This was back in 2017 which should not seem like a long time ago but it was. As of this writing, March it was roughly 8 years ago.
This picture was taken during a revival at the church I was at. I was preaching about how the cross breaks every chain and had some old rusty chains laid at the foot of the cross to symbolize it.
I want to comment on it because my preaching and teaching have changed a bit since then. The 3rd piece to my philosophy of ministry is “Build & Grow.” When building and growing one’s ministry, work, maturity, etc. it is important to assess which parts are contributing to a goal and which are not. Building on the areas that are doing well and being willing to change or abandon areas that are not is a key to growth.
With that in mind, I changed some parts of my preaching since the above picture was taken.
When preaching in those early years, I focused on “making a point” or thinking about what I wanted to say and then finding Scripture to make it work. Now, I have come to learn this is exactly the opposite of what one is supposed to do.
The key to biblical preaching and teaching is to let the text of Scripture drive the meaning, the point, and the application. While stories, illustrations, and even visual aids have their place, it’s the text of Scripture that is to have the preeminence. I think a lot of young preachers struggle in this area because we want to make an impact and we want to develop our ability but we only have other preachers to draw on that we have seen.
It takes time and repeated experience to develop one’s preaching identity and I would argue that substance should take precedence over style. Every preacher is different. We have differing voices, backgrounds, points of emphasis, etc. However, the one thing that should bind us all together is our fidelity to the text of Scripture.
My preaching in today’s world is fully centered on the meaning of the text, being God-Centered in my approach, and ensuring that all application is driven from the text and not imposed on the text. Am I perfect in my efforts? No, but the improvement is something I am happy about compared to where I was a decade ago. I have both built on previous experience and have grown out of things I should not have been doing into things I should be doing with my preaching.
As any humble and honest preacher will tell you, “I still have a long way to go!” This is true. Many areas like application, finding good illustrations, and deciding which elements are most important to focus on still need a lot of work in my preaching. However, I can also see where I have grown and developed over time and I am pleased with the direction my teaching is going. I am eager to see where I am 10 years from now in 2035 compared to where I am in 2025.
Time will tell.
