Choosing the Proper Man

I am honored that the thirty member graduating class asked me to speak at their "last supper." Do not fear seniors, I do not plan to "dip the cup" with any of you tonight. There are a number of problems associated with this assignment. The first derives from the fact that Ed has already taught you all you need to know. Then tomorrow morning you will receive your certificate of graduation proving that your educational process is now complete. So what can I teach you tonight that will help as you enter your field of ministry? I could tell you that there are at least sixty members of search committees from as many congregations that are ready to grab the first available graduate and offer him the pulpit in a dynamic, growing, upper middle-class, moderate size city church. The support package they have to offer is more than adequate, involving two annual vacations, retirement benefits included and hospitalization premiums all covered. They are ready to house you in a recently remodeled, four-bed room, double car garage home, for their preacher, and have external lawn service contracts already made with a local florist. That is what I could say, but it would probably drown too many of you because your mouth is watering so profusely.

But if it were true that search committees were lined up offering such a package of benefits, then I would probably have more to say to them than to you. I would like to assure them that, according to the opinion of our faculty and administration, our graduates are some of the best trained preachers in our brotherhood. They all have pursued their training with satisfactory grades and with honor. They have distinguished themselves academically, spiritually and socially, and with an opinion like that, who would want a second opinion? I must tell potential search committees that, alas, some of these grads have already found placement, but there are others who are still hoping; still in the "wannabe" category. So to any congregation in quest for a "pulpit man", there are a number of qualities that deserve your consideration, qualities that make a man attractive to any congregation with an empty pulpit. And as we survey the characteristics a search committee should look for, you (as of yet unattached graduates) are invited to listen in. Maybe you can learn the importance of developing those same qualities that make you enticing to some church.

There are some "do's and don't's" that should guide a search committee. First, don't look for a spiritual superman! There are none available here. Brother Howard Norton did a credible job of exploding the myths or legends that circulate around ministers and missionaries in the Lord's church. He wrote that: "Myth has it that preachers are not ordinary mortals like the lawyer, the businessman or the farmer. They are religious giants, totally unselfish; they are unconquerable advocates of the truth. They are forever enthusiastic, untiring, courageous and self-sacrificing. They are above temptations faced other mortals and find their greatest joy in suffering; they live above all worldly ambition."

But of course that is how myth defines the preacher. A wide chasm lies between myth and reality. It may be because of that myth that many good men never consider themselves to be preacher material. So, though myth has claimed many victims, it does nevertheless bring up a good question. What indeed is good preacher material? What traits should a church look for when seeking to hire a preacher?

A Preacher Must Be Sent By God

Today's preacher stands in much the same situation as the prophets of old. They were men sent by God, who knew that they were sent by God. The success of the prophets laid not in their being supermen. For they were "men of like passion with us" (Jas 5:17). Some were reluctant missionaries; most were convinced of their own inadequacy. But all of them felt that their mission was divine in origin. They felt themselves under God's mandate, and therefore subjected their personal will to the superior will of God. Their motivation then was in God and not in themselves. So felt Paul, for he wrote: "If I preach the gospel, I have nothing to glory of; for necessity is laid upon me; for woe is unto me, if I preach not the gospel" (I Cor.9:16). The apostle further stated that if he had commissioned himself, then what he got from his mission was the reward he deserved. "But if not of my own will, I have a stewardship entrusted to me" (Vs. 17). To be sent by God does not mean some divine call that comes in a "wee small voice in the night" or some message written in the clouds. Romans 10:15 informs us that all of God's children are God-sent people. As long as there is one man in this world that has not heard about Jesus, God will be in the business of sending forth his messengers!

A Preacher Must Be Sent By God to Speak for God

Congregational search committee members should seek for a man who has a message on his heart that will not keep. Such a man must speak for God or else he will die. Jeremiah grew tired of preaching to a rebellious people, and wanted to resign his assignment, but he could not hold his peace. "Then there is in my heart as it were a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I am weary with forebearing, and I cannot contain" (Jer.20:9). When the Jewish authorities attempted to quiet the apostles, their response was simply that "we cannot but speak the things we have heard and seen" (Acts 4:20).

L.E. Maxwell, in his book ,Crowded to Christ, tells of a long term missionary to India who wanted to return to the field after a furlough. He was having difficulty securing the needed support for his mission. One concerned member of the congregation stood up, and on behalf of the missionary, said:

"Therefore I say, let this type of missionary stand, that he is a man without the care of making friends or keeping friends, without the hope or desire of worldly good, without the apprehension of worldly loss, without the care of life, without the fear of death, of no rank, country or condition; a man of one thought, the gospel of Christ, a man of one purpose, the glory of God; a fool, and content to be reckoned a fool, for Christ. Let him be an enthusiast, fanatic, babbler, or any other outlandish nondescript the world may choose to denominate him. But still let him be nondescript. For when they call him a business-man, a house holder, a citizen, a man of substance, a man of the world, a man of learning, or even a man of common sense, it is all over with his missionary character.

"They must speak or they must die, and although they should die, they will speak. They have no rest, but hasten over land and sea, over rock and trackless deserts. They cry aloud and spare not, and will not be hindered. In prisons they lift up their voices, and in the tempest of the ocean they are not silent. Before awful councils and throned kings they witness in behalf of the truth. Nothing can quench their voice but death — and even in the article of death, ere yet the spiry flame and rolling smoke have suffocated the organ of the soul, they speak, they pray, they testify, they confess, they beseech, they warn, and at length bless the cruel people."

How far is this description separated from the example of the apostles of the Lord? Paul challenged the young evangelist Timothy to "follow my teaching, conduct, purpose, faith, longsuffering, love, patience, and persecutions" (II Tim.3:10-11).

A Man That Has First Been Taught by God

A good preacher is rooted and grounded in the word of God. Probably the number one problem in our brotherhood is that some of our preachers are not well taught in the Bible. Even some of the more noted preachers seem to be adrift in their theology, and they are carrying the church into needless divisions. Search committeemen should seek for a man who has at least been exposed to the message of every book of the Bible. So, look for a man that is doctrinally sound, and who loves the Lord's church and the Lord's people. He must "turn men from darkness to light and from the power of Satan unto God that they may receive remission of sins and an inheritance among them that are sanctified by faith in God" (Acts 26:18-19).

Get a Man That is Sustained by God

Choose a man that trusts in God and not in the flesh. Under the Law of Moses, the Levites were told that "Jehovah is your inheritance" (Deut.18:2). God is "your portion" (Lam.3:24). A preacher must free himself from the materialistic rat-race of America's value system, before he can have Paul's attitude of contentment whether he is "abounding or is in need" (Phil.4:12). This does not mean that the search committee is authorized to abuse the preacher with inadequate support. It seems that some leader in the church, when setting a preacher's salary, feel that they must protect "the Lord's money." That is a noble desire, but in the process they must not forget to protect the Lord's spokesman!

You Want a Man Who Holds God's View of Things and Men

Preaching is a battle for the minds of men and an attempt to literally change the course of human history both here and hereafter. Therefore it is imperative that God's spokesmen have God's world view. Your man must see the world as God sees it — lost and eternal damned. Any view of people outside of Christ that does not agonize over their lost-ness simply is not God's view. Any course of action short of sacrificial involvement on behalf of the lost is not God's way. God's way has a cross in it. So be sure the man you select has a settled mind about the state of the unregenerate. He must be a messenger, not one that speculates on their chance of salvation simply because of their ignorance of God's plan of redemption. That is not the reason they are lost. They are lost because of sin. So get a man that has good news for the lost, not hypotheses.

You Want a Man That is Committed to Grow 

The qualities mentioned may seem to disqualify any and all of us. But if a man is chosen because he loves the Lord, and His Book, and His creatures, then he can take these beginnings and "grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ" (II Pet.3:16). Consecration to God and to His mandate is a personal commitment that increases while living under the umbrella of His love. Jesus said: "Take my yoke and learn of me" (Matt.11:29). We learn best under "the yoke!" As knowledge of God's message grows, so grows a deeper appreciation for its imperatives, and greater confidence in His promises flourish. Deeper gratitude for salvation promotes higher resolve to "fight the good fight, keep the faith, and finish the course" (II Tim.4:9). Involvement in the destiny of other souls results in greater efforts toward their rescue. The bottom line motivation of a preacher is the company he keeps! He is "God's fellow worker" (I Cor3:9).