the calling

Looking for a church with a powerful preacher? Are you a church looking for a new pastor?

While character, competency, and chemistry with existing leadership and staff are all important, the most important factor of all is calling. Simply put, if the man in the pulpit—or the one you’re considering putting in the pulpit—is not called by God, then I advise you to look elsewhere.

If a man isn’t called to pastor a church, then I don’t care how godly he is, how competent he is, and how much chemistry he might have with people. Calling trumps everything.

Frankly, if a man isn’t called by God to shepherd a group of people he has no business doing it. He might be effective—maybe even very effective—but if he doesn’t have the call of God to do what he’s doing, then, well, he ought to be doing something else.

Why? Because God has gifted and called him to do something else, something that betters fits his spiritual gifts and passions.1 If he or the church leaders have misread his calling the man’s not playing to his strengths, and the inevitable result is ministry that’s not as effective as it could be.

Ministry is not a job, it’s a calling. I say again, if a man isn’t called by God to pastor a church and all the things that it requires, then he should move on. Or, if you’re under his leadership, you should strongly consider finding another church.

Blunt? Oh yeah. Harsh? Maybe just a tad. Unbiblical? Not at all.

Jeremiah was an Old Testament prophet called by God to preach to his fellow Jews. Unfortunately, his message wasn’t well-received and the overwhelming majority of people rejected both him and his message.

After complaining to the Lord a little, Jeremiah says this:

“But if I say, ‘I will not mention (God) or speak any more in his name,’ his word is in my heart like a fire, a fire shut up in my bones. I am weary of holding it in; indeed, I cannot.”2

Now this is a man who’s called by God to preach. He can try all he wants to hold it inside and not say anything, but he can’t. It’s “like a fire” inside of him and, at the end of the day, he can’t stop speaking on behalf of God.

I say again, this is the kind of man you want in the pulpit, someone who has a divine compulsion to preach and teach. And if no one will hire him, then he’ll do it on a street corner and anywhere else he can find.

If a man would be satisfied being in the business world, teaching youth or doing anything else then he shouldn’t be in the pulpit. The man in the pulpit should be called by the Creator of the universe to do exactly what he’s being asked to do.

So are you looking for a church with a powerful preacher? Then look for someone with a divine compulsion, a man who has no choice but to preach and teach God’s Word.

Are you looking for a new pastor? Then look for someone like Jeremiah, who’s divinely called to preach and teach Scripture.

Settling for anything less is, well, less. And why in the world would we do that?

“But if I say, ‘I will not mention (God) or speak any more in his name,’ his word is in my heart like a fire, a fire shut up in my bones. I am weary of holding it in; indeed, I cannot.

1  See Romans 12:4-8 & 1 Corinthians 12

2  Jeremiah 20:9

our great god

What do you do when a woman interrupts the worship service, uses inappropriate language and claims the church is persecuting her?

Unfortunately, I don’t have the answers. I mean, I can tell you how I tried to handle that situation at church this morning, but it didn’t work very well. She wouldn’t calm down, wouldn’t listen to reason and refused to leave. The congregation watched in stunned silence. The woman was obviously agitated and very confused.

Praise God that a woman in the audience came to my aid and eventually coaxed her to leave the auditorium. Despite the bizarre circumstances, we continued to worship. The worship team soldiered on admirably despite the unnerving development.

After making sure the woman had someone to talk to, I returned to my seat. It was then that everything began to take its toll on me. What in the world just happened? How can I possibly preach after that?

Ignoring the worship leader’s call to sing, I bowed my head and prayed until it was time to preach. My emotions swung back and forth, praying for the Lord’s will to be done and for me to have the full armor of God on. This was spiritual warfare, pure and simple.

On the other hand, I felt absolutely terrible for the woman, knowing how confused and delusional she was. Part of me wanted to run after her and comfort her.

Regardless, I sure didn’t want to preach anymore. Those around me had seen me crying and praying, and a woman encouraged me with a pat on the back when it was my turn to preach. Knowing I had to get up and do my thing, I did.

The rest is pretty much a blur. After admitting I didn’t want to preach, I led a prayer for the woman and then delivered what God had put on my heart. To be honest, I’m not sure what I said, and if it was even close to what I had prepared.

And now, here I am, alone in my office, writing this blog entry. And I’m still stunned by what happened. Was it real or a dream? Did a woman really stand up in the middle of the worship service and say all those things in front of all those people? Did it really happen?

But when I peel back the emotions and really think about this morning, the most amazing thing is how great our God is. He took a preacher who didn’t want to preach, couldn’t preach, and preached for him. He took a broken man who was upset and under attack and delivered a message to His people.

Make no mistake, our God is a great God, the only God, Creator God. I praise your name, Jesus, I praise your holy and powerful name!

“Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.”1

1  Ephesians 3:20-21

preaching the gospel

I’m numb and can barely keep my eyes open. Another sermon come and gone.

Each Sunday it’s pretty much the same. I preach, God does His thing, and then I feel like collapsing afterwards. I love preaching, but wish it didn’t take such a toll on me.

At first I wondered whether my exhaustion was a result of getting old. After all, I’m not a spring chicken anymore. But I’ve concluded that it just goes with the territory. To preach passionately and enthusiastically just takes a lot out of me.

Yet, I can’t help wondering if other pastors feel the same way as I do, or am I somehow defective? And what about the biblical prophets? If I’m spent after preaching a sermon, they must have been on their deathbeds after saying what they had to say to an often hostile audience!

And then, inevitably, a familiar question pops into my head, most of the time on Sunday afternoons:

“Is it worth it?”

Is it worth preaching to the point of exhaustion week in and week out? Is it worth the headaches that I get on Sunday nights and Mondays? Is it worth the physical and emotional toll that it takes?

Yes, it is.

You see, I’m convinced God has called me to do this. More than that, nothing gives me more joy and fulfillment than ministry, especially the preaching and teaching part. It’s what I was designed to do, what I’m supposed to do, and what I’m driven to do.

And so, next Sunday after preaching I’ll be numb and barely able to keep my eyes open.

Again.

But that’s okay—I’m cool with it. You see, it’s what I’m called to do.

“Yet when I preach the gospel, I cannot boast, for I am compelled to preach. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel!”1

1  1 Cor 9:16