Dying To Preach

This is the question every pastor needs to ask as he prepares his sermons, "am I 'Dying to Preach'"?

That question is not about a desire, but a lifestyle.

That is also the title of Dr. Steven Smith's new book on preaching. I am blessed to have Dr. Smith as a professor and to have read an advanced manuscript of this book. It is not a fun book! I say that as a compliment. Being called of God to preach His Holy Word requires the death of the preacher. Not just once, but on a weekly basis.

The call to preach is a call to die. That is the theme of Dr. Smith's book and one that I highly recommend.

You can purchase the book online in many places, and here.

P.S. I did not write this to kiss up to my prof, but if it helps, all the better.

What Do I Do? The Job of a Pastor

“What do you do all day?” “What do you do all week?” “Pastors only have to work one day a week.”

I have heard all three of those questions/statements in various forms over the years. People seem to be curious about what it is that a pastor does and what a pastor’s life is like. They also seem curious about the life of a pastor’s wife. Michelle has received some interesting questions as well.

What does a pastor do? Maybe the question should not be what do I do, but what SHOULD I do? What is the Biblical responsibilities for a pastor?

There are actually several passages of scripture that directly address the job of a pastor. The term “pastor” is actual a biblical term that carries with it the responsibility of the pastorate.

I am not going to address each of the passages of scripture and all of the tasks that a pastor is to do. I want to address the main thing.

Acts 6:1-4
The early church in the book of Acts had run across a problem. There was a practical issue among the church members that needed addressing. So, the church comes together to address the issue and what comes out of that meeting lays the foundation for the main responsibility of the pastor. It’s not the only responsibility but the main one.

" Now in these days when the disciples were increasing in number, a complaint by the Hellenists arose against the Hebrews because their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution. And the twelve summoned the full number of the disciples and said, “It is not right that we should give up preaching the word of God to serve tables. Therefore, brothers, pick out from among you seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we will appoint to this duty. But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.”" (Acts 6:1-4, ESV)

This passage does not say that the leaders of the church should never serve these widows. In fact, there is clear instruction elsewhere that the pastor is to set the example of servanthood to others in the church.

This passage is about priorities. And the point is real clear. The main priority for the pastor is “prayer and the ministry of the word”. There are other passages of scripture that assign other tasks like administration, leadership, service, managing, and oversight of the church. But, the main task of the pastor is the preparation to preach.

Paul told pastor Timothy to “preach the Word”(2 Tim. 4:1-2). Titus 1:9 mentions the mandate of teaching. And we could go on.

I am fully convinced that my main responsibility is the preparation and delivery of the Word of God. I believe that I am held accountable by God Himself for this responsibility and I should be held accountable by the church body as well. That makes the task of preaching central and the highest priority for the tasks of pastors.

If I fail to devote the appropriate attention to the matter of preaching, I believe that I will have to answer to God for that sin. I believe that when I preach on Sundays that the congregation is my secondary audience. My primary audience is the Lord. I am preaching because He called me to. I am preaching, hopefully, by His power and strength. I am preaching by His wisdom. I am preaching by His grace and mercy. How can I take this task lightly?!

How much time does prayer and ministry of the Word take each week? There is no set answer. But, suffice to say, I never feel like I have spent too much time in preparation. I have a set method of study and preparation that works for me. Sometimes that takes longer than at other times depending on the passage.


I try to accomplish two major things in my preparation. One is to get the text right. I don’t want to get God’s Word wrong. It is His holy Word and I want to make sure that I am faithful to what He says. My second goal is to allow myself to be impacted by His Word. Before I preach to anyone else I want to allow God to speak to me through His Word.

Am I perfect at accomplishing those two tasks? Of course not. There are days and weeks where my flesh gets in the way and the preparation can become a rote exercise, instead of a spiritual exercise. There are days and weeks where it is just a job.

But, I love to preach. I love to dig into God’s Word. And I love to proclaim it to the people.

Whatever God has called you to is just as important. Our highest boss is not the person who signs our checks, it is the Lord God.

I ask you to pray for me in the job that God has called me to.

Preach Jesus

Below is an article by Dr. Jim Richards, the Executive Director of the Southern Baptist of Texas Convention. It is a great article on preaching Jesus! www.sbtexas.com



Preach the real Jesus, whatever your style
Written by Jim Richards Executive Director
Posted Friday, March 28, 2008

Seems like we ought to be getting ready for Easter! It did come early this year. As a matter of fact, Easter will not be that early again until 2228! Surely Jesus will come before then. Speaking of Jesus … a lot of churches are not.

I have been shocked by the avoidance of the name of Jesus. Dare to say mentioning sin, the blood, the cross, the resurrection or a number of other essential elements in helping people understand their need for Jesus.

North American Christianity in general and Southern Baptists in particular are in crisis. Our conversion-to-population growth ratio is at an all-time low. We have more buildings, education, money and technology than ever before. Yet we are doing less with more than any previous generation of believers. You have heard the dreary statistics: 70 percent of SBC churches are declining. Some say plateaued and declining, but unless you are growing you are declining; you can’t stand still. There is a lot of handwringing and finger pointing over this problem.

Numbers of young pastors have rejected the SBC model of cooperation. We have gone through “contemporary music,” the “Purpose-Driven” phenomenon and now the emerging church models. New forms are constantly in vogue.

Recently I heard about the Redneck Church. This flock, upon learning of the feeding of the 5,000, wanted to know whether the two fish were bass or catfish and what type of bait was used to catch’em.

We have become so niche-conscious that we may see a church start to target left-handed, blue-eyed 9-year-old girls who don’t like Hannah Montana. I’m for reaching all kinds of people in all kinds of ways, but we might be taking it to an extreme. Let me affirm much of the innovative church planting.

If I were 30 years younger, I would want to be on the cutting edge reaching the unreached with unique approaches as a church planter.

Music style is a preference, not a point of fellowship. Whether a guy sits on a stool or beats the pulpit is irrelevant. If he has bed-head, shaves his head or wears a pompadour, it doesn’t really matter. What is important is that churches both innovative and traditional uplift the Lord Jesus Christ, present clearly the gospel and depend upon the Holy Spirit.

Here’s my beef: Whatever style you are, present the biblical Jesus. Jesus had a virgin birth, sinless life, vicarious and bloody sacrificial death, bodily resurrection, and will have a visible return. I have been in churches recently that got so cute with their ministry that they forgot to present the gospel. And just because somebody baptizes a trough-full doesn’t mean the “converts” have been presented the biblical Jesus.

Use imagination and new tools, but know that only the Spirit of God can produce eternal results. We have become so slick in thinking we can “trick” people into conversion. It is the old “bait and switch” technique. We will make them think they really aren’t worshipping Jesus, never mention his name, don’t offend them and maybe they will be saved by some holy osmosis system. Paul spoke of the spirit of this world in 1 Corinthians 2:12. Don’t try to outsmart the Holy Spirit. Neither is it some jibber-jabber or some attention getting activity. Salvation is the clear, unmistakable work of the Spirit of God.

Willow Creek admitted error in their philosophy of ministry. It is hard to improve on presenting the gospel. People must understand their need. Conviction of sin is the first step toward repentance. How can a person repent if he doesn’t think he has anything to repent of? We have to preach the bad news before anyone will be ready for the Good News. We don’t have to be offensive in our methods, but the cross will offend.

The apostle Paul had a pastoral relationship with the church at Corinth. He pointed out shortcomings of the church in his first letter. In the book we call 2 Corinthians he confronted them about their infatuation with novelty. He used sarcasm to point out their rejection of his authority and the acceptance of deceivers. Paul was aggravated with the church that he started in its being so easily removed from the truth. He warned them about preaching another Jesus, receiving another spirit and having another gospel (2 Corinthians 11:1-5).

Even though Easter is passed, I urge you to boldly share the true gospel in the power of the Spirit by presenting the biblical Jesus.