From the pulpit, to video/audio posts on the internet, to the street corner and beyond, many preachers and pastors seek to spread the news about Jesus Christ! Sincere, passionate, courageous, AND __________ (you fill in the blank) these men continue this work without reservation of mind. In the midst of such a noble endeavor, a question has been forced upon me. “Is it possible to do something right and go about it the wrong way?” In reference to a specific situation I recently encountered, I write this post and make the following statement: Good pastors and preachers KNOW the difference between taunting and preaching!
Is God Honored By My Preaching?
For a while now, I have be thinking about the privilege of preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ and His Divinely Inspired Word. What an honor it is that God would want ME to preach for HIM! I wonder though… “Is God honored by my preaching?” Every preacher must ask himself that question from time to time. If he does not, then he is likely to be doing what he loves to do, but causing more harm than good. Nobody wants to be guilty of this. NOBODY!
Am I Detracting From The Gospel?
Proclaiming the gospel under: the promise from God that His Word will not return void (Isaiah 55:11); the fact that the gospel has power (Romans 1:16); the plain command to preach it (Isaiah 58:1; 2 Timothy 4:2); and a plethora of Biblical examples of leather-lunged prophets who dared to herald forth God’s message, many have taken refuge to condone and excuse their taunts, rants, and mean spirits. While the above scriptural references are all true and believed by this preacher, they are not to be used to grant a license for non-Biblical methodology. It is entirely possible to preach God’s Word without taunting people and acting like a 6 year old on a playground. You can preach BOLDLY and DIRECTLY without detracting the gospel.
Why Do Some Pastors And Preachers, At Times, Taunt Their Audience?
I do not know for sure why people do this sometimes. It might be from anger and they are lashing out. It could be from insecurity issues. Publicity stunts for a camera shot are certainly not out of the question. I feel that it is mostly from personality quirks left unchecked. Whatever the reason, it is FLESH, FLESH, FLESH! God the Holy Ghost CAN use this type preaching because He is God. After all, He used a donkey to reach a man in the Old Testament. Though God CAN use taunts and tirades to reach people, it is certainly not the normal way God worked as seen in the Biblical pattern.
Is Street Preaching A Breeding Ground For This Behavior?
Street preaching is a venue that is Biblical and needed more and more in this country (USA). I am for it 1,000,000 percent! It is difficult to do and not for the faint of heart. Due to the audience you, many times, have when street preaching, there is a tendency to be reactionary. Getting off script, so to speak, results in dialogue that was not intended or would not normally be engaged in. Most of the street preachers in this country, who are preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ, do what needs to be done in a Biblical way, and are not kooks nor cultists. It is a severe minority, who use this great method of evangelism to pontificate, that I feel gives a bad name for everyone else.
Conclusion
Anytime you criticize, constructively or non-constructively, someone’s motives and/or methods you will run the risk of being taken the wrong way. In view of this fact, I want to be clearly understood. Giving the benefit of the doubt, and operating under the assumption that pastors and preachers who taunt, at times, while they are preaching are sincere and genuine, I wholeheartedly applaud their desire to serve the Lord Jesus Christ. I am, however, very much opposed to their taunts. Let us be CLEAR, to my knowledge, in the King James Bible I possess, I do not recall an incident where Jesus Christ ever, I repeat, EVER taunted anyone! There is absolutely NOBiblical justification for taunting while preaching from the Holy Word of God!
Would you consider purchasing…
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The Preacher and His Preaching |
By A.P. Gibbs / ECS Ministries
This present books brings Gibb’s encyclopedic knowledge of the subject within our reach. Gibb’s seriousness, thoroughness, energy, and urgency breath from this book. First entitled A Primer on Preaching, as Gibbs matured so his study of the sacred art of preaching grew. His final edition was completed just months before his sudden homecall in an auto accident enroute to Hamilton, Ontario, for a two week series of Gospel meetings.
