A Waste Of Time

I had an experience in recent days that seems to confirm the trend of modern day pulpits. I went to a service wanting, needing, and longing to hear the word of God for myself. When I walked into the service I knew I was in trouble. There was a lot of singing going on in the service and I felt like I was on the set of “Sunday’s Best”. The service had to consist of approx an hour and thirty minutes of singing. I still sat in the service wanting to hear a word from the Lord.

I didn’t know who was preaching in the service (which is not unusual) but generally it’s someone who can say a word. After all the singing, it came time for the word of God. I perked up, grabbed my bible, pulled out my pen, and my notepad……..……for what! I cannot tell you to this day what had been said and from the look of others they can’t tell you what was said either.

I walked out of the service frustrated, mad, and angry. Paul says in Romans chapter 10:15; “And how can men preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who preach good news!"” If the preacher’s feet are beautiful from preaching the good news, then there are some preachers with some UGLY feet.

As I drove home from church that night I was burning because as far as I was concerned that was a waste of time.

It appears to me that the pulpit, no matter how big or small the church, has become more of a spectator sport filled with ball hogs who are more concerned with looking good for the people rather than smelling good under the nostrils of God.

The next morning driving into work a deep appreciation for preaching and being in pastoral ministry filled my heart. Not just the act of preaching but knowing what I’ve been called to do. There is no doubt in my mind that God called me into ministry (1 Timothy 1:12), both preaching and pastoral ministry. Some may agree and/or may not agree but I believe pastoral ministry is a special call as Ephesians 4:11 states so eloquently; “And He gave some to be….pastors and teachers”. I don’t believe everybody is called to pastor/teach. It requires a special ability to shepherd God’s flock. And that is to feed the sheep with a solid dose of the gospel. Our ability to feed a solid dose of the gospel goes not just in what we preach but also in who we allow to preach. If not careful, you can spend the next several weeks cleaning up what some one has said in 45 minutes. Let me caution you, people pay more attention to the message than we give them credit for.

Here are a few suggestions:

- Know their doctrinal position: Certain persons, by swerving from these, have wandered away into vain discussion, desiring to be teachers of the law, without understanding either what they are saying or the things about which they make confident assertions (1 Timothy 1:3-7). There are a many people (men and women) who do not have a sound theological foundation and therefore choose to go with the flow of whatever works. So, clichés are used more than scripture or they will share their conviction about an issue that is in total contradiction of scripture. It can hurt you rather than helping if what they’re teaching doesn’t match what you teach. They don’t have to say it like you but the interpretation should be the same but just said differently through personality of the one preaching.

- Preaching starts before the pulpit: I’ve been in services with guys that if the people knew half the conversation in the office before the service they would walk out. I’ve been to places to preach and the pastor wanted to hang out in the office cussing, talking about everything other than church all before I have to preach. Recently, I told a pastor I wanted to go into church and worship with the members before standing up to preach to them. He responds; “I was waiting for the offering and plus there’s not much going out there.” Thanks, pastor! I didn’t come to sit in the office. I came to worship with you and your church. The sermon starts as soon as you and/or who you invite enter the door. People see our lateness, talking in pulpit, flashy clothes, big jewelry, and they pay close attention to our reputation. I know a many of people in our city who can preach the roof off but my church don’t want to hear them because of their reputation in the city.

- Opening Remarks and Introductions: I preached earlier this year in a service with other local pastors and the opening comments sound like we were at the comedy store with no God in sight. I also remember a time I went to preach for a pastor’s anniversary and my opening comments killed me before I got started. It took the work of the Holy Spirit to pull me out of that one. Some introductions sound like a long resume list. In my opinion, how we introduce those who come to preach at our church can kill them before they get started. My opening remarks and introductions are brief now. One guy got mad at me because I didn’t go through a long drawn out introduction. I explained why I did what I did and he said he understood but I don’t think so. Pastors and preachers should not get upset with brief introductions. The spotlight is not about you, it’s about God and His word getting the glory. Make opening remarks short and the point. You’re communication efforts should be sharing the Word of God. You’re opening remarks shouldn’t be longer than your sermon either. Know the person to be introduced or ask someone who does. No sense in lying in pulpit when you’re not sure of what’s being said. Don’t embellish the introduction to make yourself look good. You’re not preaching. Say what you got to say and sit down!

- Final Remarks: All can go well in the service and then the final remarks ruin everything. I remember during one of my pastoral anniversary celebrations, I gave final remarks and it turned into a commercial for a Christian business I was trying to start up for cable television. When I finished and sat down, I felt weird because that was not the place for it. I also remember, a church wanted me as their pastor (before going to First Goodwill) and I preached a Friday night service for them. All went well until the final remarks. I basically told them thank you but no thank you. My explanation was that many of them came out of our home church, a good friend just left, and I had concerns. Wrong place to voice my concerns. Some of the people took offense and they forgot about the Gospel and started to gossip in the service. Unfortunately, we don’t have control over opening and closing remarks of our guest preachers/pastors. Then again maybe we do. Follow God’s direction is my only advice.

- Shake Peoples Hand: Is it typical for preachers/pastors to run straight to the office after preaching? It sure does seem like it. I think its bad practice to finish preaching for 45 minutes to an hour but can’t shake the peoples hand when you’re done. I find that it places a stamp of approval with the people to know that this guy who just preached is hanging out in front of the sanctuary to shake hands. One pastor was shocked when I finished preaching and he wanted to take me straight to his office and told him wait a minute; “Let me shake your peoples hand first.” When we got into the office he expressed that not many preachers do that.

- Send a “Letter of Thanks”: This is something I started doing this year. I send the pastor and church a letter of thanks for the opportunity of preaching at the church. I don’t know why I started it, outside of the fact that I recognize that I’m not worthy of the opportunity. I don’t know how they respond but it’s my way of saying thank you. In addition, if an honorarium was given I send 10% back with the letter. Most of the time I don’t take one but if they insist, I sow back into their ministry.

For the most part, I think many preachers and pastors have forgotten the sacredness of what we do. My desire is to please God with my preaching in and out of the pulpit. I hope yours is too.