Five Temptations of the Pulpit
Ben Patterson
The paradox of the pulpit is that its occupant is a sinner whose chief right to be there is his perpetual sense that he has no right to be there, and is there by grace and always under a spotlight of divine judgment.
A. C. Craig
After the sermon is finished, the church doors locked, and the roast eagerly devoured, we start to unwind from another Sunday morning. During the sermon, all thought was on getting it said. Immediately following, there were hands to shake and people to see. Finally, though, some time during the next several hours, the questions begin rising to the surface:
How did I do?
Did I convince anyone?
Was the Word heard?
We begin to reflect on whether or not the sermon worked. A sermon that fails is emotionally devastating. The sermon that works, however, can be just as spiritually devastating. Holding sway is a heady thing. Producing conviction may well convince a preacher of his own greatness — a terrible price to pay for success.
At Irvine (California) Presbyterian Church, Ben Patterson fights a weekly battle with the twin devastations as well as the other everpresent pulpit temptations. His transparency in this chapter allows us a glimpse at the temptations we, too, face — temptations to rail at the saints, to use rather than absorb Scripture, to "grandstand" for the crowd.
Patterson demonstrates that quality of effective preachers: the ability to sort through a sermon in retrospect, finding satisfaction in the good and continuing to work on the rest.
...
Performing While You Preach
The first and greatest temptation is the one I experienced that day — to be a performer in the pulpit. In one sense, that's exactly what you must do when you preach — perform. Anyone who dares get up in front of a group of people ...
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