This is my contribution.
I need to be needed. This is how I am wired. Even at the
earliest stages of my life I can recall a desire to matter to somebody. As an
8-year-old attending Tanda Bible Camp in the San Bernadino mountains, I can remember
my first attempt to help someone spiritually. There was a boy who came to camp
who wanted to go home. He was in my cabin. He had retreated to the boys’ bath
house and I found him there crying. He did not have the blessings of a
Christian home like I did. I knew he needed to be there. I spent an hour
pleading with him to stay. I wanted to make a difference in his life.
Preaching has made me a better person because it has helped
me think about others. Not all the time, mind you. In fact, I could argue upon
reflection that if it were not for preaching I might not find many unselfish moments.
You see, preaching demands that you love God and people and the church more
than you love yourself. You will have to take the high road most of the time.
You will have to overcome criticism. You will have to overcome attitudes. You
will have to overcome apathy. You will have to overcome agendas. You will have
to overcome the very worst of the people who have been called to be the best.
And every minister of the gospel of Jesus Christ will have to accept the
reality that when people need you at the most inconvenient times and
circumstances that it is your job to be there and to be happy someone needed
you in that moment. Preaching commands humility and servitude.
Preaching has made me a better person because it has required
Bible study. As a young preacher, I often taught and spoke in small country
churches, in those places where people were just happy to have someone there.
They gave me the benefit of the doubt. It was not hard for me to study then,
because I was so excited and on fire for God. Someone was actually willing to
listen to me, and I felt so unworthy! I was in the realization that this was my
time and I was fulfilling it. To preach was a dream come true. But what about
when you get older? What about when your preaching honeymoon is over and the
people have become accustomed and maybe even bored with your style and approach? All
I can say is study, study, study! And I admit, when I was not in my right
spiritual heart and mind and not in love with my own personal study, the needs
of others to hear a preacher who was prepared helped me and motivated me to be
so. I have learned that the level of a person’s Bible knowledge really has
nothing to do with how serious I should be about my own. No man should preach
unless he is fully willing to give his very best to God and to supply every
person with a well-ordered and passionate study of His word.
Preaching has made me a better person because I have never
forgotten for even one minute that I must live every word I preach. I have not
always excelled at this practice, but knowing I must do so has always helped to
rein me in. My grandfather was my preacher for over 11 years of my growing
years. Not many will ever know him in the brotherhood. He was not the greatest speaker.
He did not write any books. His ministry was public preaching and house to
house evangelism and personal home Bible studies with contacts he met on the
street. But the greatest work of his preaching life was never being untrue to
any word he spoke from the pulpit or taught in a class or a home. He was
literally “above reproach.” Preachers need to get over any animosity or negativity
about living in a fishbowl. If you are a Christian, you are salt and light and
transparency is a part of the game. Embrace it. Use it as an opportunity to be
Christ-like. What could be better? Think about it! People are expecting you to
be a guide, to inspire, and to exemplify the power of God’s spirit! What an
honor. Preaching has made me wake up every day and ask myself, “How can Christ
live in me today?” and “How can I make others want what I have?”
Preaching has given back to me exponentially in comparison
to what I have put into it. I love my job! I pinch myself daily that I get paid
to do something that my heart has caused me to want to do for free or even at
my own expense. Preaching has many other blessings for me still yet to be
revealed. How exciting!
“For if I preach the gospel, I have nothing to boast of, for necessity
is laid upon me; yes, woe is me if I do not preach the gospel!” - 1 Corinthians 9:16
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