Thankful for "Great" Preachers

On this Wednesday in November pushing toward Thanksgiving we've been thinking of some of the men in our lives who have blessed us. God has allowed us the honor of being around some truly great preachers. Some are “headliners” - others are known only by a few. What a joy to be influenced by men like our Dad, Gus Nichols, James Fowler, George Bailey, Luther Williams, W.B. West, Hugo McCord, Jim Bill McInteer, Jackie Fox, Bill Smith, Hardeman Nichols, Glenn Posey, Dabney Phillips, Jay Lockhart, Wendell Winkler, Howard Norton, Marlin Connelly, Willard Collins, Gary Bradley, Cecil May … there are so many others; this is just a few who came to mind as we wrote this. This is our list. No doubt, you could make your own list of preachers who have influenced you, and we would encourage you to do just that. And if you are fortunate and they are still around, take a moment this Thanksgiving and let them know the impact they have had on your life

We ought to make something of this blessing rather than just enjoy the privilege of being influenced by them. Simply through observing, here are some of the tremendous shared traits of these men that anyone who wants to influence others should emulate. We could elaborate on each of these, but we'd like for you to think about them yourself. Feel free to add to our list things you have observed in the comment section.

1. They are humble. They do not know they are great preachers.
2. They work hard at what they do.
3. They are aware of their own flaws.
4. They have a great sense of humor.
5. They do not belittle the bride of Christ.
6. They do not make a big issue out of little issues.
7. They are loyal to brothers and sisters in Christ.
8. They are passionate in their approach.
9. They are deeply spiritual individuals.
10. They care about all people; rich or poor, known or unknown.
11. They make time for and encourage younger preacher.
12. They are men of The Book and they preach the Truth in love.
13. They don't just preach, they minister.
14. They are aware of the audience who is listening as they preach the Word.
15. They believe that preaching is one of the most important works any man can do. They believe in the power of preaching.
16. They have a servant-heart. They are not too big to pick up trash or set out chairs, or to get their hands dirty doing manual labor.
17. They pay attention to children.
18. They pay attention to older people.
19. They are the same guys one-on-one as they are in front of an audience.
20. They are men who have a tremendous prayer life.

-by Jeff and Dale