The Peril and Promise of Preaching: Playing Hurt 7.21.2022

    Playing hurt in ministry begins with how getting hurt can happen. I was watching the 2021 Forego Stakes from Saratoga last summer when I saw something unique. I filed it away knowing that at some point it would be a valuable illustration. I didn’t know what of, till now. 

    Yaupon and Firenze Fire were dueling down the stretch in an exciting renewal of a sprint classic. As hard as he tried Firenze Fire could not get the lead. So, he savaged Yaupon. He bit him. Repeatedly. He grabbed his bridle, drew blood, and put the whole field in danger.  He tried to wound when he could not win. He tried to damage when he could not defeat. 

    Many preachers bear these kinds of wounds. Upon reflection, this is how I would describe my own wound from more than twenty years ago. While not the only kind of wound experienced in ministry it is far more frequent than you might imagine. In humans, our competitive spirit often presents as jealousy. Unable to exert control of the situation many members, deacons, elders, and others become resentful of the leadership of the preacher. So, they lash out like Firenze Fire going after Yaupon. Where humans are concerned savaging often succeeds. The circumstances of a local church being what they are, the preacher is generally an outsider (to one degree or another) and it is easier to excuse bad behavior, remove him, and move on.

    For we humans, the wounds are deeper, bloodier, and more permanent. But they need not become disabilities.  That’s what I will write about today.

Everyone I know in ministry has been wounded. Any time spent in the pulpit exposes you to both hostile and friendly fire. Sometimes the wounds are intentional and sometimes we get hit with the shrapnel of other people’s sin. 

“As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.” (2 Timothy 4:5 ESV)

One of the points I have tried to make this month is that, despite all the commonalities between one preacher and another, we are all individuals. We are called from unique backgrounds and experienced variations in our formative and educational experiences. This is not a liability. This is just how being a human being works. We are different. Two preachers who have undergone the very same theological preparation for ministry, the same program of properly learning hermeneutics and Biblical studies will still be individuals when they enter their ministry. 

    This difference in personality, giftedness, and temperament can and should persist throughout our local ministries. This is how God intended ministry to work. People like you and me, ministering to others who are also like you and me. Each of us will process similar wounding experiences differently. Some will be so wounded that it is only with difficulty that ministry continues. Others will need to take a break to fully recover. Others will move on without grieving allowing wounds of anger, frustration, and emotion to fester or morph into inflexible scar tissue. Each of us heals differently. Ultimately the healing should lead to a new season of ministry. In that new season, you will be a smarter and more resilient version of yourself. But still you. 

    Jesus’ ministry, despite some similarities, was and is different from ours. Among the tangible lessons, we learn from His ministry is the one taught in Hebrews 5.7-9

7 In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to him who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverence. 8 Although he was a son, he learned obedience through what he suffered. 9 And being made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him, 10 being designated by God a high priest after the order of Melchizedek. Hebrews 5:7–10 (ESV)

Despite the wounds we bear, in following Jesus and learning obedience through our suffering we become the best version of who we are supposed to be. The version God needs. The one He wants. The one He is building. 

    Unfortunately, Yaupon never ran again. He retired to the breeding shed. He is a horse, so we can’t really debrief him. One noteworthy characteristic about him was that he was a speed horse that jumped into the bridal and ran as fast as he could for as long as he could, even with another horse trying to bite and wound him. He did not make excuses and he did not change styles to suit someone who savaged him out of jealous pride. 

    Be who God called you to be. Grow from the wounds. Keep learning and evolving Become the better version of you that can only come about through wounding. Learn obedience through your suffering and fulfill the ministry to which you were called. That’s how you play hurt.

The Peril and Promise of Preaching: Setting Your Course 7.14.2022

    In the corner of my study, there is an old-fashioned kneeler. On the kneeling bench, there is a Charlie Brown throw that cushions my aging knees when I pray there. On the prayer shelf, there is a big, large-print Bible which is always opened to 2 Timothy 4. When I pray there on Sunday mornings the focus and content of my prayers, in that spot is my call to preach the Word. I pray other prayers throughout the morning.  While I open the building, I pray for other preachers and their congregations. I pray for the Church in all its catholicity. When I kneel in my study before I read, interpret, and preach the Scriptures my prayer then is focused on preaching. 

    You may be the greatest leader ever bred, but your primary call is not leadership. You may tell the greatest jokes ever laughed at before a live gathering of humans. Yet, you are not called to be a comedian. You may be the most capable numbers cruncher, or present plans so vividly prepared that they can be visualized. Yet tracking statistics and creating grand strategies is not your job. You are called to preach. The earlier in your ministry you make that your focus and the more resolute you are in describing this focus to others the better you will be at the task and the less vulnerable you will be to the definitional whims of others who would change your focus. 

    Paul’s ministry exhibited visionary planning, exemplary leadership, and a wit that he himself discounted. It was all in pursuit of the call to proclaim the gospel. The following sums up much of what motivated him:

Ephesians 3:7 Of this gospel I was made a minister according to the gift of God’s grace, which was given me by the working of his power. To me, though I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ,” (Ephesians 3:6–8 ESV)

A minister. A minister with a mandate. To preach the unsearchable riches of Christ. Though you may drink continuously from the well of scripture, on the last day you serve, the moment you prepare and preach that final sermon, you will still not have searched out the last drop of truth from that unsearchable treasure trove. In this essay, I want to make some practical suggestions for how you and I can introduce and continuously remind our co-leaders exactly how we approach this glorious task. 

Setting Your Course

    You set the course. You are the one called by God and gifted for this ministry. You are equipped to do the work. It begins at the beginning. Be upfront and insistent about your ministry roles. I discussed ministry roles last week and if you so choose you can use those categories. If not, make sure that you define your own ministry in such a way that preaching and all the work that preaching requires are at the center of your ministry life.  How you view ministry needs to be how you do ministry, so long as it’s Biblical. 

When Hired

    I have the outline from my interview for my present ministry. It contained questions based on my understanding of the Biblical Roles of Ministry. My questions were organized by those roles. It was not happenstance or shoot from the hip. I asked the Elders with whom I was going to serve, the local particulars I needed to know so that I could perform my ministry to the best of my gifts and abilities. I explained how my ministry roles worked, how I planned, and how I pursued ministry. 

    When it was their turn to ask questions, I reframed those questions within the scope of those roles. Nothing random. No miscellaneous. No off-the-cuff. No riffing. Interview this way and then execute this way. Every year when I am reviewed, I map the various areas of the matrices onto this table of roles. If there are problems or misunderstandings everyone can figure out exactly what role addresses the problem or misunderstanding. 

As Executed

    You cannot expect your co-leaders or congregation to respect your vision for ministry if you cannot, will not, and do not execute it yourself. Never get tired of saying “this is what I do!” “This is my mission.”  I know that many, if not most Churches require something beyond a resume when they are interviewing ministerial candidates. Some call it a Vision Statement. Others call it a Philosophy of Ministry. Whatever you call it, however you think about ministry—be it Vision or Philosophy—this needs to be how you do ministry!

    You need to be focused on the preparation and presentation of sermons. There are a lot of good things we can do in ministry. Most of these lesser goods have the cumulative effect of siphoning away time and energy for the primary task. Yes, there are emergencies, but fewer than one might think. Yes, there are times when issues surface or someone suffers injury or loss. Deal with it. Extend the love of Christ. Be present in the moment, but don’t extend the moment beyond what is necessary. Don’t allow those good things to sap the energy that you will need to preach at least 50 times a year. 

    If you execute your ministry the way that you say you are going to execute your ministry people will grasp your vision. If you are constantly redefining your roles and recalibrating “what you do” people will become confused, and you will be worn out. Set the course and stick to it. That allows you to be flexible when you really need to be. 

Evolving

    I have made no secret that my interpretation of scripture requires me to put preaching as the first of my roles. During my present ministry, preaching has come to encompass a more significant social-media presence, writing, and weekly blogging. When I report these activities, I make it clear that these are preaching and teaching activities. That is how they fit within my ministry roles and determines how ministry is scheduled. 

    I have also noticed over the last several years that I need to review my own previous work more often in the past. Simply because there is more of it. I performed a funeral last week for a wonderful godly lady from a previous ministry. One of my first tasks, in this instance taking about an hour, was to review my most recent funeral sermons in that community. Then I compared those messages with what I had preached for recent funerals in Grayville. Why? Because I did not want to repeat myself before the same audience. I wanted to make sure that I used material that was fresh even if I was reworking something previously written. 

    If you have preached for a while, you are likely confronting this same phenomenon. It takes me less time to write a sermon but more time to “prepare”. My preparation has evolved because from year to year I want to be able to demonstrate growth as a student of scripture and as a preacher. The best way to track this growth is to review past work. Next year I will preach from Mark for the third time in the last decade. There will be quite a bit to review. 

    If you have not set the course for your own ministry, if you have not established reasonable boundaries and executable roles you will not be evolving, you will be flailing. When pressure or change comes into the life of your congregation you need to have a solid foundation from which to encounter that pressure and comprehend the change. If every day, week, month, and year is different you are not growing, you are just repeating the same experiences. Everyone who wanders may not be lost, but it has been my experience that many of them are! 

    Staying on track and growing throughout ministry is what helps you to get through the tough times. Again, Paul reminds us that the journey of ministry is, satisfying if we understand our own limitations and the opportunities we have when we remain focused.

 “Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, Philippians I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 3:13–14 ESV)

 It’s better to be a craftsman at one thing, than a mediocrity at many. 

The Peril and Promise of Preaching: While Shepherds Watched...

“And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.” (Luke 2:8 ESV)

Introductory thoughts    

    I had intended a series of posts this month dealing with various approaches to preaching. The series was entitled Hot Topics in Preaching. I had a text message today which suggested that other topics needed addressing and that it is preachers themselves who are feeling the heat. Taking the information under advisement I assured Wes that I would “think around, over, and through the issue.” I have and I agree with his assessment. Too many preachers are sitting on too many hot seats. Too many shepherds are out in the fields alone, cold, scared, spooked, under attack, and weary. 

    I’ve been there too. I will address what it means to be wounded in ministry in a couple of weeks. Before we go there, I want to address some preliminary issues which I think help keep ministry “manageable”. 

Ministry Defined: Roles and Goals

    My mentoring group The Notorious Edwards County Preachers as well as any group I have ever been called upon to address the subject of ministry knows full well what I have to say about the Biblical foundations of ministry. Ministry consists of 5 roles: 

• Preaching

• Pastoral Care

• Planning/Leading

• Professional Development

• Programming

The order of this sequence is essential. Each of these roles is important but preaching must be central. It requires the most work, has the greatest reach, and is the foundation for everything else. 

    Over the next several weeks (I’m not sure at this point how long this series of essays will be) we will return to this basic starting point several times. If you want to have a long and fruitful ministry, you need to be clear about exactly what it is you are trying to do. (See the bullet points above.)  If you want to learn how to overcome the wounds and weariness of ministry, you need to be clear about exactly what it is you are trying to do. (See the list, two paragraphs above.) Whether you are young and just starting out or have chosen to make full-time ministry your second act, you need to be clear about exactly what it is you are trying to do. (Ibid.)

    The call to ministry is personal and communal. You are called to minister within the Church. Additionally, you are called to a collegial relationship with others in ministry. The titles are varied. Pastor. Parson. Preacher. I prefer preacher because that’s where it all begins. 

Truth Through Personality

Phillips Brooks is often quoted as saying that preaching is “the proclamation of truth through personality.” Not to parse things too finely but this implies minimally a life of preparation:

1. For the preaching.

2. Of the Person.

While that quotation is justly famous, much is left unsaid and for many, the unsaid is where the problems arise. 

    Like shepherds on watch, we must learn much about sheep on our own. Even with good mentors and wise guides we find that the things we learned 40, 30, 15, and even 5 years ago about people and what drives them, change. The Bible is unchanging. The Flock changes so persistently that it often looks like it's vibrating! 

    One mistake that I have made, which I’m sure that others have made is assuming that I was in the sheep-fixing business. I watch and warn. I proclaim and prepare. I encourage and explain. I do not and cannot fix sheep. Only God does that. If you want to flourish in ministry the first thing you need to abandon is the quick-fix, solution-driven, method-dependent desire to fix sheep. You are called to lead them to the God who can fix them. You are called to reach out to those who have not yet come into the flock, offering them a place amongst God’s people. You don’t even fix them. God does. 

    Our sheep-fixing fixation keeps us constantly frustrated because even the best sheep can bite one another, butt one another, and bully one another. And everything they can do to each other, they can do to you too. As the shepherd, you are not a sheep, and you must be able to shape your preaching to gain their trust and attention. You lead them for God and to God. He’s the one in the sheep-fixing business. 

    Decide explicitly what it is you are doing. Determine to let God fix sheep and go about the business of being a shepherd. Accept both the limitations and liberty of preaching. Work hard. Get better. Develop a thick skin. Love what you do. If you don’t love it and don’t care for sheep, I cannot help you. But if you are willing to work hard and invest in the flock and find joy in the journey to the pulpit, I will do everything in my power to encourage you and help you get better at it. We may still limp, but every once in a while, perhaps, we will throw in a leap.

Practical Application of Promiscuous Reading 6.30.2022

    I was going to write about reading biography this week but one of my regular readers suggested that perhaps some practical examples of how to use all this extracurricular reading to polish up your preaching would be helpful.  

    First, you need to study the text. You need to have a long, immersive, detailed, critical examination of the text. This must go beyond your daily devotions. This is work. You need to bone up on those original languages and read as much as you can about the text. You need to do solid exegesis and compare your work with others. You need to plan your preaching (here I go again) not just to know what you will preach when but so that you can organize the study that will undergird and flesh out the plan. The plan provides a strategy. The study and preparation are tactical. It means doing. Study means wrestling (wrasslin’ for some of you) with the text. Preparation means knowing the big picture as well as the small details. Proclamation means you must leverage your time, maximize your talent, and yes invest your treasure. 

    All your reading, from poetry, philosophy, aesthetics, history, biography, and fiction reflects the human striving for coherence in a fallen world. Even if much of it is flailing and failing it is the genuine expression of human existence in a sinful world. If you only read what you agree with or those things that never offend you, your sheltered life is not helping you to be a better preacher. 

    The fall is real. Sin is a central part of the human condition. Truth. Beauty. Goodness. These too are a part of the human condition. Things have been well said by people you disagree with. Not reading what they have written does not hurt their feelings, but by avoiding their words you have surrendered a little bit of understanding that might help you do a better job of making disciples or discipling the saints. 

    Sorry, all that was still theoretical, and I was wanting to help you with practice. Here are some pointers for how your reading can help your preaching. 

Illustration

    Every time we preach, we want people to “get it.” Different congregations respond to different stimuli. Some people need to have you draw a picture. That is what illustrations are. Word pictures. Many authors have written poignant words that you can drop into a sermon to make a point, properly cited of course. If the writer or speaker or poet was not a believer, it is ok to mention that. There are times when the contrast of well-written words from an unbeliever can help you make a Biblical point better than similar words from the perspective of a believer. 

Quotation

I scribbled this down last week whilst reading a book about the Macintosh computer.

“Joyously treading on the foul-lines of possibility.” 

Excerpt From Insanely Great: The Life and Times of Macintosh, the Computer that Changed Everything, Steven Levy

    I did not know if or when I could use this quotation, but my goodness what a pithy, witty, pregnant statement. I did not record the broader context because it will fit a lot of different places and decontextualizing it expands its possibilities. I did this because it is not a statement of fact, belief, or opinion. It is just a quote that sings. And sometimes you need that sort of thing in a sermon. 

Clarification

    Sometimes quotations and citations help us to clarify things that might otherwise be obscure. Good writers are always trying to make things clearer for their readers. Sometimes checking your written work for the pulpit with good writing from others helps you to get a better grasp of your style. 

Amplification

    Last week when talking about Churchill (Mrs. Beckman found another biography of him for me at Goodwill last week!) I mentioned that he wrote in what he called Psalm Style. (I am actually amplifying what I said then, right now). Psalm style meant that he used the physical presentation of the speech on the page to help him memorize it and to better follow the flow when speaking. He used indentation, size of text, underlining (in the pre-computer age that was about the only way a typewriter could highlight), and annotation to help him master his material and present it as forcefully as possible. 

    See what I did there? I took a phrase that you might have noticed and passed over last week and provided additional information to help you understand it. There are times we need to do that in a sermon. If we already have the congregation drowning in the deep end of the theological pool the best amplification might not be another Bible verse or rephrased theology. Sometimes people need to be led gradually to the next truth and amplifying from broad reading will provide the best resource for doing so. The job of preaching is to help people to swim, not to help them more comfortably drown.

    The world is a complicated place. The fall has impacted every creature. The two-legged ones? Every single one is made in the image of God. Even the ones you don’t like or respect. Even the ones who persist in their sins. Every single person. Some of them have said things worth remembering. Some of them have written things worth quoting. Some of them have produced literature that you and I need to read. We serve a Master who Himself embodies the truth. In serving the Word we should have no fear of words.