Tag Archives: preaching

New Series: The Preacher Unmasked

Preaching

face and hands of mime with dark make-upPreachers are a dime a dozen. Good preachers are rare. Perfect preachers do not exist. Yet churches often expect their preachers to live and function at an unreasonable level. I have been at the Eastern Shore Church of Christ for 13 years this month. During that time I have enjoyed nothing but support and encouragement from every person here. I honestly have no complaints or discomforts. The people here care for me and my family far beyond anything I deserve.

But some of my preaching colleagues are not so blessed. Hardly a week goes by when a brother is hurt by some excessive expectation. It is for these brothers that I write a series I call “The Preacher Unmasked.” Truthfully, many preachers would prefer I not write this. They are comfortable behind the facade of strength, endurance and purity. But when we fail to meet those expectations, and we will, trouble is close.

I do not offer this as any kind of expert. I am not. I struggle with the same issues. I just hope to help.

My goal is to stimulate thinking among brethren as to how they can encourage their preachers. Men are leaving the pulpit for secular work and that is a shame. If a congregation loses a man to secular work they should explore their own culpability, if any, and make corrections.

This series, which will appear over the course of the week,  may prove inflammatory to some people. But let me be clear about three things.

  1. This is not about my work at Eastern Shore so don’t call and offer me a job. I truly am blessed beyond measure. It is because of their love and support for me that I can write such a piece as this with comfort and security.
  2. This is not about any one congregation or work. I have no interest in singling out anyone. But if you feel a bit uncomfortable you should consider a few hours of introspection.
  3. My ultimate aim is to glorify our Lord Jesus Christ. He is glorified through the work of all Christians.

Please read on. I hope it helps.

Bryant Evans may be reached at bryant at bryantevans.com. You can follow Bryant on Twitter @jbevans.

Devilish Piety

Church Bulletin, Doctrine, Homilitics, Satan, ,

Some people just look righteous don’t you think? They seem to have an angelic glow about them and always seem to have just left the throne on high. They appear to be people of near constant peace and joy. But we know that looks are not everything. We know the old cliché that “you can’t judge a book by its cover” is powerfully true. You may have been hoodwinked by someone who seemed so pious. Let us consider the question of whether the appearance of piety equals the reality of righteousness.

Arising from an old Latin word, piety simply means reverence for God or a completion of sacred duties or obligations. We can never fully know the quality of man’s heart or his actual devotion to God. But our question here centers on the appearance of devotion and whether or not we should be drawn to someone based only on that appearance.

Appearances Are Deceiving

One of the most chilling passages in the Bible is found in 2 Corinthians 11:11-15:

For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.  So it is no surprise if his servants, also, disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. Their end will correspond to their deeds. 

Not even the pulpits of our time are free of false teaching! To look only upon the outer behavior and conduct of a man is not sufficient. He may be a teacher of falsehoods ensconced in a satanic disguise. No one wants to believe their preacher, teacher or mentor is doing the work of the evil one but Scripture is clear that false teaching is found even among the church. Paul speak of false teachers who “slipped in” to the church to lead God’s people back into the slavery of sin (Galatians 2:4-5).

Rely on Truth

If appearances can be deceiving, how then can we choose the people who teach us and guide us in this life?

The only foundation is the faith delivered “once for all “(Jude 3). That foundation is the word of God, inspired (2 Timothy 3:16-17) and given by holy men without any private interpretation (2 peter 1:20-21). We cannot reply on any teaching, any creed or any confession not given by inspiration alone. Only the truth saves (John 17:17; Psalm 119:160) and any departure, regardless of the reason, is indefensible.

So as a practical matter, never trust a preacher, even this one. Place your entire confidence in God and in His ability to communicate to you. Listen carefully to your preacher, very carefully, but then test his words against the truth you possess in the Bible (Acts 17:11; 1 John 4:1).

Some things are priceless. Your soul is priceless. Never entrust your soul to anyone other than the Lord. Those who appear pious may be or they may not be. Only by comparing their words against the divinely inspired Scriptures can we know the truth that sets us free (John 8:32).

 Bryant Evans may be reached at bryant at bryantevans.com. You can follow Bryant on Twitter  @jbevans.

What’s The Point of a Sermon?

Church Bulletin,

It’s Sunday morning, the Lord’s Day (Revelation 1:10), and people are preparing for worship. They expect to enjoy beautiful singing, powerful prayers and the fellowship of the Lord’s Supper. They will reach into wallets and purses and give back to God for the support of the church. But along the way they will hear a sermon. For some, it’s the low point of the service. It’s the part where they have to sit and listen. Why not just keep on singing? Everyone loves to sing! What’s the point?

It is a valid question. I think I have a valid answer.

Preaching is given by God.

For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.  For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent. Where is the wise? where is the scribe? where is the disputer of this world? hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe. (1 Corinthians 1:18-21)

Preaching comes from God for the benefit of the hearers. Preachers today stand in the tradition of the ancient prophets who spoke forth the message of God. Of course the prophets received their message from God directly and often miraculously foretold the future. We can’t do that today but we can speak forth the truth of the message as revealed in Scripture. Preaching was also a part of the services of the original Christians (Acts 20:7; Acts 19:13). So we have a gift from God and an example of how  that gift was used in the early church.

But what’s the point of a sermon? What good is it supposed to do? A sermon functions on at least three levels. First, the sermon gives glory to God by extolling his goodness as seen through Jesus Christ. Any preacher who does not point to Jesus Christ is wasting time.

Second,  a good sermon will increase Bible knowledge. We are to know God’s word (John 8:32) and to study it (2 Timothy 2:15). Hopefully a preacher’s training and study will come through in every message and deepen the hearer’s faith and knowledge.

Third, the sermon helps the hearers deal with life. The challenges we face today are nothing new and our temptations are not unique (1 Corinthians 10:13). Bible characters faced the same problems we face. Their victories and their failures instruct us through life (Psalm 119:105). A good sermon helps people face their struggles and make wise, Bible-based decisions about life.

The preacher has an awesome responsibility to present only the truth. The pulpit does not belong to the preacher or even to the congregation. It is God’s piece of real estate. When preachers stand there and proclaim the message of truth they speak for the Almighty to the people. Did you get that? They speak for God. A preacher must preach relevant Biblical sermons to God’s people.

Hearers have a responsibility too. Listen carefully to the message, check the veracity of the message against the text of the Bible, listen for topics that address issues in your own life and tailor the lesson to your own needs.

What’s the point of the sermon? The point is to teach and train men and women to overcome the obstacles of this life and build upon its opportunities. Listen carefully and milk out every bit of truth possible. You will be blessed!


A Call for Courage in the Pulpit

2 Timothy, Bible General, Church, Homilitics, Uncategorized, Worship, ,

Preaching is the finest task a man can do. There is no more demanding work than that of a dedicated spokesman for God. The task is too important to be left to last-minute-find-a-sermon-on-the-internet kind of preachers. The preparation is hard and the presentation exhausting. To be sound, preaching must be done with courage.

Sound gospel preaching demands courage.

The time for men willing to stand and speak plainly is now. It takes little or no courage to preach the trends of today. Few people will complain of preachers who sound more like television variety show hosts or who seem to craft their preaching after a stand-up comic somewhere. However, men who call sin what it is and point out sin in their communities and even in their churches are not terribly popular.

“For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.” (2 Timothy 4:3-4)

Paul’s carefully worded, inspired advice to Timothy speaks plainly to us today. Continue reading A Call for Courage in the Pulpit →

Preach!

Bible General,

“preach the word”

(2 Timothy 4:2)

Paul’s encouragement to Timothy is brief but packed with power. Oh that men would heed that simple call today! Behind the scenes at this blog, I get to see the search engine terms that people use to find us on the internet.  This week, someone typed in the term “becoming a baptist preacher.” For some reason, that term intriqued me. Truthfully it could just as easily say becoming a Methodist preacher, or Lutheran preacher or even becoming a church of Christ preacher. I suspect the person behind the search was a member of that denomination and desired to preach for them. But I think his terminology suggests a problem.

Like churches, preachers were never denominated in the New Testament. They simply preached the gospel of Jesus Christ. Jesus, in Mark 2:2 is said to have spoken “the word” to the people in the house at Capernaum. At least 8 times in the Acts, the disciples were said to “preach the word” to people (c.f. Acts 8:4, 25; 11:19; 13:5; 14:25; 15:35, 36; 16:6). Notably, they did not preach Baptist doctrine, they did not preach Methodist doctrine, they did not preach Catholic doctrine. They simply preached the word of God.

We may even go so far as to say that they did not preach “church of Christ” doctrine except insofar as that doctrine was the word of God. While one may call himself a “church of Christ” preacher and may fill a pulpit in a building with “church of Christ” on the sign, there is no automatic gurantee that the man is preaching the word of God.

Good and faithful men have written volumes on every possible spiritual topic. Yet, for all their wisdom and soundness they are not appropriate sources for our sermons. Our source must be the word of God that flows to us from the Holy Spirit and through the inspired pens of holy men (2 Peter 1:21).

As we preach, let our words and thoughts originate in God’s text and not the meandering thoughts of men. Let us stand in the Scriptures alone and truely preach from the wealth of God goodness and richness. Our brethren will be blessed and the church will grow.

Roger Johnson, Columbus, GA

Bible Lectureships,

Any number of people contribute to our lives. Some in great ways and some in smaller, less noticeable

Roger Johnson, minister at the Edgewood church of Christ
Roger Johnson, minister at the Edgewood church of Christ

ways. Roger Johnson played a pivotal role in my life when, in 2000, he strongly suggested that I reconsider my decision to preach only intermittently.

Roger, who now preaches for the Edgewood church of Christ in Columbus, Georgia, was then my preacher at the Northport church of Christ in Northport, Alabama. Previously have preached in Memphis, Tennessee, Roger encouraged me to apply for his old position which had recently opened. While that did not work out, it did propel me into the search for full time work. My next attempt, a few weeks later, was at Eastern Shore and as the old saying goes, the rest is history.

Bobbi and I were perfectly comfortable in Northport. We loved the church and were very involved. I was a career Registered Nurse and had settled into the expectation that I would retire from nursing one day. I had graduated in 1987 with a degree in Bible but found the reception unwelcoming as I searched for preaching work. I returned to school and earned a degree in nursing. Life was good.

Sometimes however, we all need a gentle nudge. Many others helped me become a preacher too and in future times I will write about them. But for now, I am thankful to Roger for that push. So the next time you see him you can either thank him or slap him as you see fit.

Should the IRS Control the Pulpit?

Church Bulletin, Eastern Shore church of Christ, General,

Last week preachers from across the nation used their Sunday sermons to publically endorse a single candidate for President of the United States.  Aside from what one might think of the wisdom of such an endorsement, it put their congregations at odds with federal tax laws regarding the churches tax-exempt status with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). This action and the resulting discussion has brought to the foreground a thorny issue which for years has not been discussed: Should  government have the power to silence the pulpit for any reason?

Let us first observe that the preachers who made endorsements did so in violation of unambiguous laws which require tax exempt organizations to avoid endorsing individual candidates for political office.  As such, unless they terminate their tax exempt status, they are in violation of  the law of the land and risk losing their status. If a church loses its tax exempt status, it must pay taxes on its weekly contribution and likely would also have to pay state taxes on property. This is a weighty financial question as well and should not be lightly considered. We will soon examine this case of civil disobedience from a Biblical perspective.

Historically, the laws restricting the extent of pulpit involvement in political campaign began in 1954 during a congressional debate of the tax code. The provision restricting tax exempt organizations from direct or indirect campaign involvement was inserted without hearings or debate by then-Senator Lyndon Johnson. There is no record to indicate why the restriction was placed. The rule applies to all organizations that are tax exempt under section 501(c) (3) of the IRS tax code, not just to churches. Although the United States Supreme Court has never heard arguments regarding churches and political campaigns, lower courts have and have upheld the IRS requirements. Generally, it is thought the rules do not violate First Amendment guarantees regarding  free speech or violate the constitutional establishment/separation clause either. Churches do have the absolute choice to avoid the conflict altogether if they are willing to forego their tax exempt status.

My judgment is that nothing should restrict the preaching of truth and such restrictions ought be immediately removed. However, such is a political question and beyond my ability to change. Certainly John the Baptist was unafraid to challenge the powers that be when he pointed to the moral failings of King Herod (Luke 3:19). Preachers must never be afraid of, or restricted in, their responsibility to preach against sin.

But even if there were no such restriction, preachers would still have to ask if there is wisdom in using the pulpit to endorse a given political candidate. And it is on this point that I disagree with many. I made a choice many years ago to never endorse a political candidate neither as a preacher nor a private citizen. As a minister of the Gospel  I am blessed to be able to speak for God. As such, I only have my credibility and the credibility of the Bible as tools of my trade. Should I become tarnished by some endorsement, I have damaged the message of Christ. I know of no individual worth such a gamble.

Consider  the possibility that after endorsing some candidate, that same candidate becomes involved in a terrible scandal. Would that not reflect upon the preacher and upon the church? It is the wiser decision to stick to the issues themselves and avoid personal endorsements.

Later this week, we will explore the idea of civil disobedience and the circumstances under which breaking the law would be acceptable for the Christian. I hope you will read carefully that article too.