While in college, those of us who were students in the school of ministry were taught a lot about preaching. Matter of fact, we had two classes dedicated to the skill formation and the art of delivering sermons. These classes covered almost every possible aspect of how to organize a message, how to practice good exegesis (preaching what the scripture actually says), discovering homiletical ideas, developing outlines, manuscripts, voice fluctuation, eye contact, hand motions and even what color ties to wear or not wear.
Whew...as I look back on it now I used to stress out a lot about sermons. Don't get me wrong, I am not saying that I take the responsibility of delivering the word of God to the people of God less serious now than in the past. Quite the contrary. Every time I prepare to stand before God's people to preach the word I feel the weight of that burden, especially in light of the fact that in America, we have a Church that is increasingly gospel ignorant and scripturally illiterate. The task of preaching should never be taken lightly or treated half-heartedly.
However, having said all of that, let me say that preaching is now one of the least complicated things that I do. Unlike when I was still a student at EC, I no longer stress as much about developing outlines and delivering sermons but now I find myself stressing about people. I now realize more than ever that preaching is a very, very small part of ministry. Preparing sermons gets easier; shepherding God's people is not always so easy. Moving people's emotions with passionate messages is something that can be learned (by both the godly and the ungodly), but consistently shepherding people with the compassion of Christ takes love, patience, and the call of God.
Nevertheless, many people think of a pulpit when they think of ministry. This is one of the big reasons that most churches practice the concept of "Church" being a Sunday morning or Wednesday night event rather than teaching the people of God to be the Church. Doing Church versus being the Church will be another blog for a later time. That should be a fun one.
So, as much as I appreciate and respect delivering messages from the pulpit, here are 3 things that the "pulpit ministry" does not accomplish:
- Doesn't sufficiently "feed people"- and its not supposed to! Where did people ever get the idea that two or three sermons a week at church meetings were supposed to spiritually feed them? Maybe that is one reason why many Christians are spiritually anorexic. Also, I'm pretty sure that shepherds don't feed sheep, shepherds lead sheep to greener pastures where they can feed themselves.
- Doesn't foster in-depth discipleship: true discipleship and sustained spiritual transformation happens best through one-on-one relationships and small groups. John Wesley proved this through his small-group philosophy which characterized the early Methodist movement. Radical discipleship happens within intimate community (Acts 2:44-47) and happens very little while sitting in rows listening to messages.
- Doesn't mentor young believers or develop the next generation of leaders: We must stop doing everything by accident in the body of Christ! We must begin to be intentional. Mentoring happens much like the process of discipleship-through intimate relationships and life-on-life investment. Effectively developing young leaders doesn't happen accidentally as they just happen to grab a few good points from an inspiring sermon here or there. No, it happens as an intentional process outside the church building and beyond the Sunday morning program.
Powerfully said. God called me to preach 37 years ago next February. I feel His pleasure when I preach. I preach with a love for God, His Word, and His people with the goal of bringing God and His people together in His Word. Yet, I must confess I often feel my preaching is more for my benefit than anyone else. With you I find the hard parts of relational discipleship the most challenging and most rewarding of ministry. However, preach we must. Wesley's small groups were created to preserve the fruit of his powerful evangelistic preaching. It is the gospel proclaimed that is the hope and judgment of the world, the well-spring of true discipleship.
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