Preacher Thoughts on Tone, Criticism, Scripture, Confession and Valentine’s Day

Random thoughts (no doubt related to conscious thoughts) are constantly in a pastor’s mind. What do I think about that? How should I handle this? Which approach is most Christ-honoring, most helpful, most impactful? I have no idea if any of what’s banging around in my head will connect with or assist your thinking today. But hey, I’m gonna try, if only to experience the benefit of getting my own thoughts ‘on paper.’ Here they are, with the prayer that I can be a blessing to you and your ministry.

Shepherd, Teacher, Prophet

Shepherds comfort and encourage with the Word; teachers explain its meaning with clarity, forming a solid doctrinal foundation for life in Christ; prophets call out sin and exhort us toward holiness. Each of us as preachers, by personality and practice tend to entrench one of those tonalities in our preaching. But what if you let the Word of God set the tone for your message this weekend? Effective preachers are asking not just “What should I preach,” but “How should I preach it?” Your answer to the second question will migrate toward your most common tonality, if you’re not intentional. Surely we should not be preaching the comforting words of John 11, where Martha and Mary are weeping, with the same tone as Jesus’ address to the Pharisees in Matthew 23. If the passage is bringing comfort as a shepherd would, make sure you match that gentle pastoral tone which communicates care and supportiveness. If something is being taught that is prophetic, bring the thunder as a prophet would, calling the people to God’s holy standard without apology. If the passage is complex and/or doctrinal, slow down and take the time to teach them the Scriptures with careful attention to understanding. Which tone/approach comes most easily to you? Many sermons require all three, but take the time to locate the dominant tone of the text reaching past your ‘go-to’ tonality to match the tone of the text. Your people will be better served, and God’s Word will be more effectively and accurately communicated.

Keep Your Exhortations about Fellow Pastors Out of Public View

As Christ followers, we don’t criticize brothers or sisters in Christ publicly. Not on Twitter, not on blogs, not by name, certainly not from the pulpit—not ever. Discussing issues and debating doctrinal variances can be edifying. But if the matter is personal, even if the error has become public, we still allow ‘love to cover’ (1 Peter 4:8) and go to the person privately. If we don’t have or can’t get access to the person, we pray that someone with access will be faithful to their responsibility and bring the needed correction—but we don’t air our dirty laundry. If the person needing correction is a false teacher (error that threatens the gospel), then public warning may be called for; but love for God’s family, witness before the world, and biblical understanding of Christian relationship calls for rebuke of brothers to be private, not public. Don’t let those who see it differently egg you on to ‘take a stand.’ Stand for brotherly love and get off your soap box. I could give examples of fellow pastors who need to hear this, but that would violate the principle I am sharing here, wouldn’t it? I could give past examples of where I failed in this, but that would only repeat the error of public rebuke, when private reproof is what the Scripture calls for. Read a fuller post on this here.

Reading the Scripture during Worship

A recent post described the powerful impact of Scripture reading that is carefully prepared and given during worship. I remember Haddon Robinson reproving the class during my doctoral program about the negative impact of reading Scripture poorly in public, and all that is lost when that happens. See below the elevated impact when the Scripture is actually memorized by the worship leader and declared with biblical authority over the people. How awesome to elevate the Word of God during worship. How impactful for worship leaders themselves to be encountering the Scriptures in such profound ways. Glory to God.

(Please open the article to see the flash file or player.)

Admit When You Are Wrong

Why are pastors so reluctant to admit their error? James says: “We all fall in many ways” (James 3:2). Don’t stick your head in the sand; don’t run for cover and ride it out. Reach for the mea culpa and admit when you are wrong. Don’t worry about giving fuel to critics; focus on giving fuel to God’s favor on your life/ministry. Confession in a Christian is good for the soul—and confession in a pastor’s mouth is good for him and the whole congregation. When your actions send a message that is different than your heart, change your actions and confess the error in judgement. When your behavior is rightly criticized, don’t fire back or counter the attack; admit your failing and turn away from it, maintaining your faithfulness to Christ and His Word. It’s not your unfair critics or your always-enthusiastic supporters that you should listen to most. Between those extremes are the majority who don’t think you’re perfect and won’t bail on your ministry just because you handled something poorly, or verbalized it badly, or prioritized it weakly. The vast majority of people in your church just want to know you are listening to God and others, and being sanctified by Christ as they are. Admit when you are wrong and change what you can—that goes a long way with godly people, and it accelerates God’s purposes in you.

Are You Preaching the Word “in Season”?

I have always focused on “preach the Word . . . in season and out of season” (2 Timothy 4:2). While the original language in that passage means literally “good time not good time,” and the context is addressing apostasy, we can consider more than that in choosing what to preach. When I was much younger I used to be frustrated by the Christmas interruption to business-as-usual exposition, let alone times like Memorial Day and Valentine’s. For too many years, I let those and many other special seasons on the calendar pass without mention or observance of any kind. I think, as a young pastor, I was so passionate about faithfulness to the routine, I didn’t want to vary the pattern for any reason. More recently, though, I have seen the benefit of trying to get biblical mileage out of important subjects the culture is discussing because the calendar has raised it. Without question, more people are thinking about marriage at Valentine’s Day—so we did a special event recently to minister to our people in that vein. We are planning some summer ministry this year that will connect with people when they are outside and enjoying the weather. We do a summer day camp for kids, called “High Five,” and a fall festival that brings families together. Faithfulness to Scripture is the priority, but that does not mean you can’t, on occasion, choose subject matter already on your people’s minds because the culture has spent billions of dollars drawing it to their attention. “In season and out of season” should include faithful consideration of the best seasons to gain ground on particular subjects with your congregation.

That’s some of what I am thinking about now—hopefully you found something helpful in the ‘brain dump.’ Stay faithful to Jesus, stay focused on His Word, and pay attention to your ministry today. That’s what I’m trying to do.

“Practice these things, immerse yourself in them, so that all may see your progress” (1 Timothy 4:15).