"Good" Preaching Can Harm Your Church

Wow! That comment to my last blog really set me thinking. Bill warns that leaders raised up by God can do great things but, sometimes, "somewhere along the way...are tempted by pride and secularism to convert all of this into a "look what I made" claim. It takes a humble leader with a right perspective on God and the workings of the Holy Spirit to resist the temptation. Building a church while walking the leadership tightrope over the chasm of pride has to be one of the most difficult and treacherous endeavors for any human."

A few years ago I wrote an article for Christianity Today called: Good Preaching Can Harm Your Church. It was rejected for publication! Not surprised? It dealt with the paradox that "good" preaching's popularity and success can fatally build a church in a preacher's image rather than allowing Jesus to build it his way. There is a (very difficult) balance between deploying powerful public communication skills and remaining truly humble, dependent on God - Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

Later it was published with the same title in the British Journal: Ministry Today, 33, Spring 2005. Several preachers told me how uneasy it made them feel. All preachers and leaders - beware the tightrope over the chasm of pride.