The Preparation of the Preacher

A Lesson I Have Never Forgotten

Nearly forty years ago, when I was a young Bible school student, I read E. M. Bounds's classic book Power Through Prayer, which emphasizes that spiritual strength and effective ministry are rooted in a disciplined, prayerful life.

One of the greatest dangers facing a minister is not simply that he might preach a poor sermon. It is that he might become so occupied with preparing sermons and doing the work of ministry that he neglects the preparation of the man who is doing the ministry.

That is a far more serious problem.

Bounds was relentless in calling ministers back to prayer. His burden was not merely that ministers should add another devotional exercise to their already busy schedules. He was concerned about the spiritual condition of the minister himself. A man may possess gifts, knowledge, experience, and preaching ability, but none of these things can substitute for a life of communion with God.

That is a lesson I believe every minister needs to hear again and again.

Prayerlessness Is More Than a Scheduling Problem

When a minister discovers that his prayer life has deteriorated, the natural response is often to say, "I need to do better." We make a new resolution, set a new schedule, determine to get up earlier, and promise ourselves that tomorrow will be different.

There is certainly a place for discipline. We must actually pray. But I have come to believe that the first response to persistent prayerlessness should not merely be another attempt at self-improvement. It should be repentance.

If I have neglected prayer, I have not merely failed to complete a spiritual exercise. I have neglected communion with God. I have allowed other things to crowd out the One who called me and entrusted His people to my care. The right response is therefore not simply, "I must try harder." It is, "Lord, I repent for being prayerless. Please forgive me. I have neglected You. Turn my heart back to You." And then we do what we ought to do. We pray.

There is a profound difference between self-improvement and repentance. Self-improvement says, "I will become better." Repentance says, "I have gone in the wrong direction; I will turn back to God." The former can still leave us depending upon ourselves. The latter brings us back to dependence upon Him.

To Have Prayed Well Is to Have Studied Well

One of the statements associated with the old-time ministers has always struck me: "To have prayed well is to have studied well."  

E. M. Bounds himself attributes the saying to Luther in Purpose in Prayer. Bounds writes, "Luther said: 'To have prayed well is to have studied well.'" He immediately adds, "More than that, to have prayed well is to have fought well. To have prayed well is to have lived well. To pray well is to die well." (Christian Classics Ethereal Library)

Bounds was reminding ministers that prayer and study are not competing activities. Prayer is an essential part of the study of God's Word.

Prayer does not excuse poor study. A minister ought to study diligently. He ought to handle the Scriptures carefully, understand their context, consider their meaning, and work hard to communicate the truth accurately. But there is a vast difference between studying the Bible merely intellectually as a preacher preparing material and studying it as a servant of God who is first asking God to speak to him.

The minister should come to the Scriptures asking, "Lord, what are You saying here? What do I need to see? What do I need to understand? What needs to change in me? What do You want Your people to hear?" Prayer prepares the heart to receive what study discovers.

Prepare the Head, but Do Not Neglect the Heart

Robert Murray M'Cheyne provides us with a beautiful example of this. M'Cheyne was a remarkably diligent student and a careful preacher, but he was deeply conscious of the danger of preparing the head while neglecting the heart.

In his diary, after preaching one Sunday, M'Cheyne wrote, "In the morning was more engaged in preparing the head than the heart. This has been frequently my error, and I have always felt the evil of it, especially in prayer." He did not say that preparing the head was wrong. It was necessary. The problem was preparing the head while neglecting the heart.

In another entry, after preaching with what he described as more heart than he remembered having preached with before, he attributed it to the gospel nature of the subject and prayerful preparation. Later he wrote, "Enlarge my heart, and I shall preach." 

Bounds considered this so important that he included M'Cheyne's words in Power Through Prayer, in a chapter significantly entitled "Heart Preparation Necessary." He followed M'Cheyne's quotation with the statement that prayer makes the preacher and that "the preacher is made by prayer." (Christian Classics Ethereal Library)

A sermon is not merely a collection of ideas that we have arranged in an orderly fashion. It is the Word of God being brought to living people through a living messenger. The truth must certainly be understood by the mind, but it must also work its way into the heart of the man who will preach it.

The Preparation of the Man

I have often heard the thought expressed that the best sermon preparation is the preparation of the preacher himself—the preparation of the man. Bounds wrote, “A prepared heart is much better than a prepared sermon.” The great lesson is not that sermon preparation is unimportant. It is that sermon preparation is incomplete when the preacher himself has not been prepared.

We can prepare the sermon and neglect the preacher. We can prepare the head and neglect the heart. We can become skilled at explaining the Scriptures without allowing the Scriptures to search us. That is a frightening possibility for anyone who stands in a pulpit. 

We Can Prepare the Sermon and Neglect the Preacher

It is possible to prepare an excellent sermon while neglecting the preparation of the preacher. A man can spend hours studying the biblical text, consulting commentaries, working through the original languages, developing illustrations, arranging his points, refining his introduction, and polishing his conclusion. He may have a sermon that is accurate, clear, and even compelling. And yet the man himself may be spiritually dry.

We need to remember that God is not merely interested in the message we prepare. He is interested in the messenger He is preparing.

The sermon comes through the man. The congregation does not merely hear our words; they encounter us as men. Our private life eventually finds its way into our public ministry. What happens in the prayer closet affects what happens in the pulpit. What we do with sin in private affects our authority when we speak about holiness in public. What we really believe about God affects the way we speak about God.

We can learn how to preach without learning how to walk with God. We can become knowledgeable about the Bible without allowing the Bible to transform us. We can become accomplished in the work of ministry while slowly losing the life of communion with the Lord that gave us the desire to minister in the first place.

“What we are is developed in our prayer closet.”

The prayer closet is not simply where the preacher prepares to preach. It is where God prepares the preacher himself.

That is why the preparation of the man must never be treated as secondary.

The Shepherd Must First Walk with the Shepherd

This is particularly important for those of us who shepherd the people of God. Jesus is the Good Shepherd. We are not. We are under-shepherds. The sheep belong to Him. The flock is His. The Word is His. The authority is His. The work is His.

That means that those who shepherd His sheep must remain close to Him. Before we ask, "How can I lead these people?" we should ask, "Am I following Him?" Before we ask, "How can I feed them?" we should ask, "Am I feeding on His Word?" Before we ask, "How can I teach them to pray?" we should ask, "Am I a man of prayer?" Before we call our people to holiness, we should allow God to search our own hearts.

The shepherd cannot give his people what he is not receiving from God. We cannot continually call others to seek the Lord while neglecting to seek Him ourselves. We cannot effectively lead people into the presence of God if we ourselves have become strangers to the secret place.

The health of the shepherd's own soul is therefore not a private matter. It is a ministry matter.

Prayer Must Be More Than a Ministry Tool

There is another danger worth mentioning. We can even learn to use prayer as a ministry tool rather than as communion with God. We pray because we need a sermon. We pray because we need wisdom. We pray because we have a counseling appointment. We pray because we need God to bless the service.

All of those are good reasons to pray. But prayer must become more than a means to accomplish ministry. God Himself must become the object of our desire.

The minister needs God even when there is no sermon to prepare. He needs God when there is no congregation to impress. He needs God when no one is watching. He needs God because God is God, and because apart from Christ we can do nothing.

This is where prayer changes from being merely a discipline on the minister's schedule to being the atmosphere in which the minister lives. Bounds made this point powerfully when he wrote that "the spirit of the prayer-chamber must control our lives." What we are outside the closet affects what happens inside it. (Christian Classics Ethereal Library)

The man who wants to pray powerfully must desire to live faithfully. The preparation of the preacher therefore reaches far beyond the hour spent in sermon study or the minutes spent in the prayer closet. It encompasses the whole life.

What Should We Do When We Find Ourselves Prayerless?

If you are a minister and you discover that your prayer life has grown weak, I would encourage you not to begin by making a grand promise to God about how much better you are going to do. Begin with repentance. Tell the Lord the truth. "Lord, I have neglected You. I have been too busy. I have depended upon my own strength. I have given attention to the work and neglected the One for whom I am working. I repent. Please forgive me."

Then do what you ought to do. Get alone with God. Begin to pray. Cry out to Him. Seek Him. Wait upon Him. Ask Him to search your heart. Ask Him to make you holy. Ask Him to renew your love for Christ. Ask Him to give you love for the people He has entrusted to you. Ask Him to make you a man who does not merely speak about God but walks with God.

And then go study the Scriptures. Go prepare carefully. Go to the pulpit. But go as a man who has first been with God.

Closing Words: The Preparation of the Man

Perhaps the simplest way I know to express all of this is this: study prepares the sermon, but prayer prepares the preacher. We need both. We must not use prayer as an excuse for poor study, nor should we use study as an excuse for prayerlessness. But we must never forget which preparation is ultimately more important.

The sermon may be heard for an hour, but the man behind the sermon will be observed for years. The sermon may eventually be forgotten, but the character of the shepherd may leave a lasting impression. The congregation needs more than a well-prepared sermon. They need a shepherd who knows his Shepherd. They need a man who has been with God.

So prepare your sermon. Study diligently. Think carefully. Handle the Word faithfully. Give yourself to the work of preaching. But prepare yourself as well. Let God search you. Let Him humble you. Let Him cleanse you. Let Him correct you. Let Him teach you. Let Him fill you.

That is the preparation of the preacher.

Attribution notice: The image called "Preparation of the Man" is an original generated by the author, Len Lacroix, with the use of artificial intelligence.  It is intended to depict a man from a past generation praying on his knees at his bedside in the early morning. The article was written based on the author's experiences with the help of artificial intelligence.

Author's note: If you enjoyed this post, you may also like the other posts in this blog available through the Home page, such as Guarding Your Prayer Life, Ministering from the Overflow, Seeking Him in the Wee Hours of the Night, Success in God's Eyes, and Having a Servant's Heart. You may also access my complete blog directory at "Writing for the Master."

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Len Lacroix is the founder of Doulos Missions International.  He was based in Eastern Europe for four years, making disciples, as well as helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who multiply, developing leaders who multiply, with the ultimate goal of planting churches that multiply. His ministry is now based in the United States with the same goal of helping fulfill the Great Commission. www.dmiworld.org. 

Guarding Your Prayer Life

Dear brethren,

I want to encourage you today by looking at how our Lord Jesus jealously guarded his prayer life.

Let's begin with the context, which is the people bringing to Him everyone who was sick. He laid hands on each one and they were healed. And demons came out of many of them. It says:

"When the sun was setting, the people brought to Jesus all who had various kinds of sickness, and laying his hands on each one, he healed them. Moreover, demons came out of many people, shouting, 'You are the Son of God!' But he rebuked them and would not allow them to speak, because they knew he was the Christ." (Luk 4:40-41)

Now let's see if that affected the Lord's prayer life, and whether He skipped or shortened His time with the Father in prayer the next morning. It says: 

"At daybreak, Jesus went out to a solitary place. The people were looking for him and when they came to where he was, they tried to keep him from leaving them." (Luk 4:42)

Here is how it is recounted in Mark's gospel:

"Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed. Simon and his companions went to look for him, and when they found him, they exclaimed: 'Everyone is looking for you!'"

We can easily observe that although Jesus was God incarnate, and supernatural signs and wonders were taking place in His ministry, resulting in everyone he laid hands on being healed, He didn't allow it to interfere with His prayer time. Instead He guarded His prayer time with the Father and kept it up as usual the next morning. When the disciples found him praying in a solitary place, they told Him that everyone was looking for Him, which indicates that He was in great demand.

Now imagine that you had a ministry in which every sick person you lay hands on is getting healed and you are casting demons out of many people. Imagine if you were in such high demand that there were hundreds or thousands of sick and demonized people standing in a long line stretching for a great distance, waiting for you to heal them and deliver them from their demons. And even though you minister to them all and heal them, you get up early next morning, and everyone is still looking for you. Would you begin right away ministering to them or would you still spend time with the Lord in prayer as usual? 

This is a valid question and a very realistic illustration, although the scale and size of the issue may vary from one person to the next. Ministers of the gospel, who are being used effectively by God in one way or another (e.g., healing, miracles, deliverance, counseling, preaching, etc.), often find that they are in very high demand. The temptation is to sacrifice time spent with God in order to meet the enormous demand, which can create pressure on the minister's life, as well as stress. However, that temptation must be resisted. 

You should do so by fiercely protecting your time and focus on communion with God, treating it as a precious, non-negotiable treasure that is easily threatened by distractions, busyness, or spiritual apathy. Always remain in a state of high vigilance, where you actively prevent outside influences, over-commitment, or laziness from interfering with your spiritual intimacy with God.* As my friend Dave Wenrich, who is now a retired pastor and chairman of my board, once said decades ago when I was a young believer in the Lord:

“Nothing is a replacement for going into your prayer closet and praying to your Father in secret...If we are to walk in the power of God in ministry, nothing can replace that time alone with God...The greater the exposure of your public ministry, the more important is the private ministry...Don’t trade private time with God for public ministry.” 

I took those wise words to heart nearly forty years ago when Dave spoke them as my pastor, and I have sought to apply them in my life. That good advice has served me well, and I believe it will serve you well also. 

Closing Words

As I wrote in my previous article Ministering from the Overflow, the only way to effectively minister to others is from the overflow in your own life. And if you sacrifice your private time with the Lord for public ministry or anything else, you will no longer experience the overflow from which to serve others as you ought to. 

Follow the example of our Lord Jesus. Guard your prayer life jealously with the help of the Holy Spirit, and with a fiery, protective passion as one defends a spouse as a priceless possession. Don't let anything crowd out your time with God, because if you do, you will eventually become drained of spiritual energy, depleted of supernatural power from God, and unable to effectively serve the Lord. In fact, in some cases, it could lead to very serious issues that could adversely impact your soul, your marriage, your family, and your ministry, as well as the souls of those whom the Lord has called you to serve. These negative effects could even have eternal consequences, and I don't want to see that happen to you or anyone. It's not worth it. May the Lord help us all! The grace of the Lord Jesus be with God's people. Amen.

Attribution notice: Scripture quotations taken from the Holy Bible NIV, copyright Zondervan, used by permission. The Gemini AI enhanced image of Jesus praying is based on artist Del Parson's painting, I Have Prayed for Thee available on Haven Light, used for educational and commentary purposes only, per the Fair Use Act. The first two sentences of the paragraph containing the asterisk (*) were written with the help of AI, which I edited.

Author's note: If you enjoyed this post, you may also like the other posts in this blog available through the Home page, such as Ministering from the Overflow, Preparation of the Preacher, Seeking Him in the Wee Hours of the Night, Raising the Dead, The Pros, Cons, and Purpose of Structure, Success in God's Eyes, and Having a Servant's Heart. You may also access my complete blog directory at "Writing for the Master."

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Len Lacroix is the founder of Doulos Missions International.  He was based in Eastern Europe for four years, making disciples, as well as helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who multiply, developing leaders who multiply, with the ultimate goal of planting churches that multiply. His ministry is now based in the United States with the same goal of helping fulfill the Great Commission. www.dmiworld.org. 

How to Preach and Teach the Word

While many books have been written and courses have been taught on the subject of Homiletics, or sermon delivery, the purpose of this brief article is not meant to duplicate those or be an exhaustive reference on the subject. Instead, it is meant to be a brief bit of guidance for those who are new to preaching and teaching the Bible. However, though it may be brief, it is meant to provide the most important points you need to know, especially from the Lord's perspective, from one who has been preaching and teaching the Word for nearly forty years. 

The most important sermon preparation is the preparation of the preacher. Here are some of the most important preparations of the preacher:

A Deep, Personal Relationship with Jesus

You must first know the Lord for yourself in a very deep and personal way, before you can expect to speak for Him. So you need to get saved, becoming born again, and spend plenty of quality time with the Lord daily in prayer and Bible reading. Your constant daily attendance upon God’s Word in your private time and your daily prayer life is your preparation for your public preaching and teaching. To have prayed well is to have studied well. 

Constant study of the Word of Truth

As I have just stated, it's very important to constantly study the Word of God to show yourself approved, so that you can correctly handle the Scriptures. "Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth." (2 Timothy 2:15).  It's vitally important that you maintain both a sound doctrine and a godly life: "Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers." (1 Tim 4:16). For more on this, see Read the Bible for All Its Worth!

Don't Seek to Become a Pastor or Teacher

Don't seek to become a pastor or teacher, as pastors are accountable before God for the souls of all the people under their care. They will stand before God one day and give an account not only for themselves but all the sheep in their flocks. "Not many of you should become teachers, my fellow believers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly." (Jas 3:1)

Speak to Bless, Not to Impress

The whole purpose of the five-fold ministry gifts of apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers is to equip the saints for works of service. So when you speak for the Master, don't seek to impress people or receive any praise from them, but to bless them so that they may be prepared to do the works the Lord created them to do (Eph 4-12-13).

As Jesus said, "He who speaks on his own does so to gain honor for himself, but he who works for the honor of the one who sent him is a man of truth; there is nothing false about him." (Jn 7:18). Therefore, don't speak on your own to gain honor for yourself, but speak for the honor of the Heavenly Father and our Lord Jesus Christ.

Spirit-filled Life

It's important that you receive the baptism with the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in tongues, according to Acts 1:4-5 and 8, as well as Acts 2:1-4 and 38 (cf., Mt 3:11, Lk 3:16, 11:13, 24:49; Jn 7:38). Be being filled with the Spirit daily (Eph 5:18). The Greek in this verse is a continuous action of being filled, not a one-time thing. I cannot emphasize enough the importance not only of being Spirit-filled, but also Spirit-led (Rom 8:14), Spirit directed, and Spirit-controlled (Rom 8:6) at all times and lead one's life in this fashion.

Receiving a Message from the Lord

You should pray and ask the Lord, “Please give me a message for the church. What would you say to this particular church at this time, Lord?” Your constant prayer should be, “Make me a mouthpiece for you, Lord. Bring forth your oracles from my lips.” 

The Importance of the Unction of the Holy Spirit

It's important to be prepared. You should have some notes from your study throughout the week, and then you can create a rough, short outline to use when you preach, which highlights key points and verse references you will speak about. You can use these notes as a guide to remind you of what you intend to say, but don't be bound to your notes when you speak. 

Let the Holy Spirit flow through you. And if the Lord changes your message just as you are getting up to speak, be prepared to let go of your notes and your message and let the Holy Spirit speak things through you that you had not even planned to say. Before you begin speaking for God, you should always pray first. Ask the Lord, “Please let the unction (anointing) of the Holy Spirit come upon me now Lord as I proclaim your Word.” 

Topical Message or Exegetical One

You can deliver either a topical message about a given topic the Lord has given you to preach on (eg., Doing the Will of God, or Walking in the Spirit), or you can deliver an expository message whereby you preach in a line-by-line fashion from a passage of Scripture, explaining each verse, one at a time. If you choose to deliver a topical message, it should be directly based on the Scriptures and using the Scriptures to deliver the message. You should not preach your own opinions or without using the Bible.  And avoid using a single verse merely as a spring board to jump off into sharing your own thoughts without coming back to the Word.

Make your point, make it well, drive it home, but be concise. 

The Goal of all Preaching and Teaching

Your goal is "to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ." (Eph 4:12-13). Ultimately you are to seek to present everyone to the Father perfect in Christ. As Paul said, "We proclaim him, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone perfect in Christ." (Col 1:28). 

Use Illustrations

It's often helpful to support your points with an illustration or two from the Bible based on stories about Bible characters (eg., Jesus, Peter, Paul, Samuel, David, Elijah, Noah, Moses, Abraham, Joshua, etc), which helps make the point of the message more clear to the listener. 

Closing Words

I hope this brief bit of guidance has served to better equip you to speak for the Master. As you may have noticed, most of what I shared was about preparing the preacher, rather than preparing the sermon or delivering it. While delivery is important, it will be hollow and empty without the power of the Holy Spirit. For the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk, but of power.

Attribution notice: Scripture quotations taken from the Holy Bible NIV.

Author's note: If you enjoyed this post, you may also like the other posts in this blog available through the Home page, such as A Tale of Two Kings, The Servant of the Lord, The Shepherding Role of Elders, Success in God's Eyes, Accountable, correctable, and teachable, A Personality Profile of the Apostle Paul, Persecuted or Popular?, and Having a Servant's Heart. You may also access my complete blog directory at "Writing for the Master."

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Len Lacroix is the founder of Doulos Missions International.  He was based in Eastern Europe for four years, making disciples, as well as helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who multiply, developing leaders who multiply, with the ultimate goal of planting churches that multiply. His ministry is now based in the United States with the same goal of helping fulfill the Great Commission. www.dmiworld.org.

How to Treat Leaders

Being a leader can be pretty tough. The leader is the one whom people usually blame if things are not going the way they would like. In fact, leaders in the church usually serve night and day. They don’t have regular office hours where they can leave work at the office when they go home. Often they are taken for granted and the importance of their role is minimized. But what does the Bible say about how we should treat our leaders?

Pray for your Leaders
The apostle Paul wrote to Timothy, "First of all, then, I urge that entreaties and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men, for kings and all who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity." (1Ti 2:1-2)

This is of primary importance. We need to pray for our leaders, not just the leaders of our national government, but also those in authority in the church. If we all spent more time praying for our church leaders, rather than criticizing and blaming them, things would go better for them and their flocks.

Imitate the Faith of Your Leaders
"Remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God. Consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith." (Heb 13:7)

What does it mean to imitate the faith of your leaders? The Greek word used here literally means to mimic. This does not mean to mimic their personality, but rather their faith. In other words, you should reproduce the same faith you see in them. You should follow them.

This is what the apostle Paul meant when he wrote to the Corinthians, "Be imitators of me, just as I also am of Christ." (1Co 11:1). Notice he said, "as I imitate Christ." To the degree that Christ is central in the lives of the leadership, you can follow them. And to the degree that Christ is not central in their lives, you should address that with them humbly. If they do not receive what you have to say, then that's when you may need to move on to someplace else.

It's difficult for most people to take what they read in Scripture and put it directly into practice in their own lives until they have seen someone else model it for them. This is one reason why godly leaders, who make Christ central, are so important. As you watch them imitate Christ, you will see what it looks like to be a disciple, and then you should imitate them.

Obey Your Leaders and Submit to them
"Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you." (Heb 13:17)

Perhaps it's best to begin this section on obedience with an important caveat. As a friend of mine commented: "I think when you try to define obedience and its requirements, you also have to define and find what the limits of biblical leadership are, something that is usually never done. So in most situations, there has been a lot of abuse, because it has been commonly understood that the leader is beyond questioning. I agree that in some areas, the leader’s authority is full and final, but that the scope where this is true is actually quite limited. So what commonly occurs is you have a leader, who believes his leadership domain is plenary when it is not. Then he gets offended when the 'followers' chafe at something, and they both lose respect for each other, and end up at odds. I think it all stems from misunderstanding of the leader’s real role, and that is to lead, not dictate." I agree with my friend's comments, and I think he adequately sums up the caveat.

With that said, elders in the Body of Christ are supposed to be keeping watch over the souls the Lord has placed under their care. They must give an account to the Lord for those souls. Many times people take this for granted and do not sense any sort of accountability to their elders. Rather they are always in a non-committed state, choosing to remain "a visitor" wherever they go.

While there is no Scripture that says you must have a "home church," it is assumed in Scripture that you will be connected to the Body of Christ in a local assembly, where you are accountable to the elders there. That does not necessarily mean you need to be part of an institutional church, as we normally think of church in the twentieth century. It could be a house church, as well.

It would also seem to go beyond Scripture to suggest that elders are accountable for the souls of every visitor who attends one of their services on occasion. At least, it's not the same level of accountability as that which concerns the people who have made a commitment to be an ongoing part of that local expression of the Body of Christ. Therefore, it's necessary for the elders of a local assembly to know who are the ones whom the Lord has led to commit themselves to serve under their oversight.

If certain people insist on remaining perpetually non-committed, this presents an issue for the leaders. Since the elders are accountable to God and one another, then the people under their care need to make a decision before the Lord where they will be planted and serve. That's why you need to make up your mind where the Lord is leading you to be connected, and then follow through with your commitment.

Respect Your Leaders
Paul wrote to the Thessalonians, "We ask you, brothers, to respect those who labor among you and are over you in the Lord and admonish you, and to esteem them very highly in love because of their work. Be at peace among yourselves." (1Th 5:12-13)

Here we are taught not only to respect our leaders, but to esteem them very highly in love. And it's important to note that he is referring to specific leaders here. First, he means those who labor among you. These are not simply people who carry a leadership title, but do not serve. The text connotes those who diligently labor. In other words, they are toiling and working hard. And they not only do so while positioned separately from you. They are especially working like this "among you," in other words "in your midst." They come up alongside you to help you grow in your walk with the Lord.

Secondly, Paul here refers to the leaders as those who are over you in the Lord. This expression in English comes from the Greek word “proistamenous”, which means to “preside,” “maintain,” “be over,” or “rule”. Not all leaders in the Body of Christ around the world are over you in the Lord, but only those who specifically have charge over you. I realize this is contrary to what many people believe today. Many reject the notion that anyone is in charge of them or over them. But this is not my idea. It's straight from the Word of God. These are the ones we are to esteem very highly in love.

Honor Your Leaders
"The elders who rule well are to be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who work hard at preaching and teaching." (1Ti 5:17).

So there is a clear instruction to honor our leaders. In fact, those who rule well, those who maintain the flock well, especially those who work hard at preaching and teaching, are worthy of twice as much honor as leaders who simply discharge their minimum duties.

There are many ways to honor people. One way is to bless them with gifts. And in the context of this passage, Paul was explaining that we must financially support our leaders. He continued, "The laborer is worthy of his wages." (1Ti 5:18). So financial gifts are one way to honor our leaders, and certain leaders are worthy of double the honor we would normally give. As he taught the Corinthians, the Scripture says, "YOU SHALL NOT MUZZLE THE OX WHILE HE IS THRESHING." (1 Co 9:9). That's not just referring to animals. “So also the Lord directed those who proclaim the gospel to get their living from the gospel.” (1Co 9:14). As he wrote to the Galatians, "The one who is taught the word is to share all good things with the one who teaches him." (Gal 6:6). Therefore, look out for your leaders, and be careful not to withhold from them what they deserve.

Avoid Accusations Against Leaders
"Do not receive an accusation against an elder except on the basis of two or three witnesses." (1Ti 5:19)

So anytime someone speaks to you, making an accusation against an elder, don’t receive it. Unless there are two or three witnesses who can substantiate the accusation, dismiss it.

Avoid Using Titles for Leaders
"But do not be called Rabbi; for One is your Teacher, and you are all brothers. "Do not call anyone on earth your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven. "Do not be called leaders; for One is your Leader, that is, Christ. But the greatest among you shall be your servant. “ (Mat 23:8-11)

Jesus taught that those who serve as overseers of the flock must not be called leaders. True leaders serve, and we all have One Leader, Jesus Christ. In this one blog alone, I have used the word “leader” nearly fifty times! That reflects how ingrained this word has become in our vocabulary. Yet the only time it is used in the New Testament is when Jesus told us not to use this title. Even in the Hebrews passage I have quoted earlier, the original language does not use the term "leaders," but literally says, “Obey those who led you and submit to them…” (Heb 13:7). So when we need to refer to those who lead us, it would be better to choose a term used in God’s word, such as elder or overseer (Tit 1). And when speaking directly to these people, we should avoid titles altogether.

Yet how often do people call leaders, “Father,” “Holy Father,” “Pastor,” “Reverend,” “The Right Reverend,” “Apostle,” “Bishop,” “Archbishop,” “Bishop Doctor,” or “Elder so-and-so”? Some people may even refer to a leader as God's "General." Don’t do this to your leaders! And if you are a leader, don’t let people call you by any of these titles! They should be able to address you by your first name, just as Paul was addressed by his first name and just as the members of the Body of Christ should address one another by their first names. We are family, and brothers and sisters don’t use titles to address each other.

Putting it All Together
So often, we see leaders being falsely accused, blamed for things, and not honored or supported by the people they are presiding over. Yet we are taught in God’s Word to hold our leaders in honor, to pray for them, to support them financially, and to obey them so their work will be a joy rather than a burden. We are not to receive accusations against them that cannot be substantiated by two or three witnesses.

We are also taught to obey our leaders in Christ and submit to them. This requires a commitment on our part to be planted in a local assembly and be accountable to those who have the oversight there.

Even so, in all this, we need to avoid addressing them with titles, since this only puffs them up. We want to help them to walk humbly and not lead them into the sin of pride, which is the human tendency.

If you have not treated your leaders the way you should, there's still a chance to do so. Now is the time of God's favor. Now is the time to ask Him to forgive you and help you to do what His Word commands.

Attribution notice: Most Scripture quotations taken from the NASB.

Author's note: If you enjoyed this post, you may also like the other posts in this blog available through the links in the side bar. If you would like to read more on this topic, see my other post in this blog, "The Lord, Our Shepherd." You may also access my complete blog directory at "Writing for the Master."

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Len Lacroix is the founder of Doulos Missions International.  He was based in Eastern Europe for four years, making disciples, as well as helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who multiply, developing leaders who multiply, with the ultimate goal of planting churches that multiply. His ministry is now based in the United States with the same goal of helping fulfill the Great Commission. www.dmiworld.org.