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By Pastor Chuck Swindoll

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The Purpose of the Preacher

“The Lord will use His word, but the purpose of the preacher, among other things, is to help people see how it fits into everyday life. And if you will do that, you will be loved everywhere you serve because you will help them see how it touches where they live. So that those who are mothers will be better mothers. Those who are business people will be better business people. Those who are going through suffering will understand how it applies to their world of suffering. Those who are out to lunch will realize how distant they are from the things of God. And they will be drawn to this truth because it is magnetic.  It has a drawing power all its own.”

Communicate What They Need to Hear

“I’ve always used the analogy of the physician. You don’t want to go to a physician that tells you something that will simply make you feel good. You want him to be or her to be accurate, to tell you that it is a tumor. And when the pathology work is done, if it does show up as malignancy, you want the man or that woman to say, “It’s a malignancy, it needs to be removed or it needs to be treated.” Because physicians who are worth their salt are those who tell you the truth. And that’s why you need to do this when you are opening the Scriptures. You don’t hedge on things that are difficult to hear. Your concern is not making them feel good but communicating what they need to hear.”

Preach the Word

“I can’t believe people spend their time on nonsensical things rather than in the Scriptures. Study the Scriptures. Teach the Scriptures. Preach the Word, because that is what will give life and hope and relief and forgiveness and salvation and great patience to endure. Boy, we need that, don’t we?”

The Scriptures Give Life

“Preach the Word, herald the Word. Make it known, communicate it, declare it. Don’t hold back. Make sure it remains a high priority to you. Whether you’re a counselor, a missionary, an evangelist, a pastor, make it word centered. Make sure you’re drawing the truth you’re sharing from the Scriptures. It’s the Scriptures that give life. It’s not your insight. It’s the Scriptures that hold truth. Expose them to the truth. Where you aren’t sure exactly what it means, just acknowledge it.”

Accuracy Reigns Supreme

“Am I declaring what is actually written in the Scriptures? My opinion isn’t important. It is worth nothing more than anyone else’s opinion. Same is true for you. People don’t need to hear our opinions. They need to hear the truth as it was recorded in the Word of God by men like Paul, and so many others. So accuracy reigns supreme in my mind.”

Additional Resources

First, sign up for our Chuck’s Insights on Ministry email where we bring you his best thoughts on preaching, leadership, and ministry each week. By signing up, you’ll instantly receive a one-page checklist with 20 preaching insights from Chuck. See this page’s sidebar.

Second, check out our new Preach The Word articles and video series on YouTube where we’re teaching Chuck’s best insights on this important calling.

Third, listen to Chuck’s messages to those in ministry through our Seminary Chapels page. For decades, he offered students at Dallas Theological Seminary his best thoughts on church leadership and ministry. Now, we have put them at your finger tips. Also, you can find them through this YouTube playlist we created for you.

Fourth, if you don’t own a copy of Chuck’s book on preaching, Saying It Well, we highly recommend you add it to your library. It’s his preaching memoir that is also like a practical preaching manual. You won’t be able to put it down.

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