Reading Levy's post this morning set me thinking. As I prepare to
transition from PhD studies back to pastoral ministry in the local
church, I've received much wise counsel from older saints on making said
transition. One aspect of it that has been on my mind particularly is
the temptation for those of us who preach week by week to strive to be
great preachers.
Don't misunderstand me. Preachers
should be constantly striving to improve their delivery, clarity, and
most importantly, content. We who ascend the sacred desk should warmly
receive criticism from older brothers who are better preachers than we.
We should read books that help us feed God's people better. We should
listen to the constructive criticism of those who sit under our
ministries week after week.
No, what I am
arguing against is the actual attempt to develop into a preacher with a
reputation for being so unusually wonderful that people flock to you.
There is a fine line here, to be sure: typically, gifted men attract
larger audiences. Nothing wrong with that per se.
But
the current culture of celebrity tends to foster in younger seminarians
a desire to be known as a great preacher. This seems to have been the
case in Lloyd-Jones's day as well. The young men did their best to
imitate the better older preachers like Lloyd-Jones.The same thing
happens today. But imitation, in many cases, is the mark of the
immature. You try to sing like Eddie Vedder only until you realize you
have your own voice. (As an aside, this is one reason why so much
contemporary Christian music is little better than the knock-off
colognes at gas stations). Keep Reading >>>
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