WHAT’S A PASTOR TO DO? Preachers, Teachers or Motivational Speakers?
Recently I listened to a lecture in a women’s Bible study. The speaker was talking about how Christians shouldn’t be complainers and whiners and I found myself agreeing with most of what she said. However, when she mentioned that she hears many people complaining about their preacher, it sounded like she was implying that they should just stop it and let it go, I wanted to jump out of my seat. I wanted to ask these questions: If a lot of people are complaining about their preachers, could there be some real things to complain about? What if people really do have legitimate complaints?
I am not encouraging Christians to begin whining and complaining and causing all kinds of problems in their churches. I am encouraging Christians to evaluate why they attend the church they do. Why would you stay at a church when you feel the need to constantly complain? There is nothing wrong with asking your preacher questions. A preacher should be able to back up everything he says from the pulpit with Scripture. Most people wouldn’t continue to eat at a restaurant that didn’t serve a good meal or go to a store with poor service.
Why would you stay at a church with a bad or mediocre preacher? Or a preacher that sounds more like a motivational speaker or a bad psychic that sprinkles scripture onto their messages from time to time. I truly believe when picking a church, we are picking a pastor that can teach the Bible with accuracy! The music, distance we drive, what people wear, or the fact that you and your family have attended there a long time, etc, should be of little importance. We want the preacher that studies and teaches the Bible the best. It doesn’t matter how he dresses or if he is a good presenter. Can your preacher teach the Word of God rightly divided and does he? Does your pastor know more solid Biblical doctrine than you and is he proving this every Sunday morning from behind that pulpit? Are you and your family growing and maturing?
In 2 Timothy 4: 2-5 the Apostle Paul states:
Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all long suffering and teaching. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables. But you be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.
These scriptures state that the time will come when Christians will not endure sound doctrine. I think it is safe to say that this time has come a long time ago and is getting worse. The warning is that Christians will turn away from sound doctrine. This is simply saying that many Christians will not be able to handle Biblical truths anymore. They won’t even want to hear it, therefore preachers that are mainly concerned with church growth will not teach soundly. Isn’t this simple logic?
This is the perfect opportunity for false teachers or weak preachers to make their mark in the “religious industry.” Take a look at the Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis for deeper understanding. I know it is difficult to question someone that we have grown to know, like and trust, but take a look at the state of mass confusion Christianity is in today. This can’t be ignored anymore. Our nation is in serious trouble because we strayed so far from the ideals this country was founded on because most are not being taught by the preachers behind those pulpits. It is simply time to exit churches that aren’t teaching sound doctrine and attend ones that do. Time to evaluate.
This isn’t difficult to do nowadays because most churches put their lectures on-line. I have listened to many lectures from different churches. This is an education in itself. You can also attend a service or Bible study there. Talking to people in a congregation gives you a pretty good idea about how they teach. When I was first saved, I chose to attend a church that was a short distance from my house. In retrospect, but considering I was a new Christian, I found the sermons helpful. I was learning the basics and I needed to be somewhere the basics were taught. The problem was that they stayed really basic and eventually, we felt like we could give the sermons!
I made the common mistake that is still being made today: All Christian churches are the same and it doesn’t matter where you attend. I came from a Catholic background, so it was a fair assumption. Catholic Masses all follow the same protocol. I found Christian churches to differ tremendously and thought this might be a good time to make sure this observation is made known.
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