Choosing a Church Based on the Preacher
John 4:43-54?
Rev. Dr. Michael H. Koplitz
?43 After athe two days He went forth from there into Galilee. 44 For Jesus Himself testified ?that aa prophet has no honor in his own country. 45 So when He came to Galilee, the Galileans ?received Him, ahaving seen all the things that He did in Jerusalem at the feast; for they ?themselves also went to the feast. ?
John 4:46 Therefore He came again to aCana of Galilee bwhere He had made the water wine. ?And there was a royal official whose son was sick at cCapernaum. 47 When he heard that Jesus ?had come aout of Judea into Galilee, he went to Him and was imploring Him to come down ?and heal his son; for he was at the point of death. 48 So Jesus said to him, “Unless you people ?see 1asigns and awonders, you simply will not believe.” 49 The royal official *said to Him, “1Sir, ?come down before my child dies.” 50 Jesus *said to him, “aGo; your son lives.” The man ?believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and started off. 51 As he was now going down, his ?slaves met him, saying that his 1son was living. 52 So he inquired of them the hour when he ?began to get better. Then they said to him, “Yesterday at the 1seventh hour the fever left ?him.” 53 So the father knew that it was at that hour in which Jesus said to him, “Your son ?lives”; and he himself believed and ahis whole household. 54 This is again a asecond 1sign that ?Jesus performed when He had bcome out of Judea into Galilee.?
The Hebraic people in Yeshua’s day were looking for signs and miracles to prove a ?person to be the true Messiah. Many people who lived before and during Yeshua’s ?life claimed to be the Messiah. John’s Gospel has seven miracles that Yeshua did. ?This is the second one. Healing stories are numerous in the Gospels. The actual ?story is missing much information that could enhance the story. However, the ?author must have neglected to add that information because it would detract from ?the miracle. Healing a person without seeing or touching him is a huge miracle. It ?says that Yeshua knew who needed healing and could send a healing force to the ?person without touching him or being in the same room. This method makes this ?healing an incredible miracle.?
What lesson can be derived from the short narrative? I believe that being able to ?identify false messiahs is a critical point. Today? OK, they are not called messiahs. ?They have the title of a preacher, pastor, evangelist, and others. During my years in ?the ministry, I came to know a young parishioner. He was unhappy at the church ?because the old folks would not allow family activities. I, too, objected to this idea ?and was able to get a different appointment. Derek decided to leave the church. ?
Six months later, I met Derek and asked him about his family’s church attendance. ?He told me that they had not decided. I offered him the criteria for the new church ?selection. Simply I said that you have to listen to three or possibly more sermons to ?discover how much the preacher knew about the Bible. Today we do not have false ?messiahs. However, do have uneducated preachers. I told Derek that he needed to ?weigh what the preacher said against what he knew was the truth. ?
At the beginning of my ministry journey, my lovely bride and I went to a United ?Methodist church. The preacher was a Local Pastor. These pastors did not receive ?the same education and training as ordained elders. In her sermon, she spoke about ?angels and placed them at the same “level” as the Trinity. She did not understand the ?church’s position on the Trinity. Not even close. When we left that church, I asked ?my bride how can the church allow that person to preach falsehoods. She did not ?know. ?
When I was moving through the ordained elder process, it was not until the end of ?the journey that anyone asked me about my theological understandings. My bride ?became a local pastor and said that she was never questioned about her theological ?positions on anything. It is worse today because there is a massive shortage of ?pastors. The way the previous bishop made appointments in my Conference forced ?many pastors to leave the Conference, the denomination, or to retire early as I did. ?Now they are desperate. ?
The problem with desperation is that the standards for who gets into the clergy have ?been lowered. It is vital to the future success of the church that the requirements for ?becoming a pastor be returned to their higher levels. Not that the church should ?make it impossible to pass the test; instead, the church needs to weed out people ?who are not indeed called and must encourage those who were called. ?
When I was in the second year of my three-year ordination experience, I asked the ?vicechairperson of the Board of Ordained Ministry how many ordained elders could ?pass their current standards. His shocking answer was that 20% would pass. Either ?there was something wrong with the assessment or with the pastors. It is probably a ?little bit of both. ?
The church needs to return to a high standard for pastors and preachers. If there are ?not enough pastors to cover a conference or synod, then perhaps it is time to close ?the smaller churches and combine them into one large church. I know that is not a ?very well-accepted proposition. ?
In my Conference, they are begging retired pastors to return. They are even placing ?laypersons without training in churches. The question they need to answer is, what ?good is it doing for the churches to have untrained people preaching God’s word? ?The word of God should be brought before the people in the best way possible and ?by the best trained and educated people. ?
Yes, I am a proponent of education. I also believe that the time is well past that the ?hierarchy does everything possible to help their pastors to enjoy their work. Usually, ?the bishops make things difficult. It is time for the church leaders in the Conferences ?to understand that without local churches, they are finished. You cannot have a ?conference with no churches in it. ?
This applies to all churches, large, medium, and small. In my Doctor of Ministry ?work, I examined the finances of my Conference. I discovered that 50% of the ?churches contributed 33% of the financial budget. The sitting bishop said that small ?churches did not matter anymore. As a member of the Conference financial ?committee, I can say that the Conference would financially collapse if the small ?churches were all closed. ?
OK, the bottom line is that when you choose a church to become a member, you ?need to listen to at least three sermons. Then you must research to ensure that your ?new preacher understands the Bible and fundamental Christian theology. The ?sermon is an important component of the worship celebration. This is where 90+% ?of Christians learn anything about the Scripture and Jesus’ day. I pray that you are ?either at a church that has well educated clergy or that you may find one.?
