This is an excerpt from Michael Eaton's remarkable essay entitled, "Expository Preaching", which features in Greg Haslam's "Preach the Word". This is a 623 page gem of essays by 20 well-known contemporary British preachers, and is a "must-have" for any preacher or preacher-to-be...'"For anyone embarking upon Christian ministry, the first step is to ask, "What kind of ministry do I have?" and to structure his or her day accordingly. The preacher, having answered this first question, must then ask a second question: "What sort of preacher is God calling me to be?".
In order to answer this question, the individual must think very carefully about who he is as a person. Am I the kind of person who could happily sit at a desk for two or three hours a day, or does the thought fill me with horror? Or am I much more the type of person who loves being with people, pastoring and counselling them, and serving them in their day-to-day needs? We are all different with different God-given gifts. While we need to be careful that our gifts do not become our weaknesses (for every gift if used lopsidedly becomes a weakness), yet I believe we have to follow our gifts. I have never known two pastors that are alike. I have never known two men with an apostolic ministry that are alike. I have never known two people with any kind of prophetic ministry that are alike. Every single one of us is different, and we are each at our best when we are being ourselves.
I don't think every pastor has to be a great Bible expositor. Some people are not made for it. We each have to decide what sort of person we are, what our gifts are and what our desires are - since the Lord gives to us the desires of our heart. Our answers to these questions will help us decide how much time per day and per week we ought to be giving to preparation for preaching, and it will be different for each one of us. For myself there is scarcely ever a day when I don't preach and therefore I have given myself plenty of time to be involved in the Word of God.
We also need to consider what is a realistic level for us in our preaching. Not everyone is an original thinker who wants to spend hours delving into the Scriptures. Some people are content to rely on material that others have presented, and there is nothing wrong with that. Sometimes when I visit a remote village in Kenya or Malaysia, for example, I find someone preaching one of my sermons. The preacher may feel a bit embarrassed and explain that he is drawing from material in one of my 'Preaching Through the Bible' series. But that is the very reason I wrote the series in the first place - I want to put material into people's hands. The first step for every preacher, then, is to consider his gifting and decide how much time he is going to spend in the Word each day".
A critical underlying issue here is GRACE - God will only grace you for that to which He has called you. When walking by the Spirit (inexactly!), we find that our desires and His calling marry nicely. N
In order to answer this question, the individual must think very carefully about who he is as a person. Am I the kind of person who could happily sit at a desk for two or three hours a day, or does the thought fill me with horror? Or am I much more the type of person who loves being with people, pastoring and counselling them, and serving them in their day-to-day needs? We are all different with different God-given gifts. While we need to be careful that our gifts do not become our weaknesses (for every gift if used lopsidedly becomes a weakness), yet I believe we have to follow our gifts. I have never known two pastors that are alike. I have never known two men with an apostolic ministry that are alike. I have never known two people with any kind of prophetic ministry that are alike. Every single one of us is different, and we are each at our best when we are being ourselves.
I don't think every pastor has to be a great Bible expositor. Some people are not made for it. We each have to decide what sort of person we are, what our gifts are and what our desires are - since the Lord gives to us the desires of our heart. Our answers to these questions will help us decide how much time per day and per week we ought to be giving to preparation for preaching, and it will be different for each one of us. For myself there is scarcely ever a day when I don't preach and therefore I have given myself plenty of time to be involved in the Word of God.
We also need to consider what is a realistic level for us in our preaching. Not everyone is an original thinker who wants to spend hours delving into the Scriptures. Some people are content to rely on material that others have presented, and there is nothing wrong with that. Sometimes when I visit a remote village in Kenya or Malaysia, for example, I find someone preaching one of my sermons. The preacher may feel a bit embarrassed and explain that he is drawing from material in one of my 'Preaching Through the Bible' series. But that is the very reason I wrote the series in the first place - I want to put material into people's hands. The first step for every preacher, then, is to consider his gifting and decide how much time he is going to spend in the Word each day".
A critical underlying issue here is GRACE - God will only grace you for that to which He has called you. When walking by the Spirit (inexactly!), we find that our desires and His calling marry nicely. N
1 comments:
Thanks Nick.
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