Preachers and Their Demise

by Doug Dingley

I recently read on a church leadership lectureship flyer that the church is losing approximately 600 preachers per year while replacing only about 300 over that same time span. Although those numbers initially seemed staggering to me (especially when you factor in that in all likelihood, a sizeable percentage of those 300 preachers produced may not remain faithful to the scriptures in all things when the going gets tough), and while I do not know the source of their research, speaking from personal observation and experience, sadly, tragically, I can certainly believe it.

I have seen more than one fine, biblically sound, faithful young man go into the ministry, land a full-time preaching position with a congregation that had, apparently, in some way indicated they wanted someone who would only preach the truth of God’s word, just to find out a little later on that that wasn’t quite the case at all. In fact, it was borderline dishonest – if not outright false. This is because what their leadership really wanted, was someone who would certainly pay enough lip service to the truth to still make them feel good, but who, in all reality, would be more concerned about and consumed with the numbers in the pews and the plates than they were with whether or not God’s word was being fully and truly proclaimed. The way such congregational leadership should have written their job description in order to make it more honest and less misleading would have been something along the lines of: “Wanted: Preacher who is faithful to and will proclaim the whole, entire, Biblical truth in all things – just so long as that truth is neither offensive, uncomfortable, or inconvenient to/for anyone, and especially as it pertains to our immediate family and personal friends!”

Tragically, I have known of more than one fine, faithful, and biblically sound preacher who has accepted employment, uprooted his family and then relocated them all far from home in order to preach and teach God’s word for just such a congregation, investing himself fully in the work – only to be fired or feel forced to leave within a fairly short amount of time. This, because his only ‘crime’ was that he dared to preach exactly what the timeless word of Almighty God says about such sins as alcoholic consumption, adulterous relationships, apostate worship practices, or some other clearly God-defined sin, which either the leadership there or someone else in their immediate family dearly loved indulging in and would do anything to continue justifying and practicing.

There have been other instances wherein faithful men, messengers, and proclaimers of God’s word have been severely reprimanded for simply doing exactly what the very sinless Jesus, as well as His very faithful apostles, did in their all-out efforts to seek to help save lot souls in the first century: Be ready and willing to boldly challenge, strongly correct, and fully identify – yes, and that absolutely and scripturally includes doing so by name, when necessary – those zealously religious people who are yet still Biblically wrong (Matthew 22:29-32, 23:1-33; Romans 10:1-3; I Timothy 1:18-20; III John 9-10; Revelation 2:6, 9, 14-16, 20-23, and 3:14-19)! Yes; the sinless Son of the living God; the God who is love incarnate; Jesus, the loving God in the flesh who came to earth to save us from our sins, in His warnings to His people, continually named the names while exposing the false and man-made teachings of the major and more well-known religious denominations of His day (Matthew 15:7-9; Mark 7:5-13). Read through the gospels again and see for yourself. How many times does Jesus publicly name, confront, correct, and/or expose the erroneous and false teachings of, while unashamedly and righteously naming the names of, either the Scribes, the Pharisees, or the Sadducees? To do so two millennia ago was not a sin according to God, nor is it a sin for God’s faithful messengers to do the same thing regarding the zealous but erroneous man-made religious denominations of our day. In fact, they are commanded by God Himself, to do nothing less (Romans 16:17-18; Ephesians 5:3-17).

And then, there is what is to me, one of the most tragic, toxic, and terrifying statement tandems I have ever heard. It is one which I have heard voiced in some form or fashion, on two separate occasions, by two different congregations’ leaderships, in two different discussions, regarding their faithful preacher’s departure. It is a statement tandem that spells nothing but spiritual disaster for any congregation cursed enough to have allowed such ‘leadership’ to be put in place to rule over them. These two statements, both taken from two different points within the same conversation in each case, when considered side by side with one another, rate right up there with the Jew’s statement in response to Pilate’s question regarding what to do with Jesus in Matthew 27:25 wherein it states “His blood be on us and our children.” What is this toxic statement mixture made by two different congregational leaderships regarding the departure of their faithful preacher (whether he was fired or simply felt forced to leave)? Some semblance of the following: “We have never heard or seen Him preach, teach, or do anything unscriptural,” followed shortly thereafter by some form of the statement, “We just want to go in a different direction.” Do you understand exactly what that means? Stop and think about it for a moment – because those who do not do so in-depth now might just be mournfully re-thinking it throughout all eternity!

Another statement one congregation’s leadership was reported as making in light of their looking for a new preacher (after the departure of the previous faithful one due to their dismal lack of willingness to repent and obey the truth he preached), was along the lines that they needed a man who “preached the truth and would fit in [there].” That was a simply impossible sentiment to fulfill! Because if he, like their previous truth-proclaiming preacher, actually did preach the whole counsel of God (Acts 20:27), then for that very reason he could not possibly “fit in” there – any more than the man who had just left! In such a situation, one of two things is bound to happen. Either some young man full of Biblical knowledge and a desire to preach and teach the truth could come along, try his best, discover the real truth, that they didn’t really want the whole truth, and then be forced to once again seek employment elsewhere; or else someone with a less than scriptural agenda could come along, tickle that congregation’s ears with just enough truth to keep them comfortable, while helping them to happily continue their journey in the wrong direction, away from God and heaven (II Timothy 4:3-4; Isaiah 30:8-15).

I believe so many of our young men who only want to preach, teach, and practice the word of God, start out with such a heart full of faith, hope, and love; love for the Lord, His truth, their brethren, and the lost. And then they take a position as the preacher for some congregation that has advertised themselves as wanting the whole truth taught – only to eventually discover the real truth, that nothing could be further from the truth, when it comes to certain sins and subjects; certain subjects such as marriage, divorce, and remarriage; adultery; immodesty; immorality; disfellowship; denominations; the essentiality of baptism both for and before salvation can occur; so-called ‘social drinking;’ plus a whole host of other God-addressed topics. These men then often feel discouraged, abandoned, lied to, heartbroken, and disillusioned. Several I know of have actually sought and obtained secular occupations in the aftermath of such disheartening, destructive, and debilitating spiritual experiences. As a result, our brotherhood has suffered – and continues to suffer – the loss of a number of good, solid, faithful, full-time preachers from her pulpits – some 300 or so per year according to the initial report referred to above.

Additionally, have you ever stopped to consider this question: Why is it that these good and faithful men of God and their families suddenly and somehow have to now up and move on, relocating once again because he simply sought to preach the truth the way God calls and commands him to? Why should the faithful preacher and his family have to pay the price for someone else’s continued impenitence, disobedience, and indulgence in soul-destroying sin – especially when the preacher was the one who loved them enough to try to correct them and get them back on the straight and narrow pathway to heaven? Should not being removed from the group be something that the impenitent sinner should be forced to do instead? It is if and when a congregation and their leadership actually loves the Lord and His church enough to continue steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine (I Corinthians 5:1-13).

Listen, brethren – real, loving, godly, biblical truth, is always offensive to someone. Jesus seldom ever opened His mouth without offending someone or exposing somebody’s own particular pet sin. Go back and re-read the accounts of the sermons the apostle Paul preached during his three missionary journeys. Look at what happened to him as a result. God’s truth is always, both offensive, uncomfortable, and inconvenient to any and every one of those proud and self-absorbed sinners who are simply unwilling to accept, submit to, and obey it. That’s why it’s called a sword (Ephesians 6:17; Hebrews 4:12) instead of a pillow – it cuts! It cuts all the way to the heart, soul, and spirit – when and if it’s properly preached that is (Acts 2:37; 7:54; Hebrews 4:12). And if it doesn’t, then it isn’t. Remember: Scripture plainly shows that any person or preacher who is primarily out to please men instead of God, is certainly no servant of God (Galatians 1:10, 4:16; John 12:42-48).

If you and the congregation where you work and worship is blessed enough by God to have a Biblically-sound and Scripturally-faithful man in the pulpit – one who preaches and teaches the full, absolute, and unadulterated word of God no matter how offensive, uncomfortable, or inconvenient it may seem to some (because after all, the number of souls in heaven are more important to both him and you than the number of people in the pews and pennies in the plates) – then he is worth immeasurably more than his spiritual weight in pure gold! Love him, listen to him, work with him, defend him, protect him, and never let him go!

However, if you’re possibly part of some congregational leadership team that is in the process of seeking a new evangelist, but you only want one that will tickle ears, toss out pillows, and not take on the tougher topics in accordance with exactly what the truth of God’s word says about them, then do yourself and our brotherhood a colossal favor. If you only want a preacher who will preach the soft stuff so as to try not to offend anyone (because numbers in the pews and plates are somehow more important to you than numbers through the “pearly gates”); and/or if you have somehow allowed yourself to be deceived by Satan into believing that it’s more loving to let someone living in sin continue to set in the pews unchallenged and headed for hell rather than to tell them the truth so they can at least have a chance to repent and get right with God before it’s too late; then please, at least strive to be honest enough to admit it in your advertising for a new evangelist. After all, if you are possibly someone like that – God forbid, but if you are – then you’re going to have enough problems answering for that and the lost souls you’re responsible for helping to lead astray and destroy by your not wanting the whole counsel of God preached come Judgment Day (Hebrews 13:17), without having to answer for additionally being part of the problem which may have helped to lead to the departure of some of the 300 brotherhood preachers per year from the Lord’s pulpits.

And to my much-beloved, faithful to the Scriptures at all cost, whole counsel of God preaching brethren, may I remind you that your charge from God has not changed in the least. It is still found in II Timothy 4:1-5. And neither has His blessed admonition regarding you changed (see Luke 6:20-26; John 15:18-16:3).

Preach the Word!