I recall a certain comment that I once received from a missionary who basically said that he could never be a pastor because that would require lots of study in preparation for new messages every week. Another pastor that I sat under for six years had a habit of preaching about ten sermons over and over again, sometimes under different titles, instead of studying and preparing fresh new messages regularly. A man from Michigan once told me that his pastor told their church that "I cannot teach you the word of God." My wife and I were in a Georgia church many years ago when a young man stepped into the pulpit and literally screamed for about fifteen minutes and was then praised for really knowing how to "preach." Trust me, I could continue for quite a while.
Commenting on another post, someone recently suggested that "passion" was the mark of good preaching. If that's so, then why isn't it one of the qualifications of a bishop in I Timothy 3? I'll tell you why: passion can be easily counterfeited with drama and theatrics, even when there's no real underlying substance to what's being said. That's why I still remember the volume, the twitching and jumping around, and the facial expressions of the Georgia youth, but I can't remember a word that he said. It was all drama and theatrics, but not enough substance to be remembered. It's like these commercials that put so much effort into making you laugh or cry that you forget what they were selling. I suspect that THAT is why "passion" is not listed as a requirement for a preacher. Even cheerleaders are "passionate," but God never calls them to preach. Kenneth Copeland is "passionate," but does that qualify him? I've had these camp meeting junkies in my church. They give God their emotions, but their minds are reserved for sports, politics, money and other secular interests. When they can't turn the worship services into a fleshly festival, they'll either start trouble or leave. Let 'em leave. Better off without 'em.
Now, TRUE passion comes naturally from the heart when a man really loves God and God's word. A man who loves God and the Bible will naturally have the right amount of passion, and it will be balanced with his own personality, not copied from someone else. If he loves and believes what he is teaching (or preaching), it will be interesting and edifying. He might or might not jump and yell, but his passion for truth will be evident for all to see and hear. He will not be dry and boring.
No one wants to talk about it, but the truth is that many preachers are in the ministry only because they're too lazy to work real jobs. This means that they are also too lazy to study and become approved WORKmen in the scriptures (II Tim. 2:15). The religious drama that they bring to the pulpit is only a poor substitute for their lack of truth substance (The less he has to say, the louder he says it.) Their members call him a good preacher because he's a "passionate" preacher, but they send all their Bible questions to someone else.
A call to the ministry is more than a call to travel, witness, preach and fellowship. It's a call to solitude where you must PRAY, WORK and STUDY so that you always have fresh manna for God's people. (This post alone took over two hours of prayer, meditation and writing.) It's a call to FEED the sheep (John 21:15-17), not to merely pacify or entertain them. Everything comes with a price, and those who choose to be preachers without being good teachers are often little more than religious thieves who are encouraged and supported only by ignorant people, not by sound-minded believers.
For any young man wanting to enter the ministry as a preacher, I would first ask one question: What do you REALLY want?
-James L Melvin
