I like to encourage embattled pastors who may be preaching to people who despise them and are working to remove them from the pulpit.
I’ve been there, done that, in two churches. It’s a lonely feeling, one you would not wish on your enemy.
I encourage such pastors to remember why the message of Jesus is called “good news,” and to preach that.
This is so elementary, such a no-brainer, that one might wonder why I made a point of saying it.
Here’s why: We pastors sometimes feed our people fiber instead of protein, filler instead of nourishment. I’m not saying they do it consciously–“I will now cut corners on my preaching”–but sometimes it happens as a result of neglect, fatigue, or discouragement.
Someone needs to recognize that this is happening and call us back to our God-given task of preaching the gospel. Again, you would think this would be a no-brainer. But I cannot tell you how many times pastors have told me they model their preaching after an Elijah or Jeremiah or Amos. One said his role model was John the Baptist. Personally, I don’t see it. We are called to proclaim the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ (Romans 1:16), and not to address every sinful failing of Washington, D.C. or whoever happens to be the current occupant of the White house.
Having been in active ministry since 1962, I am well aware of those substitutes for the gospel that have a way of creeping into our messages. Here are several I’ve seen in myself and noticed in you. (Consider that a friendly wink at the pastors who read this.)
1. Rather than deliver the gospel, we sometimes deliver theatrics.
Theatrics are the dramatics which often decorate sermons. Usually they involve bodily motions–walking, waving, pointing–and emotions: raising the voice, lowering it, getting tearful or excited or angry or compassionate.
It’s like a Supreme Court Justice said of pornography: “Even if I cannot define it, I know it when I see it.”