The Preacher as Frail, Watchful and Gifted Worker (Part 4 of 4)

The Preacher As Worker

In this series of articles we have looked at the preacher as frail, watchful and gifted. The last title provides a foil and counterbalance to the notions of frailty and giftedness. It arises out of the pastoral epistles and concerns the preacher as a worker. The background may possibly lie in Lord’s compassion as he sees people harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. He observes that the harvest is plentiful and the labourers are few before urging urgent and earnest prayer for the Lord of the harvest to send out labourers into his harvest (Matthew 9:35–38). The image here is of workers working alongside God in God’s field or building or kingdom for the benefit of God’s people.

Whether or not this imagery sits behind our central passage, Paul’s advice to Timothy is strong. Amidst the background chatter of quarrels about words and irreverent babble, Timothy is to heed this advice. He is to…

–

The language of ‘presenting yourself to God’ could be drawn from a sacrificial context. Alternatively, it may be better to consider it as the language of presentation before a judge. When this is coupled with the concept of approval, the picture is of Timothy as accountable before one greater than himself as a worker. Surprisingly, little is made of this term in some commentaries and yet surely the phrase means exactly what it says. The preacher is a worker. They are a person who labours just as Jesus speaks of his disciples as labourers in a plentiful harvest where the labourers are few (Matthew 9:37–38).

Timothy is to be watchful although beset by frailty. He may be gifted but he is also a worker with a focus on a work of which he need not be ashamed (2 Timothy 2:15). Presumably, this lack of shame is reflected in the following phrase: ‘rightly handling the word of truth’, that is, cutting it straight. It is the opposite of what is done by Hymenaeus and Philetus who depart from the truth and thereby destroy the faith of some.

As preachers our frailty is not to find expression in neglect. Nor is our giftedness to find its outworking in slackness. Rather, as labourers or workers we are to cut the word of truth straight. This might mean reading the text long and at depth for ourselves. Possibly it means late nights or early mornings stewing over the text of Scripture, thinking hard, struggling and working at our desks and not just to preach but also in our regular, reading, marking, learning, and inwardly imbibing the truths of Scripture.

This Preacher at Work

In my own situation, I am currently preaching through the book of Judges with two congregations. It is a very difficult and complicated book with immense significance for the people to whom I preach. The place where I study it is littered with pieces of paper with the text of Scripture on it and my jottings surrounding it as I’ve read the scriptures for myself. Then there are the tools of trade, a whole variety of commentaries with which I interact and against which I play off my own reading. There is prayerful and reflective choice making as I work hard to try and cut straight the scriptures before I turn it into a written document that I will preach.

On one occasion, the particular passage being grappled with in Judges drove me to address a topic that I would much rather have avoided. However, God in and through his word drove me to the topic and as his worker, there was no choice. Knowing that it was to him that I would have to give an account, I made the hard choice and pressed on. I suspected that some who heard would have disagreed but it was not to them that I would give an account.
Such is the call of the preacher who is a worker in God’s field. To you, God’s fellow workers, I offer the final prayer in this series.

A Prayer for the Preacher as God’s Worker

Lord God, thank you for your people. Thank you for your word. I offer myself to you this day as your worker who will give an account to you.

Please help me to be a diligent and hard worker who cuts straight your word. Please correct me and keep me from falsehood.

I pray this for the glory of your Son, so that your church might indeed make known the wisdom of God in its rich variety to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. In Jesus name. Amen.

Afterword

I began this series by speaking of a year out of formal ministry. It was an amazing experience as I worked regular hours in an ordinary job. The hours were very regular and the evenings free of the burden of pastoral contact and impending deadlines for sermons. The phone did not ring much.

However, the first sermon after almost a year of not preaching reminded me of where I belonged and of that for which God had crafted and equipped me. While all preachers might at times crave release from the burden of their task, carrying God’s word to God’s people and God’s world is to be in the presence of God himself. Although it is burdened and fraught with watchfulness, with frailty, with struggles over giftedness, and with hard work, such is overwhelmed by the joy of working beside God in his work of making known to his people and to the world the glories of his Son.

See here for Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3.