What is the Greatest Challenge for a Preacher?

Many who will be reading these words may be aware that I “retired” from full-time preaching at the end of 2016. I used the quotation marks because I have not stopped preaching altogether. It is just that I am no longer the full-time located preacher for one particular congregation. 

As I think back on my (almost) forty years of full-time located work and as I consider the role in which I am presently trying to serve, I am aware of any number of challenges faced by preachers of the gospel. It seems to me that many of those challenges would fall under two broad headings:

• Time management – How does a preacher find adequate time to fulfill all of his roles; not only in the local congregation, but also to his family, community, the brotherhood at large, etc.? How does he find time for his own personal devotional time? When does he have time “just for himself?”
• Expectations – Unless you’ve served as a preacher, you cannot possibly have any idea about all of the (often conflicting) expectations that people have. It is even difficult to imagine all of the different “categories” into which various expectations would be placed. In addition to these challenges, a preacher is also aware that the One whom he serves has some very definite expectations. The preacher is also very aware of the fact that this is the only set of expectations that truly matters.

While there are many, many more categories (and subcategories) that could be mentioned and discussed, I would like to “turn the clock back” about half a century. To be specific, I would like to turn the clock back to a moment in time when a man made a prediction that, sadly, has proven to be true.

In 1966, a group of young men were students at what was then known as Alabama Christian College. The name of that institution has changed in the intervening years, but, in my opinion, the message delivered to those who were preparing to preach the gospel of Christ is as relevant today as it was then. In fact, I would argue that it is even more relevant now than it was then.

According to some material I read fairly recently, the late brother W. B. West is quoted as saying the following words to those who were in attendance on that day:

Young men, the challenge you will face in your preaching life will be about the authority of the scriptures.

I graduated from high school in 1966. I can very easily think of a long list of things that could have been discussed. The authority of the scriptures would not have even been on my list. As I reflect on this, it seems to me that many of the things that might have been on my list were only peripheral issues. 

I may not be alone in this. It seems to me that many of the issues being discussed at the time by gospel preachers and others might have missed the main point. I am not trying to imply that these discussions were a waste of time. Some important issues were discussed and clarified. 

Many, if not almost all, of those discussions concerned the proper way to interpret scripture. There was much less discussion about the validity of scripture. It was typically assumed that the scriptures were authoritative. Most of the disagreements that arose were about how the scriptures authorized and/or what they authorized. 

It seems that brother West may have put his finger on something that others may have overlooked. Apparently, he was aware of forces already at work that would undermine the entire concept of the scriptures being authoritative at all. 

He was right. 

We now live in an environment in which men who have chosen to give their lives to preaching the saving message of the gospel of Christ all too often find themselves delivering that message to people who no longer believe the scriptures to be authoritative. It is increasingly fashionable today to view the Bible as a collection of uninspired “stories” or “myths” written by uninspired men. 

Sadly, some of those people who have abandoned any real respect for the scriptures are sitting in the pews in church buildings on a regular basis. It is even more sad to have to acknowledge the undeniable fact that some of those men who are behind the pulpits are in that same category.

If you know a preacher who truly believes in the authority of the scriptures, I would request that you do two things:

• Express your gratitude for him. Express that gratitude to God and to him.
• Pray for him. He is facing more challenges than most of us can imagine.

All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:  That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works (2 Tim. 3:16-17, KJV).

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AUTHOR: Jim Faughn