by Doy Moyer<\/p>\n
Over time, a typical preacher will have preached hundreds of times (thousands once you figure in decades). He will have taught even more classes, again into the thousands. Don’t judge a preacher or teacher by one or two sermons or lessons. There is no way to cover the full ground of a passage or topic in a short period of time or a single lesson. We want the whole counsel of God taught (Acts 20:27), but please don’t try to do that in one lesson!<\/p>\n
If you wonder what a teacher believes or would teach about something, ask. Preachers and teachers are (or at least ought to be) willing to talk, clarify, and explain. Most are quite happy to have these discussions. Don’t ask in order to trap (e.g., Matthew 22), but for truth and edification.<\/p>\n
Every preacher and teacher will have misspoken or said things only to realize they weren’t right later. When we present multiplied hours of materials, there will be mistakes. Be gracious. If they say something that is in error, approach them about it and have a discussion. You might win a friend. Recall what Aquila and Priscilla did with Apollos in Acts 18.<\/p>\n
Preachers and teachers are human, flawed like everyone else, and trying to do what they can to strengthen others and win souls. They do it imperfectly. We don’t always realize how we come across. Perhaps we don’t perceive what is most needed at a given time. However, the work is still needed, and those who put themselves out there to do the work can use a bit of moral support and encouragement. They get discouraged, frustrated, and sometimes impatient and angry with themselves. It is emotionally exhausting, and we sometimes wonder if we are doing any good at all.<\/p>\n
Yet, it is still the greatest work in which to be engaged. This is true whether one is supported full-time to do it or if one can do it while working other jobs. May God bless His servants who preach, teach, and encourage all levels and all people, from children to teens to young adults and the aged. This includes women, men, mothers, fathers, grandparents, friends – name it. Hold up each other’s hands and press on.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
by Doy Moyer Over time, a typical preacher will have preached hundreds of times (thousands once you figure in decades). He will have taught even more classes, again into the thousands. Don’t judge a preacher or teacher by one or two sermons or lessons. There is no way to cover the full ground of a…<\/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":[357,1511,536],"class_list":["post-67775","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-encouragement","tag-preachers","tag-preaching"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":34460,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/any-advice-for-a-person-aspiring-to-preach\/","url_meta":{"origin":67775,"position":0},"title":"Any advice for a person aspiring to preach?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 21, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: What is some advice you have for a person aspiring to be a preacher? Answer: First, study. You can't preach accurately what you don't know. \"Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth\" (II\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":96214,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-should-a-preacher-ask-for-a-raise\/","url_meta":{"origin":67775,"position":1},"title":"How should a preacher ask for a raise?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 20, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hello! I have a question regarding a pay raise as a preacher. I love the congregation I am with. I have been here for 3 years. I am the full-time minister. There is a part-time one as well. How do you approach the eldership with this? I understand talking\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":24683,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-is-the-difference-between-a-preacher-and-a-teacher\/","url_meta":{"origin":67775,"position":2},"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":55526,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/so-whats-a-good-sermon\/","url_meta":{"origin":67775,"position":3},"title":"So, What\u2019s a Good Sermon?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 5, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jefferson David Tant Out of all the thousands of sermons preachers have delivered and to which people have listened, how would we determine which sermons are good, which are bad, or which are so-so? I would suppose that even preachers evaluate themselves from time to time, and on occasion\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\/2023\/01\/Bible-300x225.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":69360,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/advice-to-younger-preachers\/","url_meta":{"origin":67775,"position":4},"title":"Advice to Younger Preachers (Hall)","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 18, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"by Perry Hall It is OK to disagree with older preachers. Zeal is commendable, and the young possess it in abundance. Here are five ways to be successful: Know the Scriptures: The more specific the use of scripture, the better. The context of the scripture and the conversation must match.\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":20733,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-questions-should-brethren-ask-of-a-man-wanting-to-preach-for-them\/","url_meta":{"origin":67775,"position":5},"title":"What questions should brethren ask of a man wanting to preach for them?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 2, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: We have a couple of other men here who fill in with the preaching service\u00a0occasionally and have asked me for suggestions that might help them improve.\u00a0 One of them has expressed an interest in possibly looking for a preaching job.\u00a0 So, I believe a \"preacher training class\" would be\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":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/67775","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=67775"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/67775\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=67775"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=67775"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=67775"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}