Mistakes We Make in Training Young Preachers

     There are many wonderful Bible colleges.  I fully recognize that many of the things I am going to say will not apply to some of them.  For this, I am glad.  As I have dealt with young preachers, I have been concerned.  There is a hesitancy on the part of many of them to actually get involved in the work of God.  They seem, as a whole, to desire far more training than my generation did and then, to endeavor to do less once they have receive the extra training.  I hope the following thoughts will be helpful to all of us who invest our lives in helping others prepare to serve God.

We train their head and not their heart.  There are young preachers who can explain the difference between sub, supra- and infra-lapsarianism, but have no burden for souls.  There are those who can tell you in detail why they believe in the pre-millennial return of Christ but seem to have no interest in the wayward teenagers in their own neighborhood.  There are those who can tell you with great authority exactly how God expects a marriage to be conducted but find it burdensome to invest in helping a troubled young couple actually improve their marriage.  There must be a heart for God and His people before anything will be accomplished in His work.

We teach them procedures without principles.  There are some places, who in an effort to be practical, have given list after list of “how to do it” while failing to teach the principles behind the procedures.  The procedures can be helpful, but the principles are vital.  I am reminded of the young bride who insisted, for the first 10 years of her marriage, that the ends of a roast had to be cut off before it could be properly cooked.  Her husband often questioned her about this, but she insisted that this was the right way to do it because it was the way her mother had always done it.  One day, she became curious herself as to the reason and asked, “Mom, why do we cut the ends of the roast off?”  Her mother said, “Well, the only reason I did it was because my pan was too small.”

We teach them to analyze instead of to appreciate.  Young preachers become critics.  They know what’s wrong with everybody’s sermon, everybody’s philosophy, and everybody’s church.  Some of this may occur naturally, but I am convinced a significant portion of it is due to the fact that they are taught by critical teachers (many of whom could never do half as much in the local church as the people whom they criticize.)

I preached a while back, at a particular Christian college and later learned that the students studying for the ministry were given the responsibility of critiquing every chapel speaker.  They were to analyze his introduction to his message, his exposition of Scripture, and his use of illustrations.  Some eleven or twelve items were on the list.  I could not believe it.  I honestly think that had I known this was the case, I would have either refused to preach or told the young people to put their lists away and pay attention to the sermon.  Chapel is not – or at least should not be – for analysis.  Chapel is not a time to critique.  Chapel is a time to let the Word of God speak to your heart.  Whoever the idiot is who thought it was helpful for young preachers to sit around and criticize men of God who came in to speak to them needs to have both his head and his heart examined.

We teach them to obey rules without teaching them to reason.  Some of us have done a good job of teaching our young people how to dress and how to behave and what music to listen to.  Unfortunately, we have never taught them why we dress a certain way, and why we listen to a certain kind of music.  All of our standards should be based on principles from the Word of God.  Young people must know the Bible.  If they know the Bible, they can apply it to any life situation.  If they only know the rules, they will one day find themselves unable to answer the questions of others as to why their rules exist and may in their own hearts, turn away from good standards because they do not know the reasons behind them.

We teach them academics without teaching them application.  How many young preachers have a good understanding of Bible doctrine but do not know how to pray?  How many of them can tell you all about the life of Christ but do not know how to win a life to Christ?  How many have a wonderful theory of discipleship but have never discipled anyone? 

At the end of the Sermon on the Mount, the Lord Jesus tells the story of two men who built their houses.  The one whose house was built on the sand experienced disaster.  The other, who built his house on the rock, withstood the storms of life.  Please note that the difference between the two houses was not in their knowledge.  The house on the sand was an example of the man who “heareth these sayings of mine [Christ’s] and doeth them not.”  The house on the rock was an example of the man who “heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them.”  The difference was not in the knowledge.  It was in the application of knowledge.  Unapplied knowledge is useless.

Liberals and Pharisees

   Several years ago, I preached at a church about 45 minutes away from where I pastor.  The folks there learned that I was to preach at another church in the area.  “Well,” they said, “that’s not a bad church. But they don’t have very good standards.” 

“Really?” I responded.

“Yes,” they went on to explain, “they have mixed swimming activities for their youth group.”

“Oh,” I said, “you’re probably right.  I think they do.”

When I went to the second church to preach, they made mention of my having been at the first. “Well,” they said, “that’s a pretty good church, but they don’t have very good standards.” 

“Really?” I responded.

“Yes,” they went on to explain, “they allow music that we would not have in our church.”

“Oh,” I said, “you’re probably right.”

   It was intriguing to me that each church deemed themselves to be better than the other because of a particular area where their standard of behavior was higher.  For the one church having mixed swimming activities was a far more egregious offense but to the other, having music that was not as conservative as theirs was far more significant. 

    The most interesting thing, though, about the story to me, is not the attitude of the two churches toward each other. You see, I don’t find fault with two of the entities in this illustration. I find fault with three. Because after hearing the response from both churches, I felt that I was the one who was really right because our church neither allowed mixed swimming activities nor used the kind of music in question!  Have you noticed that people who have higher standards of behavior than we do are usually, in our mind, Pharisees?  We deem them to be silly, excessive, “hyper.”  We make call them “ultra-cons.”  On the other hand, people whose standards of behavior do not reach up to ours are compromising, liberal.  They certainly can’t be right with God and “do the things they do.”  Here are a few thoughts about standards of behavior.

•    They are essential. No principle can be widely applied without specific guidelines.  The reason we have traffic laws is so that we may drive safely.  Underlying all of our laws is the concept of safety.  Why then, don’t we just post large, flashing signs on all of our roadways that tell us to “Be Safe!”?  Well, one person might think it’s safe to drive 100 mph down I-75 and another might think that 50 mph is the safe speed.  Some people will very politely pause at each intersection to give others a chance to go while others will barrel through, assuming that everyone will stop for them.  Any honest person must admit that specific guidelines - stop signs, yield signs, speed limit signs and the like - are necessary for us to fulfill our goal of driving safely.

•    They are universal. Those who criticize others for their “stinking standards” have standards of their own, albeit ones which are in their mind, not nearly so malodorous.  McDonald’s Restaurants have standards. Have you seen the signs that say, “No Shirt, No Shoes, No Service”?  Now, it happens that I can pay for and eat my hamburgers equally well without my shirt and shoes on.  There is no commercial reason that I must war a shirt or a pair of shoes when going to their establishment. . . they simply require it. They want a particular level of clothing among their customers.  While we may not all have eaten at such restaurants, we know that restaurants exist which do not allow gentlemen to dine there without having a necktie on.  Though I do not golf, I was once taken on a golf outing at a very expensive golf course in Palm Desert, California. I wore blue jeans.  To my surprise and dismay, I discovered that denim was not allowed on the course!  I had to purchase appropriate attire from the pro shop at an exorbitant price.  Why, those Pharisees!  How dare they tell me how I must dress!

•    They do not demonstrate spirituality. If an ungodly man with shoulder-length hair gets a haircut, he is immediately transformed into . . . an ungodly man with short hair.  A harlot who puts on a modest dress becomes a harlot in modest attire.  Our young men who join the military are not rendered more godly when their heads are buzzed.  It is true that spiritual people, in order to please the Lord, will endeavor to maintain godly standards of behavior, but maintaining the godly standard of behavior is not what makes them spiritual. Their spirituality is determined by their walk with and love for the Lord Jesus Christ. 

•    Our attitude toward them is indicative of our heart.  While our church would be very much on the conservative side when it comes to standards of behavior, I preach often at churches which may, in one or more areas, not have the same practices as we do.  I believe what we do is right; I believe it honors the Lord; I believe I could give Biblical reasons for our behavior. I do not believe that those, who in one area or another, fall short of our standards of behavior, are somehow unspiritual. Sometimes they are uninformed. Sometimes they are new in the faith. Sometimes, for reasons beyond my comprehension. God has dealt with me concerning matters about which He has not dealt with them.

•    They are not the end, but the means to an end.  Behind every policy there should be a principle.  Behind every principle there is a Person we should be trying to please - the Lord Jesus Christ . . . for what it’s worth.