One of the great features of modern conservative evangelicalism is that over the last 50 years we have seen a restoration of the centrality of preaching in the churches.
This is tremendously welcome. To hear good sound expositions of Scripture is like fresh water to a thirsty soul. But has the emphasis on preaching left us somewhat unbalanced? For the apostles, prayer and the word were inseparable. Faced with the extra challenges of a growing church, the apostles prioritised not one, but both activities. They had to delegate waiting on tables and explained, ‘(we) will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word’ (Acts 6.4). Notice prayer comes first.
Prayer downgraded
This imbalance is not a new phenomenon. Let me quote Spurgeon. In his sermon on Revelation 5.8 which speaks of the prayers of the saints being received like incense in heaven, he talks about church services and he says this: ‘In the service of today, I believe the sermon to be a very important part; but I do not believe it is the all-important matter. I have heard friends say, “so-and-so will take the
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 …