Thursday, December 9, 2010

Why Pastors Should Share the Pulpit

Kevin Larson has a good piece at The Resurgence today called Why You Should Raise Up Preachers in Your Church. Here are his reasons:
You need a break

You need to share

You need some sympathy

You are called to equip
Check out the article in full to see his exposition and explanations.

I'd like to add a few more reasons why pastors should be sharing their pulpit as part of the cultivation of elders/leaders.

1. If you don't, you're complicit in wasting other men's preaching/teaching gifts. (This ties into Larson's point on equipping.)

2. It is unhealthy for a church to become dependent on one man/voice.
Your church needs to know that it is the Bible properly taught that is their source of strength, not a particular man and only that man teaching it. This is the inner error in many video venue enterprises. Some will say the satellite would not be viable without the "celebrity" preacher preaching, in which case I think it could be argued that if it could not survive without a particular person's voice, it is not viable to begin with. (What happens if that pastor has a heart attack? Does every satellite shut down? Or do they just play old videos?) At my church, I want to share the pulpit so that the body benefits from multiple voices among us and so they do not get to equating worship with my voice.

3. You need to sit under gospel-centered preaching and receive.
This is something I really need to work on. At the moment, I give up my pulpit several times a year -- which is good -- but it is typically when I'm guest speaking in someone else's church. But I need to sit under preaching myself. I need to let other capable men preach in my pulpit while I'm in the congregation, worshiping under the word proclaimed.

11 comments:

isaiah543 said...

Agreed.

Jason said...

This is one of the things that has always frustrated me with church. I've never been in a church that raises up preachers from within it's own ranks. I've felt a call to speak for a long time but never had a church where that gift could grow and prosper under tutelage of Godly leaders. It's too the point I've given up on being able to count on the church to help me flesh out the burning in my soul to speak about Christ and what He's done in my life.

A. Amos Love said...

Jared

What about the whole body sharing and teaching one another?

1 Cor 14:26
How is it then, brethren? when ye come together,
**every one of you** hath a psalm, hath a doctrine, hath a tongue,
hath a revelation, hath an interpretation.
Let all things be done unto edifying.

Seems everyone can, and is expected to, participate.

With only one person in the pulpit most just become spectators.
Or worse yet - Pew Potatoes. Any pulpits in the Bible?

And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold:
them also I must bring, and they shall **hear MY voice;**
and there shall be “ONE” fold, and “ONE” shepherd.
John 10:16

One Fold - One Shepherd - One Voice

{{{{{{ Jesus }}}}}}

Jared said...

Anonymous, this does not have to happen in the same gathering. A church may fulfill that description without "everyone of you" speaking at every single gathering. We fulfill this communal edification in the "prayer and share time" during our worship service and in small groups throughout the week.

There are figurative pulpits in the Bible because there is the designation of elders in the church who are required to be able to teach. And there are plenty of examples of preaching, contrary to the modern voices preaching against preaching. ;-)

A. Amos Love said...

Jared

Nice talking to you in the moment.

You write...
"elders in the church who are required to be able to teach."

Hmmm? What are the elders supposed to teach?

Jared said...

The Word of God.

Titus 1:9 says it this way: "He must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it."

A. Amos Love said...

Jared

What are the elders supposed to teach?

Amen - The Word of God.

“What” did Jesus teach? What did “The Word of God” teach?

Seems Jesus taught “His Disciples” to teach “What” He taught them.

Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them
in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and
**teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.**
Mat 28:19:20 NIV

If the word “Disciple” means - learner, student? Then...
A “Disciple of Christ” = A learner, student, learning directly from Christ. Yes?

Jesus taught “His Disciples”

1 - NOT to be called teacher for you have “ONE” teacher, Christ. Mt 23:8
2 - NOT to be called leader for you have “ONE” leader, Christ, Mt 23:10
3 - ALL shall be taught of God. Jn 6:45
4 - ALL things, shall be taught you by the Holy Spirit - God. Jn 14:26
5 - ALL truth, will come as the Spirit of truth guides and leads. Jn 16:13
6 - Jesus, as man, does nothing of himself, and is taught of God. Jn 8:28
7 - Peter, knowing Jesus was the Christ, the Son of the living God,
received the revelation from Father God, and NOT from man. Mt 16:17

NOT even from Jesus as man. Jesus gave “All” the glory, all the credit to God.

Jesus taught *The ”ONE” Teacher* is - Christ - Holy Spirit - Father - God.

If an elder is a “Disciple of Christ?”
Will he teach that Jesus/God is the teacher?

Jared said...

Anonymous, can you state your point succinctly? Is that there shouldn't be teachers? Or that we shouldn't call them that? Or that we shouldn't submit to elders (as the Bible tells us to) or that we shouldn't call them that?

Yes, preachers are supposed to glorify Jesus and point to God. I don't know why you'd think I'd disagree with that.
But, then, I'm not sure what your point is, although I suspect it's that you think people listening to a preacher at a worship gathering is unbiblical. Is that it?

A. Amos Love said...

Jared

I’ve learned a lot from...
Pastors - in Pulpits - Preaching - to People - in Pews.

I like your idea of sharing the preaching and equpping others to teach.
We don’t see very much of that at all. That’s a good start.
Causes people to study. Search the word of God.

My point is - there is even a higher way, a more useful way.

People, “Disciples of Christ,” can learn directly from God - for themselves.

What happens to all those “pew potatoes?”
When and if they lock all your doors?
And take away your Bibles and Pulpits?

Are people grown up enough to feed themselves or do they starve.
Did we really equip them? For the work of the ministry?

John 6:45
It is written in the prophets, And they shall be “ALL” taught of God.

Deuteronomy 4:36
Out of heaven he made thee to **hear His voice,**
that “he might instruct thee”...

And if I’m a “Disciple of Christ?”
And I’m interested in others becoming a “Disciple of Christ?”

Then letting people know that God can teach them seems important. Yes?

Jared said...

"Pew potatoes" is not an edifying term for what the Bible calls sheep. Some sheep love to eat on their own. Some sheep must be fed. Jesus said to do that. If I love him, I will feed his sheep.

God teaches his people, yes. The way the Bible says he does this primarily is through the Scriptures, and the Scripture's primary way of saying this is accomplished is through those gifted to teach. There is no "higher way" than the way the Bible tells us to learn. It does not make one a potato if he profits from the gift of teaching; it makes him a member of the body.

This is not to say that people mustn't "own" their faith for themselves; nobody can believe for them. And of course passive, flaccid faith is a huge problem in the church. I don't believe preaching is the root, but poor preaching certainly doesn't help.

I am not approving your next comment. It's way too long and redundant. This is not the forum for others' streams of consciousness.

A. Amos Love said...

Jared

Thanks for the time.

Malachi 3:16
Then they that feared the LORD spake often one to another:
and the LORD hearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance
was written before him for them that feared the LORD,
and that thought upon his name.

Be blessed in your search for “Truth”... Jesus...

What is popular is not always “Truth.”
What is “Truth” is not alway popular.