So you’re the “pastor” of a fellowship, and you are traditionally responsible for bringing a message every so often, generally every week or so. The general rule is that you should spend some time seeking God’s guidance as to what to say a few days from now, studying so you can pick the correct scriptures and look up some handy quotes or even prepare a joke or two to set it all off with the right mood. And if you’re really contemporary, then you need to have it prepared in time to make your own basic powerpoint presentation or have some Christian geek (like Eric) do it for you.
It all sounds well and good, only …
I can’t seem to find it in the Bible.
Now, I would like to point out quickly here that I have heard some incredible sermons in my time, and many of them were prepared, I’m sure. Some of them might even have been a little recycled. Many of those sermons and things said within them have stayed with me for years. I still quote many things I’ve heard from teachers or pastors who have prepared sermons.
But as I read the Bible, I don’t find that the standard that we hold so high anywhere among people who are about to give a message, that they prepared it before hand. They repeated what God said to them, to be sure, but not what they, through their own reason and efforts, have attained to say.
Let me use a couple examples from scripture, especially the New Testament, to help me make this clear.
Let’s take the Day of Pentecost. We all know the story, and I will spare you the lack of verbal direction given by Christ (except to pray and wait) compared to several people speaking the wonderful works of God in different laguages and the lessons we can learn there. I will instead skip ahead to Peter’s sermon. When did he prepare for that sermon? What was the result?
The answer, of course, is that he had no clue what was about to happen (different languages, people’s confusion about what was going on), or that he would be called upon to give a central message of the gospel to his fellow Jews on this day of celebration. So he did not prepare one word of what was said on the Day of Pentecost.
And the result? Three thousand came to Christ in one day, repenting and believing.
Let’s move forward into the ministry of Paul. He comes into a certain city and has to leave the next morning (on Monday). He proceeds to speak for more than twelve hours. Can you imagine a teaching that lasted all night long? In what practical way could he have prepared for that message? Did he have a big list on a scroll, like an outline, where he just had to get through these things before he left? The scripture doesn’t give us any indication that is true. This, of course, doesn’t even begin to mention how he didn’t prepare before hand to raise a young man from the dead to keep preaching to him.
Let’s skip even further into 1 Corinthians 14, one of the few places where the New Testament addresses how we should conduct ourselves in a public meeting. We are told that two or three prophets at the most should speak. What that means, to be clear, is that those with the office and role of a Prophet within their meeting, based on a common and tested use of that gift, were to stand and give messages, or what we would commonly call sermons.
But the fact that he calls them prophets implies something much more than just mere sermons. They are repeating what God is telling them to say. And Paul never tells the prophets to make sure that they have prepared what to say before hand. In fact, he says that if a second prophet is told what to say, then the first should sit down and let the second continue, as if the message does not come from a man but from the Spirit Himself. He also makes it clear that they can all prophesy, one by one. In other words, they can all hear from God and repeat what He wants to have said.
Most people are wary of this idea, but the scripture holds it as a standard. The message in a meeting comes from God and Him alone. And since we each have the Spirit within us, we are all capable of contributing in that manner on some level.
My mentor, Larry Trammell, was going to minister at a certain place at a certain time. He was asked a couple days before by someone in that fellowship, “brother Larry, are you prepared to minister?” on whatever day it was.
Larry’s answer? “If I have to get prepared, what am I now?”
Why didn’t Peter prepare for his sermon at Pentecost? Why didn’t Paul prepare for his twelve hour message or ever instruct anyone in the New Testament to prepare for their meetings of fellowship and worship?
Because Peter was already prepared, not for that specific sermon, but to say or do anything, but especially for SOMETHING, because SOMETHING was going to happen when the annointing of the Holy Spirit was on him. Paul was always prepared to speak of Christ whenever there might be an opportunity, and he expected the same standard of everyone.
I believe that the idea that this guy up on a stage has the “word of God” because he has prepared all week to say it (and because we pay him, don’t forget that) is completely debilitating to the true Church. If you have repented and believed, then you have recieved the Holy Spirit, who Jesus said would lead you into all truth. John tells us that we don’t need a teacher, because the Teacher lives in us. Even Christ said (in Matthew) not to lord yourself as a teacher because there is one Teacher, the Christ. You have the “word of God” in you just as much as any believer, from Peter to Paul to a four year old Christian. There is no baby Holy Spirit. The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. Then He ascended after resurrection and the Word became Spirit to dwell in us.
The structure of believing that the “word of God” comes from one and not all is very problematic. I’ll give a real world example. Let’s say I never teach my son how to go to the bathroom on his own. I keep him in diapers, I don’t let him feed himself. In fact, I rarely give him solid food, only milk or keep him breast feeding even into adulthood. And any attempt at his own independence is rebuked as I defend my position in his life to wipe his rear. And then I tell him to get a job and pay me money to support this position I have. What type of son would I raise?
For a quick funny, click here to see.
It perpetuates immaturity within the body out of a fear of losing our own position or identity. Most teachers become only echoes because they can only repeat what they’ve heard others say instead of being taught how to hear God through His Spirit.
Does that mean that God doesn’t use some more than other? Of course He does, but His desire is to use us all, for all of us to BE the message and therefore always be prepared. We are to live prepared because we know every moment of our lives is important on the eternal level. God can speak to us anytime, anywhere.
As someone who has been in the position where I have been looked to as a “leader” and “teacher” in the kingdom, it would always interest me how people would assume that I had been to seminary or had prepared for hours for the “sermon” I gave. They were surprised, when I told them (which was rare), that I spoke only what God placed on my heart that night and had only taught what I was led by the Spirit to teach and nothing more.
This is not boasting in me. This is boasting in Him. Did I get better at hearing and relating what God wanted me to say? Absolutely. The gift grew as my ability to hear Him did and I became more disciplined about letting go of my agenda to see what His might be. And believe me, His is always better than mine.
There is nothing inherently wrong with having a teaching prepared before hand, if that is how God gives it to you in that particular instance. But there is something inherently wrong with thinking that I HAVE to prepare something to teach, for two reasons. One, I am subverting the standard of the scripture and religiously following the traditions of men, and two, I am placing my trust in myself and not in the awesome gift of the Holy Spirit.
I expect that God teaches me always, every day, if I would but listen and obey, take the time to be still and know. I expect that God can use me to say what He will at any time. At Waffle House late at night or at a lunch date or sitting with dudes around a campfire, before a hundred pastors in India or at dinner with my wife. He is always with me, and I should always be ready to say whatever He would have me say in any situation (or NOT to say, for that matter).
This is called the simplicity of Christ and freedom in Him. He is the head and the voice, but we are the mouthpiece. That is not contingent upon your talents or education or attire or any worldly thing. It is dependent only on your obedience and willingness as a vessel.
Be free.
Peace.
britt, i really liked this post. i would say that you could say you should ALWAYS be preparing, but not just for sermons – for life as a believer.
what you say here feels so counterintuitive given most of our backgrounds, considering that most of us come from traditions where a ‘pastor’ will spend 10-15 hours doing research for his sunday morning talk.
here’s the problem i have with it. take a college professor, for instance. they have spent their careers becoming experts in various topics.
but when they are called to teach, they don’t *HAVE* to spend so many hours preparing. they simply already know enough of the topic to teach. they always keep learning.
it should be the same with us. we should be so full of God that we don’t need to spend 15 hours to teach a practical 30 minute lesson.
i’ve spent a lot of time feeling guilty over not spending this kind of time preparing for housechurch each week since we’ve started.
the funny thing? usually the weeks where i have fewer specific prepared things, the better meetings we have. better meaning more edifying, honest, real, etc.
i also think God set things up like this, like you said, because it doesn’t allow me or anybody to take credit for the awesome works of God.
I agree. It goes along with the idea of spiritual authority coming from the Holy Spirit of the Living God rather than man. If my intellectual/emotional preparation makes me more holy, then what role does God have? We allow people to come unprepared for salvation why should we not come “unprepared” again and again and let the Holy Spirit do His job?
such excellent points! don’t NOT prepare – always be preparing, since you don’t know when God is going to tell you to speak.