For the Sake of the Congregation 9.11.2025

    The work of preaching not only brings personal fulfillment through answering God’s call on our lives, it also is necessary, critical work for the health of the Kingdom. The Church flourishes when it is nourished by preaching both in the global and local perspective. The whole church thrives, and your local congregation will be healthier when fed with fresh, timely, locally prepared preaching. 

    Since the task matters so much good preaching is for the sake of the congregation. There are abandoned libraries of works detailing how to “Grow your Church.” Some of what they recommend is common sense, much is outdated, and lots of it is unbiblical. Let’s get the Lede out of the way. The Holy Spirit creates growth and health. Church leadership provides structure and accountability so that the Spirit can act through people. Preaching is essential and indispensable to this work. The indwelling Spirit works with the Spirit-inspired Word of God to not only bring about individual regeneration but also to grow the whole Body of Christ (The Church). 

    When we spend time, talent, and treasure investing in our long-term preaching ministry we are making a significant statement about, not only our personal stake in the Christian faith, but in the corporate nature of the faith. Good preaching matters, not only because we are called to do it, but because the Church needs it. 

    It is for the sake of the congregation that we invest in the tools of exegesis, hermeneutics, theological analysis, and the various other departments of learning. It is for the sake of the congregation that we invest the time needed to master the tools and deploy them. It is for the sake of the congregation that we chose vocational ministry over other vocational opportunities which would been served just as well by the very talents and abilities the Holy Spirit leverages in ministry. We are committed to the task because it matters. Because it matters, how we do it is important. Since preaching is for the sake of the congregation the congregation has a stake in how we do the work and our investment in improving. Today let’s discuss a couple of issues that are too easily overlooked when we think about the congregation’s stake in our work. 

Specificity

    There is only one you…so what should you do? Complete the hard work until it is through! 

    Sorry, I never intended to go all Dr. Seuss on you, but the rhyme does a good job of introducing what I mean about specificity. You are called to this place, these people, this pulpit, this moment. You are called to preach Scripture from the work that you do on the text and the work the text does on your heart. If you are preaching material written by Sermon Central or stealing material from famous (or infamous) preachers you are not only cheating you are deceiving the very people who have called you to their town, their church, their pulpit, their family. 

    Do not rob your people of the specificity of your personality dedicated to ministry and focused on the task. Do not try and reheat or microwave “leftover” lessons from a life that you have not lived. Do not foist laziness off as some shared service. Just stop. Do it right or don’t do it. This is for the sake of the Church. 

Regularity

    The 52 weeks of the year, excepting a Sunday or two for vacation, should basically be the same. I have heard and read that for some reason we preachers are overworked, overtaxed, and overextended. Perhaps we are. All that overexertion should come from doing the work of preparing to preach. 

    This may seem unnecessary but let me say it anyway. (My essay, my rules.) You need to want to be in the pulpit 45-50 weeks out the year. Yes, there are circumstances with multiple staff that will require other individuals to fill the pulpit. They need to do so according to the plan you have established for the teaching office of your congregation. If you absolutely must do this, then make your plan easy for others to follow. It is ok to feel uncomfortable being absent from the pulpit. You will take greater pleasure as the work of your colleague’s benefits from your experience and oversight. But always keep in mind, the Church needs a regular voice in the pulpit. It needs regular rhythm, timbre, and flow. No congregation should come into the facilities on a given Sunday wondering “what’s going to happen today?!” It’s not a fair or a circus. There should be regularity and predictability, that begins with the pulpit. What goes on in the pulpit is your responsibility. When you are laying out your Sermon Calendar lay out the 52 weeks. Account for vacations and make the plan clear enough that if you need to be away from the pulpit or if a member of your staff is preaching that they know the plan and the role their sermon will play in moving that plan forward. 

    This is for the Church, for the sake of the Kingdom. Make it habit in reporting your work to your Elders and Board of making the heart of your report about preaching, teaching, and preparation. If you minimize its importance and reduce your expectations, they reduce theirs. Teach your people what to value, maintain your preaching schedule and help them to understand the benefit of predictable Biblical preaching. 

    A last note on this topic. If you move to a new Church, make your expectations for yourself with respect to your pulpit work absolutely clear. “I expect to be in the pulpit no less than 50 Sundays a year, and I prefer 52.” If that congregation has a long list of other speakers, events, occasions, or guests, you will need to directly and pointedly ask them whether they are willing to change their expectations for their regular preacher. If not; do not go there. They don’t want a preacher they want a Master of Ceremonies. For the sake of the Church, do not be that guy. 

Accountability

    So, we come to accountability. When we say that it is for the sake of the Church, we subsume that expectation under the reality that the Church is the Body of Christ. Accountability then begins as a faith issue related to the specifics of our own discipleship and our own Christian growth. The 21st Century Church has largely been captured by unbiblical ideologies derived from cultural narcissism, and individual adhocracy. Driven by Therapeutic Deism and Theological childishness. Far too many congregations have essentially become the plaything of a strong man. The preeminent model for leadership in the Megachurch movement is the autocrat. This is not NT Church leadership; it is lethal to the Gospel and is undermining nearly 2000 years of work. 

    The preacher functions within an accountability structure. A Biblical preacher participates in the work of the Eldership and extends it in the specific area of preaching. As I like to describe it the preacher is primarily responsible for the Teaching Office of the Church. We are called to know who is teaching, what they are teaching, and how what they teach contributes to the overall instruction of God’s people in this place. 

    You are not called to be a ringmaster. You must at some point do administrative work, but you are not purely an administrator. You will need to spend time investing in programming (largely by investing in the people who will run those programs). There are times when institutional issues will bubble to the top. Most adult human beings have jobs that require a modest set of skills beyond the central defining task of the job. The preaching ministry is no different in that respect. The issue is balance, focus, and intent. If you want to preach, make it your priority and the definitive benchmark of accountability.  

    When I was younger, none of the preachers who influenced me were called or wanted to be called Reverend. I was never a huge fan of the term “brother”. It always sounded sort of stilted, making a title out of a term of endearment. Another term which the Christian Churches/Churches of Christ rarely used was Pastor. Now, it is not inaccurate to call me or anyone else in this position pastor (Yes, small “p”). I am a pastor. We have many others at our Church. My specific pastoral task is preaching. Pastor is functional/descriptive. Preacher, now that is a purely functional term. That is what I do. I preach. All the other ministry tasks I perform flow from the work I do in my study which bears fruit for the pulpit. All other Pastoral, Professional, Planning, or Programming work is like a spoke connected to the central hub of Preaching. 

    Because I have made this model of ministry clear, because I have focused every report that I have ever given my leadership on this model of ministry, because I constantly update the Elders and congregation on my intent and goals from the pulpit there is a clear pathway for accountability. 

    The job of ministry is heartbreakingly satisfying. It can be hard on a family, testing for a marriage, and tough on your blood pressure. Why do it? For the sake of the Church. The Church for whom Jesus died. His body. His bride. His building/temple. His flock. For your sake, do it right--for their sake.