5 Reasons I Love Being a Pastor

Being a pastor is difficult.

I remember my mentor in ministry telling me when I was in my early twenties that if I could do anything else, I should do that. He warned me there would be days that I wished I was working in any other sort of job. He was right. But I couldn’t do anything else–or rather—I couldn’t without feeling I was running from God, and he agreed that was a sign that God was calling me to be a pastor.

I can tend towards dwelling on the difficult and the negative some days because they are what so often are calling for our attention: solving problems, considering the next step in loosening or tightening COVID restrictions, wondering how this next phone call or meeting will go, remembering that I forgot to check in with somebody undergoing a trial. The list goes on.

But there are so many blessings in being a pastor, so many reasons I count it one of the greatest privileges of my life, so many reasons to thank God for being a pastor, and so many reasons I love being a pastor.

In keeping with Paul’s admonition to think about “whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things,” (Phil. 4:8), I want to list five of the many reasons I love being a pastor.

#1 – I get to teach and study God’s Word as part of my job.

For all of the stresses that being a pastor entails, and the pressure of the Sunday morning sermon deadline, and all of the spiritual battles that come my way, every week I get to—and am expected to—spend hours studying God’s Word and preparing to teach it. This is an inestimable privilege.

I once heard an older pastor say that he couldn’t believe that he gets paid to study God’s Word. That is a perspective that I need to keep in mind and thank God for weekly. It is a joy to spend time in God’s Word and be filled up with it and challenged by it so that I can have the joy of equipping, encouraging, and stretching God’s people with it. May I never take this for granted.

#2 – I get to be there for people’s highs and lows in life.

Some of my favorite moments in pastoring are being right there for the highs and lows of people’s lives and being used by God in those situations to “rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep” (Rom. 12:15). It is a joy to pray with new parents while holding a newborn baby, and it is a joy to see the radiance in the eyes of a couple getting married while standing right behind them. It is also a different, somber kind of joy to be able to help a couple apply God’s Word to their marriage struggles when the need for counseling comes. It is something I would never trade to have the privilege of praying with a newly bereaved relative thanking God for the life of their loved one, sometimes while the body is still in the room.

These intense times of ministry bond me with God’s people and remind me each time of some of the unique reasons I love being God’s hands and feet. It is also special to be able to often minister during these highs and lows in people’s lives with my wife as she uses her gifts with me. May I never take this for granted.

#3 – I get a front-row seat to God’s work.

Another benefit to being a pastor that I love is getting a front-row seat to God’s work. The average church member does not have the joy of seeing some of the mercy ministry that goes on in secret in the life of a church. It is a holy privilege to know about an act of love in Jesus’ name that only God, me, and the other person involved know about due to confidentiality. It is a distinctive joy to not only ache at marriage problems but also to rejoice with a couple who is now reaping the benefits of following God’s ways in their relationship. I alone get to “see the light bulb come on” in the middle of a sermon for that person who has been trying to figure out what they believe about Jesus. I alone sometimes get to see tears of repentance over sin or tears of hope due to longing for Heaven and being reunited with a beloved spouse or child.

I know that God is always doing a million things and that we are usually only aware of a few of them at any given moment, but as a pastor, I literally get to see God’s invisible hand working out His plan for His glory and His people’s good every week, if I have the eyes to see it. May I never take this for granted.

#4 – I get to see people come to know Jesus as Savior and Lord and then baptize them.

“I wasn’t sure before, but I know that I know Jesus now,” the 16-year old boy told me in the car as we drove from Subway after getting his monthly favorite sub (ham with black olives–lots of black olives!) and catching up on high school life.

“What’s the change?” I asked, excited as I had been praying for him for years as he had been coming to youth group ever since I became a youth pastor.

“I didn’t care about sin before, but now I don’t want to sin anymore because I love Jesus,” he replied.

I never would have been part of that conversation if God had not called me to be a pastor. Baptisms—whether the believer going public grew up in the church or recently began to attend—are some of the most joyous Sundays on the calendar. When you get to talk about the gospel, make disciples, and baptize as part of your job, you are blessed. May I never take this for granted.

#5 – I get the privilege of serving Jesus as His errand boy.

Harold Senkbeil, in his book The Care of Souls, says that a sheepdog always has his tail wagging when he is working, and one eye always on his master. Too often my tail is not wagging, but those are the moments or days that I have my eyes off of my master. But some days, as I look to the day ahead and ask Jesus for strength and wisdom to serve His church that He has promised to build, it will hit me with a wave of joy: I get the privilege to serve Jesus as His errand boy today—wherever and in whatever way He may choose to take me for that day or that season. May I never take this for granted.

I don’t say it often enough—I love being a pastor.

Editor’s note: This piece originally appeared at the Baptist Convention of New England blog and is used with permission. It was republished at For the Church on July 1, 2021.



Pastoring People Through Slow Change

Pastoring people is a slow, long-haul process. As church planters and pastors in established churches, we are called to lead people who are under construction. Unfortunately, until Christ returns, we don’t get to experience heaven here on earth. All people, pastors included, deal with the effects of indwelling sin on a daily basis. This means, as pastors, we are called to drop into the mess of disordered lives and serve people who may be at their worst moments.

Most of us are familiar with the story behind the writing of the song “Amazing Grace” by John Newton. Newton, a slave trader, was caught in an awful storm while he plied his trade on the seas. The Lord used that particular storm to bring Newton to faith in Christ. In response to his conversion, Newton wrote “Amazing Grace.” What most people don’t know, however, is that Newton wouldn’t stop his trade of slaves for another ten years after his conversion! Yep, he used to drop off his cargo and go for walks across the meadow to think and pray. But, over those ten years, God slowly brought Newton to a deep conviction that the slave trade was wrong. My point? The process of change in Christians is usually very, very slow. This doesn’t mean that we overlook sin, but it does mean that we are patient with people as they connect the dots—just as Newton did.

We also need to realize that in addition to being slow to change, people (including pastors) easily drift away from gospel-focused lives. Do you remember when Peter and Paul, the two titans of the faith, squared off in Antioch? When Peter initially arrived in Antioch, he spent time with Gentiles and enjoyed both food and fellowship with them. But when the representatives from Jerusalem arrived, Peter drew back from the Gentiles out of fear. But Paul saw a deeper problem:

“For before certain men came from James, he was eating with the Gentiles; but when they came he drew back and separated himself, fearing the circumcision party. And the rest of the Jews acted hypocritically along with him, so that even Barnabas was led astray by their hypocrisy. But when I saw that their conduct was not in step with the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas before them all, ‘If you, though a Jew, live like a Gentile and not like a Jew, how can you force the Gentiles to live like Jews?’” (Galatians 2:12-14)

Paul interpreted Peter’s behavior not just in reference to the law, or some category of the heart, but in reference to what Peter’s behavior revealed about his understanding and application of the gospel. Peter’s conduct was not in step with the truth of the gospel. Peter unconsciously drifted into hypocrisy, but that was only a symptom. The cause was gospel-drift, and so Paul brought him back to the gospel.

Part of the pastor’s job is to help Christians regularly refocus on the gospel. To a friend who is bitter, we encourage them to, “…forgive, as God in Christ forgave you,” (Eph. 4:32). To the husband who is passive: “Husbands, love your wives as Christ loved the church and gave himself for her,” (Eph. 5:25). In other words, we look at how the gospel speaks to a person’s struggles, fears, anger, and selfishness, and then help people apply the gospel to their particular struggles.

As Tim Keller says, “All of our problems come from a failure to apply the gospel.”

The call to plant and pastor is primarily a call to help people keep the gospel in focus.

Editor’s note: This piece was originally published at Dave Harvey’s site, AmICalled.com. It was republished at For the Church on February 10, 2017.



Union with Christ: The Gift of a “New Me”

Editor’s note: The following is excerpted with permission from Home with God: Our Union with Christ by Kyle Worley. Copyright 2024, B&H Publishing. Available for pre-order from B&H Publishing and wherever books are sold.

A well-wrapped gift creates curiosity, doesn’t it? Sitting under a Christmas tree or at a table next to a birthday cake, children can be driven crazy with the anticipation of unwrapping a gift, their minds racing with curiosity. “What goodness could this box possibly have inside?!” All too often, for all of us, the unwrapped gift doesn’t live up to the hype.

But the exact opposite is true when we begin to unwrap all God has for us in Christ Jesus. We are told that “every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places” (Eph. 1:3) is in Christ Jesus and that “all the promises of God find their ‘Yes’ in him” (2 Cor. 1:20). All of God’s good things for His people are in Christ Jesus. All of them. And at the core of these many gifts there is the gift of a new identity.

In Christ, we receive a “new me.” This new identity is radically different from our old identity in Adam, because in Christ we are justified. To be justified is to be declared righteous by God. Justification is one of the key benefits of salvation, for it remedies the essential problem of our alienation from God: that we are born into this world, in Adam and unrighteous.

There is no way of earning the righteousness of God, but there is a way of receiving it. In Christ and Christ alone.

Where do we receive this declaration of righteousness? In Christ. Is it because when we trust in God, all of a sudden our behavior is perfectly righteous? Absolutely not! Is it because once we have done enough stuff following Jesus’s righteous example, God accepts us as righteous? Absolutely not! We are declared righteous by God because we have entered into the righteous one by grace through faith.

We are justified in Christ. The condemnation that belongs to us by nature in Adam is exchanged for the righteousness that belongs to Christ by nature. It is on the cross that this great exchange occurs. By nature, we deserve condemnation, but God “made [Jesus] to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Cor. 5:21). In Jesus, we are declared and made righteous. No longer defined by sin and shame, we are now defined by the righteousness we have been rewarded with in Christ.

In Christ, we receive all of God’s saving benefits. A gift that does not disappoint. And what we receive in Christ can never be lost, it can never be taken away, it can never be stripped away. God declares His people righteous in His beloved Son. To take back what He has given to His people in Christ would be to forsake His own Son. And that will never happen. Never.

I refer to the doctrine of union with Christ as our “home with God.” In Christ, we are welcomed into life with God.

How does this new home shape how God sees us? It means that we are now viewed by God the Father through the life, work, and victory of God the Son. So how does the Father see the Son? If we answer that, we will have our answer to how God sees us when we are in Christ.

Every Gospel account in the New Testament records the baptism of Jesus. In the Gospels we are told exactly how the Father sees the Son at Christ’s baptism: “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” Each of the baptism accounts presents this moment as one of the clearest pictures of the triune God’s beloved fellowship: God the Father declaring, the Holy Spirit descending, and the Son of God receiving.

And yet, the baptism of Jesus comes before His public ministry. When Jesus receives the declaration of “beloved,” His public ministry has not begun. After the baptism, He enters into the wilderness showdown with Satan. Why do I point this out? Jesus Christ, the Son of God, was beloved before the battle. In Jesus we, too, are beloved before the battle. Beloved by God in Christ before we ever do anything for the sake of Christ.

It is in being received as a child of God that we find the love for which we long. We are born longing to become beloved. To feel beloved. Due to our homeless hearts, we have a strong bent toward misplacing this desire in things and people that can never deliver on it.

When Christ receives the public declaration of “beloved Son,” He receives it on behalf of all who would be united to Him. “In love [God] predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ” (Eph. 1:5).

Who is the Christian before God?

In Christ Jesus, they are a righteous and beloved child of God.

Why does this change everything?

To put it simply, if you are in Christ Jesus, God isn’t waiting on a future version of you He is going to love more. You are already righteous. For good. Forever. Because you are in the righteous one. You are already beloved. For good. Forever. Because, you are in the Beloved Son. How could this not change everything?

In Christ Jesus, we receive forgiveness and fellowship. In Him, we are not only acquitted, we are accepted. In Christ Jesus, we receive both the righteousness we desperately need and the relationship we desperately desire. We are justified in Christ and we are adopted in Christ Jesus.

And this changes everything because our new identity is unbreakable and unshakable. It cannot be lost or corrupted, and it will be kept by God forever because He is forever faithful to Himself. In Christ, God is covenantally bound to you. To forsake you would be to forsake the perfect faithfulness of Jesus Christ, and God will never break fellowship with Himself. This unbreakable union is set by the Father, secured by the Son, and sealed by the Holy Spirit. Even when we disobey God or settle for lesser loves, we are kept by Jesus as we are “sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of His glory” (Eph. 1:13–15).

Union with Christ gives us a new identity. In Christ, I receive a “new me.” Not the “new me” of self-help books, not a “new me” that is more productive, more efficient, and more successful, but a “new me” that is now a righteous and beloved child of God. You can’t life hack a new identity, but you can receive one.



Preaching Christ for Conversions

Editor’s note: This extract is taken from The Soul-Winning Church: Six Keys to Fostering a Genuine Evangelistic Culture by Doug Logan, Jr. and J.A. Medders, published by The Good Book Company, and is used by kind permission. www.thegoodbook.com

We know salvation belongs to the Lord and that the Spirit moves where he wishes. Yet there are also certain ways in which we ought to think, study, and preach in order to raise the sail that can catch the wind of the Spirit as he blows. After all, “how can they believe without hearing about him? And how can they hear without a preacher?” (Romans 10:14). We want to simply ask you a question about your sermons. It is specific to preaching and teaching the Bible in a soul-winning, conversion-seeking way: are you preaching Christ every week?

To preach for conversion means you relentlessly preach Christ. As Charles Spurgeon said in his book The Soul-Winner, “I believe that those sermons which are fullest of Christ are the most likely to be blessed to the conversion of the hearers. Let your sermons be full of Christ, from beginning to end crammed full of the gospel.”[1] Is Jesus the obvious subject of your sermon? This doesn’t mean that our sermons are only about Jesus. It means that he is the Noun of nouns in our sermons. Look at your most recent manuscript or outline—is it crammed with Jesus or does he only make a cameo appearance? May we never preach a Jesus-less sermon. That’s Satan’s favorite kind.

If you want to bring sinners to Christ, bring Christ to sinners. Preach and teach everything in relation to him who is Lord of all. As Tim Keller wrote:

Every time you expound a Bible text you are not finished unless you demonstrate how it shows us that we cannot save ourselves and that only Jesus can. That means we must preach Christ from every text, which is the same as saying we must preach the gospel every time and not just settle for general inspiration or moralizing.[2]

Think about Paul’s resolution: “I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified” (1 Corinthians 2:2). He made up his mind to make Jesus the radiating core of his ministry. 1 Corinthians touches on almost every subject in the Christian life, but, while Paul talked about more than the gospel, he never did less than talk about the gospel, and he taught everything in light of the gospel. Jesus was always his subject: “We proclaim him, warning and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone mature in Christ” (Colossians 1:28).

We should always allow the passage at hand to guide us toward Christ. No shoehorning of the Savior into the text is needed. Jesus is the true north of the text. We only need to give the text time in our study and prayers to point us to him. I (Jeff) have found a framework of four Ms that helps ensure that my sermons are crammed full of Christ, while also not formulaic in what I say about Christ. Not all four of these Ms might be present in the text or sermon, but at least one will arise organically from the passage:

  1. Jesus is the message.
  2. Jesus is the motivation.
  3. Jesus is the model.
  4. Jesus is the means.

Jesus as the message points to how he is our Savior, our Lord, and the ultimate hero of every passage, narrative, book, and genre of the Bible. Everything and everyone in the Bible points to Jesus. And from this reality, we tell unbelievers that he is who they need: straightforward gospel proclamation and invitation. A text on love will lead us to God’s love made incarnate. A passage on holiness ought to eventually usher us to the holy one. And so on.

Jesus is the ultimate motivation for good works, holiness, and loving others. This is vital for true Christian spirituality. Christians live for Christ because “he died for all so that those who live should no longer live for themselves, but for the one who died for them and was raised” (2 Corinthians 5:15). And we connect this point to unbelievers by asking them to think about why they do what they do. We show them the difference that living life for Christ, with him as their ruler, would make to them, and the difference it would make through them to those around them. Life lived with and for Christ is better.

Jesus as the model must be threaded carefully. We should never give the impression that Jesus is merely an aspirational and inspirational Messiah; he is a transformational one. But nevertheless, we can’t underemphasize that being Christ’s disciple means seeking to become like him—to follow his example (Luke 6:40; Romans 8:29). Christ’s love for the church is the model of marriage (Ephesians 5:25). Christians forgive in the way that God has forgiven us in Christ (Ephesians 4:32). Jesus shows us what life looks like. We can show non-Christians that there is a better way to live, a Jesus-like way, the way we were designed to walk through life—and from here we tell unbelievers that not only can Christ be their model but that he must also be their Lord, setting the agenda for their lives, and their Savior, forgiving them for their ongoing inability to live as they should. And this brings us back to Jesus as the message for forgiveness and new life in him, through him, and for him.

Lastly, we preach Jesus as the means—the engine, fuel, muscle—of the Christian life. We locate the root of our obedience, evangelism, repentance—everything!—in the crucified and risen Christ, who said that apart from him we can do nothing (John 15:5) and who sent his Spirit to empower our obedience. He is the only way to eternal life, forgiveness, shame being removed, condemnation being lifted, and us resting in the love of God and being transformed into the people we long to be and that he calls us to be. Jesus does not just show us who to be and forgive us when we fail—he enables us to become what we’re called to be. We can tell non-Christians to give up their efforts to make life work or to find forgiveness in their own strength. We can offer them Christ, the Savior and sustainer of forgiven sinners. We invite hearers to repent and believe in the Lord Jesus—that he died and rose for them, if they want him.

__________

[1] C.H. Spurgeon, The Soul Winner: How to Lead Sinners to the Saviour (Fleming H. Revell, 1895), p. 99.

[2] Timothy Keller, Preaching: Communicating Faith in an Age of Skepticism (Viking, 2015), p. 48.



The Lord Working with Them

“And they went out and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the message by accompanying signs.” Mark 16:20

I like the thought of Christ being taken up to heaven because His work was done, and His people being left on earth because there was still work for them to do. If we could steal away to heaven, what a pity it would be that we should do so while there is a single soul to be saved! I think that, if I had not brought to Christ the full number of jewels that He intended me to bring to adorn His crown, I would ask to come back again even from heaven. He knows best where we can best serve Him, so He ordains that, while He sits at the right hand of God, we are to abide here, and go forth to preach everywhere, the Lord working with us.

This work of the disciples was aggressive: “they went forth.” Some of them were bound to stay for a while at Jerusalem; though that old nest was eventually pulled down, not a stick of it was left, and the very tree on which it was built was cut down. Persecution drove forth the bulk of them further and further; we do not know where they all did go. There are traditions, which are not very valuable, to show where each of the apostles went, but it is quite certain that they all went somewhere or other; starting from the one common center, they went in various directions preaching Christ. They worked: “They went forth, and preached.”

The disciples did not say : — “Well, the Master has gone to heaven, the eternal purposes of God will be quite sure to be carried out, it is not possible that the designs of infinite love should fail, the more especially as He is at the Father’s side, therefore let us enjoy ourselves spiritually. Let us sit down in the happy possession of covenant blessings, and let us sing to our hearts’ content because of all that God has done for us and given to us. He will effect His own purposes, and we have only to stand still and see the salvation of God.” No, it was not for them to judge what they ought to do. When they were told to tarry at Jerusalem, they did tarry at Jerusalem. There are times of tarrying; but, inasmuch as the Master had commanded them to go into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature, they also, when the hour had struck, went into all the world, and began to preach everywhere the gospel they had learned at Jesu’s feet. It is not for us to judge what would seem most reasonable, much less what would be most comfortable; it is for us to do as we are bidden, when we are bidden, and because we are bidden, for are we riot servants and not masters? It is not wise to map out the proceedings even of a single day, but to take our cue from Him who is our Guide and Leader, and to follow Him in all things.

There are some who only come to the communion; why? Because they are always at work for Christ in some way or other. They are at work in some mission-station, or trying to open a new room for preaching, or doing something or other for the Master; the Lord bless them! I do not want all to go out at one time; but I do want you all to feel that it is not the end, though it may be the beginning, of Christian life to come and hear sermons. Scatter as widely as ever you can the blessing which you get for yourself; the moment you find the light, and realize that the world is in the dark, run away with your match, and lend somebody else a light. Be glad of the light yourself; but, depend upon it, if God gives you a candle, and all you do is to lock yourself up in a room, and sit down, and say, “Sweet light! Sweet light! I have got the light while all the world is in the dark; sweet, sweet light!” your candle will soon burn out, and you also will be in the dark. But if you go to others, and say,” I shall have none the less light because I give some to you,” by this means God the Holy Spirit will pour upon you fresh beams of light, and you shall shrine brighter and brighter even to the perfect day.

“They went forth.” Oh, that some people I know of could have their chapels burnt down! They have stuck in a hole down a back street for the last hundred years. They are good souls, and so they ought to be; they ought to be matured by now after so much storage; but if they would only come out in the street, they might do much more good than at present. “Oh, but there is an old deacon who does not like street-preaching!” I know him very well; he will be gone to heaven soon. Then, as soon as ever you have had his funeral sermon, turn out into the street, and begin somehow or other to make Christ known. Oh, to break down every barrier, and get rid of every restraint that hides the blessed gospel! Perhaps we must respect these dear old believers’ feelings just a little, but not so much as to let souls die; we must seek to bring sinners to Jesus whether we offend men or whether we please them.

These disciples went forth promptly, for though there is not a word here about the time, yet it is implied that, as soon as the hour had struck, and the Holy Ghost had descended from Christ, and rested upon them, “they went forth, and preached the word everywhere.” Alas, too often are we “going” to do something! If about a tenth part of what we are going to do were only done, how much more might be accomplished! “They went forth.” They did not talk about going forth, but “they went forth.” They did not wait until they received directions from the apostles where they were to go, but Providence guided each man, and each man went his own way, preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ.

You believe the gospel; you believe that men are perishing for lack of it; therefore, I pray you, do not stop to consider, do not wait to deliberate any longer. The best way to spread the gospel is to preach the gospel. I believe the best way of defending the gospel is to spread the gospel.

They served their Master obediently: “They went forth, and preached.” Suppose they had gone forth, and had “a service of song”? Suppose they had gone forth, and held a meeting that was partly comic, with just a little bit of a moral tacked on to the end of it? We should have been in the darkness of heathendom to the present day. There is nothing that is really of any service for the spreading of the gospel but preaching. I mean by preaching, as I have already said, not merely the standing up in the pulpit, and delivering a set discourse, but talking about Christ, — talking about Him as risen from the dead, as the Judge of quick and dead, as the great atoning Sacrifice, the one Mediator between God and men. It is by preaching Jesus Christ that sinners are saved. “It pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.” Whatever may be said outside the Bible about preaching, you have only to turn to the Word of God itself to find what a divine ordinance it is, and to see how the Lord makes that mainly to be the means of the salvation of men. This is the gun that will win the battle yet, though many have tried to silence, it. They have had all sorts of new inventions and contrivances: but when all their inventions shall have had their day, and proved futile, depend upon it the telling out of Jesus Christs name, and gospel, and work amongst mankind will be found to be effectual when all things else have failed. “They went forth and preached.” It is not said that they went forth and argued, or that they went forth, and wrote Apologies for the Christian faith. No, they went forth and proclaimed — told out the truth as a revelation from God; in the name of Christ they demanded that men should believe in Him, and left them, if they would not believe, with this distinct understanding, that they would perish in their unbelief. They wept over them, and pleaded with them to believe in Jesus; and they felt sure that whosoever did believe in Him would find eternal life through His name. This is what the whole Church of Christ should do, and do at once, and keep on doing with all its might, even until the end of the age.

There is one more word, everywhere. One of our great writers, in a very amusing letter which he has written to a person who had asked for a contribution towards the removal of a chapel debt, wants to know whether we cannot preach Christ behind hedges and in ditches. Of course we can, and we must do so, provided it does not rain too hard. Can we not preach Jesus Christ at a street corner? Of course we can. Yet in such a climate as ours we often need buildings in which we can worship God, but we must never get into the idea of confining our preaching to the building. “They went forth, and preached everywhere.” John Wesley was complained of for not keeping to his parish, but he insisted that he did, for all the world was his parish; and all the world is every man’s parish. Do good everywhere, wherever you may be. Some of you are going to the sea-side for a holiday; do not go without a good stock of tracts, and do not go without seeking an opportunity, when you are sitting on the sands, to talk to people about the Lord Jesus Christ. A man had nothing particular to do except to go and sit down on a seat in Hyde Park, and there talk with ladies and gentlemen who came and sat there; he would tell them that he had a pew at the Tabernacle, and he would lend them his ticket, so that they might have a comfortable place; and then he took care after the sermon to talk to them about Christ. He said, “I cannot myself preach, but I can bring people to hear my minister, and I can pray God to bless them when they come.” I saw another brother, who leaves his home at 8 o’clock on Sunday morning. There are, or there were, church members who walked twelve miles every Sunday morning to hear the gospel, and walked back again to their homes at night. This brother starts at 8 o’clock in the morning, and puts one of my sermons into each of the letter-boxes in a certain district as he comes along. So he utilizes a long, walk, and in the course of the year circulates many thousands of sermons. What a capital way he has found of spending the Sabbath-morning! Having done that service for his Lord, he enjoys the gospel all the better because of what he has himself done in making it known to others.

You remember the passage in which we are said to be laborers together with God. Is it not gracious and kind on the Lord’s part to let us come and work with Him? Yet it seems to my mind more condescending for God to come and work with us, because ours is such poor, feeble, imperfect service, yet so He does: “the Lord working with them.” The Lord is working with that dear sister who, when she takes her class, feels that she is quite unfit for it; and with that brother who, when he preaches, thinks that it is not preaching at all, and is half inclined never to try again. Oh, yes, “the Lord working with them,” such as they were, — fishermen, humble women, and the like! This was wonderful condescension.

The Holy Ghost made what they said to be divinely powerful. However feebly they uttered it, according to the judgment of men, there was an inward secret power that went with their utterances, and compelled the hearts of men to accept the blessed summons of God. I believe that when we are seeking to serve Christ, we little know often how very wonderfully God is working with us. I had an instance; there was a certain district of which I heard that there was great need of the gospel there, and that there were many people in that district who were as ignorant of the way of salvation as Hottentots, and the various places of worship seemed to affect a very small proportion of the people. A brother visited the neighborhood for me, and I prayed very earnestly that his visits might be blessed. It is a very curious thing that, while I was thinking about that district, there were certain Christian people close to it who were thinking about me, and longing for the gospel to be carried to their neighbors; and after I had moved ever so little in the matter, I received a letter from them saying how much they wanted somebody to come and labor for the Lord among them. I said to myself, “This is strange; I have known this district for years, yet I have never noticed that anybody wanted me or my message; but the moment I begin to move towards the people they begin to move towards me.” You do not know that you may not have a similar story to tell. There is that street you feel moved to go and work in, — God has been there before you. Do you not remember how, when His children had to go and destroy the Canaanites, the Lord sent the hornet before them? Now, when you have to go and preach to sinners, God sends some preparatory work before you, He is sure to do so.

In other cases God works afterwards; sometimes, immediately afterwards; at other times, years afterwards. There are different sorts of seeds in the world. The seeds of some plants and trees, unless they undergo a peculiar process, will not grow for years. There is something about them which preserves them intact for a long time, but in due season the life-germ shoots forth: and there are certain kinds of men who do not catch the truth at the time it is uttered, and it lies hidden away in their souls till, one day, under peculiar circumstances, they recollect what they heard, and it begins to affect their hearts.

If we work, and God works with us, what is there that we may not expect? Therefore, the great need of any working church is for God to work with them, and therefore this ought to be our daily confession, that we need God to work with us. We must always realize that we are nothing apart from His working; we must not pretend to compliment the Holy Ghost by now and then talking about Him, as though it were the proper thing to say that of course the Holy Spirit must work. It must be a downright matter of fact with us that the Holy Spirit must work, as much as it would be with a miller that his sails could not go round without the wind; and then we must act as the miller does. He sets his sails and tries to catch the wind from whatever quarter it blows; and we must try to work in such a way that the Holy Ghost is likely to bless us. I do not think the Holy Ghost will bless some service that is done even by well-meaning people, because if He did, it would seem as if He had set His seal to a great deal that was not according to the mind of the Lord. Let us so act in our work, that there is never the smudge of a dirty thumb across the page, and nothing of pride, or self-seeking, or hot-headedness, but that all is done humbly, dependently, hopefully, and always in a holy and gracious spirit, so that we may expect the Holy Spirit to own and bless it. That will, of course, involve that everything must be done prayerfully, for our Heavenly Father gives the Holy Spirit to them that ask Him; and we must ask for this greatest of blessings, that God the Holy Spirit may work with our work.

Then we must believe in the Holy Spirit, and believe to the highest degree, so as never to be discouraged or think anything difficult. “Is anything too hard for the Lord?” Can anything be difficult to the Holy Spirit? It is a grand thing often to get into deep water so as to be obliged to swim; but we like to keep our feet touching the sand. What a mercy it is to feel that you cannot do anything, for then you must trust in God and God alone, and feel that He is quite equal to any emergency! Thus trusting, and thus doing His bidding, we shall not fail. Come, Holy Spirit, and work with all Thy people now! Come and rouse us to work; and when we are bestirred to a holy energy, then work Thou with us!

Editor’s note: This excerpt was provided by The Spurgeon Library and will be included in a forthcoming publication.



6 Characteristics of a Successful Pastorate

James Petigru Boyce (1827–1888) is a name all Southern Baptists should be familiar with. Not only was he elected president of the SBC nine (yes, nine) times, he also almost single-handedly (in some regards) founded and helped keep the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary afloat during its early years.

Dr. Tom Nettles, in his biography of Boyce (James Petigru Boyce: A Southern Baptist Statesman, pp. 360–361), lays out Boyce’s six characteristics of a successful pastorate. This is the subject of today’s blog.

The two chief duties of every pastor are the “preparation and delivery of sermons” and “the development and execution of a strategy by which the people might grow in holiness and in serious work for the cause of Christ.” These two chief duties should manifest themselves in six characteristics:

1. Soul winning. The offer of the gospel must be made clear by the pastor. Obviously, Boyce would be the first to say that “Salvation belongs to the LORD!” (Jonah 2:9). But he would also be emphatic upon the means of calling sinners to repentance. The pastor should be a leader and model in this regard.

2. Instructing the flock in the “doctrine and duties of God’s word.” Boyce saw the importance of theological education. But learning theology isn’t just for pastors. Pastors need to be able to communicate sound theology to the church. Pastors must be able to teach sound doctrine and all that accords with it (Titus 2:1–10).

3. “Under God, [pastors are] responsible for the increase of holiness, Christlikeness, in the congregation.” Boyce said this aspect of ministry is “one of the most important tests” of a successful ministry. So what if our people know “sound doctrine” but don’t live holy lives?

4. Equipping saints for the work of ministry. “A successful pastor will aid each member in finding what work of the kingdom he is fit to do and exhort him to do it ‘faithfully and efficiently.'” Not all people are called to be pastors. But all Christians are part of the body of Christ. Their work for the kingdom may or may not be seemingly as glorious as other work. But the point remains: We are all called to work for the glory of God. A pastor must help the people of Christ find their work and then help them do it with joy.

5. Help church members give according to their means. Admittedly, this one probably arises from Boyce’s many years of endless fundraising for the Seminary. However, it is still a good point. Boyce wanted believers to understand “the great blessedness to be experienced in giving.” Boyce himself was a wealthy man who understood money. He was also very generous. “Boyce knew well that for work to be supported, pastors needed to encourage the giving and should instruct in biblical truth concerning issues of stewardship and the reality of storing up treasures in heaven.”

6. “Develop the power of prayer among his members.” “[Pastors] will instruct them in the duty and joy of private as well as family prayer while encouraging them to unite in the prayer meetings of the church.” Boyce, a staunch believer in God’s meticulous providence, was also a firm believer in the truth of God working through His people’s prayers. A pastor should exhort his people in this wonderful means of grace.

Is the above list perfect? I don’t necessarily think so. But I do think it’s helpful to consider Boyce’s perspective as a proven man of faith and legend in our own denomination. You may not fully agree with everything above, and perhaps there are elements you’d like to add. But let us take a moment and reflect on what this voice from the past has to say to us and let it motivate us to discharge our duties as pastors with more joy, faithfulness, and urgency.

To God be the glory.

Editor’s note: This article was originally published on the author’s blog. It was republished at For the Church on October 10, 2018.



5 Ways to Encourage Your Pastor

Editor’s Note: To celebrate Pastor Appreciation Month this October, enter your pastor to win a $10,000 Pastor Appreciation Package dedicated to a need in your church and a vacation for him and his family. Everyone who enters will receive an exclusive eBook from Charles Spurgeon for FREE. You can also submit a note of encouragement about your pastor and we’ll share it with him directly! Learn more about how you can celebrate Pastor Appreciation Month here.


Very few people understand the weight of shepherding God’s people within the local church. It is a high calling of the Lord. To be sure, it is so difficult that, at times, the only thing that sustains a pastor is his calling from God. Even still, we live in a day in which faithful and true shepherds experience a high rate of burnout, depression, or leave the ministry altogether. We live in a fallen world where sin knows no boundaries, sheep within the church bite, wolves have crept into local churches, and life is just hard. All of these factors make the work of pastoring God’s flock an immensely difficult task.

As a pastor, I’m personally thankful for encouragers in the local church. These individuals are often the wind within my sails, much like Onesiphorus for the Apostle Paul (2 Tim. 1:16). So, with that in mind, here are five practical ways in which you can be an encouragement to your pastor. Know this: Whether he tells you or not, your pastor needs your encouragement!

1. Pray for Him

The work of pastoring is not only mentally, emotionally, and physically taxing, it is also spiritual work. Often the pastor is on the front lines of waging against spiritual warfare. He can often see how the Lord is working within the church and how the enemy is attempting to trip up, grab a foothold, or lure away disciples. We battle not against flesh and blood but against spiritual forces in the heavenly places (Eph 6:12). On top of this, most pastors know they are not able enough or skilled enough to lead the church in their own power. The pastor needs the help of the Lord, but also the help of other godly men and women to help him as he leads. If he is serving in a church where he is the only pastor or elder, he likely feels alone and solely responsible for shepherding the church. If he is blessed to serve alongside other pastors, the weight is certainly dissipated but still felt.

The Apostle Paul also experienced the weight of pastoring (2 Cor. 11:28). It’s a heavy load, and we haven’t even begun to mention other important aspects of the pastor’s life and calling: his own personal holiness and walk with Christ, his family, and his personal struggles. One of the greatest gifts you can give to your pastor is a commitment to pray for him. Let me encourage you to go one step further. Let him know as often as you do pray for him. Let him know how you are praying for him. It will bless his heart and refresh his soul.

2. Get to Know Him

The pastorate can be a demanding and consuming vocation. You are always on call, and it can be challenging to get away. Yet behind every pulpit, suit, and tie, behind every manuscript or sermon outline, at every office desk of the pastor sits a man who in many ways is just like you. He has hobbies and interests. He has a family. There are things he likes and things he dislikes. He has quirks that can often be the fixation of his critics. He has a heart, he probably has needs, and he certainly has feelings. He hurts like you and is doing his best to live a life honoring to Christ. Believe it or not, he probably wants to laugh and, for once, be able to let his guard down and not be taken so seriously all the time.

Bottom line: He’s a person. Honestly, he is someone you would probably enjoy if you took the time to get to know him, without placing expectations or assumptions about who you think he may be or what you want him to be. Instead, simply let your pastor be himself and get to know him. Invite him to lunch. Have his family over for dinner. Ask if he and his family would like to join you in an evening of fun together. Find simple ways to get to know the person God has called to be your pastor. Even better, grow to love him, and don’t be afraid to tell him that. Every Sunday, as Ms. Wynell Pierce is leaving church, she greets me with a handshake or a warm hug, only to say, “I love you, pastor, and we love your family!” She means it, and I know she does. It means the world!

3. Know He Loves You and Is For You

God does something special in the heart of a true shepherd. He gives him a genuine love for the flock entrusted into his care. In the same way, we should love our pastor. It is important to know that your pastor loves you as well. He prays for you, and he desires for the Lord to bring about His purposes in your life. He wants you to grow and mature into Christ. He is thrilled in your excitement, and he hurts with you in moments of pain. He has a vested interest in your spiritual growth and maturity. For did you know that one day, your pastor will stand before the Lord and give an account for you? (Heb. 13:17)

Your pastor in every way is a “soul doctor.” He is to keep watch over your soul. He wants what is best for you. Yet, that doesn’t mean he will always prescribe to you what you believe is best for you. Sometimes the Lord may even use your pastor to speak a word of truth you do not want to hear in the moment. Sometimes his sermons may even “step on your toes.” I can promise you this, my aim in preaching is never to offend. I have no joy or desire to step on anyone’s toes or hurt anyone. Yet, I also pray the Lord will pierce hearts, and that, my friend, hurts worse than a stubbed toe. It may be tempting to become frustrated, angry, and recoil from your pastor in those moments. You may even think he is against you. Hopefully, that is not true. The Lord uses the preached word and your pastor as a strong voice for you to consider your ways before the Lord and to repent. That is likely the aim of your pastor, your sanctification (1 Thess. 4:3). This was the Apostle Paul’s aim and prayer as well.

One thing I can say without hesitation and with complete sincerity in my heart: I love the flock the Lord has entrusted to me. I love those who have left and have gone to other churches. I even love those who have hurt me.  Sheep bite from time to time. I love them because Christ has called me to love others, and as I pastor, He continually increases my ability to love the flock. For is this not how the world will know we belong to Christ, that we have love for one another? (John 13:35)

4. Extend Grace to Him

It may come as a surprise to you, but your pastor sins just like you. He has questions, doubts, and even fails in faithfully following the Lord. Just like you, the Lord is at work in your pastor, sanctifying and conforming him to the image of Christ. He has bad days, sometimes looks back in regret, and often wishes he would have responded differently to situations. Your pastor is not perfect.

Far too many pastors live under and within what is called a “glass house.” People often look on and wait for him to stumble. They hope to catch him in a moment of weakness or when his very real sin nature, which we all have, is finally exposed. Moreover, that same spirit is often impressed on to his family too. His wife and children better not miss a beat, always be on their “A-game,” and never let anyone down.

Know this, give him time, and I promise you your pastor will let you down. In time, he will do something that fails to meet the standard of your expectations. Give it enough time and I promise the opportunity will come in which you can write your pastor off as a disappointment. Because he’s not above sin, and he is also not above even sinning against you. What do we do in those moments? Sure, we could write him off, talk about him, leave the church, or call for his resignation. Though, I doubt we would want that for ourselves. May I lovingly suggest that you extend to him the same thing you desire when you fail? Grace! Just like you, he’ll never be beyond the need of grace in this life.

5. Support and Follow Him

Not only is the ministry challenging, but ministry can be lonely. Often, a pastor’s decisions are met with suspicion, questions, or outright resistance. Sometimes what is clearly the path ahead is charted with difficulty. Sometimes the change required to move forward is met with insistence to see that the needed change never comes, or certainly not without a fight. In moments like these we need others to stand with us! The truth is we need others to lock arms with us in both the good and bad moments of ministry.

I remember the words from one of my deacons like it was yesterday. It was during a particularly difficult season of ministry, and I’m sure he could sense or see the hardship of pastoring I was walking through. Over lunch, to the best of my recollection, he said these words to me: “Pastor, I want you to know that I am with you. I am behind you, and I’m standing with you. I agree with everything you are doing. It’s biblical and the right direction for our church. I also know it’s tough; these have been some difficult days, but don’t you quit! I support you, and I am with you, brother.” It’s difficult to adequately express all the ways the Lord used the words of this godly man to refresh my heart and spirit, but I can assure you it was timely and life-giving to my weary soul. In time, these were proven to be more than words.  He lived these words out before me, time and time again. It’s made all the difference!

Do you want your pastor to remain strong? Sometimes, it will be difficult for him to lift his arms in battle (Ex. 17:12). See to it that you come to his aid and help him in his weakness! Do you want your church to be a strong church? A healthy church? Sometimes, this requires going against the grain or what has been the norm for a long time. Let me encourage you to get behind the man whom God has sent to shepherd His local church. Support your pastor, build him up. Encourage him to stay the course, let him know you are with him, standing alongside him, and are following him as he follows Christ. When that happens, get ready and watch what the Lord will do in your church!

Conclusion

We have opportunity for a lot of things, beloved. When things don’t go our way, we may be tempted to become frustrated and voice our disappointment about our church or our pastor. In the flesh, you can use these moments as an opportunity to tear others down and build yourself up in return. Don’t be surprised when that feeling even feels justified. But remember this before you speak a word of criticism or when you are tempted to voice your discontentment about your pastor, or about the way you feel things are going: Know that your support and encouragement will go a lot farther in bringing honor to Christ, blessing your pastor, and edifying the church (Eph. 4:29-32). I think we can all agree that we’ve done enough tearing one another down. May this year be the year we seek to build one another up.

Editor’s note: This article was originally published at For the Church on February 3, 2022.



Why I Admire Pastors and You Should Too

Teddy Roosevelt, the 26th president of the United States, was one of the greatest elected officials in our nation’s history and one of the greatest leaders the world has ever known. He was a tsunami of energy, one who never saw a mountain too tall to scale or a fight too threatening to join. He shook the nation, invented the modern presidency, and left a changed country in his wake. In other words, there is a reason why his face, along with Washington, Jefferson, and Lincoln, is chiseled on Mount Rushmore.

Teddy Roosevelt, reflecting on the burden of leadership and the willingness to risk all and attempt great things, famously observed,

“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.”[1]

Every time I read Roosevelt’s quote, my mind darts to the pastorate, and the fine work that men of God do. The office of the pastorate is a high one, the work a noble one, and the men who faithfully undertake it are worthy of our admiration.

In our age of constant news, social media, and the world’s attentiveness to pastors who have stumbled, it is easy to forget all that pastors do for the Church. Sure, we have all heard of a pastor who has not acted admirably, but they are the exception, not the rule. Most of the pastors I know garner my trust and respect and deserve my prayers and support. That, and given my own years serving churches, makes me admire pastors. You should too. Here is why.

First, pastors are called by God. Christ has given the church in our age, “evangelists, pastors, and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ” (Ephesians 4:11-12). One does not stroll into the ministry; one surrenders to it. Pastors are those who have been set apart by God, called by His Spirit, and who have submitted their lives to Him. This requires obedience not only to enter the ministry but to continue in it. Thus, I admire pastors for yielding their lives to God.

Second, pastors minister the Word. The pastor’s one, irreducible responsibility is to feed the sheep the Word of God. Paul stipulates the pastor “must be able to teach,” and he charged Timothy to “give attention to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation and teaching” and to “preach the Word” (I Timothy 3:2, 4:13II Timothy 4:2). The pastor who faithfully discharges this responsibility does more than feed the church the Word; he feeds me the Word. Every Christian needs a steady intake of God’s Word. And a faithful pastor, who rightly divides the Word weekly, is worthy of high praise.

Third, pastors are held to a higher level of accountability. In fact, both the task of preaching and the responsibility of spiritual accountability bring this higher level of accountability. It begins with the qualifications of the office, as outlined in I Timothy 3:1-7 and Titus 1:6-9. But it extends to other passages as well, including, “Let not many of you become teachers, my brethren, knowing that as such we will incur a stricter judgement,” and that congregations should “obey their leaders and submit to them, for they keep watch over your souls as those who will give an account” (James 3:1Hebrews 13:17). This fact is all the more daunting when you realize that pastors face more intense temptation. Satan targets those whose fall will do most damage to the Church and most sully God’s glory. I admire pastors for putting themselves in the arena.

Fourth, pastors tend the flock. Pastors are more than a shoulder to cry on, and they offer more than consolation during life’s trials. They preach, lead, and fulfill a host of other responsibilities, but pastors are men who are willing to bear our burdens of heart. When we need prayer, counsel, or support, pastors stand in the gap for us. They bear our burden with us. Paul spoke of his affection and parental care of the believers in Thessalonica, and Peter exhorted the elders to shepherd the flock with eagerness, not lording over them. Such is the heart of a pastor, one who loves his congregation. This is no easy task. Church members can be wayward, stubborn, and even rebellious. Thus, the pastor who serves the flock is worthy of our admiration.

In Conclusion

Do you admire your pastor? Does he know it? The point is not to put him on a pedestal. The point is to rightly value, appreciate, and honor him. Do not wait until Pastor Appreciation Month. Why not thank him this week? Why not pray for him this week? Why not speak encouraging words about him and to him this week? As you do, he will be encouraged, your church will be strengthened, and you will no doubt be even better served by him.

Editor’s note: This article was originally published at JasonKAllen.com.

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  1. ^ Roosevelt, Theodore, and Brian M. Thomsen. The man in the arena: the selected writings of Theodore Roosevelt: a reader. New York: Forge, 2003, 5.


What Preachers Can Learn from Spurgeon’s Sermons

Editor’s Note: This article is taken from the foreword to C. H. Spurgeon’s Sermons: Revival Years – New Park Street Pulpit 1855–1860. Used by permission of Reformation Heritage Books. This collection is now available for purchase.

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My hope is that every gospel minister will have in his personal library his own complete set of Charles Spurgeon’s sermons. Let me tell you why.

As a preacher, Charles Spurgeon must be counted among the greats of church history. When it comes to notoriety, Spurgeon was to the nineteenth century what George Whitefield was to the eighteenth and Billy Graham to the twentieth centuries. He was the best known and most influential minister of his era.

Spurgeon was born in 1834, and his life and ministry took place during the Victorian Era. The British Empire, with its global reach, proved a divine conduit for Spurgeon’s ministry, carrying his sermons, articles, and books around the world. He was a physical dynamo, doing the work of multiple men at once, a phenomenon he explained occurred by the Holy Spirit working through him.

Spurgeon launched and presided over sixty-six ministries, the most notable of which were orphanages for boys and girls and his Pastor’s College. Like the Metropolitan Tabernacle, these ministries exist today.

But Spurgeon’s influence, then and now, goes back to his preaching ministry. Throughout his ministry, stenographers recorded his sermons as he delivered them. During the week his sermons would be transcribed, set in galleys, quickly edited, and then printed for distribution. The “Penny Pulpit” was mailed all over the world, further amplifying his ministerial reach.

During his prime, Spurgeon often preached ten or more times per week. His powers of oratory, imagination, and recollection proved a fierce combination, holding his listeners’ rapt attention. No one could turn a phrase, deploy the full complement of the English language, or recall theological and historical facts like Spurgeon. It’s as though Spurgeon never uttered an inarticulate sentence or ever preached a boring sermon. That singular gifting, coupled with the evident power of Scripture and favor of the Holy Spirit, gave his sermons authority and brought his ministry unique results.

Spurgeon was not a classic expositor. Typically, he did not preach verse by verse through passages of Scripture. Rather, he customarily selected a verse and heralded all the theological and spiritual truth contained within it.

Just as Spurgeon’s preaching was unique, so was his preparation. The extraordinary demands on Spurgeon’s life and his singular gifting meant that his sermon preparation was unorthodox. Though all of life was sermon preparation for Spurgeon, he often prepared his Sunday sermons on Saturday evenings. As a young man, he took heavy notes into the pulpit. As he advanced in ministry, he typically entered the pulpit with a minimal outline, often jotted on a scrap of paper.

Though his sermon notes were as minimal as his sermon preparation, when Spurgeon entered the pulpit, the Lion roared. Throngs flocked to hear his sermons, just as multitudes were changed by them. Never in London, before or since, has someone so impacted that great metropolis for Christ. All this, and more, is why Spurgeon is universally acclaimed as a—if not the—Prince of Preachers.

Yet there’s more than Spurgeon’s enduring relevance that makes this project opportune. Indeed, the renewed publishing of Spurgeon’s sermons arrives at a time of great need for local churches. Evangelical preaching is at a low ebb. Shrinking attention spans and shallow sermons leave many churchgoers deprived of the pure milk of the Word. What is more, in many evangelical churches, the hour of worship more resembles a concert venue than a public worship service.

But Scripture indicates that true worship encompasses the public reading of Scripture; corporate prayer; the singing of psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs (Eph. 5:19; Col. 3:16); and the preaching of the Word.

Historically, Protestants have viewed preaching as the central, anchoring component of the public worship service. Thus, the pulpit is the focal point of the place of worship and preaching the focal point of the service of worship.

And this is for good reason. Even in the midst of a darkening culture, a drifting church, and a vacillating heart, Paul charged Timothy—and through Timothy, us—to preach the Word, in season and out.

Thus, we should look to Spurgeon, including this sixty-three-volume collection of his sermons, to stir within ourselves and the twenty-first-century church a return to Christ-centered, biblically based sermons.

Just as preaching is indispensable to Christian worship, so preachers are indispensable to Christian ministry. In fact, the ability to teach the Word is the one requisite gift every biblically qualified pastor must possess. That’s because teaching is the one, nondelegable responsibility of every biblically qualified pastor.

In this regard, the apostle Paul’s logic was airtight. In Romans 10:14–15 he argued, “How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!”

Churches will be no stronger than the strength of the pulpit, and the pulpit will not be stronger than the calling and quality of the men who enter them. Indeed, much is at stake in the preaching of the Word.

All this is to say that preaching and preachers are indispensable to the church’s ministry. This was true in Spurgeon’s day, and it is true in ours as well.

And so, dear reader, may the spirit of Spurgeon be yours. And may your commitment to preach be stirred anew and your ability to preach strengthened as you read these sermons from the Prince of Preachers himself, the immortal Charles Haddon Spurgeon.



The Job Only You Can Do

In less than two years as a pastor’s wife, I missed one Christmas Eve service and both Easter Sundays. I didn’t volunteer for VBS, I neglected the church’s social media (which very much needed help), and I didn’t step in when the youth group needed a female leader. I had a master’s degree in theology, a nice little resume of ministry service experience under my belt, and a genuine desire to use my gifts in service for my church.

So what went wrong?

As a new pastor’s wife, I was also a new mom. I was learning how to parent a toddler (which included realizing how often they get sick!) and transitioning to caring for two kids after my second child was born. I was also working part-time, trying to love my neighbors, care for my home, and emotionally support my bi-vocational pastor-husband. Yet every time I said “no” to something else, I was sure I was a disappointment. I was ridden with guilt for not doing more.

During that time, I heard a story of another pastor’s wife who, when asked about how she serves her church, often responds, “I take care of the pastor.” Regardless of what her other involvements with the church might have looked like, she had a clear understanding of her primary responsibility: her family.

While my husband is not currently in pastoral ministry, I’m still learning the same lesson. Everything I do has to work concurrently with my roles as wife and mom. If anything infringes on my ability to faithfully fulfill those two roles, it is a problem. Discerning this requires wisdom from God; faithfulness will look different for different women in different seasons. The principle remains, as a dear friend and mentor of mine put it, “No one else can be his wife. No one else can be their mom.”

As Christians, we are commanded to do all things unto the glory of God. In that, there is so much freedom in what our lives can look like—what work we do, where we live, how we spend our time. Do it all to the glory of God, and make disciples as you go. Yet for those of us who are wives and mothers, we have some additional, more specific commands on our lives:

“Older women…are to teach what is good, and so train the young women to love their husbands and children…” (Titus 2:3–4).

Love your husband. Love your children. In whatever else you do (or don’t do), there is a lot of freedom. But these two things are essential, and there is no one else who can do them like you can. No one else can be his wife. No one else can be their mom.

Wife, love your husband.

Once prompted by a sermon application, I asked my husband some questions about how I could serve him better, including the question, “What is one way I’m serving you now that you really want me to keep doing?” I may never forget his answer, because I was almost offended. He said with the most sincere, profound appreciation, “I love that I never have to think about what I’m going to eat. Thank you for planning out all our meals.”

Sorry, what? That’s it? I don’t know what I was expecting. Perhaps some waxing eloquent about how I sharpen him through our theological discussions or support him by doing my best to fill in gaps at our church where I can. But no. He just likes that I feed him! Go figure.

This is a trite example perhaps, but it was a lesson to me in that sometimes the most impactful service is the simplest service. Meal planning is a practical way I love my husband, and no one else is going to do that for him.

Loving your husband does not have to be complicated, and it certainly shouldn’t be boastful or self-interested, as my heart is so often inclined to be. Loving your husband can look like meals, consistent intercessory prayer, getting up with the kids so he can rest, long hours at work while he’s in school, or a listening ear at the dinner table. You have to discern how it will look for you—in your home, your life stage, with your husband—but you must love him. It’s a job only you can do.

Mother, love your children.

From the time my first son was born, I’ve identified as “the expert” of my children. No one knows my boys like I do (though their daddy comes close). I have understood my toddler’s words best as he’s learned to speak; I know my boys’ sleep schedules, favorite things, and all their little idiosyncrasies. What a gift it is to learn a little more of who they are every day and to know them as their mother.

With that, what a burden I have to love them in the ways I know they need! They are so vulnerable and so dependent. I grow frustrated all too often in parenting, only to have the Holy Spirit remind me of how I am far more like my children than I am unlike them. My neediness before God is infinitely greater than my children’s neediness before me.

Loving children, though it is so challenging, is simple. Meet their needs. Train and discipline them in truth and love. Speak kindly. Play. It sounds so easy, but it is so much more difficult to do with consistency! May God give us strength and wisdom to obey the command to love our children. No one else can love your children like you can.

So the Word of God may not be reviled.

The passage from Titus 2 referenced earlier ends with a powerful “why” statement: “…that the Word of God may not be reviled.”

What a mission! May we not be the cause of the reviling—the slandering, smearing, defaming—of the Word of God. What basic yet profound tasks we have to do, to prevent this. Love our husbands. Love our children. Be self-controlled, kind, working at home, submissive to our own husbands. Simple obedience will yield Kingdom-impacting results—that the Word of God may not be reviled.

Praise God that we have abundant grace for us in Christ Jesus as we seek to be faithful to this calling. In and of ourselves, we cannot love our husbands and children as we should, but the Holy Spirit can empower us to do so. May He fuel our love for our husbands and children today and every day. No one else can be his wife; no one else can be their mom.

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Editor’s Note: To celebrate the important role of pastors’ wives in supporting their husbands and serving the local church, Midwestern Seminary is giving away two free round-trip tickets for a pastor and his wife to visit any city in the continental United States. When you enter, you’ll receive a free eBook copy of The Pastor’s Wife by Gloria Furman. Enter by September 5 for a chance to win.