Oct
19
2009
Preacher-Onlys Aren’t Good Preachers
In my blog post on Willow Creek, I said that many Reformed evangelicals think of sound, expository preaching as something of a ‘magic bullet.’ We may think that as long as we are preaching the Word–preaching the law and the gospel rightly–that everything else in congregational life will somehow take care of itself. We may give lip service to the other two marks of the church–the administration of the sacraments and discipline–but we don’t give them proper weight. Fully considered, the administration of the sacraments includes pastoral care, education, and discipleship, while the ministry of discipline means rightly ordering the community, that is, pastoral leadership.
I have often seen many men spend a great amount of time on preparing and preaching lengthy, dense, expository messages, while giving far less time and energy to the learning of leadership and pastoral nurture. It takes lots of experience and effort to help a body of people make a unified decision, or to regularly raise up new lay leaders, or to motivate and engage your people in evangelism, or to think strategically about the stewardship of your people’s spiritual gifts, or even to discern what they are. It takes lots of experience and effort to know how to help a sufferer without being either too passive or too directive, or to know when to confront a doubter and when to just listen patiently. Pastors in many of our Reformed churches do not seem to be as energized to learn to be great leaders and shepherds, but rather have more of an eye to being great teachers and preachers.
I’d point us to the example of John Calvin himself. No one put more emphasis on expository preaching as central to ministry. And yet Calvin sat nearly every Thursday in the Consistory, hearing hundreds of practical pastoral cases each year brought by the elders of the city to the council of pastors and other elders. He applied his theology to the intimate details of “adultery and fornication, disputed engagements and weddings, family quarrels, incest, rape, sodomy, buggery, prostitution, voyeurism, abortion, child neglect, child abuse, education disputes, spousal abuse, mistreatment of maids, family poverty, embezzlement of family property, sickness, divorce, marital property disputes, inheritance…” (Witte and Kingdon, Sex, Marriage, and Family in John Calvin’s Geneva, Vol 1, p. 15.) Also, Calvin’s voluminous correspondence shows what a forceful and wise leader and statesman he was. Because Calvin was not only a preacher but also a great shepherd and leader, he built up the church in a way that changed the world.
I pastor a church with a large staff and so I give 15+ hours a week to preparing the sermon. I would not advise younger ministers to spend so much time, however. When I was a pastor without a staff I put in 6-8 hours on a sermon. If you put in too much time in your study on your sermon you put in too little time being out with people as a shepherd and a leader. Ironically, this will make you a poorer preacher. It is only through doing people-work that you become the preacher you need to be–someone who knows sin, how the heart works, what people’s struggles are, and so on. Pastoral care and leadership (along with private prayer) are to a great degree sermon preparation. More accurately, it is preparing the preacher, not just the sermon. Through pastoral care and leadership you grow from being a Bible commentator into a flesh and blood preacher.
18 Comments
[...] Leave a Comment Tags: leadership, pastors, preachers, preaching, Tim Keller Tim Keller gives some great advice to those pastors who see themselves as preacher-onlys, at the expense of developing other areas of [...]
I really respect Tim Keller, particularly after hearing him speak in Chicago last spring. There is real wisdom in this article. However, I might submit a variation on this, particularly if a church has the privilege of a plurality of eldership: share the load by rotating pastors in the pulpit. This might provide all the pastoral staff and even lay elders a chance to develop their preaching skills and flavor their sermons with their own special perspective on church life.
Moreover, if a church has the freedom to encourage a rotation in the pulpit, the other elders have a chance to spend a short season of heightened sermon preparation that might include a period of more focused hours in study. It can allow for deep reflection in God’s Word while giving the congregation a variety of preaching that might stimulate different segments of the congregation. This can also encourage a senior pastor to take sabbaticals or to spend more time developing leadership and so on. Balance is beautiful in church leadership—including amongst the pastoral staff.
Great comment. Each tradition has its imbalance and the imbalance of the young, restless and reformed is definitely to be way too much head and not enough heart.
Jared –
I like your proposal. That also fits in with what I was saying in my post.
[...] You can read the whole post here. [...]
Wow, a real challenge to someone like me. It is also something I already see God doing in me, putting me in a role that forces me to learn to love people before I’m allowed to teach at the front of church. Was listening again to your “Grand-demythologiser” talk just yesterday and I was once again challenged not to worship the gift of preaching, but serve. I also clearly see how theology comes to life when you really know what’s going on in people’s lives and their hearts… Big challenge in a church that isn’t theology-focused and when you don’t have the wealth of good literature the English language has to offer (in French-speaking Geneva)…
It’s understandable that this current generation of young theologians has been fed so much Cream of Wheat, that they long for a good juicy chunk on meat to feast on. They may want to “heave-ho” a bit too much of the heart aspect message that has been their steady diet in the form of the “touchy-feely.” We can help them dampen the pendulum from swinging too far the other way with good reminders like this one of Tim’s so that they can enjoy the beauty of the fellowship of their own congregations and their function in it.
[...] Read the entire post here. [...]
The message of the cross which we preach leads the way for the other pastoral responsibilities. Thanks Tim Keller for leading the way at Redeemer Presbyterian Church with biblical preaching first and other pastoral duties in their rightful and important place.
The Insanity of Unbelief
by Dan Delzell
Who could ever create a story as wild as the one in the Bible? What mastermind could put together 66 books by more than 40 authors and have it written over a period of 1500 years? Incredibly, all of these authors point to the same two ultimate destinations: first, an everlasting paradise offered as a free gift to those who believe; and second, a place of eternal torment for those who reject the gift.
What could this many authors possibly gain by coming up with such an extraordinary story on their own and then presenting it as truth? It certainly didn’t make their lives any easier. Why would some of these same authors allow themselves to be tortured to death rather than recant their message? These clues provide healing from spiritual insanity for anyone who is open-minded. Are you open-minded or close-minded about Christ?
Who would ever make up a story that a God of love sent His only Son to suffer torture at the hands of men? How loving is that unless God really did love the world so much that He sent His Son to die for our sins just as the Bible states? Why out of thousands of religions in the world does only one religion offer forgiveness of sins as a free gift? Why does this one religion just so happen to be the only religion that has each of these 40 authors over 1500 years describing the same reality? How did they all get their writings to fit together so well and with so much consistency?
Were each one of these authors insane, except for their remarkable ability to agree with one another about heaven and hell and the Messiah? If they were not insane, then why would all the authors over many centuries contribute to such a conspiracy of deceit about a mythical God and a far-fetched narrative of redemption? Do you have enough faith and enough evidence to truly believe that it has all just been a worldwide hoax? Are you sane enough to see how it takes more faith based on less evidence to reject Christ than it takes to accept Him as your Lord and Savior?
How insane is it for you to live 80 years upon this earth for yourself just hoping that the Bible is wrong about Jesus and about heaven and hell? How crazy is it for you to risk spending one year in agony, yet alone forever and ever in unimaginable torment? Who would ever lie and make up such a place? In a postmodern age where people are brainwashed to believe that nothing is absolute, are you absolutely, 100% sure that Christianity is a lie and that Jesus was a fraud?
If you don’t believe in absolutes, then you are not really positive that Christianity is wrong, are you? Please read this next sentence slowly and carefully: Are you really willing to risk spending billions upon billions of years in hell rather than repent of your sin and accept a free gift from a loving God who has given us a written revelation of eternity? What if you really were insane on this issue? You wouldn’t know that you were insane, would you? Are you willing to admit that it is possible that you are insane about Christianity and about your need for salvation?
How can you be absolutely sure that Christianity is wrong and that you are right? You! Not the 40 authors over 1500 years, but you! What makes you the right one? “There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death.” (Proverbs 14:12)
To quote a well-known motivational speaker from the 1990’s, I plead with you to “Stop the Insanity” before it is too late. Do you realize why God has allowed you to read this article right now at this very moment in your life? If you are unwilling to be healed of your spiritual insanity, then you won’t have a clue about what you have just read. That rejection of God’s good news for you would provide you with proof of the insanity of unbelief. Are you too insane to recognize your own insanity, or is there a glimmer of spiritual sanity in your soul today?
Thank you, Dan, for participating in the conversation at The Gospel Coalition blog. Please do your best to keep your comments on a particular blog post focused on the topic of the blog post itself.
Thanks,
Mike Pohlman
Executive Editor, The Gospel Coalition
Perhaps you are using the “Preachers-only” analogy to make a point of the importance of pastoral care and leadership development in pastoral profession. However, I believe the assertion that there exists either “preachers-only” or preachers and “something else” is a false dichotomy, in general. When has it ever been the case in Church History when there have been only “Preachers”? For certain, it’s not Biblical. Though Paul said in I Cor.2:2, “I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified”, the Book of Acts informs us of his exhaustive work in pastoral care and leadership. Perhaps its a new phenomenon coming our way, pastoral preachers only on the one hand and a sleigh of other “specialized” pastors and leaders on the other. I wouldn’t be surprised. Since many American Churches have assumed market strategies and new cultural paradigms as their god (Acts 2:47, And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved), she has fallen off the deep end in making distinctions about herself where logically or biblically it doesn’t exist- false dichotomies. It was as if I was reading a Proverbs 31 list of the perfect wife, except it’s a list of the perfect Pastor. One capable of doing everything and anything, without the aid of decades of specialized degrees and training, or better yet, the help and assistance of a professional staff. So I am guilty! Guilty of trusting in the power of the Holy Spirit to change the lives of both sinner and saint by simply “heralding” God’s Word, the “foolishness of preaching”. And I am guilty of not having all the skills necessary to be all the other things the Church in America expects me to be with no Scriptural foundation to support these demands. God bless you brother.
Joel,
That time is already here. Take a few moments to peruse the typical “evangelical” church website. In fact, it is the modern pastor’s dream to stock his office wing with specialty “pastors.”
Thank you, Pastor Keller, for this point. In my recent change in posts in the kingdom, I’ve been renewed in my understanding that God calls us to be undershepherds, not cowboys. We must live with, smell like, feed, nurse, and tend the sheep with selfless vigor… not drive them along sending our specialized dogs to nip their heals into directional submission.
Blessings.
What is at the heart of the desire to be a preacher more than a pastor? It seems to me that Tim Keller’s comments are exposing the besetting sin of the ministry, pride. Being the preacher upfront brings with it accolades and further speaking requests, which can so easily feed our pride. Being the pastor in the midst of the hurting is messy, difficult, and humbling. I turn to John the Baptist’s words in response to those who brought to John’s attention that “everyone is going to him (Jesus)”. He said, “He must become greater; I must become less.” John 3:30. More of Him, less of me.
[...] from every text. Keller recently wrote a piece on preaching on The Gospel Coalition Blog titled Preachers-Only Aren’t Good Preachers. Below is a quote from the [...]
[...] Keller reminds us that being a good preacher also means being a good [...]
Exactly what I needed to hear today. Thank you, Tim!
I work at a church. It’s a new church – almost a year and half old. I lead worship and I administrate small groups/adult education. I’m 24, married with a one year old son. I want to plant churches and preach badly. I’m doing the former, but not the latter and I’m terribly anxious to go for it.
This post was a tremendous relief and encouragement to me. It was like breathing fresh air after being smothered with blankets, losing oxygen and the temperature growing more uncomfortable with every breath taken.
Other than the practical go out and do the work advice given so well here, Tim, would you (or anyone else) advise weekly practices or books that would inform the young and young at heart regarding how to do the non-preaching activities well and with the same fervor as some of us do sermon preparation?
Ryan – “I want to plant churches and preach badly.”
Why would you want to do these things “badly”? Do them well brother! :-)
I would advise spending time with people. Get to know them and their struggles. Be honest about your own struggles, don’t try to be superchristian. Think deeply about how the Gospel should be applied to real life problems. Fill your mind with the gospel, which will give rise to joy, which will overflow as love for others, and pray. Ask God to fill your heart with love for his people. If your heart is full of love for people, you’re passion for Scripture, for study, for theology…will spill over into passion to see that theology at work in people’s lives, to give them joy in the Lord.