Colossians 4:16 and Sponsoring Churches

Does Colossians 4:16 establish authority for churches sending to one another in evangelism?

Where can Bible authority for a congregation to send money to another congregation for evangelistic purposes be found?  While there are many, many verses that discuss churches sending funds for benevolent relief the New Testament says nothing about sending to help a church do evangelism.  No verse exists in which Paul implores a church to send funds over to another church because a door is open to that church and just a few shekels would help them save many souls.  In no place is there any reference to a church sending a single cent to another church for evangelism.  There is no command, no example, and nothing that would cause one to infer that Jesus wants congregations to send to one another in evangelism.

Yet all around us we see churches doing just that!  The sponsoring church plan abounds, with larger and more expensive works being promoted every day.  If challenged one passage that may be pressed (or twisted) into service is Colossians 4:16.

Now when this epistle is read among you, see that it is read also in the church of the Laodiceans, and that you likewise read the epistle from Laodicea.” Colossians 4:16, NKJV

  Paul’s simple command to pass along the Colossian letter and read his other epistles (probably the book of Ephesians) is produced to prove that churches can send to one another in evangelism.  The argument is simple: Colossae sent the Scriptures, so a church can today send the Scriptures, and if a church can send the Scriptures it can send the money to buy the Scriptures, or a man to teach the Scriptures.  How we can go from Colossae sending Paul’s letter to the gigantic man-made organizations today that sponsor, plan and produce evangelistic works is hard to figure, but so it is done. What can be said about this use of Colossians 4:16?

There are a number of reasons why Colossians 4:16 simply cannot and will not ever sustain the proposition that a church can send to another in evangelism.  Primarily, it cannot do that because the work of the church or the pattern of the church’s work is simply not in view in the passage. Paul often puts many personal notes at the end of his letters – these reflect his concerns and in no way somehow establish doctrine.  Would Paul’s command for Timothy to bring parchment and a cloak authorize the church to get into the printing or cloak making business?  In the immediate context of Colossians 4 Paul talks of how he sent news to the Colossians by messengers ( 4:7-8).  How about using this verse to establish to authority for the church to be a telegram office?  Does verse 15 authorize the church to get into the greeting card business since it commands greetings?

The attempt to use Colossians 4:16 in this way makes it painfully clear that there isn’t any real Bible authority for sponsoring churches or no one would try to find such in a minor personal note Paul makes at the end of an epistle!

Second, using Colossians 4:16 like this demonstrates a failure to understand how Bible authority is established.

Bible authority is not established just because one finds a verse saying the apostles and early church did X or told a church to do X, Y and Z. If that is how things work then we all need to take the Lord’s Supper in an upper room with lights, because every time it is observed that is how it is done.  Authority is established by taking all of scripture and looking carefully at what the pattern of scripture reveals in its entirety. When we do that we find, for example, that the physical location of the Supper is not important (see John 4:24). In clear contrast, if someone asks me why we take the Supper on Sunday I can begin to draw together many texts to show the importance of the first day of the week (Matt. 28), the example of the early church ( Acts 20:7), proof that the church met on the first day of the week (1 Cor. 16:1-2 ), etc. By a preponderance of the evidence the practice of the NT church regarding when to take the Supper is seen to be important, and thus we deem it part of the NT pattern for worship.

Such cannot be said for the sponsoring church arrangement by any means.  Where is anything that would begin to support the idea that churches sent to one another in evangelism?  Where is the preponderance of evidence?  What passages can be drawn together to find a pattern of churches working together?  The answer of course, is there are none.

For Colossians 4 to provide authority for the sponsoring church one must show that what was done in Col 4 was meant for all churches for all time, was a regular practice, was meant to be imitated and something that we must do today. That will be tough to do out of a passage that is clearly a one time command for one church in one geographical region.  I expect folks will be about as successful with Colossians 4 establishing a command for all churches as the Baptists are at establishing that the thief on the cross shows how anyone can be saved!

Third, Colossians 4:16 won’t establish sponsoring churches because what is really in the verse is just incidental.

Paul mentions greeting the brethren in v. 15, and then as he thinks about it realizes that if they are seeing those brethren and greeting them they can swap epistles and be mutually edified.  That’s it. There’s no churches sending money, no planned work, nothing.  It’s just an incidental note at the end of Colossians. To use this to argue that churches can send money to one another in evangelism is like arguing that a church putting a first aid kit in the elder’s office proves a church can build a hospital, or that visiting in the foyer after services proves the church can build a fellowship hall. It’s just way out of proportion with what’s there to work with. It confuses incidentals with necessary things.

If brethren want the sponsoring church arrangement to be authorized they have a lot of work to do!  They need to find a real verse that teaches the church can send to another in evangelism. How about a place where Paul directs a church to send money over to another church because they need to buy some teaching material or rent a hall or support a preacher ... whoops, no such verse exists, does it? Despite all that is said about sending in benevolence nothing is said about sending money in evangelism.  When will brethren be content with simple New Testament Christianity?