One of the core tasks of a minister is to preach the gospel. Repeatedly consistories urge their ministers to take time for sermon preparation. Some consistories even allow their pastors a leave of absence for a number of weeks to further their studies to enhance their preaching skills. Clearly, preaching is the heart, not only of the work of a minister, but also of the whole of congregational life.

Preaching is Essential⤒🔗

Since the days of the Protestant Reformation, churches are regarded as “Word churches,” meaning that God’s Word is at the centre of the worship services, church life, and personal lives. God’s Word must have the pre-eminence in all matters. The Lord has commanded that His Word must be preached, for it pleases the Lord to save sinners by means of the preaching of His Word.

For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe. 1 Corinthians 1:21

The apostle Paul felt this responsibility pressing upon him: woe is unto me, if I preach not the gospel! (1 Cor. 9:16). Therefore he admonishes Timothy: Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season (2 Tim. 4:2).

Preaching moulds a congregation. Therefore consistories are called upon to exercise oversight of the preaching of the ministers who officiate in their congregations. The benefit of church services may be categorized according to the sermons that are preached.

Preaching is Difficult←⤒🔗

It is precisely the work of preaching and sermon preparation, which forms the most difficult part of the work of a minister of the gospel. It is also for this reason that the Free Reformed Churches send students for the ministry to Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary to be trained. There they may be taught, not only to grasp a vital understanding of theology, but also to acquire the necessary tools in order to preach the holy Word of God.

In spite of its difficulties, preaching the gospel is the most blessed part of ministerial work. Often a minister will experience his best moments while he is in the pulpit, preaching God’s Word, experiencing that God’s Holy Spirit enables him to proclaim the Scriptures with much love and power.

It is therefore necessary that theological students are trained by means of what we call practice preaching. Students for the ministry repeatedly have to submit full-length written sermons to the scrutiny of the delegates of the Theological Education Committee. When a candidate for the ministry submits himself to a synodical exam, he has to preach a sermon before synod. This is done to ascertain that this candidate has acquired the necessary abilities to preach God’s Word to the congregations with edification.

The Essence of Preaching←⤒🔗

The minister should be able to rightly divide the Word of God. This entails the ability to unfold a certain passage of Scripture and to open up the various doctrines explained therein. Subsequently, the minister needs the skill to apply these doctrines to the circumstances of the people in the pew. There are different kinds of people in the congregation. There are those who belong to God’s children, but there are also those who are indifferent and unconverted. God’s Word needs to be addressed to each one of them. Regarding this, Ezekiel 34:15, 16 is very clear:

I will feed my flock, and I will cause them to lie down, saith the Lord GOD. I will seek that which was lost, and bring again that which was driven away, and will bind up that which was broken, and will strengthen that which was sick: but I will destroy the fat and the strong; I will feed them with judgment.

Here we see how the Lord Himself distinguishes various members within His covenant people.

The father of Puritanism, William Perkins, in The Art of Prophesying, discerns various categories of hearers: unbelievers who are both ignorant and unteachable; unbelievers who are teachable, but ignorant; those who have knowledge, but have never been humbled or brought to repentance; those who have only been superficially humbled; those who already believe the gospel; those who have fallen back. Perkins describes that the typical situation in a congregation is that it consists of both believers and unbelievers. Therefore preaching calls us to proclaim God’s demands of repentance and faith to all, while offering the comfort in Christ to those with afflicted consciences. All must hear the voice of the gospel calling them. In addition, preaching needs to have practical applications to our daily existence, so that God’s Word would bear fruit in our lives.

Preaching Training←⤒🔗

Preaching proclaims Christ crucified and exalted as the way to everlasting life. Therefore nothing in this world can compare to the blessedness of the preaching of the gospel. There are people who look forward to the next Lord’s Day because they are eager to once again be under the lively preaching of God’s Word. It can be a joy for a minister to proclaim the Word of God consecutively Lord’s Day after Lord’s Day.

Having stated the over-all importance of preaching, the difficulties connected to it, the necessity to be trained to preach, and the necessary qualifications for preaching, we are still faced with the question: How can ministers who actively serve churches be helped to enhance their preaching abilities? In other words, in what manner can ministers of the gospel be helped to further their skills in preaching the gospel?

Once a minister has been installed, the training in practical homiletics comes to a grinding halt. True, there are sermons a minister can listen to on Internet that can be very helpful. There are also sermons he can read from gifted men of God from the past. Occasionally, during the annual ministerial retreat of the Free Reformed Churches topics will be presented to pastors dealing with preaching and homiletics. But on the whole, there are really no formal and organized postgraduate studies in the art of preaching. After one has been installed as a minister, he is basically on his own. And yet it is of pivotal importance that ministers increase their skills to preach the Word faithfully to the edification of their congregations and the extension of God’s kingdom.

Preaching Circles←⤒🔗

During recent years in The Netherlands a group of ministers have come together under the guidance of a senior pastor to conduct practice preaching sessions among themselves. There are several of such groups. At times, classis meetings will also include a practice preaching session by one of its ministers.

I have the privilege to belong to a preaching circle under the chairmanship of Rev. P. den Butter. We come together with a group of seven ministers who serve actively in the ministry and three emeritus ministers. The former minister of Dundas, Rev. K. Hoefnagel also belongs to this preaching circle. The chair assigns a text by rotation to each member and appoints three men to offer critique.

The sermon is written out in full and submitted a week before each meeting, which is held about five times per year. The three ministers designated to offer critique are first given opportunity to voice their comments, and subsequently every member has an opportunity to voice his opinion. The final critique is allotted to the chairman. What makes these gatherings so valuable is that the chair offers not only critique, but supplies also a sermon outline of how he would handle such a text. The results of such preaching sessions may then be utilized for each person’s preaching.

Learning Curve←⤒🔗

It is very beneficial to consider how other ministers handle a text. It can promote a learning curve for ministers who serve actively. It is instructive to digest the critique of others and to evaluate a sermon outline offered by the chairman. Using these tools, the members of the preaching circle are free to compose a sermon on the same text to be preached in their own congregation. The agreement is that every member of the preaching circle may preach this sermon in his own congregation, while the emeritus ministers may preach this sermon in one of the vacant churches. Obviously, it is not prudent for ministers to preach this sermon multiple times within the denomination, because of possible similarities. It is however important that every minister, when making use of the sermon outline and the critique offered by the other men, digests the material and writes the sermon using his own words.

Personally, I have found the “preaching circle” to be most helpful. Repeatedly, I’ve thought of the Free Reformed Churches and its ministers and how worthwhile it would be to have something similar within this denomination in North America. I believe there are opportunities and manpower available to implement this.

Preaching to Preachers←⤒🔗

When could this be done? Such a preaching session for preachers could take place as an addendum to a synodical meeting or a meeting of combined consistories. Initially, it was the purpose of combined consistories to discuss topics of mutual interest focused on the edification of the churches. However, it should be realized that a preaching circle should be a gathering of ministers only. Perhaps there are alternative settings rather than the broader assemblies of the denomination to organize such sessions.

Maybe a preaching circle could take place in the week when Spring and Fall committee meetings are held, or perhaps during a session of the ministerial retreat. It is advisable to have multiple meetings throughout the year to make these gatherings efficient and useful.

Practically, I can imagine a setting where an experienced Free Reformed minister or professor at the seminary would chair such a gathering and that by rotation every minister would submit a sermon based on a text assigned to him by the chairman. Three ministers are also appointed by the chair to offer critique, while the others all have a turn to voice their views. The final critique and a sermon outline would then be given by the chairman.

Such gatherings would be beneficial for mutual edification and facilitate the ministers in their work of preaching the gospel. This practice will enhance a sense of unity among them, while at the same time this could prove to be a lesson in humility! Such sessions will also renew the personal dedication of ministers to preach the truths, which have been passed on by previous generations of ministers. In this way preachers would be edified, the work of preaching enriched and the congregations blessed.