Once upon a time God called three ministers to preach. To Preacher A He gave the ability to preach five-talent sermons, to Preacher B the ability to preach two-talent sermons, and to Preacher C the ability to preach one-talent sermons.
Each went to preaching. Preacher A preached five-talent sermons, and Preacher B preached two-talent sermons.
Preacher C, however, said to himself, "I'm just no good at this preaching business. Preacher B is twice as good as I am, and I'm not even in the same league with A. I can 'occupy the hour' with some thing or other, but when it comes to expecting my preaching to make a significant difference or have much effect on anybody, I give up."
Eventually God called the three before His judgment bar to give account for the preaching gifts He had given them. When the angel opened the book, here's how their records read:
| Preacher | A | B | C |
|---|---|---|---|
| Accomplishment | 5 | 2 | 0 |
| Ability | 5 | 2 | 1 |
And what was God's judgment? With whom was He most pleased—A or B? Applying to homiletics the principles Jesus set forth in the story recorded in Matthew 25, we can say that God would give the very same commendation to both—even though A's sermons were two and a half times as good!
God measures success far differently than we do. We tend to measure by comparing our accomplishments with some one else's. God measures by comparing our accomplishments with our abilities, and mathematics says that 5/5 is no greater than 2/2. In fact, God is just as pleased with 1/1 as He is with 5/5.
Two lessons about preaching:
1. Your best is good enough no matter how poor it is. Good news for the minister who feels himself a failure because he's just a one-talent preacher: If God has called you to preach, He has given you all the ability you need to preach as well as He means for you to preach. To say otherwise is not to feel humble about your self, but to feel doubtful about God.
The tragedy of being a one-talent preacher is not that you preach one-talent sermons. Rather, it is that since your best is not as good as someone else's, you are tempted to give up and do less than your best. Remember, God is very pleased with 1/1.
2. Anything less than your best is not good enough no matter how good it is. What if A had preached four-talent sermons? They would still have been twice as good as B's. Too many A preachers are preaching B sermons. Preaching is hard work, and they are tempted to feel content with doing less than their best so long as they are doing better than most. Surely God is no more pleased with lazy A's than with ungrateful C's.
MINISTRY'S new column
MINISTRY has been kind enough to ask me, as head of the ministerial association that produces the magazine, to begin writing a column for each issue. How can I possibly make a worthwhile contribution to your ministry? I intend to vary the column within three areas:
1. Practical pastoral suggestions. I left my last pastorate in 1982. It gets very presumptuous and even dangerous to give pastoral pointers after you've been away from that field of service too long. I'd like to share a few pointers out of my own experience before they grow too stale.
2. Preaching tips and sermon ideas. Having taught preaching for 16 years and having received my degree from North western University and Garrett Theological Seminary in the teaching of preaching, I yearn to share a few thoughts on the subject. We receive many requests for sermon ideas and sermon illustrations, and so I plan to include some of these from time to time.
3. Spiritual encouragement. We all have many needs as ministers, but the greatest need of every one of us is a closer walk with Christ. The work of the Lord becomes very tedious without the Lord of the work. In my present job as "pastor's pastor" I've a great longing for each of us to come closer to Jesus.
This new column comes with the prayer that God will use it to help you learn to measure success as God measures it and to experience that success to the fullest in your ministry.
