Preaching out of season
Tuesday, November 25, 2008 at 2:29PM 
When I told my friend that I was going to take a D.Min. in preaching, he responded via chat with a symbol I've never forgotten. "Isn't preaching sort of 
?" He believed, as many do, that preaching has seen better days, and is like flowers in a vase that should have been thrown out last week.
I get why. There really isn't as much good preaching out there as one would like. A lot of it is therapeutic and moralistic, like a Christian version of Anthony Robbins. It's even easy to doubt the usefulness of good preaching, preaching that is rooted in Scripture and is gospel-centered. There's not much of that preaching out there, and can we really expect this type of preaching to make a difference? I hear people talk about preachers in less than flattering terms, and they're not atheists. They are good churchgoing people.
I thought of this as I studied Ephesians last week as I prepared to (gulp) preach: "And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers..." (Ephesians 4:11). Paul has been talking in Ephesians 4 about Jesus as a victorious king who has taken the place of victory, and has given gifts to his people from the plunder. What does the risen Christ give the church after plundering Satan? Christian leaders. Not just Christian leaders, but leaders who have one thing in common: they are teachers. They all have some role in unpacking what God has done through Christ, of teaching and communicating the good news.
If we are honest, I think a lot of us would say we had hoped for something else from the plunder. If Christ is going to go to all the trouble of defeating Satan, and if he wants to give gifts from that plunder to the church, couldn't he have chosen something else?
But that's what Jesus has chosen to give. Leaders who teach God's Words are gifts from Jesus to his people, won at great cost at the cross.
If that doesn't elevate the importance of teaching and preaching in the church, I don't know what does. And that doesn't make me proud either. I read that and realize my inadequacy to be a teacher of God's Word. Who is worthy to take this on?
Ed Stetzer wrote today that he is hearing "more and more about the importance of the local church (thank God)." I hope we'll soon hear more and more about the importance of solid teaching and preaching too. But even if we don't, it's still important to value preaching, and if you're a preacher/teacher, to preach even when it's out of season.
I have this quote from John Stott hanging above my desk:
I pray earnestly that God will raise up today a new generation of Christian apologists or Christian communicators, who will combine an absolute loyalty to the biblical gospel and an unwavering confidence in the power of the Spirit with a deep and sensitive understanding of the contemporary alternatives to the gospel; who will relate the one to the other with freshness, authority, and relevance; and who will use their minds to reach other minds for Christ.
Not a bad prayer to pray, even if preaching is still out of season.
Reader Comments (15)
Isn't it a striking thing that in the very passage you quote, Paul has told Timothy that there are people who will not tolerate sound doctrine but will gather around themselves people who will give them what their itching ears want to hear. Given that they do not want what is sound what should Timothy do? Preach the word! In other words, the very fact that people do not want it is reason to keep on doing it. How great is it that God never needs us to be able to see how things work in order for us to obey Him. Preaching is miraculous stuff. God uses it to convert and convict and sanctify. Wow.
daryl, what comes out of this for me is a series of questions about the particular cultural lens thru which we see this event and passage. What is gained... and what is lost.. by using the lens of leadership here? Why not simply acknowledge that teachers are a gift to the people of God, themselves a lens thru which we view God, his world and his work? Curious how you would answer this :)
Hey Len, It seems that Paul's identified some specific roles within the body, and that these roles influence everyone else. So it seems to be some type of leadership role. Wish I could think of a better word. I'll concede that leadership isn't always a useful term today because of all the cultural baggage, e.g. Hybels, CEOs, etc. I don't think the fivefold ministry idea makes the best sense of this passage, but I could be wrong. It's happened before. I'd be okay with saying that God has given apostles, prophets, evangelists (which I think is probably about church planters), and pastors/teachers as a gift to the people of God, who are supposed to prepare God's people to carry out their ministry. Does that make any sense?
I've always loved the equipping frame. It's a great word. And you know, I still use the "L" word also. But I do wonder at its utility; I think it distorts as much as it illumines. I don't make the instant connection to "influence".. a sperm donor has influence.. but is he a leader? We all have influence, and in that frame we are all leaders. Is that what this passage is about? Heh.. yeh, I'm just contrary today. peace my friend
Maybe the problem is not so much the "L" word, but the exclusivity of it. Why is it that we think that even though "God has given apostles, prophets, evangelists, and pastors/teachers" that there is only a single "leader" in a given body of believers? Those words are all in the plural, and I can't find any single-teacher churches in the New Testament that are not start-ups. I have a difficult time understanding how a single person could teach or preach all the time and maintain any personal perspective in his walk with Christ. I also have a hard time believing that in any given body of believers there is only one spiritually gifted teacher. And if there are more, we should listen to more of them more often. This would probably help solve a lot of the "leadership" ego issues as well. Paul specifically directed Timothy within the body in which he was working that "The things which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, entrust these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also." II Timothy 2:2. If one is the only teacher/preacher in a body of believers, I would say a core part of his role would be to identify others to teach and preach, and help them develop those gifts. The question we too often don't like to ask is "who would preach if I were gone." Maybe even more productively we need to ask "who else can preach while I'm here." Acts 13:1 might be worth a look in that regard as well. We not only need teachers, but we ALL need to be taught. As an aside, I think the problem with the word "leader" itself is that it implies "decision maker" when in reality, I suspect "guide" might be more commensurate with the concept of a shepherd. One thing I have learned painfully over the course of my life is that I can't make people's decisions about God for them. All I can do is tell them what's true, and let God lead.
Excellent comments. Jeremy: I think you've hit on a key issue. Very good stuff.
I think I would go with the word "example" more than "guide" although I agree that guide works better when thinking in terms of shepherding. We should not forget though that shepherding sometimes included knocking sheep on the head.
Ian: You may have found our topic for the next theology pub. :)
Just read Trueman's article. Let's go there for the next conflab.
I'm a genius. But only if this gets Ken out to down a dram or two with us.
Ah Ian. It takes much less than a genius to get me dramming. In fact, it could prove you are just the opposite :o. But I'll see you there.
Sweet!
You pastors are all drunks I can see lol
I have this sneaking suspicion that it might have been me that sent that IM message.
Indeed, it was you, LT!