Last week I had the wonderful privilege of meeting with 17 other pastors. They were all ages but mostly Southern Baptist and mostly from the southeast. The fellowship and camaraderie among this group was outstanding. One of the leaders is a layman with a heart for pastors. A few years ago, he sold his business and began a ministry to pastors. We were blessed by his presence.
He helped us see things through the eyes of the person in the pew. He tried to help us understand what the person in the pew most wants to know. He gave us two crucial questions for every person in the pew.
First, “Is what you’re telling me going to help me attain a more favorable future?”
This is the preacher’s task, isn’t it? We have to be able to show the attender how to receive a favorable future.
Sometimes, of course, preachers wish they could preach simply to the spiritually mature. While that seems like the desired outcome, it really isn’t. I want to preach to those who aren’t convinced. I want to have the opportunity to see the lost saved and those who are struggling come to a mature faith in Christ.
If that is what I want, I must preach so that the lost and spiritually immature can see a preferred outcome.
What will that look like?
We must put ourselves in the place of others. We must remember how we struggled when we were “without hope and without God in the world.”
We must look at how most people really live, not as we think they should live. We need to understand the reality of the situation. It’s easy for preachers to be idealists, but we live in a real world–a real world that is hurting and afraid.
We must look at our own needs. The most effective preachers are those who preach first for themselves. As we deal with our own needs, we will help others as well. When we look for our own preferred outcome, we will be helpful to other people as well.
The second question was even more convicting: “What is the call to action?”
Those who attend church want to know there’s a reason for being there. They want to know what they should do when they leave. People want to have a call to action, knowing they can make a difference.
Those who are charged with preaching the word can help those who hear by showing the relevance of what they are hearing as well as a way to live out their faith.
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