Paul asks for prayer for boldness. So do I. It’s not easy to tell people the truth in or out of the pulpit. I’ve never been imprisoned, but I have known people to get mad. That’s because truth is not always a comfortable fit. It’s not always soothing to hear. Sometimes it gets people mad. I don’t want people to be mad at me. I want people to like me. The only problem with that is, it’s not my job to get people to like me. It’s my job to tell the truth.
I need not beat you with a hammer, but I dare not tell you less than the truth. And not only must I tell the truth because you need to hear it. I must tell the truth because you’re not the only ones listening!
Advertisement
Hugh Latimer was a Protestant martyr who was condemned as a heretic and burned at the stake by “Bloody Mary,” queen of England in 1555. In a sermon before the royal court, he once said, “Latimer, thou art going to speak before the high and mighty king, Henry VII, who is able if he think fit, to take thy life away. Be careful what thou sayest. But Latimer, remember also that thou art about to speak before the King of kings and Lord of heaven. Take heed that thou does not displease him.”
Look at Paul again. See him moving his pen across the page. Hear the rattle of the chain he wears.
We may never have been imprisoned, but preachers do feel “chained” sometimes. One of the chains we chafe under is made up of many links called expectations. Everybody and his dog has a job description for the pastor: He’s a rancher, he’s a shepherd. He’s an administrator, he’s a scholar. He’s the Manager, he’s an employee. He’s a preacher, he’s a teacher. He’s the vision caster, he’s the hand holder. He’s in the office 9 hours a day and evangelizing 10. He’s a political activist. He’s a social critic. He’s two-two-two mints in one!
Let me tell you what I am. I am a preacher. I hesitate to use the term in the current cultural climate. The world doesn’t have much use for a preacher. That’s nothing new. What is new is that the church doesn’t seem to have much use for a preacher either. It has use for a corporate CEO, a marketing expert, a therapist, but not a preacher. Believe me, I have searched for another title to designate my work. I keep coming back to “preacher.” The term best defines who I am and what I do.
So, all I do is preach? No. As a matter of fact, it is because I’m a preacher that I do things besides preaching. I get into people’s homes. I make the nursing homes and the hospitals. It’s important that you understand why. I don’t do these things because somebody here thinks I ought to. I do these things because I’m a preacher. I do them because of the primacy of the Word of God. I visit people because in His Word, Jesus tells me to help the hurting and share the gospel with the unbelieving. I also do these things because I can’t preach this Word and really see it penetrate your life without sharing my life with you.