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Christian Leadership Training Course

By J.C. Choate

Lesson 9

The Preacher’s Training

To have better leadership in the church, we must know what the Bible teaches on this subject and how to bring it about. We know that for any organization to exist for very long, it must have good leadership. We know that Christ is the head of the church and directs all of its members through the Bible, the word of God. We know, too, that He has provided a pattern in His word for leadership among the members. It is not to be in the form of a dictatorship, but two or more men are to serve as elders over each congregation, provided there are men within the local congregation who can qualify to be appointed to this office. If not, then all of the men together are to give leadership until there are those who are qualified. When there are elders, deacons are to be appointed to assist them with the work. After the deacons come the preachers, teachers, and the members in general.

Although the preachers serve under the oversight of the elders, still we are giving special attention to the preachers and their work since there are so many of them and since they need help and encouragement to improve their service to God.

Often times preachers, especially young preachers, are not respected by the church and people in general because it is suspected that many of them have wrong motives for preaching. This trend must change if the church is to grow and spread. We must be sure that we do a better job of preaching and converting and instilling within Christian men a desire to work for the Lord, and that their decision be based on good motives, that is, to save their souls and the souls of others.

To follow up on these points we are now going to think about the preacher’s training.

It is not enough for one to say, “I’m going to become a preacher”, and then to begin to preach. For sure, the desire must be there, but the person wanting to preach must be made to realize that he must train himself or prepare himself for preaching if he is going to be successful in his work.

A young man brought up in a Christian home has a real advantage over those who do not have Christian parents. The young man with Christian parents will, hopefully, be brought up in the care and instruction and admonition of the Lord, being taught faithfully from God’s word (Ephesians 6:4). He will receive valuable training and good habits will be formed. He will be taken to worship and he will be encouraged to study his Bible and to pray. Then as he grows up and becomes a Christian himself, he can receive a lot of help and encouragement, as well as much good experience, in the local congregation, teaching classes and having occasions to preach and also to lead in evangelistic studies in homes.

If one is not blessed with a Christian home, is converted later in life, or as a preacher has been converted from denominationalism, he will have to get his training more on the basis of personal determination to study the Bible on his own, through Bible correspondence courses, through studying with a preacher friend or some other interested member of the church.

Hopefully one will take advantage of secular education as he is growing up, and perhaps even go on to college. You may ask if a man is planning to preach the Bible, why would he want a secular education? Because he needs a broad base of learning, along with his knowledge of the Bible, if he is going to be able to have an influence on many who will have higher education. Even Jesus, it is said, “increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man” as he was growing up (Luke 2:52). Because of that He was able to talk to lawyers, tax collectors, and the leaders of His day, and the record says that “He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes” (Matthew 7:29). In other words, He spoke with knowledge and understanding and as one who knew what He was talking about. They were amazed, and had great respect for Him because of that. No, we are not talking about having to have a doctor’s degree to preach the gospel, but neither should one be ignorant as a preacher.

Paul was a very educated man. Luke was a physician. Most of the apostles were common and unlearned people, as far as much secular education was concerned, that is true, but they would have had basic schooling as children, and they had also been trained by the Master Teacher, Jesus Christ.

So prepare yourself with a good education. If the brethren are operating a Bible school, college, or a preacher training school in your area, put forth an effort to attend it. If that is not available to you, perhaps the church will grow and one day such schools will be available to your children or to their children. As for you, you can study your Bible, along with other Christian books and materials that you have the opportunity to add to your library. Personal dedication to learn is vital to the development of every preacher. One of the best ways to add to one’s Bible knowledge is in actually teaching others, through personal studies or grading Bible correspondence courses offered by most larger churches. Try to obtain a concordance to help you locate scripture references.

Go ahead and preach and teach as you have opportunity in your village, town, or city, and to those of surrounding areas. If there are congregations around you, perhaps you will have the opportunity to preach to them. If there are not, perhaps you can arrange meetings among friends, or interested parties, and with this effort, not only will you learn and grow, but you may have the opportunity to convert some people and even to begin some new congregations of the church.

Even though you might have been preaching for some time, you must always continue to read and study the word of God, to grow in your Bible knowledge. Prepare your sermons in advance. There is a difference between talking and saying something worth being heard. You were not born a preacher, but you must become one through sincere effort. Don’t be lazy and indifferent about your study. Remember that you are dealing with the word of God and you must know it well if you are to be successful in teaching the truth to others. You also must know it well to be able to deal with false teaching and to answer the many questions you will be asked along the way. Show love, but at the same time be firm. Be strong, but be gentle. Show sincerity but be able to smile. There are many works and responsibilities involved in preaching, but you certainly will want to be a good preacher, a hard working preacher, and one who is able to bear good fruit for the Lord.

If you are the kind of preacher God would have you to be then you are going to be able to influence many people for the Lord, and you are going to have the respect of the people who know you. Furthermore, there will be many young men who will want to imitate you and pattern their lives after yours.