I have lamented previously about the famine before us. I sincerely pray that I am absolutely wrong in my assessment that there is a massive shortage of preachers in the Lord’s church.
If my perception is correct today, I fear the impact of this lack upon the future.
Now, I am not about to start telling God his business. For all I know He may have an army of men ready to take the world for Christ – I pray so! After all, Elijah was unaware of the “7000 men who had not bowed the knee to Baal.”
However, assuming that I am seeing the lay of the land as it is, we must wake to the fact of the guaranteed impact of such a shortage.
Preachers perform central work in our pulpits and on our mission fields. Not only are preacher-less pulpits a recipe for stagnation, but preacher-less missions are also a recipe for extinction.
Though the gates of death cannot prevail against the Kingdom of God, I assure you that they can against congregations that have lost their first love. Many revivalist or restoration movements have come and gone over the centuries, and many more will come and go if the Lord wills there be a future.
The Lord’s church must rise to this occasion. We must come to grips with our responsibilities towards our preachers. They are on our frontlines and need to be supported in every way.
We must ask Paul:
“How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed?
How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard?
And how will they hear without a preacher?
How will they preach unless they are sent?
Just as it is written,
“How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news of good things!”
(Rom.10:14-15).
I praise God for all who see this and are doing something about it. Lord, open our eyes.
John Staiger
0 Comments