Watch the graduation ceremonies at any Christian university. The parade of students includes future doctors, nurses, teachers, missionaries, and youth ministers.
But one category is vacate. No one wants to preach any longer.
Once the primary field of those studying Bible, preaching has fallen on hard times. Many theories abound.
- There’s no money in it.
- It’s outdated and antiquated.
- It doesn’t “feel” as good as missions or youth ministry.
While there’s a subjective measure of truth to all the reasons advanced, two tend to be ignored. The first is the topic of this post.
To become a preacher, you have to have respectable models of the profession.
At one time, the preacher was the most educated man in town. He served as the conscience of a community, the locomotive of all that was good, and the most-admired man around.
The damage to preaching reputation came from many sources. The wolf-in-sheep-clothing televangelist in late 20th century unjustly caricatured all preachers. A younger generations saw through the “fleece for profit” mentality and quickly dismissed both the preacher and his craft.
But another source is a closer to my heart. I grew up in two distinct churches. During my elementary years, we attend a small church of 100. The preacher’s office had a revolving door. In 8 years, we went through four preachers. One left under the unashamed cloak of adultery. Another sat on the parsonage steps and strummed a guitar. His sermons came not from study by a poorly written sermon outline book. The preaching was thin and the preachers more forgettable than the sermons.
When I was twelve, we moved to a larger, growing church. The preacher, Robert Oglesby had order to his sermons. They made sense. In addition, he worked hard and displayed competence both in and of the pulpit. He cared for people, cared for the future of the church, and cared about the preaching.
The contrast was not lost on a young man who was asking the question, “what do I want to be when I grow up?”
If you are a preacher, you are affecting the future of preaching.
Work at your sermons. Learn to outline, illustrate, and make the text come alive. Don’t fool yourself. Everyone (even the 8 year old boy) knows when you are resting on old material.
Work on your attitude. Really care for the church. I meet my share of “I’m here to tell off the church” types. Their messages are dismissed far before the final “amen.” Love the church. Preach to improve not to pummel into submission. Don’t tell people off or “straighten them out.” Help them improve.
Work on your lifestyle. Work hard. Put in the hours, Be balance in both preaching and work. Be humble and stay a learner. Have a love for the work and a love for the people that says, “I’m proud of what I do.” No one can belittle a man who believes what he is doing is of eternal value.
I’ve been blessed to know great preachers in my life. I’m also saddened to know inadequate preachers in my life. Thankfully, I crossed paths with someone I could respect at the right time in my life.
Don’t wring your hands over the empty pulpit. Be the mold into which other men will pour their lives.