In the legal profession, lawyers are held to ethical and legal standards that at times are open to interpretation. Nevertheless, there are standards, and some of them form objective criteria for evaluation of conduct. Also, lawyers are subject to other measures of performance, including for trial lawyers, winning and losing. For transaction attorneys, deal closure, or the failure thereof, seems to be a meaningful standard, too.
But what about the preaching ministry? What are the Biblical, ethical or ecumenical standards that apply? Truthfully, regardless of denomination, whatever standards are taught, they are either not enforced or they are so subjective that they are of no benefit.
Unlike some observers, I have spent several years in the pulpit. The standards taught to me were simple and straightforward, but applied with discipline, they provided a straight line. Jim Avery taught me about the discipline of preparation. Terry Hull taught me the discipline of presentation from prepared materials without ad lib or extemporaneous deviation from the planned presentation. Thus, what I preached always had a Biblical basis as sound as my understanding of the Scriptures informed by my research both of the text and secondary authorities. My sermons were my own, guided by the Holy Spirit. I did take the license to clone a couple from Mr. Hull, but even then I worked them up as if they were my own and did not deviate from the discipline of preparation or presentation. Both Mr. Avery and Mr. Hull made it clear to me that advance preparation in the study was more likely to be Holy Spirit-driven than improvisations during worship services. The Holy Spirit either did not need improvisation or could provide it a day or more in advance. The Holy Spirit might think the commentators down through the ages did enough improvisation.
Lately, however, I have sat in many worship services in more than one denomination and heard sermons that were transparent in the poverty of preparation and presented as post hoc rationalizations rather than faithfully prepared presentations of the Scriptures. Do these ministers think no one is listening, and therefore the quality of their work does not matter? Do these ministers think the Plan of Salvation is on automatic pilot and their efforts from the pulpit are not needed?
What happened to the theory, if it was no more than that, that expository sermons from the Scriptures are preferred, that topical sermons might be occasionally needed, but that both are superior to “clothesline†or extemporaneous preaching? What happened to the duty of due diligence that once included a grasp of the original language of Scripture, a knowledge of the life of the author, a study of the revealed motivations of the intended audience, and some knowledge of the historical context? I was rarely able to spend more than eight hours preparing a sermon, always on a Saturday, and it always seemed to be barely enough and often too little. While I do not have a Bible college or seminary degree, I have a minor in NT, so it is not as if I was doing the preparation completely in Lincoln’s log cabin.
Very few pastors, ministers, preachers, regardless of stripe, have the ability to engage the emotions or the passions of an audience with only extemporaneous or improvised sermons. Indeed, most have little enough forensic ability even with substantial preparation. But it seems to me that that the ministers who have had the greatest long-term impact on a congregation are careful workmen of the Word, rather than after-dinner speakers. Week after week, confronting the challenges presented in the revelation of the living God, and applying it to problems large and small, seemed to create a congregation with strength of character, confidence of conviction, and loyalty to personal ministry. Ministers who skimmed the surface ended up with a spiritually shallow congregation, and other dangers as well.
Some of the greatest sermons I have heard came from preachers in ecumenical churches. These preachers were not only well prepared, but they had impressive educations as well as hundreds if not thousands of years of ecumenical experience upon which to draw. Some of the greatest sermons I have heard were about one verse, or only a few words of the text, and did not consume much time in presentation. Indeed, improvised and extemporaneous sermons often run much longer and contain much repetition. Some of the greatest sermons I have heard explained the text from the original language, and thus shed light otherwise lost in the translation. Some of the greatest sermons I have heard were from self-taught men and women, more than aware of their lack of academic credentials, but committed to the Word and its preservation in our society through accurate expository presentation.
I fear that we live in an age in which congregations are demanding more from their worship leaders and music leaders than from their preachers. I fear that we are abandoning the Word in spoken form in favor of its musical form, when we should realize that without both, neither is fully effective. Preparing the heart does no good if there is nothing or too little of the Word communicated in life-changing or spirit-sustaining measure.
It could be that the leadership of the church, regardless of denomination, has measured the minister in terms of attendance, visitors, and growth in both, rather than also in spiritual growth. It does no good to take the ground if you cannot hold it. It does no good to conquer evil if it is not replaced with a relationship with the Father. A congregation, even a growing one, that is not also increasing in spiritual maturity, is just a rabble, just an audience, and not likely to be Christ-like or striving for it. Preaching is always the first line of defense, the first step in discipleship, and the first step in reaching the individual.
Church leaders concerned about the depth of preparation, or the discipline of presentation, should confer with the preachers to whom they are accountable or whom they hold accountable. The preacher embarrassed to describe to church leadership the preacher’s preparation and presentation habits may have confessed. Discussion will reveal whether the confession is about missing skill sets, the need for renewed motivation, or the need for just a simple reminder that someone cares and is listening.
