Pastoral Preaching
There are several factors that affect how a pastor views, and therefore goes about, his work. Most would readily agree the pastoral office is a vocation (from Latin, vox, voice) and thus a calling. But a calling to what? Many answers are offered to that question and, in turn, result in widely different ways of pursuing pastoral ministry.
Pastor as Preacher
Models for pastoral ministry abound in our day. Some see the pastoral role as that of CEO, others as a military general, still others the Bible scholar whose primary responsibility is to deliver the Word each Sunday. This latter view, that of pastor-as-expositor, finds expression in the title “preacher.” While a term of endearment on the lips of most, it nevertheless indicates an understanding of the pastoral role.
Among those of us committed to a high view of Scripture, the Bible expositor/preacher model has held special sway. After all, Paul did charge his young protégé, Timothy, to “preach the Word,” did he not? No less than G. Campbell Morgan, marvelous man of God, expositor, and homiletician, is said to have described the ideal pastorate as “a beaten path from the study to the pulpit.” There is good reason to rethink this model as the primary role for the pastor because that path must to go straight through the lives of those we shepherd.
Scripture tells us that pastors will one day “give an account” of their stewardship of those entrusted to their care:
Obey your leaders and submit to their authority. They keep watch over you as men who must give an account. Obey them so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no advantage to you. (Hebrews 13:17)
The comments in the Expositor’s Bible Commentary are helpful in showing the relevance of this passage to the pastoral role:
The pronoun autoi [‘they’] puts some emphasis on the subject: “They and no one else.” The verb “keep watch” means literally “keep oneself awake, be awake.” There is the imagery of the leaders keeping awake nights in their concern for their people.
“They keep watch over you” is more literally “they keep watch for your souls,” … a reference to spiritual well-being. The leaders are concerned for the deep needs of their people, not simply for what lies on the surface.
It is incumbent on the pastor to understand the people in his congregation, especially their spiritual status. We see the sort of personal interaction that allows one to know the needs of his flock in the example of Paul and his ministry in Thessalonica. Although he spent a relatively short time with the Thessalonians (2-3 months), an extremely deep bond developed as described in 1 Thessalonians 2:17-20:
…we were torn away from you for a short time (in person, not in thought), out of our intense longing we made every effort to see you. For we wanted to come to you — certainly I, Paul, did, again and again — but Satan stopped us. For what is our hope, our joy, or the crown in which we will glory in the presence of our Lord Jesus when he comes? Is it not you? Indeed, you are our glory and joy.
Therefore, pastoral ministry is more than preaching.
But, of course, it is not less than preaching. Proclamation is a vital part of pastoral ministry, but it is a part, not the whole. There should be a symbiotic relationship between preaching and personal ministry. In fact, one’s preaching will be more effective as he engages in personal ministry to the flock. As one seminary professor put it, “To be a better preacher, you need to be a better pastor.” Paul understood this vital relationship and therefore we often find him reminding his readers of the personal ministry he had among them (see, for example, Acts 20:17-38)
Pastor as Meddler
We see from Scripture, in both precept and example, that the pastoral calling involves personal knowledge of the flock for spiritual purposes. The pastor evaluates the spiritual status of his congregation, selects Bible books to preach on that basis, and offers illustration and application that addresses the sheep, personally.
But the assessment the pastor makes of his people’s spiritual needs and his endeavor to meet them can make preaching an intense experience, giving rise to the old quip, “Pastor, you’ve gone from preachin’ to meddlin’”. Though often said in jest it nevertheless highlights a challenge for pastoral preaching namely, it’s not easy for the pastor or the congregation.
For the pastor, he runs the risk of angering and alienating those for whom his applications are most poignant. For the congregant they may pine for another messenger who will “preach the Word” sans application. After all, the radio preacher never, ever talks like that, he just exposits the passage. But you must remember, the radio preacher is just that, a preacher, not your pastor. If he is a pastor at all, it’s not at your church. And if he’s a celebrity it’s at a very large church, so he not only doesn’t know you, but he also doesn’t know many of his own people. If there is application, it is to people and struggles he knows nothing of. As a result, he stands above the fray, speaking to the needs of no one in particular. It’s easier that way, but also less effective for sanctification. Listeners learn the Bible, but not how to live what it says.
When we remind the pastor to just “preach the Word” we need understand that the Word itself assumes application. The books of the Bible were all, all of them, written for the purpose of meeting the needs of those to whom they were first delivered. What was written was determined by what was happening in their lives and the world around them. We preach what they said, but move its relevance from them, then and there to us, here and now.
Pastor as Servant
A pastor can overcome his natural hesitation to rock the boat by remembering that just after Paul told Timothy to “preach the Word” he said, “correct, rebuke, and encourage” (2 Timothy 4:2) and that he gave Timothy that solemn charge “in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead” (2 Timothy 4:1). Therefore, he will undergo an evaluation much more important than that given by the listeners. In preaching and applying he’s serving the One Who called him, and those by whom he was called to serve. It’s more loving to tell people what they need to hear than what they want to hear. But Paul had to steel Timothy’s spine precisely because it’s hard. So may we preach as pastors who, like Martin Luther, understand the risk but live for the Reward. Luther said:
If I profess with loudest voice and clearest exposition every portion of the truth of God except precisely that little point which the world and the devil are at the moment attacking, I am not confessing Christ, however boldly I may be professing Christ. Where the battle rages, there the loyalty of the soldier is proved, and to be steady on all the battlefield besides, is merely flight and disgrace if he flinches at THAT point. (Martin Luther quoted in Harold Lindsell, The Battle for the Bible, Zondervan, 1976, p. 201)
Ken Brown is the pastor of Community Bible Church in Trenton, MI. We republish his article by permission.
Photo by POOYAN ESHTIAGHI on Unsplash