Learning Methods of Preaching

Preaching is an Art. Preaching is a Science.  Preaching requires Study.  Preaching is Speaking.  Preaching is God Directed,  Preaching is Holy Spirit directed.  Preaching is your life.  I know delivery is important, but I also believe the message is more important. 

Learning the Word of God is first.  You can’t preach the Word if you do not know the Word.  And you can not know the Word if you do not read the Bible.

And if you don’t learn the Word from those who know the Word better than you then you will only know what you know and that is not a lot.

In my circle of preachers when I first started preaching back in the 1960’s and 70’s and even in to the 80’s preachers i.e. Fundamental Baptist, they wanted you to think they did not need study, and generally you knew they didn’t really study.

And if you did study it would be for Sunday School and certainly not for preaching.  I got that a lot from preachers.  Charles you are a good teacher but a poor preacher. They meant that I had a lot of teaching in my preaching.  Think of that.

And if you used in your study anything other than the KJV, you were not on the right track.

Of course when I started I used my Dad, Charles Spurgeon, and Lee Robertson, and Wayne Martin, Gene Arnold style of preaching, and their notes.  I certainly did not know really how to really study the Bible.  Even went to Seminary, and really didn’t learn how to really study and preach the Word.  Dr. Walker Moore tried to teach us how to speak, which I was the worst in the class.  I did manage to finish second to Bob Smith in preaching in the preachers class in 1967.  But Walker Moore didn’t like the sermon.  And Bob Smith didn’t like all the time I prepared preaching when I was at FBC, he thought I should spend more time Soul Winning.

I even with to Hyles-Anderson college,  to learn the Bible, really!!!  I even tried to learn to preach like Jack Hyles.  Oh my that was a mistake.

Then going to the All Day Ministers Seminary under Bill Gothard, which I really like. He taught the Charles Stanly method of preaching, which was good, but I couldn’t do it.

Preachers just didn’t like to give the idea that they might have to study if they really preached from the Bible. They didn’t want to teach what the Bible said.  They just didn’t think they needed to preach what the Bible said in the passage of scripture they even read.

I remember preaching in the early 70’s sermons when I never read a text in the Bible.  Which is what many Baptist preachers do.

I wonder if Baptist preachers read I books on preaching!!!!

I was totally shocked when I read books on preaching: For example;

1.  Haddon w. Robinson:  The Development and Deliver of Expository Messages; Biblical Preaching.
2. R. Albert Mohler Jr.  He is not silent: Preaching
3. Gordon D. Fee/Douglas Stuart book:  How to read the Bible Book by Book
4. T. David Gordon “Why Johnny Can’t Preach.”
5. Mark Dever’s book:  Preach: Theology Meets Practice.
6. Walter C Kaiser % Moses Silva book:  An Introduction to Biblical Hermeneutics”
7. Walter Kaiser Jr. book :  Toward An Exegetical Theology
8. Kevin. J. Vanhooser’s  “Is There A Meaning in This Text?:
9. Abraham Kuruvilla books  “Privilege the Text?”
10. Jay Adams books on Preaching
11. Steven Lawson’s lectures on Preaching.
12. John MacArthur’s lectures, books, have been #1 resources since 1983. 
13. Martyn Lloyd-Jones outstanding book on preaching
14. Steven Lawson’s lectures at the Master’s Seminary
15. AND TO COUNT ALL THE PAPERS I HAVE READ.

 I still do not know really how to start from the original language.  I have learned that the resources are available to make it possible to learn.  I have learned that there are plenty of helps that can help you learn what the text is saying.   

So in this brief post, just a small view of my experience in preaching.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If We Were To Have A Biblical Christian President in 2016

What would be nice is to be smart enough to know what God knows in this matter. If we follow Biblical principles, we might not be able to vote for anyone. So are we to vote then? Apply principles of who is a Christians is and we might come to the conclusion that none of them are. So does the Bible tell us that we are to vote for a President anyway? Are we to render to Caesar what is Caesar and what is God render to God?

 

Is America a Christian nation?  Would God want a Christian man in the White House?  We do not have a Christian nation, and a Christian President who would govern with Christian Biblical principles would not accomplish those principles.    The Supreme Court would and has overruled many Biblical principles already. 

A few Biblical principles to be put forth by a Biblical Christian President

Sunday would be the Lord’s Day and all activities would have to be scaled back so that all people would attend a Bible Believing, Gospel Preaching, Christ centered, Holy Spirit filling Church. (Amen by the way)

All people would have to give 10% to the Lord’s work. And the other 90% be used for the glory of the Lord.

There could be no divorce, no lying, no cheating, no fooling around by anyone.

All people would have to live by Romans 12:9-21.

There will be no more abortions.

There will be no acts of homosexuality.

There will be prayer at the start of every event by a Christian believer in the government. 

There will be no separation of Church and State, they all will be one.

The Bible would have to be the center of all decisions, with a good theological theologian giving the right interpretation.

Any act or action or decision that is not found to be Biblical would have to be judged by the Supreme Court of Jesus Christ.

The system of any government, nation, state or city, must apply to right principles and not based on lies.

 

So November comes and Trump vs. Clinton are the choice!   Is there a right in please.  But I would vote for Trump before Clinton. 

 

A false religious teacher is more dangerous to the soul of men eternally  than a President who is not a Christian. 

10 Reminders for Preachers

Here are ten reminders for those who preach and teach the Word of God, as articulated by some of history’s greatest preachers.

1. Effective ministry consists not of fads or gimicks, but of faithfully preaching the truth.

Charles Spurgeon: Ah, my dear friends, we want nothing in these times for revival in the world but the simple preaching of the gospel. This is the great battering ram that shall dash down the bulwarks of iniquity. This is the great light that shall scatter the darkness. We need not that men should be adopting new schemes and new plans. We are glad of the agencies and assistances which are continually arising; but after all, the true Jerusalem blade, the sword that can cut to the piercing asunder of the joints and marrow, is preaching the Word of God. We must never neglect it, never despise it. The age in which the pulpit it despised, will be an age in which gospel truth will cease to be honored. . . . God forbid that we should begin to depreciate preaching. Let us still honor it; let us look to it as God’s ordained instrumentality, and we shall yet see in the world a repetition of great wonders wrought by the preaching in the name of Jesus Christ.

Source: Charles Spurgeon, “Preaching! Man’s Privilege and God’s Power,” Sermon (Nov. 25, 1860).

2. Preaching is a far more serious task than most preachers realize.

Richard Baxter: And for myself, as I am ashamed of my dull and careless heart, and of my slow and unprofitable course of life, so, the Lord knows, I am ashamed of every sermon I preach; when I think what I have been speaking of, and who sent me, and that men’s salvation or damnation is so much concerned in it, I am ready to tremble lest God should judge me as a slighter of His truths and the souls of men, and lest in the best sermon I should be guilty of their blood. Me thinks we should not speak a word to men in matters of such consequence without tears, or the greatest earnestness that possibly we can; were not we too much guilty of the sin which we reprove, it would be so.

Source: Richard Baxter, “The Need for Personal Revival.” Cited from Historical Collections Relating to Remarkable Periods of the Success of the Gospel, ed. John Gillies (Kelso: John Rutherfurd, 1845), 147.

3. Faithfulness in the pulpit begins with the pursuit of personal holiness.

Robert Murray M’Cheyne: Take heed to thyself. Your own soul is your first and greatest care. You know a sound body alone can work with power; much more a healthy soul. Keep a clear conscience through the blood of the Lamb. Keep up close communion with God. Study likeness to Him in all things. Read the Bible for your own growth first, then for your people. Expound much; it is through the truth that souls are to be sanctified, not through essays upon the truth.

Source: Robert Murray M’Cheyne, letter dated March 22, 1839, to Rev W.C. Burns, who had been named to take M’Cheyne’s pulpit during the latter’s trip to Palestine. Andrew Bonar, ed, Memoir and Remains of Robert Murray M’Cheyne (Banner of Truth, 1966), 273-74.

4. Powerful preaching flows from powerful prayer.

E.M. Bounds: The real sermon is made in the closet. The man – God’s man – is made in the closet. His life and his profoundest convictions were born in his secret communion with God. The burdened and tearful agony of his spirit, his weightiest and sweetest messages were got when alone with God. Prayer makes the man; prayer makes the preacher; prayer makes the pastor. . . . Every preacher who does not make prayer a mighty factor in his own life and ministry is weak as a factor in God’s work and is powerless to project God’s cause in this world.

Source: E.M. Bounds, Power Through Prayer. From chapter 1, “Men of Prayer Needed.”

5. Passionate preaching starts with one’s passion for Christ

Phillip Brooks: Nothing but fire kindles fire. To know in one’s whole nature what it is to live by Christ; to be His, not our own; to be so occupied with gratitude for what He did for us and for what He continually is to us that His will and His glory shall be the sole desires of our life . . . that is the first necessity of the preacher.

Source: Phillips Brooks, Lectures on Preaching, originally published in 1877. Republished in 1989 by Kregel under the title The Joy of Preaching. As cited in “The Priority of Prayer in Preaching” by James Rosscup, The Masters Seminary Journal, Spring 1991.

6. The preacher is a herald, not an innovator.

R.L. Dabney: The preacher is a herald; his work is heralding the King’s message. . . . Now the herald does not invent his message; he merely transmits and explains it. It is not his to criticize its wisdom or fitness; this belongs to his sovereign alone. On the one hand, . . . he is an intelligent medium of communication with the king’s enemies; he has brains as well as a tongue; and he is expected so to deliver and explain his master’s mind, that the other party shall receive not only the mechanical sounds, but the true meaning of the message. On the other hand, it wholly transcends his office to presume to correct the tenor of the propositions he conveys, by either additions or change. . . . The preacher’s business is to take what is given him in the Scriptures, as it is given to him, and to endeavor to imprint it on the souls of men. All else is God’s work.

Source: R.L. Dabney, Evangelical Eloquence: A Course of Lectures on Preaching (Banner of Truth, 1999; originally published as Sacred Rhetoric, 1870), 36-37.

7. The faithful preacher stays focused on what matters.

G. Campbell Morgan: Nothing is more needed among preachers today than that we should have the courage to shake ourselves free from the thousand and one trivialities in which we are asked to waste our time and strength, and resolutely return to the apostolic ideal which made necessary the office of the diaconate. [We must resolve that] “we will continue steadfastly in prayer, and in the ministry of the Word.”

Source: G. Campbell Morgan, This Was His Faith: The Expository Letters of G. Campbell Morgan, edited by Jill Morgan (Fleming Revell, Westwood, NJ), 1952.

8. The preacher’s task is to make the text come alive for his hearers.

Martyn Lloyd-Jones: As preachers we must not forget this. We are not merely imparters of information. We should tell our people to read certain books themselves and get the information there. The business of preaching is to make such knowledge live. The same applies to lecturers in Colleges. The tragedy is that many lecturers simply dictate notes and the wretched students take them down. That is not the business of a lecturer or a professor. The students can read the books for themselves; the business of the professor is to put that on fire, to enthuse, to stimulate, to enliven. And that is the primary business of preaching. Let us take this to heart. … What we need above everything else today is moving, passionate, powerful preaching. It must be ‘warm’ and it must be ‘earnest’.

Source: D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, “Jonathan Edwards and the Crucial Importance of Revival.” Lecture delivered at the Puritan and Westminster Conference (1976).

9. The preacher is to be Christ-exalting, not self-promoting.

R.B. Kuiper: The minister must always remember that the dignity of his office adheres not in his person but in his office itself. He is not at all important, but his office is extremely important. Therefore he should take his work most seriously without taking himself seriously. He should preach the Word in season and out of season in forgetfulness of self. He should ever have an eye single to the glory of Christ, whom he preaches, and count himself out. It should be his constant aim that Christ, whom he represents, may increase while he himself decreases. Remembering that minister means nothing but servant, he should humbly, yet passionately, serve the Lord Christ and His church.

Source: R.B. Kuiper, The Glorious Body of Christ (Banner of Truth, 1966), 140-42.

10. Faithful preaching requires great personal discipline and sacrifice.

Arthur W. Pink: The great work of the pulpit is to press the authoritative claims of the Creator and Judge of all the earth—to show how short we have come of meeting God’s just requirements, to announce His imperative demand of repentance. . . . It requires a “workman” and not a lazy man—a student and not a slothful one—who studies to “show himself approved unto God” (2 Tim. 9:15) and not one who seeks the applause and the shekels of men.

Source: A. W. Pink, “Preaching False and True,” Online Source.

The Preaching/Teaching of the Scriptures

Irrespective of how incompetent some may think preaching is in our technological, mass media society, regardless of how much more exciting or entertaining or even successful other methods may appear, the most powerful, competent, impelling, impressive and effective way of communicating the gospel of Jesus Christ is still through the method and means God was pleased to choose—preaching

The purpose of the church? To preach/teach the Word of God which transforms lives. “Preach the Word” Paul tells Timothy. And the best way is to teach the Word is to read the Word, explain the Word, apply the Word, this is the responsibility of the preacher/teacher.

 

In His classic work Preaching and Preachers, Martyn Lloyd-Jones wrote,  (kindle fire)

“The most urgent need in the Christian Church today is true preaching; and as it is the greatest and most urgent need in the Church, it is obviously the greatest need in the world also.”Assuredly, Lloyd-Jones did not have drama, entertainment, or pulpit chats in mind when he pressed the need for “true preaching.” In his mind, true preaching was nothing less than the exposition of God’s Word in the power of the Holy Spirit. “What is preaching?” Lloyd-Jones queried:

Logic on fire! Eloquent reason! Are these contradictions? Of course not. Reason concerning this Truth ought to be mightily eloquent, as you see in the case of the Apostle Paul and others. It is theology on fire. And a theology which does not take fire, I maintain, is a defective theology; or at least the man’s understanding of it is defective. Preaching is theology coming through a man who is on fire

Sermon Preparation

 
Preaching is an important part of pastoral ministry, but preparation can be stewarded better with the right kind of help. |

What we say in the pulpit has the ability to transform people’s lives, and lead them to be like Jesus.

In 2010 LifeWay Research found that Protestant pastors devote more time to sermon preparation than anything else they do—and that’s good news.

Only 7% dedicate less than 5 hours a week, which is a smaller number than the 9% who dedicate more than 25 hours per week to sermon preparation.
The preaching of God’s Word matters greatly.
That’s a lot of time out of a pastor’s work-week. With 65% of pastors working at least 50 hours a week, that indicates to us that the average pastor is dedicating a significant amount of time in sermon preparation.

You don’t have to wait until the week before to start listening to the Holy Spirit!

God is just as present in your planning and preparation months in advance as He is “in the moment,” and by getting ahead you give Him time to reveal even more inspiration to you as each Sunday’s topic approaches. Plus, you’ll be able to engage more of your creative staff and volunteers to make each Sunday the best it can be, for God’s glory!

 

God has spoken in Scripture. It is the business of all Christians to seek to understand God’s Word and put it into practice. If this is the case for every believer, then it is certainly true for pastors. Their key task is to teach and apply the message of the Bible for the salvation of the lost and the building up of the people of God. Acts 20:17-41.

Preparation for a Sermon and Notes

Preparation for a Sermon: Romans

The responsibility of the pastor/teacher is this:

To bring the truth to the people of God reveled in the Scripture by explaining it meaning. The meaning of the scripture is the revelation from God. I have no other responsibility in my duty to represent the Lord then to explain to you the meaning of His revelation. God has reveled Himself in one book. We are ministers of this one book. In a sense we are brokers of this one book.  We are to simulated these truths to His people. Both to people who do not know the Lord and those who do know the Lord.

 

I always start out trying to understand the passage that I am in.  Of course I started in Romans 1 and continue chapter by chapter and verse by verses.  And the idea is to explain the text as it is in the text

Well, my favorite word, well.  Since I have preached, taught romans since 2009,  we certainly lose a lot of memory.  And we certainly lose memory of chapter 12 as well. In this paper I thought I would review Romans 12:1-8. Then a more detail study of Romans 12:9-21. Romans 12:9 to 21  Has been on the Christian Behavior. My process of this preparation of this study has been to do a lot of research. What I have done  either by the websites, or books, or papers that I have on Romans and have copied and reworked the material.  When I deliver the lesson, I see the notes and material but most of the time I find myself talking and saying what is not necessary on the paper. This paper has taken a lot of time.  As you see I like to do a lot of different things, like outlines, photos, arrangement of words.  Bold letters, and different fonts are used. 

WHERE DOES PRAYER COME IN IN PREPARATION

So how do I pray in preparation for a sermon? Dwight Haynes Its generally asking the Lord to direct my mind to the right material and resources in preparation for the sermon. Since I know where I am going in my preaching. Romans, Luke and First Peter, I have no problem where to start. Since I know the material that I have been studying, I have no problem there either. I think I pray more for strength, stability, steadfastness, Spirit intervention, soul searching, sanctified mind set going into the study. Seeking to understand the scriptures.

Resources from moving from Exegesis to Exposition

1. Homiletic.

2. Exposition.

3. What the text means.

4. Art.

From

1. Personal preparation.

2. Analyze the Text’s Content.

3. Expose the Text’s Structure.

4. Apprehend the Text’s Intent.

5. Identify the Timeless Truth.

Then a few resources in preparation

1. Bible Versions
2. Interlinear Bible
3. Parallel Bible
4. Commentaries
5. Concordances
6. Dictionaries
7. Encyclopedias
8. Lexicons History
9. Sermon Illustrations
10. Sermon Helps

 

• I used to have over 3000 books while I was in Altoona, Kansas.  When I went to the Shepherd Conference in 1982, 1990 and 1993 I learned that I need to have expositional books.  So I left most of my books in Altoona, at First Baptist Church, and started to get books that I need for study. 

Since the beginning of teaching book by book, I began to buy books that would help me in the process of teaching.  Of course 1982 to 1996 I didn’t have a internet so I was never on the computer.  In those early days, I used tapes that I bought from John MacArthur. and books.

I have sets of books that I have used over the years. I  have not bought any sets since I was at FBC in Altoona KS. 

I started getting the John MacArthur’s commentaries.

Then in 2013-2014 bought one book at a time of D.M. Lloyd-Jones books on Romans

Then when I got my Kindle Fire I started getting books from Amazon.  That has been good to do too. 

Preachers and Preaching

 

 

There is an conspiracy out there that some have stated as truth. Yes, some say that all translations of the Bible are false and are perverted and of the devil.  That is other than the KJV! 

Some say you only need to read the KJV for your sermon preparation.

Even if you are a KJV only bible reading person, we need to understand the text ourselves, then give a right explanation or meaning of the text to our people, and apply the doctrine correctly as the writer had given it to the original people.  

I have found that you have the responsibility to read the text, understanding the text and explain the text. Don’t read more than the text and don’t teach less then the text is saying and don’t skip the text, teaching as if you believe it.

Of course as a Pastor/Teacher, and Expositor of the Bible, we would hope that we are teaching the truth from the Bible and are rightly interpreting the passage of Scripture.

But with that said, there are many views of the interpretation to which we must allow for those views even if we do not agree with? Why? We are not perfect in our interpretation as much as we would like to be.

Years ago a man in the church said “Why are you not giving a good sermon, your preaching is off, you seem tried and unprepared?” I said “You are totally right!. I said “As a Bi-vocational worker and preacher, working 40 to 50 hours a week and four children I am tired.”

Resources from moving from Exegesis to Exposition

1. Homiletic. 2. Exposition. 3. What the text means. 4. Art.

From 1. Personal preparation. 2. Analyze the Text’s Content. 3. Expose the Text’s Structure. 4. Apprehend the Text’s Intent. 5. Identify the Timeless Truth.

Bible Versions Interlinear Bible Parallel Bible Commentaries Concordances Dictionaries Encyclopedias Lexicons History
Sermon Illustrations Sermon Helps

To arrive at a true interpretation of the text and do a right exegesis i.e. critical explanation or interpretation of a text, especially of scripture requires careful study. This requires a word study, a doctrinal study, a historical study of the setting of the text. Far too many sermons never get to the real meaning of the meaning of the passages. You simply are perverting the Bible when you do not interpret the meaning of the text.

When doing exposition preaching you don’t choose your sermon of the week. You take what is next in the text. Sometimes I don’t like that method. You come to the text you are not very good at all doing. Romans 12:13 is coming up this Sunday.

Even if you are a KJV only bible reading preacher, we need to understand the text ourselves, then give a right explanation or meaning of the text to our people, and apply the doctrine correctly as the writer had given it to the original people.

And our sermon needs to be theological correct based on passages of scripture in its context. We are not to make the passage say what it does not say. And that happens a lot.

Just How Well Do We Know How To Prepare a Sermon

THE PRACTICE OF HOMILETICS.

1. Homiletics (Gr. homiletikos, from homilos, to assemble together), in theology, is the application of the general principles of rhetoric to the specific department of public preaching. The one who practices or studies homiletics is called a homilist.
2. homiletics comprises the study of the composition and delivery of a sermon or other religious discourse. It includes all forms of preaching, viz., the sermon,
3. It may be further defined as the study of the analysis, classification, preparation, composition and delivery of sermons.

Preaching requires an understanding of oratory: Augustine explains his homiletics in Book IV of DDC. He describes it practically in relation to the classical theory of oratory, which has five parts:

1. The choice of the subject and decisions of the order (inventio)
2. The structure of the oration: (dispositio)
3. The arrangement of words and figure of speech elocutio)
4. Learning by heart (memoria)
5. The delivery (pronuntiatio)

He constructed this theory in four parts:

1. the basic principles of rhetoric
2. a study on the rhetoric of Scriptural texts
3. n analysis of styles and
4. some peculiar rules of rhetoric for sermons ).

Three styles of sermons

1. (genera tenue / docere [to teach];
2. genera medium / delectare [to amuse];
3. genera grande / flectere [to ersuade]),

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homiletics

Augustine stresses the importance of principle and discipline at the same time.

1. Preachers need to practice again and again so that they can use these styles in any situation of preaching .
2. But they should pay attention to the priority of order.
3. Continuous and diligent study of the Bible is more important than mere memorization, that is to say, they should pursue wisdom more than knowledge
4. The best is the combination of wisdom and eloquence as seen in the Pauline letters and prophetic writings
5. Yet, he does not praise eloquence itself; rather he prefers a concrete proclamation than a showing off of rhetorical technique

 

1. It is truth, not rhetoric, that preachers try to deliver

What is Rhetoric

1. A body of rules which serve in order to produce texts ‘according to the rules of art’ (either written or spoken)

Purpose of Rhetoric
The purpose of rhetoric is to

1. persuade:
2. intellectually (docere) and
3. emotionally (delectare, movere).

 

1. DOCERE: using LOGOS (appeal to reason)
2. DELECTARE: using ETHOS (appeal to character)
3. MOVERE: using PATHOS (appeal to emotion)

Structure
A speech, according to the classical pattern, has four parts:

1.EXORDIUM (prooimion, introduction, Einleitung)
2.NARRATIO (diegesis , narration, Erzählung)
3.ARGUMENTATIO (pistis, argument, Beweis)
4.PERORATIO (epilogos, conclusion, Schluß)

 

 

Pastor Burnout?

 

 

Winston Hall posted this article and I have post it here.

Years ago I  (Charles) went to the All Day Minsters Conference with Bill Gothard and one of the sessions was on Pastor’s Burnout and how to avoided it. And I did hear a lot.  And I will say that the time I was out of full time as it is called ministry, that is not working in a church on the staff, was not all that great or restful. Nevertheless.

Pastors Need ‘Season of Zechariah’

Several years ago I stumbled upon a term used by Will Willimon that pertained to clergy burnout — only he called it “brownout.” I instinctively knew what he meant when I read it. .
The brownout phenomenon is an increasing problem in ministry and one that, quite frankly, I faced for the first time this past year. My ministry is non-traditional in nature. I am a full-time seminary professor and administrator by day. That role in itself keeps me terribly busy. It is, in fact, the ministry to which God has called me. My ministry now is to ministers and I take that role quite seriously. But that is not all that I do.
As crazy as it might seem, I still have a curious and strange love affair with the church. So I also serve the church in many ways – primarily as an interim pastor. Recently, I concluded a three-year interim which is hands-down the longest of my career. Near the end of that experience, I realized how tired I was.
The past year has been one of stress, activity’ travel, and one that drained me of every drop of energy I owned. I wasn’t in burnout — a dangerous and often deadly vocational state — but I was in serious brownout. I was near the point of utter exhaustion and I needed to slowdown.
So I’ did just that. I slowed down. I practiced what I have been preaching to ministers for years now. I placed myself in a self-imposed state of sabbatical. I have turned down numerous preaching opportunities, I have informed two churches that I am not ready to take on another interim yet, and most importantly, I have taken the time necessary to rest and heal from my service to the church. It has taken me almost two months to feel that my insides are untangling and that I can truly breathe again.
I have referred to this time as the “season of Zechariah” for me. Zechariah was the father of John the Baptist and when the old priest learned that his wife Elizabeth was with child, he did not believe the message of the angel. Consequently, he lost his voice until the rambunctious baby was born. The season of silence was important, I think, for when the time came, Zechariah was free to praise God for his wondrous acts.
The writer of Ecclesiastes also reminds us that there is “a time to keep silent and a time to speak” (3:7) And we all know that one of God’s most sacred commandments is to keep Sabbath in our lives, I know very few ministers who are allowed Sabbath — a rest or a break from the routines of service.
I am ready to speak again. I’ve needed the distance to teach me some lessons about the value of words and the value of silence. It has been a productive and fruitful time of “nothingness.” Don’t be misled. This season of “nothingness” has been a remarkable time of growth and nourishment for me. I think I have learned more in silence than all the years of accumulating words could offer.
I am now in a stronger position than ever to advocate on behalf of pastors who desperately need time away to heal and rest from their labors. Some churches allow a sabbatical. Others mandate days off for their ministers. Most, sadly, don’t really care, and treat the minister like an hourly wage employee.
Ministry is one of the most stressful and demanding callings to which a person gives his/her life. The perks are few and the stress and aggravation are incalculable.
I am grateful for the days of Zechariah that I’ve enjoyed (and will continue to for a few more weeks) but I also pray that many other ministers will be granted that same grace and consideration. They need it. Their families need it. And God knows, the church needs it. The church needs ministers who have been given time to rest and given time to renew the energy and the passion needed to serve in this wonderful Kingdom. I pray that for my minister friends such a gift comes sooner than later.
– by Dr. Danny West,
Executive Director of the Doctor of Ministry Program
and Associate Professor of Preaching and Pastoral Studies at the M. Christopher White School of Divinity, Gardner-Webb University, Boiling Springs, NC.

Preachers, Preaching, Professional

A local church has an open for a preacher (who is a lawyer) who will come and serve the members of the church, by preaching sermons, by visiting the sick, by counseling the depressed, speak in the Health Care Home, keep the lawn at the church looking nice, and a little landscaping would feather your changes. And oh, we can’t pay you a thing, do it because you are called to be a preacher and not as a profession.

 

A man trying to find a church for the first time, arrived while the pastor was preaching. “Is the service over?” he asked. The usher at the door replied, “Yes, but the preacher doesn’t know it yet.” As evangelistic preachers we don’t need to stop preaching, but we do need to know when to stop sermons. (quote)

Reading John Pipers book: “Brothers, We Are Not Professionals”. Which I have only read the introduction. I have grown up with this idea that preachers are the poorest of the poorest, and the uneducated of the uneducated. And they don’t deserve to receive any monies for their work because they are called by God. For many years I thought the same way. . I thought when I went into ministry that would be my sole support of living. I thought that as a pastor of a church that the church would want to support our family. Charity and I have been glad that we have had some good people in our churches who were glad to take care of the needs the Whisnant family.

Being reading John Pipers book: Brothers, We Are Not Professionals”. Which I have only read the introduction. I have grown up with this idea that preachers are the poorest of the poorest, and the uneducated of the uneducated. And they don’t deserve to receive any monies for their serves because they are called by God to be this way. And many years in ministry I felt that way myself. I thought when I went into ministry that would be my sole support of living. I thought that as a pastor of a church that the church would want to support our family. But the mind set of so many people in some areas is that the preacher should not get paid and he should just figure out how he is to support his family. In my opinion that is just wrong.

iverting The Lord’s Heralds
The work of a preacher is short and simple in its description, but large and vital in its scope. Men seen to become dissatisfied with God’s simple work and have devised many other roles and works for their “preachers.”

By this device, Satan delays, distracts and diverts the important work of Kingdom works His heralds into a thousand channels. As churches have expanded their work and mission beyond what the Lord gave, they have expanded the “job description” a preacher.

We are told preachers are to be pastors or “shepherds” and counselors busy visiting, overseeing and guiding “the flock.” We are told preachers are to be deacons, caretakers and superintendents managing and supervising the church building and facilities.

But a gospel preacher is not a “pastor,” shepherd, elder or counselor. A pastor is a shepherd, the office of an elder, bishop or overseer. This is a different worker for the Lord with a different work.

A pastor’s work is to shepherd and oversee the flock, watching for their souls (Acts 20: 17, 28; Heb. 13:17). A preacher appoints men qualified to do the work of a shepherd, but he does not do their work, as he has sufficient of his own (Act 14:23, 21-25; Tit. 1:5-9; 1 Tim. 3:1-7).