HOW TO PREACH

1 Timothy 4:13 – “Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to preaching and to teaching.”

Galatians 1:11 – “I want you to know, brothers, that the gospel I preached is not something that man made up.”

Every church or religious movement has its own style of preaching. In fact, many full-time ministers are just professionals at public speaking and oratory. In Maranatha, the Lord has challenged us to lay aside traditions and avoid imitating the preaching styles we see around us, especially with “celebrity” preachers. Humility is key. The Lord has called us to abandon our fleshly desire to impress the congregation with our public speaking abilities, and focus instead on transmitting God’s message to the church for that day – no more and no less. The preaching in all our Maranatha churches – thousands of congregations – is rather uniform. We operate as a Body. We do not permit preachers in our churches to deviate from the pattern the Lord has showed us – it is a simple matter of obedience to His Word. Our entire goal is to do what the Lord wants, not what man wants. The following are some guidelines that we give to our newer preachers about the expectations we have in our churches.

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2 Timothy 1:6 - “For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands.”

1 Timothy 5:22 - “Do not be hasty in the laying on of hands, and do not share in the sins of others.”

Laying hands (extending the hand in the air) was the way to confer authority, blessing, or anointing in the Old Testament.  Examples include the Patriarchal blessing (see, e.g., Genesis 48:14-17), special prayers for a large group of people or a nation (see Exodus 9:29-33; Exodus 17:11-16; Leviticus 9:22). It was the way they raised people to the ministry (see, e.g., Numbers 8:10; Numbers 27:23; Deut. 34:9) It was also used to transfer SIN from the people to the scapegoat in Leviticus 16:21 (see also Exodus 29:15-19; Leviticus 4:15, Leviticus 8:14-18).  There are numerous examples throughout the Old Testament.  The apostles continued this practice in the early church, and we do so today.

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“This is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance (and for this we labor and strive), that we have put our hope in the living God, who is the Savior of all men, and especially of those who believe.” - 1 Timothy 4:9-10

The things a church emphasizes say a lot.  Our overarching goal – the Holy Spirit’s call on our churches – is to function as a healthy, worldwide body rather than as just another “movement.”  A sad characteristic of many fundamentalist and charismatic movements is their emphasis on the show.  Preachers strut around on a stage, shout, and generally “show off;” musicians jump around and flail about, mimicking the performers at a pop concert; and members try to outdo each other with glamorous clothes, jewelry, and so on.  Even the church buildings are often constructed to be ostentatious and showy, a monument to the pastor’s ego.  continue

1 Timothy 3:1-3 - ”…Here is a trustworthy saying: If anyone sets his heart on being an overseer, he desires a noble task.  Now the overseer must be above reproach, the husband of but one wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not given to drunkenness, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money…”

Christian groups always have some form of leadership, whether the group is a member of a healthy Body, or simply a manifestation of a modern Christian movement. Protestant churches typically refer to their leadership as “ministry.”  Ministries vary in roles somewhat from denomination to denomination, but they can be divided into two general categories: professional clergy and non-professional ministry (sometimes referred to as “lay ministry” or “tentmakers” in some circles).

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