El movimiento de los Recursos Educativos Abiertos

There are several core components of preaching. They include a reliance on the Word of God, a focus on the glory of God, a reliance on the Holy Spirit to apply the Word of God to the hearts of men, and a focus on practical application in the lives of the hearers. When these components are present, there can be faithfulness in preaching.

A Reliance on the Word of God

First, there must be a reliance on God’s Word and a preaching of the Bible and not preaching about the Bible. Exposition of the Scripture must occur in any method for it to be considered faithful preaching. Many have moved away from solid biblical

exposition to methods that are highly questionable. Kent Hughes lamented, “Preaching . . . is often shortened to a 15 or 20 minute homily. Bible exposition is jettisoned as too heavy in favor of a lighter topical homily. And since the average TV- sotted American has a shrinking attention span, sermons become story-laden and sometimes a string of vignettes loosely related to a scriptural pretext. Moreover, there is often such a strained attempt to be relevant that anything that has not come out of the last 20 years is

consciously avoided.”181

There is an effort to leave behind any connection with the past in the name of cultural relevance. The faithful preacher will unapologetically proclaim the entire Word __________________

181 _{Kent Hughes, The Foundation of Our Vision: Vision 2000 (Wheaton, IL: A}

of God. The Word of God will be his starting point, will formulate the structure for his message, and will be his ending point as he calls people to respond to a Holy God.

A Focus on the Glory of God

Second, there must be a focus on God and His glory from the beginning to the end, as the primary matter of all proclamation. God is to receive the attention and focus in the efforts of the pastor. Ultimately the pastor preaches to an audience of One.

Jim Shaddix stated, “Preaching should not be driven by a preference, a program, or even a purpose, especially that of answering all the questions people ask. Instead, preaching should be driven by a passion for the glory of God, a passion jointly possessed by both pastor and people. The Bible is the story of how God ultimately is glorified in His redemptive plan to re-create mankind into His image, and the Scriptures are the Holy Spirit’s primary agent for enacting that process.182 The preacher simply delivers the message of God, with a focus on pleasing Him and doing His will, and God takes care of the results.

A Reliance on the Holy Spirit to Effect Change

Third, there must be a reliance on the Holy Spirit to bring about change in the hearer. It is God who brings about change in the hearts of men. The Apostle Paul wrote, “Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers through whom you believed, as the Lord gave to each one? I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase” (I Cor 3:5-6).

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182 _{Jim Shaddix, The Passion Driven Sermon (Nashville: Broadman and Holman,}

D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones believed the anointing of the Holy Spirit on the life of the preacher to be critical to the preaching event. He stated, “It is God giving power, an enabling, through the Spirit, to the preacher in order that he may do this work in a manner that lifts it up beyond the efforts and endeavors of man to a position in which the

preacher is being used by the Spirit and becomes the channel through whom the Spirit works.”183 The preacher should concern himself with living a life of purity under the power of the Holy Spirit, dependent on Him for unction in delivering the message, and for the intended results.

A Focus on Practical Application

Fourth, each person who hears the Word of God faithfully proclaimed must be called upon to apply what he has heard. It is not enough to communicate the truth to people, they must also be called upon to respond to the truth. The lost who hear the message of the Gospel must be called upon to apply the Word of God to their hearts and follow Jesus.

The saved must be called upon to apply the Word of God to their hearts, and live a life of obedience. Every preaching event must culminate in a moment of truth, where the hearers are faced with a crisis of belief and must decide how God wants them to apply His Word to their lives. John R. Bisagno suggested, “Every Scripture has only one

correct interpretation, but it may have a million applications. Regardless of how you apply it, the Holy Spirit will go beyond your words and explicitly apply it to the unique

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183 _{D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Preaching and Preachers (Grand Rapids: Zondervan}

needs of each individual listener.”184 The preacher should ask of the text, ‘what does it say, what does it mean, and how does it apply?’ Imparting information for the sake of information is useless. The Word of God is intended to be applied directly to the hearts of its hearers.

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184 _{John R. Bisagno, Principle Preaching (Nashville: Broadman and Holman,}

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CHAPTER FIVE

COMPETENCY OF THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY PASTOR IN PASTORAL CARE

This chapter outlines the competency of pastoral care which includes: loving the flock; praying for and with the people; relating to the people; protecting the flock and guiding them away from sin and danger; lovingly but firmly leading the church to apply discipline and correction as needed; bringing peace in times of conflict; pastoral

visitation; crisis care; and biblical counseling.

Pastoral care is complex and at times can be overwhelming in its scope and depth. The needs of a congregation are physically, emotionally, and spiritually very demanding for the pastor. Pastoral care is where the shepherd’s heart is clearly displayed.