Preacher to Preacher

We were gathered for our annual district assembly several years ago when someone called on Mrs. Tommie Parrish to lead us in prayer. Some of you know her. She and her husband, Dr. Milton Parrish, led the Kansas City district for many years as district superintendent, now retired. Mrs. Parrish, feeble in body, came to the microphone and opened her mouth. When she was through in just a few moments I was left in awe. It was not because of her eloquent words, though her prayer was beautifully articulate. It was not because of her impeccable theology, though the content of her prayer was substantive and sure. It was that when she finished I said to myself, “She knows God.”
Mrs. Parrish wasn’t praying for us. Her words were not for our benefit. They were spoken in fierce devotion to a God and Father with whom she obviously spent a lot of time.

I would not tell that story to embarrass nor to inflate a dear sister in Christ. I tell it because it continues to speak to and challenge me about the way I come to the pulpit every Sunday. If I preach and people say, “Wow, what a great and eloquent speech,” I have done nothing more than any public speaker can do. If I preach and people say, “I enjoyed that message,” it could be that I’ve done nothing more than entertain or even placate. I pray that when I preach two things will be evident: the truth of God’s Word and that the word has come through a preacher who has spent time in the presence of God and knows the heart and mind of God.

One of my favorite descriptions of preaching comes from Dr. Tom Long who suggests that the preacher goes to the text in service to the congregation, hoping to make a discovery. Then the preacher announces that discovery to the congregation. This description reminds me that much of the work of preparing to preach is done under the surface, in the closet, where no one but the Father sees.

I’d like to ask all preachers a question: How are you doing with the element of spiritual preparation and prayer as you get ready to preach each week? I know how easy it is sometimes to default to “getting it done.” Some weeks are like that, but let us not get into a pattern of preparing to preach out of our own resources. May it be said of us when we preach: “She (or he) knows God.”

We’ve had more than the usual amount of feedback from the Advent/Christmas issue which included an article by Dr. C. S. Cowles. We welcome that kind of dialogue and simply want to remind our readers that Preacher’s Magazine is intended to be a professional journal for theologically trained pastors. It is our belief that the PM crowd is capable of engaging in thoughtful and graceful dialogue around contemporary theological and professional issues.

The first set of sermons for Lent and Easter are provided by Charles W. Christian. Dr. Christian currently serves as senior pastor of North Seattle Church of the Nazarene in Seattle, Washington. The next set of sermons for the season after Easter is provided by Dan Meek. Rev. Meek is pastor of the Canadian Hills Church of the Nazarene in Yukon, Oklahoma. ?