Friday, February 15, 2013

Preaching Wisdom on Mike and Mike

So, this morning on Mike and Mike, the fellas asked Billy Curry, an old, seasoned football coach, a question about a specific player and how he should handle his affairs -- what advice would Bill give him.  And here is an abbreviated version of what Curry replied (although the punchline is complete)

We all know the story of the young preacher who was eager but just didn't fit.  So the young preacher was working really hard on his sermons, but they just didn't seem to be working right. The Congregation didn't like them... and so one day after the service he asked one of the respected members of the congregation, who didn't look too happy, what he thought of the sermon. And the old man said, "You did fine for the first 15 minutes, but then you quit preaching. Then you went to meddling."

Now, I think this is a fantastic point - Curry used this story as basically saying, "I'm not going to make someone else's choices for them."  And he spent the rest of the interview refusing to give an answer.


Now, consider.  What is our duty as pastors?  Is it to make people's decisions for them?  Is it to tell them how their lives should look? 

Only in a very broad and general way.

It's one thing to say, "love you neighbor."  It's another thing to start a food pantry and say, "see, you can help here."  It's a completely different thing to say, "You need to volunteer at our pantry."  Suddenly from speaking truth or even showing opportunities - there is... meddling.  Trying to tell people exactly how they are going to show love.

Don't meddle.  Preach the truth -- and the great truth is Christ Jesus has died for the forgiveness of sins, that He has risen so that we will rise.  Meddling ain't better than that!

1 comment:

Christopher D. Hall said...

Good stuff, Pr. Brown, and it's a thing many inexperienced pastors don't get, and many of us seasoned guys need to be reminded of. Thanks!