I think most of us who preach can relate to the frustration of preparing sermons, preaching them with as much power as one can to an audience that seems to be listening, and in which there are lost people who need to act on that message, and then when the time comes for them to move, they remain where they are seated. Still lost. Still separated from God. Without hope. This is not only frustrating, but frightening, since we believe what Jesus said with all our heart. Yet, part of this frustration is due to the fact that we preachers sometimes forget what our role is. Properly understood, it is that of a seed-sower. In Luke Chapter 8, Jesus gives the Parable of the Sower. He says in verse 11, “…the seed is the word of God.” He talks about the seed being planted and some of it landing in unfriendly places, but then He says some of it “…fell on good soil. It came up and yielded a crop…” (v. 8). It is the solemn duty of God’s preacher to lovingly get the truth of God’s Word off the printed page and into the heart of the listener. It is then that the responsibility is transferred from the preacher to the hearer. Beyond faithful preaching and all the encouragement we can lend, there is not much else we can do. As a preacher, I am not in charge of the harvest. Someone else is. Jesus says in Matthew 9:38

It is Sunday morning. You are standing in the lobby at church when a man and his family walk in. After brief introductions and a welcome, you learn that this is their first visit. They’re glad to be here. In the next few minutes, he asks a few questions. “How is this church different from other churches up and down the street—or is it?” “What do you believe, and why?” Later, over lunch, he and his wife have several other questions. “Why is there so much emphasis on baptism, and the Lord’s Supper,” “When did the church of Christ begin?” “Is it true that you believe you are the only ones going to Heaven?”     These are fair questions, and these people have every right to hear an honest answer. How would you answer? May I enlist your interest as I try to address these matters.     In truth, these questions are hard to answer until I first explain how we view the Bible itself. We believe that “…all Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16-17), and “…holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit” (2 Peter 1:21). Simply put, we believe the Bible is the expression of the very mind of God. The Bible is either God’s infallible Word, or it is worthless. If you want to know

In my travels, and in reading numerous church bulletins, I am intrigued by the evolution of the term “worship leader.” More and more, I see the song director singled out as the worship leader to the exclusion of other public participants. All along I had thought that the brother leading prayer was also leading worship; that those serving communion and preaching were leading worship. In a recent report about a youth gathering, it was said that a singing group would “lead us in worship and then we will pray and hear a message from God’s Word.” Just what were they doing when they prayed and preached? Is this not worship, too? What’s going on here?     Actually, I fear that I do know what’s going on. There seems to be a nationwide—if not worldwide—movement afoot to place less and less emphasis on preaching, and perhaps do away with it altogether. In an AP article in the Memphis Commercial Appeal (April 15, 2006) about a Franklin, TN church, it said, “Sunday mornings at the People’s Church look more like a rock concert than traditional worship services.” It went on to say they are “moving away from singing hymns…” (Are our congregations far behind?)     In the article, Dr. James Byrd, Assoc. Dean of Vanderbilt Divinity School, hit the nail on the head—albeit unwittingly—when, in reference to the praise songs, said, “…There’s less to disagree with in music than in sermons, where you can get into theological arguments.” I believe that this accounts for the increasing popularity

For as long as I can remember, there have been people who say, “Jesus I love. God I love. But I don’t want any part of this thing called ‘church.’ Too many hypocrites. Too much inconsistency.” They are simply turned off by the word church. This mindset is still very much alive with people who say, “I can take Jesus, but not the church.” In an effort to reach such people, I am hearing some disturbing things. Like, “we’re going to try to convert these people to Jesus and then gradually introduce them to the church later on.” There are some serious basic flaws in this reasoning.     First, let’s look at a few relevant scriptural matters. (1) Ephesians 1:22-23 says Jesus is the head of the church and the church is His body. (2) Acts 2:47 says the saved are added to the church. (3) Colossians 1:13 says we are in the kingdom of Jesus Christ, and Matthew 16:18-19 equates the church with the kingdom. (4) 1 Timothy 3:15 says the house (family) of God is the church. Together, these passages forcefully teach that when one is saved, he is a member of Christ’s body, he is added to the church, he is a subject of the King and he is a part of the family of God. In other words, all of this is a part of being a Christian, a necessary part. The very idea of becoming a Christian without becoming a part of this thing called church is foreign to biblical teaching. To say that one may be an obedient follower of Jesus