The Preacher as Watchful, Frail, and Gifted Worker (Part 2 of 4)

The Frail Preacher

In our first part in this series we saw that as preachers we need vigilance. We are to be watchful of ourselves in terms of our life and doctrine and we are also to be watchful over God’s people, knowing that God will call us to account over them. The second characteristic that is helpful for those who pastor God’s people through preaching the word is that of frailty.

The Context in Which We Live

To get some perspective, it might be helpful to reflect on the sorts of incentives and models that are paraded before us in the world in which we live. Some time ago I found a survey of influential Christian leaders that should be followed in the digital world. Some of the criteria for evaluating whether a person might be included in this list were are follows.

The digital Christian world leader had to…

point readers to other great writers or thinkers;
challenge the reader;
offer a different perspective on a topic;
break news; and
be relevant.

The values exalted here are clear: greatness, challenge, innovation, creativity, and relevance. Similar criteria for greatness are also displayed if you look at advertising for Christian conferences and the biographical data that is sometimes given to speakers at them (watch the adjectives and adverbs used!). Such people might be described as having mega church experience or being uniquely equipped. Their preaching is powerful and the training they offer is world class. One website characterised its speakers by where their church was ranked in the lists of the fastest growing churches or largest sized churches in a particular location. Their influence was marked as being pioneering and their ministry most influential. They were proven leaders and inspirational speakers.

Preaching Informed by a Theology of the Cross

Such samples are not unusual but can be found almost anywhere. They also appear to have been part of the language of the world into which the epistles were written. In contrast, Paul shuns human boasting and self-confidence and instead boasts in weakness and in his humiliation. For example, he speaks of himself and other apostles as the world’s scum and the scrapings from everyone’s shoes before going on and urging the Corinthians to become like him (1 Corinthians 4:8–13). The theology he advocates is not one of glory but rather one which has the cross at the centre. Such a theology captures the notion that God achieves his intended purpose by turning human ideas upside down and doing the opposite of what we humans expect and look for. He sends the saviour of the world to die on a cross and in the cross triumphs over sin even while he allows it to look as though sin and evil have triumphed. His strength is demonstrated in weakness.

An apostle of the cross would therefore not look like a king, live in a grand house, or mingle with the great ones of this world. Rather, he would be perceived as a fool, look weak, be held in disrepute, and speak a gospel that looks absolutely loopy.

Having a theology of the cross can have deep impact for the preacher. It means that weakness can be gloried in. So, there need be no shame when we don’t walk into the pulpit brimming with confidence having struggled to discern the meaning and application of a passage of scripture all week amidst the legitimate competing demands on our time that have squeezed our preparation.

Perhaps you, like me, have been working on a sermon right until the end and arrive tired and weary to preach. Maybe you might have preached it at the first service of the day and found yourself praying deeply and earnestly between it and the next service that God would redeem and bless it. This is not excuse for slackness or laziness. However, it is a foil for any disposition toward a Corinthian mindset. Our frailty and weakness can cast us where we should be, on our knees calling upon God and relying upon his help.

The point is that in Christian ministry, frailty is not our enemy but a godly friend. For when we are frail, we are dependent and trusting and that is a very good place to be, a thing to boast about (2 Corinthians 11:30). After all, God’s power is made strong in weakness (2 Corinthians 12:7b–10). If as a preacher we find ourselves down, frail, or inadequate, then we can turn to the cross and fix our eyes on what God accomplished through its apparent weakness.

Some Help From Spurgeon

Spurgeon struggled with depression and feelings of his own inadequacy and wrote some marvellous things about how it should be met and handled. One particular essay is called ‘The Minister’s Fainting Fits’ and is readily available online. To whet your appetite, here is a snippet from the end of it.

Under the heading ‘Be Not Dismayed by Soul-Trouble’ Spurgeon says…

Count it no strange thing, but a part of ordinary ministerial experience…

Cast the burden of the present, along with the sin of the past and the fear of the future, upon the Lord, who forsaketh not his saints…

Put no trust in frames and feelings. Care more for a grain of faith than a ton of excitement.

Trust in God alone, and lean not on the needs of human help…

Never count on immutability in man…

When your own emptiness is painfully forced upon your consciousness, chide yourself that you ever dreamed of being full, except in the Lord…

Continue with double earnestness to serve your Lord when no visible result is before you.

A Prayer for Frail Preachers

Here again is a prayer you might pray as preacher that is based on this notion of frailty.

Eternal God, I thank you that just as you have determined to save the world through the ignominious death on the cross of your Son, so you have chosen the weakness of the preaching of the cross preached from the mouths of frail preachers to save those who are perishing and to build up your people.

Please, in my frailty, take me and the words that I speak in your name and use them to accomplish your great purposes in your world through your Son. I pray this in Jesus name. Amen.

See here for Part 1 and Part 3.