If there is anything pastors desire more than anything else is that the church in 2026 would imitate the earliest Christian disciples in saying: “We cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard.” (Acts 4:20)

Since the days of Pentecost, actually since the first Easter morning, the disciples and, especially, Peter and John were “fixtures” in the Jerusalem temple. Jesus may have spent most of his ministry in and around Galilee, but the disciples stayed in Jerusalem and specifically in the temple.

The temple was a busy place. The disciples weren’t the only ones coming and going. A lame man, one who would not have been allowed inside the temple due to his status as “unclean” was brought to the temple gate, likely to receive whatever charity others might provide him. What he received from the disciples was a gift of inestimable worth … “In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk!”

But it’s what happens next that is most impressive: Peter and John stand before the same council that had condemned their Savior, and insisted that they must … no matter the circumstance … speak of the name of Jesus the Christ. They were threatened and later punished and still they continued to speak the name of Jesus.

That’s what pastors today are praying for in their congregations: disciples of the Lord Jesus who cannot but speak of the one who is their promise for the future, their joy in life, their hope in the face of sin and death. The first disciples were successful in winning new converts for Christ for the same reason we will be successful in doing so: a commitment to … no matter the circumstance … speak of the name of Jesus.