When I came to you, brothers and sisters, I did not come with eloquence or superior wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified (read 1 Corinthians 2:1-5).
Who doesn’t want to be better preacher? We want to proclaim Christ in ways that compel others to believe in Him.
But few of us feel articulate, eloquent, or wise. Most of us feel the weakness, fear, and trembling the apostle felt. We compare ourselves with other preachers. Multiple experts offer their resources for sale to teach us the way we should preach Christ in our time, but there may be too many. Which style do I follow?
The Apostle Paul resolved to know nothing…except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. In fact, he approached the preaching task with fear and trembling. He didn’t feel particularly good with words. That’s hard to imagine of a man who seemed so confident and forceful in proclaiming Christ.
He kept his message focused on Jesus and the impact of the crucifixion. We find the key to his effectiveness here. He didn’t rely on the dramatic techniques of rhetoric in his day. He trusted the Spirit’s power to make the message effective in the hearts of his hearers. He wanted people’s responses to rest on God’s power, not his wisdom.
Friend Seth B. Hinshaw observed,
One aspect of the vocal ministry among first generation Quakers can hardly be overemphasized. Fox and his coworkers preached Christ in true apostolic New Testament fashion. In 1672 George Fox exhorted Friends in this manner: Meet together in the name of Jesus, whose Name is above every Name, and Gathering is above every Gathering…where Salvation is; He is your Prophet, your Shepherd, your Bishop, Your Priest in the midst of you, to open to you to sanctify you, and to feed you with Life, and to quicken you with life (The Spoken Ministry among Friends, pp. 11, 12).
As a young Friend, I didn’t aspire to lead. I didn’t feel qualified. I trembled at the thought of speaking in front of any group! But I often found myself in leadership roles. Others saw something in me before God called me to be a pastor at 16. I didn’t see it, even after He tapped me. Still wasn’t sure I wanted to lead! He hounded me, even in my self-centeredness. He reissued the call to become a pastor at 19. Maybe that is God’s preferred way of raising up leaders for ministry: Call the ones who feel most inadequate. Then He can make the most of the singular message: Jesus Christ and Him crucified. For it is Christ who saves, not the preacher.
Someone may protest that our culture is complex, and the needs of our hearers are multi-layered. “Is it practical to preach such a simple message? Will needs be met if we resolve to know nothing except Jesus Christ and Him crucified? Where do other messages and subjects fit into the greater scheme of holiness, discipleship, and service?”
“And what about being relevant?”
Perhaps it would help to think of it this way: All roads must lead to Christ our Savior. Paul Anderson put it like this:
“Apostolic Christianity has less to do with calendars or institutions, and more to do with encountering Jesus Christ personally and being sent by Him as a partner in His saving, healing, redeeming work. …He did not create a new set of Christian forms to replace Jewish ones. If Christ is enough, nothing else is needed. … If we add anything to Christ, we thereby diminish the all-sufficiency of His work” (Following Jesus, p. 7).
Our impact as followers of Jesus will stem from the central truth of relationship with the One who died and rose again. We live in that relationship as a testimony to the life-changing power of Jesus Christ. And we tell others about that relationship, so they, too, may enjoy life in Him.
Now the Holy Spirit never exalts Himself. He never lifts Himself up. He desires to magnify Christ. …the greatest desire of any consecrated committed Christian is to be able to lift up Christ. Oh, to lift Christ up to those about us. …oh God, what can I do to help some people to see what they are missing and what the consequences are going to be if they fail to let Christ have His way? … He has promised to help us testify for Jesus. …if we are faithful, the Holy Spirit will help us to witness when we may not even be conscious of it (Merle Roe. 50 Years a Friends Minister, p. 35).
ABOUT
Jeff Blackburn has been proclaiming Christ for over 43 years. He served Friends congregations in Indiana and Kansas. His most recent pastoral assignment was with Greensburg Mennonite Church, Greensburg, Kansas, where he enjoyed nearly 30 years of ministry before being called to coordinate the Friends Preaching Initiative in 2024. He works with aspiring preachers and ministry students on campus, often preaches in churches in the region. He developed three new courses for a preaching certificate offered through Barclay College, and he created a preaching lab for Barclay students to work on their communication skills.
Jeff grew up in small-town Indiana, attending Quaker Haven Camp every summer before counseling and directing camps. He is a graduate of Barclay College and Huntington University. He wrote for Adult Friend and The Fruit of the Vine (Barclay Press, Newberg, Oregon) for many years. Jeff enjoys music and singing, although he can’t read music very well. He continues to serve as the moderator for local schools’ spelling bees.
Jeff has written one book, Light at the End of the Funnel (Amazon, 2017) recounting the experience of surviving an EF5 tornado that devastated his town in 2007. He and his wife live in Greensburg where they are near enough to play with their grandchildren on a regular basis. The Lord put it in his heart to help train the next wave of preachers and to encourage active ministers to “Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke, and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction” (2 Timothy 4:2).