This is todays devotional from Tozer. I would not have posted this here but this, I believe, is related to what Darrell posted a couple days ago: Give it a look see...
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May 5
Preaching: Great Preachers
For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to
the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. But God has
chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and
God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the
things which are mighty.
--1 Corinthians 1:26-27
I'm against the idea of putting the "big preachers" on tape and
playing them back to the congregations that feel they are being
starved by listening to "little preachers."
Fallacy, brethren--a thousand times, fallacy!
If we could have the Apostle Paul on tape recordings and let him
stand here and preach, he could do no more for you than the Holy
Ghost can do, with The Book and the human conscience....
Oh, brethren, I would not detract from God's great men, but I can
safely say that that's not what the church needs.
The church needs to listen to the inner voice and do something
about it! The Tozer Pulpit, Volume 1, 108-109.
"Lord, we're inundated today with 'big preachers.' And while we
appreciate their gifts and ministries, I pray today for all of
my brothers who are 'little preachers.' Help them not to be
discouraged by their seeming smallness but to be faithful
servants of Yours, declaring with great passion the message of
the Book, in the power of the Holy Spirit. That's what the
church needs! Amen."
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2 comments:
Good post Sean. It can be so easy to get "star struck" with the "big preachers" but we need to keep things in perspective. Hey, those guys have huge crowds and many have a great ministry, but the reality is that most churches are in the "small" category. The "experts" say a church is considered small if they have under 200 avergare attendance. Yet, the same experts tell us that well over 85% of all churches in America average under 75. Maybe this thing is being viewed backwards. If by far and away most churches have 50 people sitting in them, could it be because those churches are doing the most effective ministry for individuals? Most people seem to like the personal touch and the "everybody knows your name" atmosphere. But these experts can produce feelings in a pastor/church of failure for not growing to the mega church status. Fellow ministers judge us by the size of our church, and as a result, the temptation is there to jump through hoops, juggle fire and grab all the latests gadgets and fads in hopes of drawing a crowd. We need to learn to be content where God has placed us. I don't mean that we should not be trying to grow, because the goal is to reach as many as possible. Yet somewhere we must remember that it is God who gives the increase. If increase comes through any other means, it will not stand the test of time.
Darrell,
You are exactly right.
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