“He’s a good preacher,” is often used to describe various gospel preachers. But what makes a good preacher? How would you define one?<\/p>\n
Is he a great orator? Can he captivate the audience? Does he preach soothing words? Can he preach without offending anyone? Is he a good organizer? Does he baptize many?<\/p>\n
If you are looking for a clue to help define a good minister, Perhaps the apostle Paul can give us some insight. In his letter to his young preaching companion, Timothy, he had these words: “If you instruct the brethren in these things, you will be a good minister<\/strong> of Jesus Christ, nourished in the words of faith and of the good doctrine which you have carefully followed<\/em>” (I Timothy 4:6).<\/p>\n “Ministry” is from the Greek “diakonos<\/em>,” the idea of “serving,” whether in helping the needy or in teaching the Word. In Acts 6, seven men were chosen to look after the widows, leaving the apostles with more time for “prayer and the ministry of the word<\/em>” (Acts 6:4) Too often preachers are given so many chores and administrative tasks, etc, that the ministry of the Word suffers. Paul instructed Timothy to “be sober in all things, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry<\/em>” (II Timothy 4:5).<\/p>\n Paul warns against the dangers of false doctrines and says to pay no attention to “myths and endless genealogies<\/em>” (I Timothy 1:4). “Preach the word; be ready in season and out of season<\/em>” (II Timothy 4:2). A good preacher feeds on the Word and is nourished by it. It is his sustenance, source of strength, guiding light, and compass to direct.<\/p>\n Paul referred to athletic exercise to urge Timothy to engage in spiritual exercise (I Timothy 4:8) This leads to godly living, speaking the truth in love, godly conduct, loving care for others, faith-based priorities, and moral purity. Edgar Guest’s words remind us of the importance of the preacher’s example. “I’d rather see a sermon than hear one any day; I’d rather one should walk with me than merely tell the way.”<\/p>\n Paul further exhorted: “Be diligent in these matters; give yourself wholly to them, so that everyone may see your progress<\/em>” (I Timothy 4:15). This progress means spiritual growth and involves the heart. It is growing mentally and emotionally. And it guides a pure conscience born of prayer, devotion, and Bible study.<\/p>\n Progress doesn’t end at a certain age. It continues. Paul continued to “press on” while an aged minister in a Roman prison. My Bible teacher, Homer Hailey, when in his 60s, said, “Boys, I’m still a student.” That spirit should continue until the day we die. When the “good minister” embraces his primary ministry, preaches the Word, practices what he preaches, and continues to make progress, it “will be evident to everyone<\/em>.”<\/p>\n Finally, the advice of D. L. Moody is appropriate for all of who preach and desire to be a good minister: “Cling to the whole Bible, not a part of it. A man is not going to do much with a broken sword.”<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" by Jefferson David Tant adapted from an article by Ken Weliever “He’s a good preacher,” is often used to describe various gospel preachers. But what makes a good preacher? How would you define one? Is he a great orator? Can he captivate the audience? Does he preach soothing words? Can he preach without offending anyone?…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[27],"tags":[1511,536],"class_list":["post-37888","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-preachers","tag-preaching"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":542,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/preachers\/","url_meta":{"origin":37888,"position":0},"title":"Preachers (Article)","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 9, 2003","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Among the duties or roles within the church listed in Ephesians 4:11-12 is the work of the evangelist. The word is translated from a Greek word which referred to a person who brought joyous news of victory from the battlefront. When the same word is used\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":24683,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-is-the-difference-between-a-preacher-and-a-teacher\/","url_meta":{"origin":37888,"position":1},"title":"What is the difference between a preacher and a teacher?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 2, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I've been wondering about this one for some time now, but still can't quite figure it. For all the similarities that one can see between \"preaching\" and \"teaching\" (and besides things like audience involvement), what is the real difference between the two? Focus? Delivery? Approach? I'm always thankful to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":20581,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/professional-preachers\/","url_meta":{"origin":37888,"position":2},"title":"Professional Preachers","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 1, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"by Edward O. Bragwell via\u00a0Biblical Insights, Vol. 13, No. 1, January 2013 The trend toward developing a \"professional clergy\" among churches of Christ has been in the making for some time now. More and more, both churches and preachers, have come to view gospel preachers as professionals much like the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/preacher-231x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":51293,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-qualifications-of-preachers\/","url_meta":{"origin":37888,"position":3},"title":"The Qualifications of Preachers","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 7, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"by David R. Pharr Twice Paul refers to Timothy, as a \"man of God.\" \"But you, O man of God, flee these things and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, gentleness\" (I Timothy 6:11). \"All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":84557,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-beautiful-are-the-feet-romans-1015\/","url_meta":{"origin":37888,"position":4},"title":"“How Beautiful Are the Feet” (Romans 10:15)","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 14, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by Tom M. Roberts via Truth Magazine, Vol. 43, 1999 God did not entrust the gospel to angels, to supernatural beings, to higher life forms without foibles and feet of clay. Indeed, he entrusted the gospel to men. As an objective fact, this is rather astounding. The message of salvation\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/feet-225x300.avif","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":29246,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-purpose-of-preaching\/","url_meta":{"origin":37888,"position":5},"title":"The Purpose of Preaching","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 30, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Text: Nehemiah 8:1-8 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0In the past, we have talked about various positions or duties in the church (elders, teachers) \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Today, I would like to address the purpose of preaching. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0B.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0There seems to be much confusion about what a preacher\u2019s duty is \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a01.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Many denominations refer to their ministers as pastor,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Sermon"","block_context":{"text":"Sermon","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/sermon\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37888","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=37888"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37888\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=37888"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=37888"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=37888"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Preaching Is a Ministry<\/h2>\n
A Good Minister Preaches the Word<\/h2>\n
A Good Minister Practices What He Preaches.<\/h2>\n
A Good Minister Progresses in the Word<\/h2>\n