What Kind of Preacher are You?

To all the pastors who will ever read this [and they are most likely slim to none]:

What kind of preacher are you? To whom can you be compared? What do people think of when they hear you preach the things you do? Below is a text that would serve every pastor well to live up to...

Mark 6:14-15
14 And king Herod heard of him; (for his name was spread abroad:) and he said, That John the Baptist was risen from the dead, and therefore mighty works do shew forth themselves in him.
15 Others said, That it is Elijah. And others said, That it is a prophet, or as one of the prophets.

This passage speaks of Jesus, the one whom we follow and are to imitate [1 John 2:6]. Especially as ministers of the great Gospel, we are to present ourselves in every way to be like Christ. So, for preachers, what kind of preacher are you?

Do people see you like these people saw Jesus? These were lost people who spoke this way about Jesus. they spoke with reverence for Him simply because of the way He preached. He preached with authority [Matt. 7:28-29]. He knew that of which He spoke intimately and was zealous for the glory of God in His preaching. We should all be this way.

The people confused Him for one of the "prophets of old." If you read the prophets of the Old Testament, they did not play games or speak sheepishly. They boldly proclaimed: "thus saith the Lord!" And they could do so because they had been with God intimately and were commanded to speak in such a way.

Why are we any different? Why is it that so many Sundays men will stand and "chat" about life issues instead of boldly proclaiming the Word of God? Why must we do this? The only reason i have is that we are too deep in humanism in our thinking and have spent far too little time actually studying the Bible and being alone with our Great God and Father.

We do not exist to please men! Don't preach that way. Jesus didn't preach to please men or to make their lives "better." He preached to change people from lost sinners who hate God into saints who live only to glorify Him with their every being.

So don't shy away from proclaiming the Word of God, unless you do not know it. In such case, do not preach at all. Be humble enough to confess your failure to know thy God. Silence is better than a lie.

So before you step up that platform to perform your act of worship, prepare yourself with the Word of the Lord, and speak only what He has given. Speak it boldly and clearly, as you ought [Eph. 6:19-20; Col. 4:3-4]. Maybe then people, even the lost, will respect the office of the pastor once again. And maybe, just maybe, we will be considered men who speak as the prophets of old, and truly follow in the steps of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.