“For we do not preach ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ made His light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ”
(2 Corinthians 4:5-6).
The Spirit amazed me every week when He gave a message to deliver to Jesus’ disciples. Isn’t that the purpose of preaching—to deliver His message to His disciples? I suppose it shouldn’t have been so amazing that the Spirit shone the light in my heart each week, but it was. The Lord faithfully provided the message. It always came by the end of the week with that clear sense, “Yes, this is it.”
Think of it: He entrusts His Word, His message, to us! He shines the light of understanding into our hearts so that we can proclaim “the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.”
Who are we that we should be given such a privilege?
We are redeemed, belonging to Christ, called by God.
Preaching and teaching the Gospel isn’t something we arbitrarily decide to do. He calls. Even after many years with the same congregation or various congregations, He will
challenge us…
stretch us…
change us…
so that we may continue to preach Christ.
Walking with Jesus and serving Him is not boring, although there is a sameness to the routine of the work of ministry. He meets us in a quiet place. He meets us in Scripture. He reveals the fresh newness of the living and active Word.
He works in us and through us. He also works in and through others. He may speak to us through an unlikely messenger. Friends believe vocal ministry is a shared ministry, not limited to the “experts” or paid professionals. Each disciple can minister through the Spirit, sharing “the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.”
A seasoned Friends minister of another era, Merle Roe, often came to campus when I was a college student forty-some years ago. He drew his listeners into whatever he was saying. His message was all about Jesus. He wrote,
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 (Roe. 50 Years a Friends Minister, p. 35).
Keep preaching Jesus! The Holy Spirit will help you be His witness!
Adapted from an entry in my journal on Thursday, May 16, 2013
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).