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Christian Leadership Training Course

By J.C. Choate

Lesson 22

The Work of Preachers

As we have stressed, to be a preacher of the gospel and to influence people for the Lord, one must have the desire to preach, he must have proper motives, and of course there must be some ability. While some have some natural speaking ability, more is required if a man is to be the preacher he needs to be. He must have a sincere love for God and man, he must be willing to live and work sacrificially, and he must desire to study and to take training for his work. It would even be wise to have a course in public speaking. It is not that we are trying to develop such a professional type person that he becomes so learned and proficient that he does his work coldly and without feeling, but we must remember that a preacher is dealing with the word of God and with souls, therefore he needs to do his job well.

In the church of our Lord there is no miraculous "calling" and it is not necessary to have a "church license" or "permit" to preach. Someone might ask, "Do you mean that just anybody who wants to preach can do so?" In a sense, that is true, provided the person is a man, is a member of the church, a faithful member, has the desire to preach, and the brethren agree to accept him as a preacher. Even if one congregation is not interested in using his services, others may be, or he can always go out and find someone to preach to. So the problem is not the matter of being allowed to preach, but of preparing adequately to preach.

But why would a preacher need to prepare for this type of work? Because it is serious spiritual work, and there is a lot of hard work involving long hours, provided a man actually does the work he needs to do. Preaching is not all glory, just lying around with nothing much to do. It is not just traveling, having everything given to you, being provided good food to eat, and no one to answer to. Preaching requires that one work sincerely, and that he be continually looking for opportunities to teach. He must visit people, comfort and pray for the sick, help people with their problems, convert souls to Christ, teach and train young men to preach. He may be called on to share with others. He may be rejected by some and he may even have to suffer persecution because of his faith and his work.

If you want to see what preaching is all about, read through the book of Acts. Read about Peter and John in Acts 3 and 4, and how that even after they had healed a man, they were called in by the High Priest and leaders of the Jews and warned not to continue to preach in the name of Christ. Later they were beaten and put in prison, but the record says that they continued to preach. The record also says, "But Peter and John answered and said to them, Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you more than to God, you judge. For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard" (Acts 4:19,20). Later we read, "But Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men" (Acts 5:29). The writer says further, "So they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for His name. And daily in the temple, and in every house, they did not cease teaching and preaching Jesus as the Christ" (Acts 5:41,42). Then look at Saul and how he persecuted the Lord's people; but later he was converted, his name was changed to Paul, he was made an apostle, and as you go through the book of Acts you can see all that he went through and how much he suffered for Christ (Acts 8 and 9).

Not only the apostles but many many others as well were persecuted because they preached Christ. But you might say, "Yes, but that was back in the early days when there was injustice and repression, but things are different now." It's true that there may be some differences today, and there may not be the type of persecution now as was brought against the Lord's people in the first century and at other times in history, but any time you stand up for right, preach Christ and do what you can to spread His cause, there will be some who will not like it and will oppose you. Paul said, "Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution" (2 Timothy 3:12). That was true then and it is true now. The point is, the faith of the apostles and others in the first century was tried and tested by the things they suffered. They had to have strong faith to endure such hardships. Likewise today, we must know who we serve and why we serve Him, and we must be faithful in that service. Hopefully, we will not have to experience such terrible things as they did back then, but if we are called on to do that, then hopefully we will pass the test and we will be faithful to our Lord.

We can see that there is a lot involved in being a preacher of the gospel. He is there to work and to serve, not to be lazy and unwilling to respond to the needs around him. He is not counting the hours he serves against the support he receives. He is not looking to do less, but to do more.

Besides preaching, conducting meetings, doing personal work, converting souls, baptizing those who want to obey the Lord, he will also be called on to perform marriages and to conduct funerals. To perform marriages, one must find out what the local government requirements are, get registered and recognized so you can legally do this service. Be careful, however, concerning the marriages you perform and be sure that the couples can be scripturally married, that is, that neither person has been unscripturally divorced, and that neither is involved in multiple marriages. If one person is a Christian do not marry him or her to someone who is not a Christian.

As to funerals, don't spend your time judging the dead and sending them to heaven or hell. That is not your job. Your message is to be to the living, to comfort them as you can, and to encourage them to prepare themselves for death and the judgment.

When it comes to baptizing, don't "save up people" (as some have described it) until the foreigner comes, so he can baptize them. You should not do this even if you are receiving some support from him. If you have taught these people, converted them, and if they want to obey the Lord, then proceed to assist them with their obedience.

You will need to have sufficient time to study and prepare for your sermons, but don't spend all of your time in your office, if you have one. Instead, get out among the people and work for the Lord and preach and teach and evangelize. That is your work as a preacher.