It was a familiar story.
The pastor had left the church after a few years of, sadly, fairly inconsequential ministry. Did I know of anyone I could recommend to take his place?
Probing further led to the comment that the problem with the previous pastor was that he tended to shut himself away in his study. At one level his sermons were excellent. People thought he was a good preacher. But somehow he was a ‘loner’ and there was something that didn’t connect with people. How does a preacher’s character affect his usefulness?
The priority of love
It is perfectly possible for a man to love preaching but not love the people. Sometimes he may not even love Christ (John 21.15-17). Hence things come adrift in churches.
The re-emergence of heavy shepherds
What would you think if you received a letter from your church leaders that read like this? ‘Are church members …