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Christian Leadership Training Course

By J.C. Choate

Lesson 7

Becoming a Preacher

It is important to know, from God’s word, the kind of leaders He requires and how to have such leaders today. The wrong kind of leader can deceive you by his teaching and by his life. He can encourage you to follow him instead of the Lord. On the other hand, a true leader of God can help you to go to heaven. Certainly, as a result of this study, we would hope that some of you who are reading this will want to become leaders in the Lord’s kingdom, the church.

We have studied some of the different leadership offices in the church, such as being an elder, deacon, preacher, and teacher, and we have also discussed the woman’s role in teaching. But since the preacher and his work are of utmost importance, we want to spend several lessons on this part of our over-all topic. In the course of this series of studies we will try to cover the major facets of his life, such as his family, his training, his habits, and his teaching.

We will begin by thinking about becoming a preacher. You might be wondering who in the world would want to become a preacher? Well, there are already many preachers, and no doubt many others would prefer to be preachers rather than be or do something else. As far as the Lord is concerned, and in the eyes of those who truly belong to Christ, preaching God’s word is the greatest work in all this world. It is a great work because one is doing the work of God, he is helping people understand the word of God, he is helping to shape the souls of men and women, and helping them decide where they will spend eternity (Mark 16:15,16; Romans 10:13-15). It is a noble, eternal work.

But how does one become a preacher? Does he just decide to become one? Is he asked to be a preacher? Does he receive some kind of call from God? Most preachers come out of a Christian family background. In other words, the father and mother are believers in Christ, have obeyed the Lord, and are members of the Lord’s church. They worship each first day of the week with the church. Perhaps there is a son that is influenced more and more by his parents and other Christians as he grows up. After he obeys the gospel and becomes a Christian himself, he wants to be a preacher. From time to time he may be given the opportunity to lead in worship by helping to wait on the Lord’s table, to word a prayer, and to assist in other ways. This encourages him to become more involved and in time to begin to teach and to preach. This is an ideal situation.

Many young men come across the church on their own, through friends, or by taking a Bible correspondence course. As a result of their contact with the church and their personal studies, they decide to obey the gospel. They are impressed by the local preacher, their interest in God’s word grows along with their concern for those around them who are not Christians, and they decide they want to preach.

Others are converted out of other churches. Often times these men are older, and have already done some preaching, so it is very easy for them to decide that they want to be a preacher in the Lord’s church.

Some of these men who have come out of denominationalism believe that they were especially called of God to preach. There are all kinds of stories told about such preachers. In some cases they thought the Lord actually spoke to them. Others claim that they received a sign. Some had dreams, etc. But the fact is, the Lord has not personally or miraculously called anyone in any of these ways in this day and time. Through the commands in His word, God does call us to preach, but that call is made to every Christian.

When Peter and the apostles were preaching on the day of Pentecost in Jerusalem, and a large number asked what they should do, we read, “Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call” (Acts 2:38,39).

Paul said to the Ephesians that they should walk worthy of the vocation wherewith they had been called (Ephesians 4:1). He said to the Thessalonians, “That you would walk worthy of God who calls you into His own kingdom and glory” (1 Thessalonians 2:12). But how did He call them? Paul answers, by saying also to the Thessalonians, “to which He called you by our gospel, for the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ” (2 Thessalonians 2:14). But how were they called by the gospel? The gospel was preached to them and they were invited to come to the Lord as Jesus has said earlier, “Come unto Me, all you who labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from Me; for I am gentle and lowly in heart; and you will find rest for your souls, For my yoke is easy, and My burden is light” (Matthew 11:28-30).

So there was nothing miraculous or unusual about this calling. Notice that Christ said, “Come...and learn of me”. Now what happens when we learn of Christ? We become believers in Him. Through having the gospel preached to us, that is, the good news of the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ, we are called to obey the commands of the gospel: to believe in Christ, to repent of our sins, to confess Christ as the Son of God, and to be baptized for the remission of our sins (Mark 16:16; Acts 2:38). The Lord then saves us, adding us to His church (Acts 2:47). All of this is a natural and normal process, and is according to the Lord’s plan. It is a matter of being taught, of believing, and of obeying. There is nothing miraculous about it.

But what about being called to preach? The Lord calls every male member who is truly converted to the Lord, who loves the Lord and the souls of men, who has the knowledge of God’s word and has the ability to preach the gospel. Better still, He commands them to do this. Christ said, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature” (Mark 16:15). Paul said to the young preacher, Timothy, “I charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom; preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; convince, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and teaching” (2 Timothy 4:1,2)

Now, are you a preacher? Do you want to be a preacher? Are you a Christian? Are you a member of the church that you read about in the Bible? Have you been called according to the Lord’s teaching? Will you preach the truth only?