THOUGHTS ON PREACHING
As I was having my quiet time this morning, something I read by Leroy Eims really spoke to me and got me to thinking
In his book, The Lost Art of Disciple Making, he makes the point that a person seeking to communicate to potential disciples or potential disciplemakers, need to develop communication skills. The truth needs to be communicated clearly and simply.
As he continued to explain how a disciple-maker ought to communicate, it became clear that he was also speaking to preachers when he said.
"The reason we know the word of Jesus was with power was that when He spoke things happened. That's power--to see change for the better, to see new directions set, to see lives cleaned up, families reunited, old habits broken, to see commitments made that last, to see men and women gain a hunger for fellowship with Jesus Christ, and to see people beginning to dig into the Word of God and spend time on their knees in prayer." - Leroy Eims.
I had a favorite teacher in Seminary who once said, "In some of the sermons I have heard it seems the preacher makes up for his lack of preparation by increasing his volume."
God has given me something to think about today as I meditate on both these statements. I realize that though volume which results from great passion could be good, volume that is an attempt to cover up inadequate preparation is not.
Additionally, if I want to see how powerful my preaching or anyone else's preaching is, it will not be measured by how many people come up after the message and say, "Good job preacher!" The power of all preaching is measured by the extent of how God uses that preaching to "see change for the better, to see new directions set, to see lives cleaned up, families reunited, old habits broken, to see commitments made that last, to see men and women gain a hunger for fellowship with Jesus Christ, and to see people beginning to dig into the Word of God and spend time on their knees in prayer."
When I consider this reality, I begin to realize that not all my preaching is powerless, but not all of it is as powerful as I thought it was.
Today, and in the days to come, This is my prayer: "Make me a preacher, a pastor, who reflects in his preaching and leadership the power of God by changing lives."
I pray this not only for myself, but all who call themselves preachers. I wonder what would happen in our country, if the preaching on Sundays became a testimony of the power of God rather than the personality of the preacher!!!!
