I have officially been a pastor for a little over 6 months now. in those 6 months I have experienced a transformation in my heart that I can honestly say I did not see coming. I have been speaking on a weekly basis for about 6 years in some form or another, and in those years I crafted a speaking style, tone, and stage presence. But  in the last 6 months something in my heart has begun to change the way that I feel when I begin to take those steps towards the stage each Sunday. It is a conviction that  is shifting me from the importance of  being creative, funny, applicable, etc. to being a guide for my people towards truth. There is nothing wrong with any of the traits I listed, as a matter of fact I think (hopefully) that more times than not I am still those things, but the way that you put a sermon together is different when you feel the weight of honesty and truth on your shoulders as opposed to the weight of charisma or creativity.

I have begun to feel the burden to protect, with all of my energy, my people from pulled away by something that sounds like the truth but isn’t. ( I believe that God is in control of that) but I don’t have time to preach on family, sex, money, prayer, reading the bible, and dating over and over again because it will hit with a target audience.

“Controversy is not always agreeable, yet it is often necessary. Error must be opposed, and truth defended. What I have to say, is designed chiefly for the benefit of the younger portion of the congregation. I feel that there devolves upon me not a little responsibility in reference to this class of my hearers. Many of them, I am happy to learn, are eagerly searching for truth, and they have a right to expect that the pulpit will aid their inquiries, and throw light upon their path. ”

Rev. Francis Hodgson, D.D. Philadelphia, July 13, 1854.

I have been reading and rereading through 1 & 2 Timothy over the last few weeks and over and over again you see Paul pleading with Timothy to protect his people from being led astray by silliness and myths. He doesn’t say to do this by bashing the other churches in town, he commands Timoty time and time again to speak the truth. Let your people hear the truth so often that they can spot a fake.

⁶If you point these things out to the brothers, you will be a good minister of Christ Jesus, brought up in the truths of the faith and of the good teaching that you have followed. ⁷Have nothing to do with godless myths and old wives’ tales; rather, train yourself to be godly.

1 Timothy 4:6-7

We are constantly trying to address with our people the silliness and myths like: prosperity, self help, false prophecies, etc. but it doesn’t just stop with those easy targets it goes way further into things like: works based salvation, man made sanctification, consumer minded church attendance, formula based prayers, etc. Do our people know that these things are silliness and myths? I know my people know they need to have a date night with their spouse but do they know that their salvation was completely undeserving and could never be earned or repaid. Do they know they have nothing to ever boast about in themselves. That they couldn’t even receive him until he chose to reveal himself to them (1 Corinthians 12:3) Do they know that Christianity has nothing to do with being a better person, or the fact that just because they drink half as much than before they got saved it doesn’t mean they know Him more?

If you don’t know me than you might think that I preach like Jimmy Swagart or something. I pastor a young, casual, trendy flip flop church. We use series, graphics, videos, etc. This isn’t about Swagart or Bates or insecurities, bashing and fears, this is about the fact that when I stand before God I will be accountable and he won’t give a crap how cool my graphics for my invite mail out were.