“Feeling good is overrated.” Those were the words of a sports psychologist speaking to a group of athletes. He was explaining that focusing on feeling good to perform well is problematic for any athlete. Occasionally, an athlete feels great, is in the zone, and perform at their highest level. On other occasions, an athlete is completely out of sorts and cannot seem to do anything right. But most of the time athletes competes somewhere in between those two rare outliers. They must learn to compete when they do not feel really good, which is most of the time. This true observation is not merely applicable to athletes and sports competition.
Preachers would do well to heed that advice as well. Rarely ever, if ever, does a preacher head for the pulpit after ideal preparation time and is utterly free of other burdens and distractions. Most of the time we preach not feeling all that good physically, mentally, emotionally, or spiritually. That is consistently true in conflict, battle, and warfare, which is true of preaching. Too often, we forget that preaching does not merely lead to spiritual war but is itself an act of spiritual war.
The intent of the preacher ought not to be that others would think well of him, be impressed by his intellect, knowledge, or exceptional rhetorical skill. He must not envision his sermon as a work of art, an exegetical masterpiece, or a model of eloquence. No! The Spirit of Christ will not own an object that exists for its own glory. A preacher who is mechanical in sermon delivery or is obviously just trying to get through his notes is missing the point of his assignment.
This kind of gut-level preaching is best birthed out of humbling pain and struggle. We are involved in cosmic battle, attempting to capture the hearts of men and women for Christ. The task is difficult, dangerous and demands focused attention and moral courage. We all fight through pain and play hurt in the cause of preaching Christ and his Kingdom by faith. The preacher’s task is to declare war on the status quo of the present age because he bears witness to the age to come, an age that has already come in Christ and is also coming in Christ when his Kingdom is consummated.
Shepherds are not called to put their faith in their self-sufficiency or the sufficiency of their sermons. Our faith is in the sufficiency of Christ and his gospel alone. Whether we feel good or not, we believe, therefore we speak. Our sermons are to be blunt instruments for holy gospel work in the trenches of real spiritual war. We are not abstract theorists, speculative philosophers, or religious professionals; we are gospel warriors, shepherds of our Shepherd-Warrior-King, Christ Jesus. Paul said that he was determined in his preaching to “know nothing” but “Jesus Christ and him crucified” (1 Cor 2:2).
[…] Preacher, Feeling Good is Overrated — “Shepherds are not called to put their faith in their self-sufficiency or the sufficiency of their sermons. Our faith is in the sufficiency of Christ and his gospel alone.” […]
[…] Preacher, Feeling Good Is Overrated – “They must learn to compete when they do not feel really good, which is most of the time. This true observation is not merely applicable to athletes and sports competition.” In this sense, it applies very well to Pastors, as they are in a position in which they become a standing target for the enemy. Be weary of feeling good too much. […]