It could be argued that a church lives or dies by the pulpit. So crucial is preaching to the life and health of the church that the originals apostles deliberately chose NOT to engage in compassion ministry in order to focus on prayer & the ministry of the word (Acts 6:1-4). This ministry of feeding and doctrine is indeed one of the highest calls a person could receive (Rom. 9:13-15). Truly discerned, the call to be a voice for God, a carrier of his burdens in word and speech is a fearful thing. Were it not for the grace of God, who could be up for such a task?
Of all the ministry responsibilities involved in leading a church, there is no other single activity I've been involved in that can induce such exhiliration or depression as preaching. As we all know, public speaking is one of the greatest fears known to mankind. Even more than death according to many surveys.
Prior to my ministry call, I was involved in lots of public speaking; presenting results, pitching for grants, and speaking to top brass for project approvals. That kind of speaking was easy, in part because it's the transmission of information, versus speaking for life change.
Part of the tribulation in preaching is the acceptance / rejection dynamic one goes through as people listen to your messages. Not unlike those who try out a new restaurant, there is a constant and instant evaluation of "the food served." Was it good? Was it good enough to come back? Become a repeat customer? Course if people return, that's exhilirating. If they don't that's depressing.
But take away the human dynamic, human emotion part, and there is nothing like powerful, regular life-giving preaching. It's so crucial for church plants. Yea, heaven-sent preaching can plants churches overnight and cause it to grow exponentially in a very short time. It encourages, lifts up, challenges, enlightens, informs, and moves people toward God. Consistency in the preaching is part science, part art, part skill, and a big dose of dependance.
There are clear rules of communication that can be followed (and should be followed) to consistenly engage an audience. There's no reason to reiterate them here with so many great resources out there, but to mention my top four communication convictions in passing:
1) Clarity - Take the complex and make it simple. Make it clear. This is easier said than done. It takes a lot of work, study, meditation, to distill things down to their essential core. But when the clarity comes, it allows you to preach with power and beauty. Jesus was the master at this.
2) Content - Feeding comes from a sense of gaining new insight, understanding, revelation. Yes, there must be emotion in a message, but it must be commensurate to the content. Again this requires, study, meditation and being taught of the Holy Spirit. As it was said of Jesus when he was but 12 yrs of age, "Where did he get such understanding and answers - Lk 2:27).
3) Flow - choppy preaching doesn't work. The message needs to flow like a worship set. There must be a sense of carry, ebb & flow, highs and lows that lifts and drops the hearers. This makes for dynamic, compelling preaching.
4) Passion - In one sense, this is where clarity, content and flow converge. But most importantly, passion must have the "x" factor in it, which for me is the most crucial part of preaching; the "X" factor being the anointing, the sense of burden & mission the preacher brings to the pulpit each time. Does he feel the conviction of the message from God? Does he feel the burden, the articulation, and even the gesticulation? All the words can be smooth, but if there is no enduement from above, then there will be no transformation.
Clearly, God chose the verbal-auditory mode as the prime means of communicating truth. (Course, this does not mean we are to exclude other means of conveyance - e.g. video, object lessons, etc). It is the means by which a person becomes saved. It's the means by which a Christian is built up and the congregation is fed. It's the means by which a church is mobilized toward a vision.
The apostles placed prime significance on preaching because Jesus did. A church's health, growth and vitality depends on it. The hope of a city depends on the light coming from its pulpits. Pray for us church planters. Pray for us in the ministry of preaching. It's the third key in establishing new churches.
(Previously: Perseverance: The first "P" of church planting. Personnel: The second "P" of church planting.)