How Radio Ministries are destroying the Local Church: The Celebrated Orator Epidemic
April 1, 2008 by lionelwoods7
I came across this article and it was very humbling to say the least. I quickly realized how guilty I was of the very thing Elder Steve talked about in the short exhortation. Here is a quote:
Unless you regularly attend the church of one of the celebrated preachers of our day, you most likely have faced a similar situation. Either at a conference or on the internet, you have heard exceptional preaching, but each Sunday you’re back in your simple little home church that hardly anybody beyond your town knows about, with its “nobody” of a pastor who will probably never preach to thousands.
What was funny is this very sermon was preached by Pastor Dhati this past Sunday. He emphasized how many flock to churches to be “fed”. It was funny to hear this because it struck right to the heart of error that I (and many I know) posses. Many people I know (including myself) would scorn someone for leaving a church because they don’t like the worship, or they don’t like the programs, or if they perceived that some felt need wasn’t being met. Such people are spiritually immature we say. But these same individuals with their nose turned up, would turn around and leave a church (or some people go to two churches one for worship/fellowship the other for the teaching) if they felt their families weren’t being fed spiritually (as if that is the primary responsibility of the preacher anyway)!!!!!
If you own an Ipod you recognize the logo above. It is an Itunes picture and it is one of the greatest inventions none to music lovers. It has also contributed greatly to this epidemic. The wealth of great bible expositors is in abundance and all are available for free the internet medium. Piper, Sproul, Chandler, MacArthur, Stanley, Swindoll, Driscoll, Keller, Ryken, Thomas, Duncan, Ken Jones, Nelson, Harris, Mahney, Loritts and the list goes on and on, are available at your fingertips and not only that you don’t even have to push a button, just let the computer download the latest sermons for free.
You can just sit there and be a sponge (like I have been). The sermons come and I have so many on my Ipod that I can’t even listen to them all. I am currently behind on 80% because I was introduced to a new teacher by the name of Arturo G. Azurdia III. So what happens is that I hear this gifted men who have more of an Apostolic ministry than 99% of local pastors and elders and I compare the two. That would be like someone comparing Peter to one of the elders in Ephesus. God has gifted very few men at this level of ministry and for the most part these men are the Leaders leader!
Most of our Pastors will not host Desiring God, Shepherds Conferences, Miami’s Pastor Conferences or Resurgent Conferences you know those which will draw international fame and attendees. These few men have been gifted by God and by God alone and as Paul says “woe to them if they dont’ do it”. But this comparison puts undue pressure on our local shepherds. I am sure that the pressure of wanting to be “successful” by our standards (Western) is bad enough. As they sit in these conferences and as they drive by huge churches, as they go home and no publishers are knocking down the door or ringing the phone off the hook, as they hear us complain and rant, as they are up at night praying for their little bitty 150 member church that God has put them in charge of, as they prepare a sermon that will probably ignored because it lacks the expository genius of a Spurgeon, as they look at their meager salaries that won’t do much to give them even a remotely competitive salary in the marketplace and as they ask the Lord to let them do something else. I wrote something that is now be applied in this situation “let them do this with joy”. I guess I need to take heed to my own writings.
In closing, lets not do this folks. Lets not compare our pastors to Piper or Sproul. That is like comparing our wives to some airbrushed supermodel who spends hours working out, have no kids to worry about, and probably eats 800 calories per day to look the way they do. Some of these men are extremely gifted men and have been anointed by God to perform certain tasks. God will reward them for their faithfulness to this task and God will reward our shepherds for unashamedly and unwaveringly being faithful to the task of ministering to the 100 people God has given him to have oversight over. Lets help them do this task with joy. I end with this quote:
We should praise the Lord for giving us outstanding, well-known preachers, but let us not forget Paul’s command to Timothy, who was entrenched in a local church with pastors whose names none of us know: “The elders who rule well are to be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who work hard at preaching and teaching” (1 Tim. 5:17).
In general, I agree with your post and the article you shared.
However … you wrote: “as if that is the primary responsibility of the preacher anyway”
Actually, I do think it is the primary responsibility of the preacher to feed the sheep.
Now, if you meant that the preacher is not the one primarily responsible for a particular sheep being fed (i.e., that it falls on the sheep himself/herself), I’m more inclined to feel you.
But as a pastor (i.e., shepherd) I think, like Peter, I’m to demonstrate my love for Christ by feeding the sheep, giving them good food and trying to keep them from consuming rubbish.
You also wrote: “That is like comparing our wives to some airbrushed supermodel …”
Amen and great analogy.
P.S. I’m always afraid I’m quote the great John Piper in a sermon and someone will come up to me afterward and say, “Pastor, I knew John Piper. John Piper was a preacher of mine. Pastor, you’re no John Piper.”
And … you know what … he’d be right!
Pastor Gunny:
You said
But as a pastor (i.e., shepherd) I think, like Peter, I’m to demonstrate my love for Christ by feeding the sheep, giving them good food and trying to keep them from consuming rubbish.
I meant in the home. Under my limited knowledge of the Reformed Tradition my family’s primary feeding should come from me though you will and should be able to provided biblial insight that I am not gifted to provide. And that goes for our children also. Meaning that the primary shepherd of my children is me and secondarly is the pastor/children’s minister. They see you once a week they see me daily. So I am coming from the “husbands are the pastors of their families” and pastors are the “shepherds of the families”.
Okay, I guess we’re friends again then. I was hoping that’s where you were going.
It sounded, however, like you were saying that something else was the preacher’s primary responsibility.
I pondered, “What else could that be?”
Incidentally, on a related note, I shared this link a while back.
Does Christian radio have more influence over your flock than you do?
http://blog.christianitytoday.com/outofur/archives/2007/08/thus_saith_the.html
Thanks for the good blog stuff, brother. I’ll be sharing on Monday, Deo volente.
Oh no, the ministering of the word is the PRIMARY and OBLIGATORY responsiblity of every teaching pastor (depending on how your eldership is set up). The teaching fellow will be the one who proclaims the truth of the eldership and is the one who is the voice for protecting and educating the flock.
We should be “self-feeders” as my pastor calls it. Husbands and fathers should also feed their families. Recorded sermons and lessons can be very beneficial. However, we shouldn’t miss out on Sunday morning for one reason. Corporate worship and preaching in our local congregation is a means whereby God unifies the Body of Christ. You can’t get that on an IPOD unless you’ve missed church because you’re a nurse who has to work the ER on Sunday morning or who are infirm and need to hear your pastor feed you and your fellow congregants.
Yes, I think we too often fall into the trap of putting a lot of emphasis on these preachers being oh so ‘gifted’ (talented) as if to imply somehow ‘better’ than the local pastor. Paul never made a big deal about ‘preacher greats’ and neither should we (1 Cor 1). Are folks like MacArthur, Sproul [insert name of any other of your favorite famous preacher] really any more talented than all the local pastors out here, or have they simply been given opportunities and resources from God to reach more people (or a particular demographic of people) for His purposes?
There’s nothing wrong with lauding the ‘dynamic’ preachers God sends our way, but how far should that go? I don’t think He ever intended for us to elevate any preacher regardless of how eloquent or intelligent he is. Prayer they need, accolades they don’t.
God gives his gift of preaching and teaching to both the fancy ones and the simple ones. His Spirit is the One who illuminates what is being said. God knows which method/delivery is perfect for each person who hears.
[...] Don’t Compare your Pastor Found this great quote HERE. [...]
I can empathize, and I think you’re on to something. But I’m not sure I can agree because of a couple significant issues. Sure, it’s not fair or right to judge every pastor against the greatest pastor. But, what makes the greats great, in my opinion, is largely related to what makes pastors pastors. Let me explain.
I listen to Mark Dever a lot. Dever’s sermon outline greatly appeals to me. In every sermon, he introduces the topic by telling why it matters, but then he delves into the meat, taking time to address the issue in terms of Christians, non-Christians and the church community. And this outline that so greatly appeals to me is one he gladly shares with other pastors (http://marks.9marks.org/Mark1). There is no reason my local pastor cannot use the same format. The local pastor might not do it as well, or maybe he would, but the problem is local pastors frequently do not even try. I have difficulty finding local pastors who even use expository preaching; and I don’t believe it’s unfair to expect preachers to expose the text. Additionally, Dever’s outline was developed from studying the great Puritan preachers. So, if he can use the greats of the past to develop his ideas of quality preaching, why would it be wrong for me to use the greats of today in the same way.
I would also like to absolutely disagree with your statement that comparing the greats with the locals “is like comparing our wives to some airbrushed supermodel who spends hours working out, have no kids to worry about, and probably eats 800 calories per day to look the way they do.” First, the nature of the “airbrushed” model is falsehood; no one is that perfect, but the airbrush covers over imperfections so the models look perfect. Are you claiming these pastors are actually fakes? Second, insinuating these men are like supermodels who do nothing but their work is a horrible insult to their balanced Christian lives. Mark Driscoll openly talks about how he guards time with his family; he has 5 kids and is not like a model who has “no kids to worry about.” John Piper has talked about times he and his wife were going through difficulties, and he has said he struggles with lust. Yes, Piper’s church blesses him with the time to write, and Driscoll’s church blesses him with the time to mentor church planters. Most pastors cannot have such benefits. But, these are not men who sacrifice the rest of their lives for the job as your supermodel example implies. Hollywood and the entertainment industry are filled with “it” couples who fell apart because of various reasons, but these men have maintained star ministries and excelled precisely because they are real, honest and ensure their lives are balanced for God’s glory.
Bruce,
You said:
Hollywood and the entertainment industry are filled with “it” couples who fell apart because of various reasons, but these men have maintained star ministries and excelled precisely because they are real, honest and ensure their lives are balanced for God’s glory.
What about those who are real honest and balanced who don’t have this type of public ministries. I can name 10 off the top who dont
Had to run so let me clear up some stuff Bruce. First I greatly appreciate you commenting and as I always say, you can’t make every point you want to make and every metaphor can’t be properly explained unless a two page blog is written on every thought. So here we go.
1. I know a lot of great men who preach quite well and exposit the text with accuracy and precision. Some of these men have preached for 25 years faithfully and guess what. They may be great to some but never will they possess the expository genius of MacArthur, or the charisma of Piper, or the practicality of Maheney and for the most part Dever, Piper, Sproul, Jones, Lloyd Jones, Reyken, Duncan and others possess these gifts in abundance. Once again I compare their ministries to that of an Apostolic Ministry. Look over the course of history and tell me how many Augustines, Calvins, Luthers, Pinks, Watsons, Owens, and Edwards we have. If they were the norm they wouldn’t be qoted as regular as they are today and their books wouldn’t be used in seminaries abroad. So I disagree with you there.
2. Maybe Dever’s sermons do appeal to you. Maybe they will not to the next. As long as clear expository preaching is utilized then I belive the pastor is faithful to the office of preaching. However I have heard hundreds of expository teachers and truth be told the great preachers of today (mentioned above) have a gifting that brings them to the top of the crowd. I will say the same of Peter. Who was the mouthpiece for the 12? Peter is correct. Of the 12 who is mentioned the most? We see it early in the gospels that Peter was going to have this type of ministry. Secondly we see Paul and Barnabaas. Apollos also had this gifting. That is why Paul had to write the Corinthians not to focus on these individuals (Cephas, Paul, Apollos) these men were special in a unique way. So this isn’t about expository preaching it is about people who exposit the text in a way that is unique from his bretheren.
3. I can follow MLJ, listen to all of his sermons, but I promise you that when people hear me preach they will not say, this brother is as good as MLJ, I can read all of Spurgeon’s books and listen to all of his sermons and guess what the reason we quote Spurgeon today is because of a special gifting. Not hard work and dedication.
4. Next you may should ask what I mean by my analogy. I never said that none of these men work hard. I think differently. I believe Piper, Dever, Sproul and others are well read and well versed. I will also say that they have opportunities that will never be give to 90% of pastors. I don’t know many Pastors who can take a 3 month sabbatical to work on a book. Especially if they are in a church that can barely pay him a salary. I will say this again. There are men who are as gifted as Piper, Dever, Driscoll, Mahaney and others who will never get a publishing deal and will never get the audience they have. Why? It isn’t what God has for them. To assume that I was saying these men lives aren’t balanced “is a horrible insult” to me. I belive these men to be dedicated, intelligent, gifted, and wise individuals. The problem is the majority of that comes from God and the audience that follows comes from God.
So in closing my response I say this; go to the next Desiring God conference walk on stage, put your arms around Piper neck and tell of the faithful man there looking to gleam some wisdom and insight “you should be just like Piper, and if you are not well you are not a pastor, because Piper is the standard of what a Pastor should look like”. I promise you, you wouldn’t make it off stage alive. These men are on the daily grind. They are at funerals, weddings, hospitals, up late praying for God to grow their little 100 member church, praying for God to save his community, praying for God to give him the confidence and strength to come back next week and preach to a bunch of unappreciative sheep. So it really depends on what you mean by “real and honest” because there are millions of pastors who are reall and honest and there is only one Piper. I am grateful for his ministry and never once was their any intentions on minimizing his work ethic or heart as a Shepherd. Finally read Hebrews 11. How many of these men made front line news? How many of the elders at Ephesus had resounding ministries? How many of the great man at the Council of Nicea can you name? What about men who lost their lives for the same Reformation that propelled Luther to his status? How about faithful men who refuse to compromise and will “not shrink back from preaching the whole counsel of God” and finally what about the small town preacher in a little industrial city with about 5K in population who has given his all to those he shepherd not to mention he “preaches expositorily”?
Hmmm…? When I became Reformed, all the Reformed guys I knew were on the radio - Dr. MacArthur, mostly. Then came the Web bunch - Piper, Dever, Driscoll, McGee, etc. Seeing as I didn’t have a church to immerse myself into, these guys were my church.
God, in His providence, led me to the Metropolitan Tabernacle Baptist Church where I am now, and almost immediately, my demand for radio and podcast sermons took a back seat to actually going to Bible study and Sunday services and devoting to my local church.
Here’s where [I believe...] the real trouble is for some: they expect the same style, the same “swagger” of the radio minister in their local church, and will look down on those who do not meet up to it…which in all honesty is being condescending to the local church pastor who does the weddings, funerals and hospitals
I appreciate the supermodel analogy.
This is a fresh way of looking at a growing problem that we face today and that the Corinthians seemed to face in their infatuations with Paul, Apollos and Cephas.
I think the Judgment Seat will shock us all, by revealing just how faithful so many “no-names” were.
Thanks Pastor Lance, I pray that you and ol’ Gunny get platinum crowns! LOL!!!!
Platinum Lionel……|
Well (if it suits them), add a gold grill and a spot at the golden ghetto.
Seriously, to Brother Lance/Gunny, the same sentiments to you like Lionel said. There will probably be more faceless individuals that we never knew about glorified in Heaven than most realize……and if there was some way to give a shout-out/celebration to all the “store-front”/local church pastors small in their town but keepn’n it REAL 4 the Lord, I’d be all over it…
If I may say,
I think the supermodel analogy goes a bit further than comparing local pastors/elders with those on radio. To me, when considering the picture of comparing our wives to some airbrushed supermodel who spends hours working out, have no kids to worry about, and probably eats 800 calories per day to look the way they do, I’d like to consider the people in the household such as the maid/babysitter who does tremendous work like the wife but gets ignored by the Husband like she doesn’t even exist and is of no importance.
I Corinthians 16
14Do everything in love.
15You know that the household of Stephanas were the first converts in Achaia, and they have devoted themselves to the service of the saints. I urge you, brothers, 16to submit to such as these and to everyone who joins in the work, and labors at it. 17I was glad when Stephanas, Fortunatus and Achaicus arrived, because they have supplied what was lacking from you. 18For they refreshed my spirit and yours also. Such men deserve recognition.
Personally, I wonder how often we do the comparision thing even with people not even in the position of a pastor since many kats seem to often underappreciate the efforts of those who may never step foot in the pulpit but who aided in the ministry nonetheless. Lydia came to Christ early but did much for the Gospel simply by sharing her home, but by todays standards many wouldn’t even give her a shout-out…..and would probably think that what made a difference was the PREACHING OF THE TEACHERS who’re seen primarily in public.(Acts 16:40, Acts 16:13-15
The same thing goes for Priscilla and Aquilla, who simply opened their home and made a difference (even though for them, that basic undestanding of the WORD helped another—Apollos– whose full calling was expressed in Apolegetics (Acts 18:1-8, Acts 18:17-19 , Acts 18:25-27 , Romans 16:2-4, 1 Corinthians 16:19). Ministry for them was a household issue where they could make a difference…but would they be recognized?
Bad analogy by the way with the baby sitters. But hopefully, what I’m trying to say makes sense….
Whatever we may think of Christendom’s celebrities or the regular Joes in our pulpits, I think that it should be said: It should be considered a SIN to make a boring sermon of the Living Word of God! If a preacher lacks unction, he lacks a compelling reason to call himself a preacher.
And I do think the church needs more expository preaching. To that end, I have always used this method in my sermons. That is not say that I don’t think a preacher ought not have a point and that he ought not to be able to get it across plainly and get around to making that point before Christ returns! [or at least more quickly than otherwise]
btw, It was not my intent to bomb your site with comments, so for that I apologize. This is an excellent blog site and I’ve added it to my blogroll.
-Sirius Knott