HOMILETICS



HOMILETICS

LECTURE 46

THE GROWTH OF THE PREACHER

The inexperienced preacher

Many young preachers will finish their 4 year Bible College training and figure they are good to go. They are good to go to start growing…but they are not good to go. These new ‘grads’ need to have some OJT experience in the preaching rhealm. How many sermons did they preach in college? 10 to 20 over 4 years? When they are ‘the preacher’, they will be preaching 3 or more a week! It might be wise to have them take the midweek services to preach for a year or so, and let them do a Sunday evening and/or morning every month or so. They can grow, blossom, as a young preacher through this strategy. We’re not even talking here about pastoral OJT…that’s a whole other issue…

Do it yourself

If the preacher would prepare brand new sermons and lessons every week, it will surely help keep a steady growth in his preaching. However, many preachers get lazy, sloppy, backslidden; they might use my , or his previous preacher’s sermons, or have a steady cycle of his own ‘favorite’ sermons.

One should make it a ‘conviction’ that they will almost always create a new sermon/lesson from scratch for each service, unless time does not allow it.

2 Peter 3:18 But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen.

Make it challenging

Have the sermons/lessons not only be challenging for the church folk, but for yourself, too. Have every sermon cause you to grow, not just them. If it isn’t challenging to you, then why praytell will it be for them? You will give out milk, pizza, and steak; and make that steak really thick and juicy. If no-one else is challenged by the sermon, well, at least you be challenged by it….preach it to yourself.

Col 1:29 Whereunto I also labour, striving according to his working, which worketh in me mightily.

Critical

It is wise, though embarrassing, to critique your own preaching, and/or have others critique it. You should at least once every month or so view a DVD of yourself preaching; give it to your wife, your Deacon, your associate, your preacher friend, to critique also. Look for areas that are doing real good, and areas that need help. Be fair, helpful, reasonable. Don’t be offended when someone tells you that you are ‘too monotone’, or ‘lack enthusiasm’, or have ‘corny jokes’, etc.. Take the rebuke and be the better for it.

Break out

Don’t let your preaching get into a rut. Always be experimenting with new ideas, new methods, new strategies. Don’t get complacent. If you are soft, try being louder; if you are always serious, try lightening up a bit; if you usually follow a expository style, try topical some; if you always stand behind the pulpit, try moving down off the platform some; if you preach 45 minutes usually, try 25 minutes here and there… Don’t be so predictable. Don’t get comfortable with your abilities; don’t figure this is how and who you are and there’s no changing it. Don’t just flip the switch on and operate in standard operating mode. Never be satisfied with your preaching…

Preach growth

A growing preacher will produce a growing church. In your preaching always be pushing the church for growth; both individual and corporate. Never let them get comfortable; if they get comfortable, you probably will to. Have the content of your preaching always be in ‘growth mode’; new, exciting, different, challenging, provacative, applicable.

Heb 10:25 Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.

Higher education

Consider pursuing a Master’s or Doctorate degree. Most of these programs are quite expensive, but there are a few that are on the cheaper side; Salt Lake Baptist College is almost free! There are many types of doctorate degrees one can obtain (4 or more). The typical Masters takes 2 to 4 years to complete; and 4 to 6 years for a doctorate. Thus, a preacher can continue to challenge himself and grow as a preacher by taking these courses over the next 30 years of his preaching career. This could give the zealous preacher a basically never-ending formal course of education to be growing himself in.

Some may just like to pursue individual Homiletics courses; others might like to read books on Homiletics.

Phil 3:14 I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

Keep preaching

Don’t employ ‘guest preachers’ too often. Some will use them every chance they get…even one per week. I recommend using them no more than once per month. When you’re not preaching, you tend to not be growing. Though, it is possible to glean from the guest preacher. Preach every opportunity you can; try and preach at least 4 times a week, if not more.

2 Tim 4:2 Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.

Fellowship

Occasionally attend preacher conferences; these have the potential to stimulate your growth thru focused preaching by great preachers to preachers about being a better preacher. You can glean from these preachers and come back to your church ‘a new man’….all excited, revved up, new ideas, new methods to try, strengthened convictions…

Numbers

Don’t judge your preaching success on the size of your church or how many come forward to the altar. Rather, judge its effectiveness on truly changed lives for Christ…time will tell on this. A growing preacher will have a general increase in people in the church who have testimonies of how the preaching has changed their life.

Eph 4:13 Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:

Devotional

If you don’t grow spiritually in your time with the Lord every day, then don’t expect to grow as a preacher. Thus, start here; start with your prayer and Bible reading. Grow it in quality and quantity, year by year. Never go backwards. If you aren’t consistantly growing here, then I don’t believe you will be able to be growing as a preacher. This is a building block to being a preacher.

Holiness

Seek to grow in your personal righteousness, holiness. God will use a clean vessel much more than a dirt-spotted vessel. The best preacher is the righteous preacher. Always be growing in your personal holiness; never figure that you’ve arrived at God’s standard and are good to go….

1 Cor 9:27 But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.

Grow in your desire to see the church members’ lives changed as a result of your preaching.

Grow in your prayer for yourself and your sermon/lesson; that it would greatly be used of God.

Grow in your getting the message from the Lord, and not from some other fallable source.

Grow in your having God use you as you actually preach the word.

Grow in your love for the people you are preaching to.

Grow in your commitment to the truth that you preach.

Grow in your confidence that God is using you to proclaim His word.

Grow in your understanding that anything that ‘you’ do is an utter abomination and is totally worthless.

2 Tim 4:7 I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith:

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