It was a tremendous privilege this past week to be involved in several early morning discussions with a group of outstanding preachers. In addition to these early morning sessions, there were hours spent throughout the days in individual conversations with many other preachers.
In two separate conversations, a very similar statement was made by preachers for who we have high regard. The statement was that one of the reasons we have at least some of the problems that we have in the church is that our preachers are boring. OUCH! That stung. Is that possible? Is that true? I have to ask myself, am I ever guilty of being boring?
One could argue, that if we are preaching Truth, it is never boring. And, we might argue that we should never manufacture a false kind of excitement merely to keep from being boring.
However, if we preach from our heart the Word of God and if we love people from our heart, we will not be, nor will we be accused of being boring.
It is as clear in my mind as if it happened yesterday. We were going through a rough patch with a congregation and I called my Dad to ask for his advice in handling the situation. His words ring forever in my ears. He said there are two things that you should always do. “Preach the Word.” “Love the people.”
Maybe, this Monday, you are struggling. Maybe it has to do with a relationship with Church leaders, or something going on in your family, or some financial struggle, or maybe even something in your soul that no one knows about but you. Maybe you have been accused of being boring, or maybe you are bored with your work, or maybe you feel that you are approaching burnout.
May I gently encourage you to hang in there. Don’t give up. Try one more time. Go back to this elementary, but profound advice again. “Preach the Word.” “Love the people.” It might make a tremendous difference in where you are right now in your life. We love you and we thank God for you.
