Preachers And Their Churches

Much is said these days about pastors neglecting the proper, biblically expected and defined, and in fact required work of giving themselves to the preaching of the Word of God.  I believe I'd have to agree that it sure seems to me that, by and large, the majority of men filling our pulpits have tragically given themselves to communicating everything else but what Scripture says and means.  Whether its the seeker-driven, customer knows best, culturally sensitive, politically correct brand of sermonizing which seems to gather the biggest crowds or the brow beating, issue focused (i.e. KJV only, etc), performance centered "let's all live worthy enough for God to save us and then keep us saved kind of preaching or the "Seven Steps to a Better You" kind of dialogue or even the kind of preaching that touches on everything else except what passage is actually saying--it all smacks of a form of godliness lacking any kind of spiritual Holy Spirit anointed power.

In fact, these are forms of preaching unknown to the prophets and apostles in our Bibles whose preaching was more often than not introduced by the clarion call “Thus saith the Lord”.  Much of what passes for preaching in probably, more churches than we'd care to think, has nothing to do with this kind of Bible preaching that proclaims a powerful to save and keep saved Gospel ordained, set in motion, and accomplished by an All-Powerful God Who Himself, for His own glory, chose to save sinners on His terms rather than theirs.

But, for all that's said about the preachers who fail to preach--not much seems to be said, at least in my hearing, about those churches that accept this kind of preaching as the norm and see nothing empty, powerless, anemic, or do I dare say it, wrong with it. While many are asking, “where are the men?” I am wondering “where are the churches?” I mean, whatever happened to those churches that took their calling as “the pillars and supporters of the truth” (1 Tim. 3:15) seriously and insisted--no-- demanded that their preachers “Preach the Word!” (2 Tim. 4:2)?!

Perhaps, if more churches understood and took to heart their calling--more preachers would too. As in the riddle about the chicken and the egg, the question of who comes first, the Bible preaching preacher or the Bible believing church—neither is independent or unnecessary to the other.

Personally speaking, as a man who has pastored a few churches, here and there, I have always preached best to those churches, who like Cornelius, in speaking to Peter in Acts 10:33, make it a point to remind me: “. . . Now then, we are all here present before God to hear all that you have been commanded by the Lord.”