I came into pastoral ministry with a very high view of preaching. My life had been changed through the preaching ministries of men like John MacArthur and John Piper, and I was thrilled by the possibility of being an agent of that same grace in the lives of others. I believed that God’s word was the most powerful thing in the universe, and that He used the preaching of His word to transform His people and grow His kingdom. What happened for 45 minutes on Sunday morning was a supernatural event that should reverberate through the following days until we gathered again the next week.
It was easy to believe these truths while I was preaching occasionally in various churches. I did a lot of pulpit supply for a time, and so was never around to see any of the fruit of my proclamation, and had to just trust that God was going to use my messages each week to do things I’d never see.
But now I’ve been preaching regularly to the same congregation for almost 10 years, and while God has certainly blessed us in significant ways, we remain an undeniably imperfect church—and quite a bit more imperfect than a 20-year-old version of myself would have expected. I can almost hear that younger me asking, “How is that even possible? How can almost a decade of unleashing God’s truth not have transformed that place into a little glowing spot of heaven on earth? I thought preaching was the most powerful thing in the world?”
Recently, I put this question to the guys who gather for our weekly preaching workshop, and together we came up with the following answers:
1. We aren’t in heaven yet. Whatever God intends to do through preaching, it is not a replacement for the return of Jesus, and we should adjust our expectations accordingly.
2. From the perspective of Ephesians 4:11-16, preaching is not where a church’s ministry begins and ends. One of the main goals of the formal, Sunday morning ministry of the word is to equip the people of God for their informal, Monday-to-Saturday ministry of the word, which is where a significant amount of spiritual growth actually takes place. Practically, this means that the health of a church depends on far more than the faithfulness and obedience of a preacher. It also depends on the faithfulness and obedience of a congregation, a factor a preacher can influence but not control.
3. Preaching is powerful, but not in an ex opere operato (in-and-of-itself) kind of way. Some advocates of Biblical preaching seem to paint a simplistic picture, implying that Biblical exposition produces healthy churches with just-add-water Chia Pet reliability. If this were true, the New Testament would be a lot shorter than it is.
4. 2 Timothy 4:1-4, one of the most important passages for establishing the importance of preaching, explains why preaching is crucial in a surprising way: many people won’t want to listen to it, and will wander off to get their ears scratched. Preachers should not expect their preaching to be more loved, welcomed, or “effective” than that of Jesus or Paul.
5. We’re in a spiritual battle (Ephesians 6:10-20). Armies can take huge casualties on their way to victory. On D-Day, a lot of soldiers drowned before they even hit the shore. Don’t judge the success of the war from your personal experience. Sometimes, just staying upright is what winning looks like (Eph 4:13).
6. Glass-half-empty types (like me) can be easily dissatisfied by all the hoped-for growth that they haven’t seen yet. Instead, we should take time to rejoice in what God has already done. Paul sets this example well (1 Cor 1:4-9). Beyond this, we may even consider how things might look otherwise. How much evil has God held back through our simple ministries?
Much more could be said, but I’ll wrap up with this: I still believe in preaching. I still believe that God is using the preaching of His word to build His church and grow His people. So, fellow pastor, be encouraged. Yes, we’re not in Heaven yet, and it probably won’t be until then that you find out just how much God used you to do. “But as for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry” (2 Tim 4:5). Fellow Christian, take courage. Come—and go—from church this Sunday with great expectation that God will use His word in and through you as He makes “the body grow so that it builds itself up in love” (Eph 4:16). Rejoice in this: the living God is at work each week as you listen with faith and respond with obedience.
