my wallet, rucksack and shoes behind and avoid saying 'Hi' to the postman, as well as bringing someone else along.
It's simply not practical for me to bring someone else with me when I preach. During my periods of unemployment and university breaks, my time is relatively free, so I use it by going into my local town centre and preaching every so often. I have a lot of brethren with whom I walk in happy fellowship, but all of them, without exception I think, have either jobs, or are at school or university. Others would not, understandably, be willing to take up such a public service. So, when the Spirit moves me to preach, I can't expediently bring someone else along with me. When I'm at university, I sometimes stop on my way through the city of Glasgow and preach, as the Spirit prompts me. I don't plan to do so well in advance and arrange for someone to accompany me.
Should I simply not preach, because I'm alone? Should I ignore the promptings of the Holy Spirit and the urgency of the message? Well, I don't want to weight the question, but, as you can see, my feeling is that this is decidedly strange doctrine. Mind you, this is coming from my parents, who, among other things, think that mixed-race marriage is wrong. To quote my father's words, "You don't need a scripture for everything, nature itself teaches you certain things." That, however, is a whole different kettle of fish.
I'd appreciate your prayers, my friends, to keep me from error, help me to be humble, and help me to live with my parents, despite our many differences.
