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FOR PREACHERS ONLY
As I look back over the past seventy-four years, it hardly seems possible that more than fifty-seven of those years have been spent in the ministry. I have been privileged during that time to preach from South Florida to North Pole Alaska, and from the wilds of Northernmost British Columbia to the Northern provinces of India. I wouldn’t trade those years for anything in this world. For a good share of that time I spoke an average of twelve to thirteen times a week, though I’m not preaching that often these days. And now, looking back over the years, I still consider preaching to be one of the most important things I have been privileged to do during my lifetime.
It is my firm conviction that every man called to pastor should make it a top priority to be the best at preaching that he can possibly be. Unfortunately, however, many men will stand in the pulpit this Sunday and fail to deliver an effective, anointed message. Some won’t even be aware of their shortcomings, and some are no longer even interested in trying to improve their speaking ability They’ve reached the point where they’re content to just do what they’ve always done. No preacher should ever be satisfied to be less than his best when it comes to preaching!
A would-be preacher was being questioned at his ordination service and the interrogator
asked him if he knew the Bible?
“Yes Sir, I shore do.”
“Well, what part do you know the best?”
“I am a serious an’ studious preacher of that there New Testament.”
“I see. And what part of the New Testament would you say that you know the best of all?”
“Wal, I reckon I bin knowin’ the story a’ the Good Samaritan the best.”
“Mighty fine. Would you be kind enough to preach a little bit for us on that there story?
“I sho nuff would be privileged to do thet. It all begins wif this here SamariTAN. He wuz goin’ down from Jerusalem to Jericho when all at oncet he fell down amongst a whole passel ‘a thorns. An them thorns done springed up an’ choked him, an’ ‘nen they tuk his gold, frankincense an’ myrrh an’ lef’ him for dead. But after three days, he done rose up, an’ verily he did come forth. An’ he backslid till he’ cum to a tree an’ he got hung up by his har in thet thar tree fer forty days and forty nights. An’ whiles he wuz there, the ravens verily did cum an’ fed him wif locusts an’ wild honey. An’ bout thet time, along cum a gal, name ‘a Dee-lilah, and she tuk a’ pair a’ shears an’ cut off his har; Now this here caused him to fall on stony groun’. An’ she sed to him, “Rise up an’ walk!” Ah’ he done riz up an’ walked till he cum to a wall. An’ Jezebel wuz a sittin’ on thet wall, an’ she mocked him. An’ he shouted, “Thow ‘er down!”, An’ they thowed ‘er down. An’ he said, “Thow ‘er down agin! An’ they thowed ‘er down 70 times 7, an’ verily I say unto you, great wuz the fall thereof. And of the fragments that remained, they done picked up twelve baskets full. An’ the queshun I wants to ask YOU this mornin’ is ---- whose wife she gonna be in the resurrection?”
To be brutally frank, I am amazed at how some people can go to church Sunday after Sunday and endure the poor preaching that they have to listen to! I have to confess there’s no way I could stand to sit there week after week and be thoroughly bored as some poor laymen unquestionably are! They truly amaze me with their enduring dedication to the Lord that brings them back week after week.
The fact is, I doubt that if some of the well meaning fellows who are doing the speaking could stand to sit under their own preaching for very long, if the tables were turned.
Now please understand, I am not down on preachers. I’ve been one myself since 1950. and so many of my closest friends to this very day are, preachers. (or were before i wrote this article!). N1either, am I wanting to sound like I am any great authority on preaching. the Lord knows that I am well aware of my own shortcomings. but, after nearly fifty-five years of preaching and of listening to a multitude of other preachers, I am convinced that there are four reasons why so many of our sermons are deader than a sack-full of hammers.
ONE - In a large number of churches there are pastors who preach on questions that no one in the congregation is asking, nor have any real need to hear. They deal with sterile subjects that do the congregation very little good. The subjects may be theologically correct, and are of obvious interest to the preacher (largely due to the reading material he’s been absorbing at the time) but mostly do very little to train, or teach their congregation about the practical problems and hurts that their people are facing in their everyday lives and the eternal issues that we all need to be continually reminded of.
The sad thing about all this is that in service after service there are people sitting in the church who are hurting and desperately in need of help, understanding, and direction. They are souls seeking answers to their perplexing problems and heartfelt needs, but instead of going home with help and hope, they are forced to leave as empty and as hurting as they were when they first walked inside the church doors. And in many of our churches it’s happening every Sunday, and yet we wonder why so many leave, never to return?
When a man of God stands to preach the Bible, he should be doing all that he can to meet the needs of his congregation from God’s word. Sometimes the occasion will call for giving answers to relevant questions and problems, sometimes it will be to teach and train the people how to perform some necessary spiritual task, while at other times, it will be to deliver a persuasive salvation message. We should make sure that we neglect none of these things; there is no viable excuse for omitting any of them.
TWO - Too, many sermons consist of very little but repetitive reiteration of the obvious and boringly familiar. It’s not that the sermon isn’t about something that’s true, it’s just that it’s a constant repetition of the same old things over and over, things the congregation is already completely familiar with , things they know backwards and forwards. It’s preaching that doesn’t give the congregation anything else of practical spiritual value. Such preaching produces Christians whose growth has been stunted. They may mutter or shout “Amen!” but the truth is their spiritual light and life drained out a long time ago.
That kind of preaching only produces the kind of church that’s described in the following blip: “During a church service a man died of a heart attack while sitting in his pew. Someone called 911. Quickly the emergency team and a hearse arrived to remove the body. Five people were carried out before they got the right one.”
THREE - In some cases every Sunday there’s an ongoing pattern of entertaining the saints with “the gospel”, It consists of mainly preaching salvation messages to a house full of the same people who have been saved for years, and all the while neglecting to feed the sheep on their very own doorstep. THERE MOST ASSUREDLY IS A TIME TO PREACH TO THE LOST, and no preacher should ever minimize an emphasis on the gospel, BUT… THERE ARE OTHER THINGS THAT ALSO NEED TO BE ADDRESSED. In my opinion the real reason so many preach a salvation message practically every time they preach is because they haven’t prayed and sought God enough to find out what He actually wants them to preach. And in many cases the reason is because the preacher himself hasn’t gone any deeper or learned anything new for years. To truly feed the flock you’ve got to have something nourishing to give them, and to do that requires prayer, ongoing study, and effort, often more than some are willing to give. (2 Timothy 2:15)
Now some, unfortunately, go to the other extreme. They apparently think that the church was meant to merely be a theological factory to parade their Greek and Hebrew exegesis in what they’d like to boast is a “deeper life institute for mature believers”. They’d do far better to recall D. L. Moody’s words to all of us preachers: “Always put your cookies on the lowest shelf where they’re within in reach of even the smallest child.”
Though the church is not meant to become a seminary in embryo, neither should it be a soul-winning station only. Scripturally speaking it should endeavor to be a place of real corporate worship, a training station to prepare Christians to go out and take the gospel to a dying world,( Ephesians 4:11-12, Matthew 28:19) and a place where God’s people can find fellowship, strength, and teaching that will enable them to deal with life’s ups and downs. Unfortunately, the God who loves them dearly, and whose Book has the very answers they need, all too often sees them leave His house devoid of what they came hoping to find there.
FOUR - Some refer to the Scripture that says, “Open your mouth and I will fill it.” and so they say, “That’s the real way to preach; just open your mouth and God has promised to fill it with the right words. All that reading and study isn’t necessary.” Men who make statements like that need to stop blaming God for their own inability to come up with something that will really feed their flock! And… by the way, the above Scripture doesn’t refer to filling our mouths with words to preach. Look it up. (Psalm 81:10). Such statements are absolute nonsense!
Nevertheless, over the years I’ve heard some reply to all of this by saying, “It just requires too much time, and study to do all of that. I have too many other things that demand my time. Besides, I’m really not sure I could ever come up with what it would take to find answers that would help meet those people’s needs. We’re all different you know, and I’m just not that kind of studious person. Plus, I’m really too busy with other things to spend all the time that would be required.”
I have only one reply to that rejoinder … HAVE YOU EVER THOUGHT OF GETTING INTO SOME OTHER KIND OF OCCUPATION?
Of course it’s true that a preacher, especially today, has a multitude of duties and responsibilities to shoulder. but it’s also true that “Proper duties never conflict.” Sometimes as pastors we paint ourselves into a corner allowing ourselves to become too busy and instead of delegating,(or eliminating some of the load altogether) we try to involve ourselves in far more things than we should. We fall into the trap of thinking that far too many things must be accomplished right now.
Regrettably, we forget or simply ignore that wise old adage, “All things in their own time” We would do well to remember that so often the shortest way home is the longest way around. Like eating, it should be done only one bite at a time. To try to chew and swallow too much at once can only lead to choking.on which can be fatal.
“Too busy?” When I’m inclined to feel I’m too busy I find myself forced to recall the life and ministry of John Wesley. After his heartwarming conversion at Aldersgate he went across England preaching the gospel. Physically he was unimpressive, standing only five feet four inches tall and weighing less than 130 pounds. But he mastered six languages, and was thoroughly versed in theology, history and literature. With seemingly limitless energy he preached 40,000 sermons, traveled 250,000 miles (mostly on horseback) and wrote 400 books and pamphlets. His audiences sometimes numbered 20,000 which he held spellbound without a public address system of any kind. I wonder what such a man would have been able to accomplish had he lived in our day, and had our modern means of travel to utilize? With radio and television? With our up to date means of printing? And of course with the use of computers and the internet. What if he’d had all these at his disposal instead of a horse, a saddlebag containing his food, his library, a quill pen and a bottle of ink? When I read about men like him it makes me feel like a bicycle in a Mercedes Benz parade.
The least we can do when we preach is to be the very best we can be at what we’re doing.
The ministry is a calling, and one of a minister’s chief duties is to “feed the sheep”, and to “preach the word instant in season, and out of season”. It’s a major part of any pastor’s duties. It should never be belittled or considered of only mediocre importance.
The famous pastor Dr. A.J. Gordon had an unusual dream, one that he said he’d never forget as long as he lived. In his dream he was standing in the pulpit of his church and, as usual, a large crowd was present. It was a Sunday morning and the service was about to begin when a stranger was ushered down the aisle and shown to his seat. The preacher announced the opening hymn and felt strangely drawn to the unknown visitor. The man stood with the others to sing the hymn, but his eyes turned toward the pulpit and there was something in his glance that was overpowering. When he smiled, it was as if his face possessed a captivating and illuminating charm; when he became pensive, it seemed as if a cloud had momentarily passed across the face of the sun. Dr. Gordon tried hard to look elsewhere, but again and again his eyes kept coming back to the stranger. The service continued, until the message was finished and the preacher hurried to get to the door to speak with this compelling stranger. But the stranger was nowhere to be seen. He had quietly slipped away.
When the stranger once again was shown to a seat in the evening service, the minister was delighted and as before a soft light seemed to shine from the eyes of the unknown visitor. Dr. Gordon found himself almost incapable of focusing on the other members of his congregation. When he announced his text he was instinctively aware that the stranger was listening and watching intently. As soon as the service was over, the minister again hurried to the door, but once again he was too late; the visitor had left the building. This time the pastor was unable to disguise his disappointment, and turning to the deacon at the door he said, “Who was that man who just left the church?” The deacon seemed a little surprised and answered, “Dr. Gordon, don’t you know who that was?” The minister replied, “No, I don’t know Him. I saw him this morning and again tonight and I wanted to welcome him to our church, but I missed meeting him both times. Who was he?” The man quietly replied, “Pastor, that was --- Jesus of Nazareth.” And in that one electrifying moment Dr. Gordon said, “Jesus of Nazareth --- in my service – listening to me? “Oh, WHAT did I say?” And then he awakened.
From that day forward Dr. Gordon was never the same, nor did he ever forget his dream! During the following days he continually relived his memorable experience, and for the first time in his life he became acutely aware that Christ was present in every service that he preached and was listening to every sermon. That dream changed Dr. Gordon’s ministry. He became passionate in his preaching and his words stirred an entire continent! Some members of his congregation were amazed and wondered what had happened to their pastor. He was a different man.
And what about the rest of us? Should we not prepare and deliver every message with that same realization in mind? Shouldn’t all our words and service be rendered in the light of that same great awareness? Dare we declare the messages that we preach with any less passion and sensitivity than Dr Gordon exercised in his preaching? May the Lord help us all to prepare our preaching with the prayer, diligence and dedication that our high and holy calling deserves. Preaching is only one of a preacher’s duties, but it should occupy a place as one of the foremost things on his list of priorities. There is no excuse for failing to do it right and do it well.
Posted by cdrnorth at April 8, 2008 11:41 AM