It is something of a truism that seminaries are not great at teaching
preaching.
Thinking does vary on this: some believe that preachers
cannot be taught, simply improved; others that you can take someone who
cannot preach and make him a preacher. What is certain is that any
student who simply relies on the preaching experience he has in the
seminary classroom will be inadequately prepared for the preaching
ministry. Seminary preaching needs to be supplemented with experience
in the local church, at the old folks home etc.
Yet there is another thing that is not done well at seminary, something which is rarely noticed and which is consequently something of a dying art: pulpit prayer.
In fact, pulpit prayer should be a vital part of the worship service. It is at those moments that the pastor has the task of leading the people into the very presence of God. This is an awe inspiring task, not to be undertaken lightly. Such leading should be clear, suffused with biblical allusions and shaped by biblical thought patterns. It should be built on the foundation of a solid grasp of the mediation of Christ and should reflect that in its content.
Often Protestants concentrate so much on the sermon or the singing as the contact point between God and the congregation that we forget the importance of prayer. Yet corporate prayer is surely a means of grace (Shorter Catechism 88) and it thus requires that those leading worship pay as much attention to what they say in their prayers as they do to their sermons. The congregation should come away from the service believing that they have met with a holy and gracious God; and public prayer is a key element of that. Keep Reading >>>
Yet there is another thing that is not done well at seminary, something which is rarely noticed and which is consequently something of a dying art: pulpit prayer.
In fact, pulpit prayer should be a vital part of the worship service. It is at those moments that the pastor has the task of leading the people into the very presence of God. This is an awe inspiring task, not to be undertaken lightly. Such leading should be clear, suffused with biblical allusions and shaped by biblical thought patterns. It should be built on the foundation of a solid grasp of the mediation of Christ and should reflect that in its content.
Often Protestants concentrate so much on the sermon or the singing as the contact point between God and the congregation that we forget the importance of prayer. Yet corporate prayer is surely a means of grace (Shorter Catechism 88) and it thus requires that those leading worship pay as much attention to what they say in their prayers as they do to their sermons. The congregation should come away from the service believing that they have met with a holy and gracious God; and public prayer is a key element of that. Keep Reading >>>
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