Chapter 5: What Do I Do to Encourage Good Preaching in My Church?

If you’re committed to the church you’re in; if the pastor is not teaching heresy; if the leaders lead the church to practice sound doctrine and you believe there is room to plug in and be involved in a lay capacity, then there are some ways to encourage ongoing growth in the preaching ministry of the church. Remember, no local church is perfect and we each have a responsibility to input into the betterment of one another’s lives. You cannot sit on the sidelines, but need to get in the game, ministering your spiritual gifts and giving input into the lives of other members of the body. One of your tasks is to encourage good preaching. There are a number of ways to do this.[1]

First, pray for the preacher. Pray during his sermon preparation time. Pray as he preaches. Pray that his own soul would be transformed by the truths he’s communicating to others. Pray that the church will share in that transforming process.

David Schlafer reminds us:

There is no more demanding task in ministry than preaching. Your preacher wrestles not only with homiletical techniques, personal strengths and weaknesses, rigorous exegetical requirements, a host of administrative hassles and value conflicts, and only God knows what else—but also wrestles with “principalities and powers” in standing to proclaim the Good News.[2]

John James and Gardiner Spring add to that admonition: “O it is at a fearful expense that ministers are ever allowed to enter the pulpit without being preceded, accompanied, and followed by the earnest prayers of the churches.”[3] Let’s commit to supporting our pastor in prayer.

Second, tell the preacher you’re looking forward to the sermon. Let him know that you’re supporting him in prayer and you’re greatly anticipating his message. Ask him questions of the text and explain how the sermon is going to benefit you. Let him know that you need and want regular challenge from the Word of God. You’ll encourage him greatly and give him even more reason to prepare well.

Christopher Ash explains:

Not all poor preaching is entirely the fault of the preacher; the congregation has a vital part to play. When a congregation makes it clear that they are reluctant to hear faithful preaching, that they want the sermons to be shorter and play a more marginal part in the meeting, when they listen stony-faced and give no word of encouragement, it is very hard for even the most faithful preacher to persevere (although they ought to, as Jeremiah had to). By contrast, a congregation eager for faithful, challenging Bible preaching is much more likely to get it.[4]

Third, make sure that your pastor has time to pray, study and prepare for preaching. If he’s regularly putting together a “Saturday-night special” then you and he together need to find ways to reschedule his week. Your pastor needs to be sustained in his priorities and you may be able to offer ways to relieve him of other less important tasks. Protect him from the distractions of ministry—good causes though they may be—just like the seven newly selected servants protected the Apostles so they could devote themselves to prayer and the ministry of the Word (Acts 6:4).

Fourth, make provision in the church budget for your pastor to purchase the needed resources to sustain his preaching ministry. The church should ensure he has sufficient reference books and commentaries for his current sermon series. He should also own a good Bible software program and computer to speed up his study efforts. The church should make provision for the pastor to regularly attend conferences for pastors or preaching workshops, and should also consider supporting him in any continuing education he believes would be advantageous to his (and the church’s) personal development.

Fifth, you should attend church faithfully. Just being there week-in and week-out is a wonderful encouragement to your pastor. Inconsistency in attendance can discourage and unsettle your pastor. He can become confused, not knowing whether people have heard the previous sermon or not and what amount of revision he needs to provide for people who missed the last sermon or two. So be there, no matter what.

Kevin DeYoung and Ted Kluck advise:

Go to church. Don’t go for the coffee, the presentations, the music, or the amenities. Don’t even go for the feelings you may or may not get when you go because, no offence, these feelings may or may not be trustworthy most of the time. Go for the gospel. Go for the preaching. Go to be near God’s Word.[5]

And Martyn Lloyd-Jones adds:

A number of people seem to go to a place of worship and to a service in order to go home! Their main idea seems to be to get out and to get home. Why do they go at all? That is the question, I think, that needs to be asked. Why this great anxiety for the service, and especially the sermon, to finish? There is only one conclusion to be drawn: these people need to be humbled. These people are lacking in spirituality, in a spiritual mind and outlook, and in spiritual understanding.[6]

Sixth, thank your pastor directly after the service. Paul says, “Let the one who is taught the word share all good things with him who teaches” (Gal 6:6). So thank your pastor for what you’ve learned. Don’t flatter him or give vague comments about how good it was (if it was). Try to be specific and focus on the biblical content of the sermon rather than just stories, anecdotes, or illustrations. Tell him what you intend to do as a result of the sermon. Report back to him with a progress report, telling him what changes have come about in your life as a result of his ministry.

Seventh, provide constructive feedback on the sermon itself. Your comments can be critical as long as they’re designed to be helpful. Ask your preacher to help you see where he got a particular point from within the passage. This will help to sharpen him up. It will encourage him to stick to the Bible next time, if that’s indeed what’s needed. Remember to be humble and respectful in the way you do this. The manner in which you approach your pastor and the directness with which you can speak with him, will be determined in part by the longevity and intimacy of your relationship with him. Don’t forget, it’s much harder to preach than it is to criticize preaching. So be gracious.

Eighth, treat your pastor fairly. Relate to him as a brother in Christ, a loving friend who cares for him and his family. Mark Dever recommends:

Take care in how you propose change to your pastors. Pray, serve, encourage, set a good example in your own life, and be patient. A healthy church is less about a place that looks a certain way, and more about a people who love in the right way. And love is generally best shown when it’s given in the face of circumstances we don’t like. Just think, Christian, of how we have been loved in Christ![7]

David Schlafer says it even more plainly:

If you have a preacher who may not have had the benefit of good training in homiletics, or who may be experiencing ‘homiletical burnout,’ it is, of course, important to proceed with compassion and sensitivity. Your preacher is a human being, who may well feel somewhat inadequate already. It goes without saying that the opening line of a conversation on preaching is not: ‘Last Sunday’s sermon was lousy!’ or even ‘I have some problems with your preaching.’ Begin instead with a genuine comment on whatever has been preached: there will always be something that can serve as an authentic point of argument.[8]

Lastly, you should consider the future preaching ministry of the church by encouraging up-and-coming preachers. Be on the lookout for young men who show the signs of possessing the gift of preaching and teaching. You may come alongside these men, tap them on the shoulder, and encourage them to develop their spiritual gifts or consider further training. If others in the church affirm their confidence in those same individuals, you could even financially support a young preacher or two so that they can attend Bible college or seminary. Your investment in them will safeguard the future of the church for future generations of wanting sermon-listeners.

Summary

As a sermon-listener you shouldn’t view yourself as a powerless victim nor a bloodthirsty watchdog. You’re a member of the family of God, responsible for your own spiritual growth and that of your family. You’re a vital member in the body of Christ with spiritual responsibilities towards every other member in the church, so don’t abdicate now. Good expository preaching is yours to expect. You have much to contribute in maintaining a solid Bible-teaching pulpit ministry. But a well-balanced approach is necessary.

Be on your guard for false doctrine, but don’t become pharisaic or mean-hearted over the non-essentials. You’ll need to evaluate your own heart in these matters, search your motives, and know for sure why you respond to the preaching in your church the way you do.

Be loving and tenderhearted toward your pastor while he is still learning how to preach, but don’t be naïve if you see him adulterating the Word of God. Your reactions must be based upon biblical mandates, so choose your responses carefully and confidently.

Above all, remember, just because you’re a listener and not a preacher, doesn’t mean that you’re off the hook. We listeners are to create the demand for expository preaching in our churches. We must open the doors so that faithful Bible preachers can supply what we most certainly need.

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[1] Some of the following suggestions come from Christopher Ash, Listen Up!: A Practical Guide to Listening to Sermons (New Maiden, Surrey: The Good Book Company, 2009), 30.

[2] David J. Schlafer, Surviving the Sermon: A Guide to Preaching for Those Who Have to Listen (Boston, MA: Cowley Publications, 1992), 117.

[3] John Angell James and Gardiner Spring, The Duties of Church Members to Their Pastors. A Plea to Pray for Pastors (Vestavia Hills, AL: Solid Ground Christian Books, 2009), 22.

[4] Christopher Ash, Listen Up!, 29.

[5] Kevin DeYoung and Ted Kluck, Why We Love the Church: In Praise of Institutions and Organized Religion (Chicago, Moody Publishers, 2009), 196.

[6] D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Preaching and Preachers (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing, 1971), 156.

[7] Mark Dever, What Is a Healthy Church? (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 2007), 123.

[8] David J. Schlafer, Surviving the Sermon, 115.

Chapter 4: What if There Are No Bible-Preaching Churches in My Area?

Choosing a church is one of the most important decisions you’ll make in your lifetime. The implications for you and your family are huge. The decision is more important than which new job offer you’ll accept and which school you or your kids will attend. Whenever you find yourself at one of those “life-altering crossroads” which may require you to move to another location, you must always consider what local churches are in the new area. Is there a church there with an uncompromising pulpit? Is there a church that believes, promotes, and practices the essentials of the Christian faith? Is there a church that will meet the needs of you and your family for years to come? Is it a place where you can serve, learn, and partner in gospel ministry in all good conscience? If there is no such church, you should find another job or different school in another area. Yes, that is a dogmatic assertion, but one that you will do well to follow. Too many Christians find themselves in a situation where they cannot find a good church, simply because that was not a priority in their decision-making process. And the results are often dire.

Now of course there are certain circumstances in which a believer is called to some higher public service or missionary enterprise. In such cases, the Christian must be well prepared for the difficulties of such a commitment. This type of service can only be navigated by the most mature believer who has long been on the Christian road and who has the prayer support of Christian friends and family, mission agency, and other support systems that are designed to provide regular accountability.

In addition, failing health or old age might also prevent Christians from being in regular attendance at a church.

When immobility, overseas service, or some other duty gives good reason to miss church, what can a person do in this circumstance to sustain spiritual input and continued learning? Tim Challies helps:

It may be that there are some people who, for one reason or another, are unable to attend church or cannot find a church were the gospel is preached. In such cases, an online church may be a way for them to hear good preaching and to communicate with other Christians. I do not deny that there is some benefit for them. But here we find that the exception proves the rule. Such people will necessarily long for true church and true community, knowing that the online church is but a concession to unavoidable circumstances. It is never a replacement for the real thing.[1]

The point is that listening to a sermon via the Internet, on a CD, or in some other digital format is always supplemental to real church attendance and fellowship. It cannot be a permanent substitute.

Christopher Ash explains,

When we listen to an MP3 recording of a sermon, we are not listening to preaching, but to an echo of preaching that happened in the past. Listening on my own to a recording can never be more than a poor second-best to actually being there with the people of God in a local church. It is better to listen to the pastor you know, and who knows you, than to hear a recording of the well-known preacher you don’t know, and who doesn’t know you.[2]

No Christian should desire recorded pulpit ministry as a first option, but we admit that there are times when it may be necessary, though not advisable.

If there are no faithful, Bible-teaching churches in your area and you know you or any member of your family are suffering the effects of spiritual malnutrition, there is one thing to do—move!

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[1] Tim Challies, The Next Story: Life and Faith After the Digital Explosion (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing, 2011), 109.

[2] Christopher Ash, Listen Up!: A Practical Guide to Listening to Sermons (New Maiden, Surrey, England: The Good Book Company, 2009), 12–13.

Chapter 3: What if the Sermon is Heretical?

Some people call a preacher a heretic when he is not. He might take a different view on eschatology, the mode and timing of baptism, the role of women, or the place of sign gifts in the church today. Don’t misunderstand me—these are important teachings to be sure—but they don’t necessarily make a preacher a heretic. Instead, these are the kinds of doctrinal differences that should be placed in last week’s category of sermon evaluation. Depending on your theological stance, you might lean one way or the other on these subjects. Either way, you are not a heretic and neither is the preacher who differs with you.

Others put unquestioned trust in heretical preachers who flat out deny the gospel or misrepresent the person and character of God Himself. I’m not referring to the cults such as Mormonism, Jehovah’s Witnesses, and Islam all of which deny the deity of Jesus Christ; the Roman Catholic Church which promotes the worship of Mary; Hinduism which accepts the existence of millions of gods; Buddhism which worships manmade idols; and other false systems of worship which are obviously corrupt. I’m referring to so-called Protestant preachers who are wolves in sheep’s clothing. They teach the Bible like it’s a moral handbook—a manual for personal improvement. They don’t talk about personal sin or disobedience. They don’t call people to repentance. They don’t speak of the need for forgiveness. They don’t emphasize the death of Jesus Christ as an atoning sacrifice. They speak of God as if He’s just like one of us.

If that’s the kind of preaching that’s taking place in your church, get out! Don’t hesitate. Act now. “Such men are false apostles, deceitful workers, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ” (2 Cor 11:13). The Apostle Peter said, “There will also be false teachers among you, who will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing swift destruction upon themselves. And many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of the truth will be maligned (2 Pet 2:1–2). Dear reader, don’t be one of those people who naively listens to false teaching. Don’t think that you’re immune to its devastating effects. You cannot afford to remain in that situation.

Now be careful. If the preacher gets it wrong by mistake and then puts it right when corrected, then he’s not a necessarily a false teacher. He is a heretic, however, if he holds obstinately to teaching that which the Bible shows to be wrong. A heretic is one who teaches error persistently and dogmatically, and seeks to persuade others.

Christopher Ash says,

The way to listen to these sorts of sermons is to stop listening to them! That is to say, we ought to move away from that kind of church and find a church where they believe and teach the Bible faithfully. We will not look for an exciting church, where the preaching entertains; we will look for a faithful, Bible-teaching church.[1]

In most Western-world locations, you’ll be able to find a church that teaches the gospel faithfully. That church might not agree with you on every single aspect of church practice, but at least they believe in the one true God, they love Christ, they confess their sin, they proclaim the Good News, they have a desire to understand the Word of God, and are determined to live in light of it. Maybe the preacher isn’t the best communicator in the world, but at least he’s a man of God who loves the truths of Scripture and is trying his best to teach them. That’s the church you need to be a part of. There’s no such thing as the perfect church, so don’t hold out for it. Instead, weigh up the church’s overall commitment to Scripture and make a determination based upon the essentials of the faith.

But what if you’re in one of those locations in which there are no faithful, gospel-preaching churches? I’ll answer that question next week.

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[1] Christopher Ash, Listen Up!: A Practical Guide to Listening to Sermons (New Maiden, Surrey, England: The Good Book Company, 2009), 28.