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If You Are Planning to Preach
by Bill Hall
If you are planning to preach, give careful attention to the following three basic elements of successful preaching.
Spirituality. The faithful preacher has a deep devotion to God and His word. He prays often. He lives with a constant awareness of God's nearness; he "walks with God." His character is beyond reproach. He hates sin and error, but loves truth and righteousness. "His delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate day and night." If you want to preach, but lack these qualities, then wait. Develop these first. You can hardly motivate others to become what you have not become yourself.
Preparation. Learn to read. Reading comprehension is an essential tool to understanding the scriptures and related books. Learn to think. Many of the things you will read in commentaries and even in brotherhood periodicals will be false. Woe is that man who in his preaching and Bible class teaching merely parrots what he has read. Learn to differentiate: between truth and error, between fact and supposition, between what is clearly taught and what is in the "gray" area, between what is congregationally applicable and what is individually applicable, between the time to "rock the boat" and the time not to "rock the boat." "Be ye wise as serpents, and harmless as doves"
(Matthew 10:16).Learn courage. You will be faced with pressures and intimidation from every side. To some, you will preach too hard; to some, too soft. Some will pressure you to compromise; others will try to force you into some "hard line" position which you really can't find in the scriptures. Please God. Get along with the brethren as far as possible, but not at the risk of losing your soul. If problems do develop, take a long, hard look at "self." We fear that many a man has created a "doctrinal" crisis in an effort to cover up his own bad disposition and dictatorial attitude.
3. Presentation. You are no longer a school boy playing a part on a stage. Neither are you a comedian being paid to entertain an audience. You are a dying man preaching to dying men and women the only message on earth that can save their souls. Speak to them. Help them to see their sins, and point them to the Savior. Speak with the warmth, and love, and sincerity that will let them know that you care for them and their eternal destiny. What you speak may be more important, but how you speak is important, too.
L. A. Mott, Jr. (Notebook on Jeremiah, p. 67) writes: "Someone has said that there are three kinds of preachers. The first has to say something—he is a paid talker who has to fill a certain amount of time each week. The second has something to say, and that is a whole lot better. But best of all is the third— the man who has something to say and has to say it. That is the kind of preacher Jeremiah was." And that's the kind of preacher you must be.
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larryrouse@aubeacon.comOther Articles by Bill Hall
The Cost of Influence and Reputation
By Grace Through Faith But When?
Good Leadership
Christians With No Denominational Ties
Two Men Can't Agree on Religion
Two Men Know They Are Saved
The Church's Purpose
Attitudes Towards the Weak
The Booing Spectators
Two Men Disagree With the Preacher
