–– Brino Kumwenda
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A Church Growth Movement article lists the top pastors in Africa. Among others, the list is peppered with the name-brand false teachers such as Shepherd Bushiri, AKA Major 1 and Enoch Adeboye, AKA Daddy G.O, standing for General Overseer. Judging by their monikers, these are men concerned more with being praised by the sheep than feeding the sheep with biblical preaching.
Biblical preaching not only prepares people to go to heaven but also shapes them to live as law-abiding and productive citizens. Many people in Africa profess to be Christians, but their faith does not shape their lives. True preaching produces reformation, not only in the Church, but also in society.
Some will say, “There is preaching on every corner of Africa. But sadly, much of it has not produced a great deal more than producing lazy and confused professing believers who shout, “I receive papa” and expect ‘miracle money’. Most professing African Christians have in their diet this bad preaching, which is, at best, an emotional, motivational, or moralistic speech. But it is powerless preaching. Consequently, it is life-damning because God has ordained preaching as the only means of saving His people and equipping them for the pursuit of His glory. But where there is biblical preaching, there you will find faithful and productive citizens.
But what are the characteristics of biblical preaching? I propose that life-transforming preaching is comprised of a spirit-filled messenger, exegetical integrity, God-centeredness, heart-targeting application, and intense delivery. In this article, I will discuss the first characteristic, that is, a spirit-filled messenger.
Charles Bridges says that a fruitful pulpit “depends on the spirituality of the preacher even more than on his diligence.” Being Spirit-filled enables the preacher to preach under the “demonstration of the Spirit” (1 Cor. 2:4). Perkins defines preaching under God’s Spirit clearly when he said,
“…to preach with such plainness, and yet with such power, that even the least intellectually gifted recognise that it is not man but God himself who is teaching them, yet at the same time, the conscience of the mightiest may feel not man but God reproving through the power of the Holy Spirit”
John the Baptist preached with power because he was filled with the Spirit. Before Peter was filled with the Spirit, he was so cowardly that he denied the Lord at the accusation of a powerless girl (Matt. 26:29). However, after being filled with the Spirit, he stood against the rulers of Israel in their parliament (Acts 4:8).
Being Spirit-filled begins with being converted. A person who is not saved but preaches leaves many unsuspecting patients in greater spiritual crisis every time, because he adds more layers of ignorance to them with his Christless and powerless preaching.
Secondly, a spirit-filled preacher is a man of impeccable character. Preaching is the foremost vocation whose success or failure is directly due to the character of the labourer. The moral standard of the preacher and his preaching ministry are inseparable. Both God and people demand and expect a high moral standard from him (2 Timothy 3:2-7).
Third, a spirit-filled preacher is a Bible-centered preacher. He holds the Scripture in high view. He is guided by the belief that Scripture is breathed out by God (2 Tim. 3:16). Consequently, He meditates on Scripture day and night and preaches both sola scriptura, that is, Scripture alone, and tota scriptura, that is, the whole of Scripture. He does not import the latest ideas from the world onto the pulpit.
Fourth, a spirit-filled preacher is a prayerful messenger. He understands that to be a man of the Book is to breathe in, and to be a man on the knees is to breathe out. He understands that both of these means of grace are essential to his life and ministry. Charles Bridges says, “The most valuable results of meditative study are essentially defective without prayer. They are the effusions of the head rather than of the heart, cold, spiritless, dead”.
Some have argued that God uses everybody regardless of their character because what matters is the message, not the messenger. It is true that God in His sovereignty can use crooked sticks to draw straight lines. In fact, a donkey ministered more truly to Balaam than many preachers of our day would. Yet those are exceptions. The norm is that God uses pure vessels. Those are his regular weapons of mass destruction against the Kingdom of darkness.
Faithful Spirit-filled messengers who humbly plod along in smaller congregations and forgotten corners of the continent may never see their names in top-ten articles. However, the audience of our Over-Shepherd and His commendation of a job well done are of infinitely greater value. Faithful messengers are one of the greatest needs of Africa, and Christians must seek them, hear them, and commend them to others.