Entrust them to preach
By Sean W. Corser
…and what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also (2 Tim. 2:2).
This verse was foundational to my Christian journey because my pastor embodied it by entrusting others to preach and teach. Gratefully I’ve been the beneficiary of receiving reps in preaching. And my guess is you have too. So I want to encourage you, pastor, as you not only raise up men for ministry, but that you also entrust and provide those men with actual preaching opportunities.
Receiving ministry reps began in high school in my youth ministry, and then as I grew older to the broader congregation (and even in big church). It was a blessing to receive these opportunities. Now, as a pastor the table has turned. Would I provide others the same opportunities?
By God’s grace, I have been able to entrust the sacred desk and the blessing of preaching to over 30 young men during my nearly 6-years of pastoral ministry. It is always a blessing to sit under the Word, and it is a blessing to see the growth and encouragement of others that the Lord is using to strengthen the Church.
I believe Paul lays out the model and biblical realities for this type of ministry in 2 Timothy 2:2, throughout the NT, and then I want to provide practical applications for entrusting others to preach.
Perhaps the first hurdle is “I don’t have any other faithful men who want to preach in my church.” That sounds more like a discipleship problem than a preaching problem. But Paul is clear, the things you have heard, teach it.
Teach and Train those in your church.
As a shepherd of God’s flock you are responsible, primarily, for the ministry of the word. Peter reminds us of this primacy in Acts 6. As such, you teach as you preach, modeling for those in your church, and perhaps especially so to those men who might desire to follow your example. Wouldn’t it be a magnificent work of God if dozens of men pursued ministry, in large part due to your faithfulness in the pulpit?
It is not just from the pulpit, but also in one-on-one settings over coffee, and even in class-room type settings as you unpack a text. One useful tool for our staff was sermon planning and recaps where the other pastors and I would discuss the main point, the flow of the sermon, and relevant applications. These times are invaluable for young aspiring pastors.
It is not only in your teaching but also in your testing and affirming of these men. For Paul says, “entrust it to faithful men”. There is a process of testing and affirming.
Test and Affirm them based on faithfulness (not gifting)
The requirement of this teaching is that it is given to faithful men. Read that again: faithful men. Not gifted men, men of charisma, or even those possessing public speaking gifts, but to those who are faithful. God by his Spirit can take care of the rest. The aim in the preacher (and in the preaching) is a life that points to Jesus. In essence Paul tells Timothy, deliver this teaching to men who know and follow Jesus from a renewed heart.
With the high calling to preach and teach, James expands this faithful requirement, to give a warning. Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness (James 3:1). And so, brother, do not look first for those with a following, or those with charisma, but look for those who are committed to Jesus and are faithful to him.
Deploy them
So that they might teach others also.
Imagine a basketball team that runs wind sprints, practices defensive slides, works on the fundamentals of shooting, yet is never allowed to actually shoot the basketball. Similarly, walking men through texts on preaching, genre, form, content and the like while never giving the opportunity to preach. It misses the point. Take them from watching game film and game planning to allow them to practice and gain experience in preaching.
This can look different depending on your church, but the ideal would be that they preach in your church. If you have raised them up, he is a faithful member, you are his Paul and he your Timothy, I can think of no greater place for him to preach than in your congregation.
Also look for opportunities to place him in preaching opportunities at other local churches. Have him record his sermons, and provide feedback and encouragement. Don’t be afraid to provide critique. Help him sharpen and refine his preaching through opportunities and feedback. A helpful order might be: test and affirm, help him prepare, deploy him to preach, provide meaningful feedback, repeat.
I’ve made my case and I hope you're convinced. Now here are 4 practical steps to put this into practice.
Prepare men
Do the hard work of discipling those around you. Test and affirm their faithfulness. Gifted pulpits are filled by grounded disciples. Develop a process to walk these aspiring preachers through scripture and the art of preaching. Have them draft outlines and have them deliver these sermons to you and provide feedback.
Prepare your congregation
Many congregations love hearing the sermons from their pastor. Begin to teach them of the blessing of hearing faithful expositions from other faithful men. Emphasize the headship of Christ and not yourself. Teach them through allowing others to grow in their gifting before them. We do not follow Paul, or Apollos, but may we follow Christ and his Word.
Prepare a calendar
This will be the most challenging application. Prepare a calendar where you are out of the pulpit for 12 weeks. Allow other faithful men, perhaps even other pastors, to preach. You don’t need to be away from the church for 12 weeks, you just need to allow someone to preach 12 weeks.
Prepare connections
Leverage your relationships with other local churches and pastors to inquire about preaching opportunities for the aspiring pastor. Have a list of men to connect to pulpits in local churches. Also encourage these aspiring pastors to attend local association and ministerial events to network with other pastors. These endeavours will allow them to expand their connections and explore potential preaching opportunities in those churches.
It is often said that a pastor needs around 300 sermons before they find their voice. When you prepare and entrust young men to preach you allow them a jumpstart at finding their voice, you provide benefit to your congregation as you prepare another preacher to boldly proclaim the glories of Christ, and you personally benefit from sitting under the preaching of another faithful man. I pray you find encouragement in your training and sending young aspiring pastors, and that you would begin to provide them opportunities and ultimately that you would entrust them to preach.
Sean W. Corser is Operations Director at Practical Shepherding and Church Revitalization Strategist for the Louisville Regional Baptist Association. For almost 15-years Sean has served the church in various roles from youth, college, and Senior Pastor. Sean is married to Annie and they have 2 children.