Prioritizing Preaching

HELLO FRIENDS,

Pastors are busy. Often there are not enough hours in the week to get all the administration accomplished and put in the many hours required to prepare an expository sermon. The weight of all the administrative responsibilities, programs, and pastoral care is enough to bear. Aside from these regularly scheduled responsibilities, new ministry needs arise weekly and pastors end up flooded with even more work. When this happens, pastors are forced to triage the ministry needs as they set their weekly schedule. I believe the one ministry that must always be given priority over others is preaching the Word of God. I believe this for the following three reasons:

1) Prioritizing Preaching is the Biblical Model
The early church was built solely upon the preaching of the Old Testament Scriptures. In Acts 5:42, the Apostles refused to stop preaching Jesus as the Messiah. As a result, the church was growing as people were coming to faith in Christ. However, with the increase of church members comes an increase in administrative duties. 

This is exactly what happened in Acts 6:1, “And in those days, when the number of the disciples was multiplied, there arose a murmuring of the Grecians against the Hebrews, because their widows were neglected in the daily ministration.” As the church grew, the administrative duties became too much for the Apostles to handle. A triage of pastoral ministries had to take place. The result of this triage is found in Acts 6:2-4, “Then the twelve called the multitude of the disciples unto them, and said, It is not reason that we should leave the word of God and serve tables. Wherefore, brethren, look ye out among you seven men of honest report, full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business. But we will give ourselves continually to prayer, and to the ministry of the word.” The Apostles appointed other people to meet the needs of the widows while they continued to dedicate themselves to the preaching of the Word of God. 

The fact that the widows were being neglected in the first place shows us how dedicated they were to their sermon preparation. Preaching was their priority from the beginning. Neither Acts 6 nor I advocate for neglecting widows or any other ministry. The elders recognized this ministry is legitimate, but they were not willing to de-emphasize the ministry of the Word for any other ministry. Instead, they appointed other people to meet those needs. They recognized it was their primary responsibility to devote themselves to the ministry of the Word. When you consider the biblical model for triaging church ministries, preaching the Word of God was the priority.

2) Preaching is the most essential ministry to fulfilling the church’s mission.
The mission Jesus gave the church is to make disciples (Matthew 28:19) and God has chosen the preaching of the Word to be the primary method for spiritual transformation (1 Corinthians 1:19-21). Because preaching is central to the church’s mission, a healthy church is not necessarily a church with a large number of ministries, a healthy church is a church where each ministry contributes to fulfilling the mission of the church. If the ministries of the church do not naturally flow out of the church’s mission to make disciples, they will ultimately become a distraction as they slowly drift the church away from sharing the timeless truths of Scripture.

3) Prioritizing preaching serves the entire congregation.
When you prioritize other ministries, you serve some people. When you prioritize preaching, you serve the entire congregation. I am not advocating an ivory tower pastoral ministry philosophy where you never leave your study. Sometime during the week, go out and make your visits, meet with the deacons, and oversee other ministries, but for the sake of the entire congregation, do not sacrifice your sermon preparation for any apparent need that arises. Peter charges pastors with the task of feeding the flock of God as the primary way to care for the entire congregation. In 1 Peter 5:1-2 he wrote, “The elders which are among you I exhort, who am also an elder, and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed: Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind;” Both 1 Peter 5 and Acts 6 place the responsibility to prioritize preaching at the feet of the pastors. As other ministry responsibilities arise, be intentional about prioritizing preaching. 

The moment you allow another ministry to displace sermon preparation, you do a great disservice to the entire congregation. Congregants do not come to church desiring to hear a sermon that was hastily compiled and lacks the exegesis and prayer it deserves. When sermon preparation is rushed, it often results in an impersonal message because the preacher lacks the confidence that only comes with time spent in the text. The sermon becomes cheap when the value of sermon preparation is reduced to another duty to check off during the pastor’s busy week. 

Do not let the weight of other ministries pressure you into believing it is the Holy Spirit’s job to make up for deficient study. God’s Holy Spirit desires to meet you in the text during your study time to bring you to a proper understanding of the text so you can share the truth of the text with your congregants. Allowing other ministry opportunities to hinder your sermon preparation is not depending on the Holy Spirit – it is a neglect of your most important duty given to you by God. 

Pastor, when the weight of ministry becomes heavy, remember Ephesians 4:12 says it is your duty to “equip the saints for the work of the ministry.” Identify other people in the congregation and involve them in the ministry. Mobilize the congregation and share the ministry with them so you can prioritize preaching for the benefit of everyone. 

Conclusion
Every sermon should be an overflow of your own personal time with God. Put in the time to exegete the text, wrestle with its contents, apply it to yourself, and then share it with your congregation. Embrace the time, study, and prayer that goes into every sermon. You will never know all the burdens people are carrying when they walk into church. When it comes time for the preaching, make that time worth it for every congregant. People need to be transformed into the image of Christ and God desires to use your preaching to accomplish His purpose. 

Eric Duenke
Lead Pastor, Central Baptist Church - Marion, OH