- H. Spurgeon, maybe more than any pastor, knew how busy pastoral ministry can be. In addition to preaching four times a week, he led his elders and deacons in caring for a church of 5,000. Together, they visited members, interviewed membership applicants, led prayer meetings, chaired congregational meetings, pursued non-attenders, and much more. Spurgeon published a weekly sermon, wrote numerous books, edited a monthly magazine, served as president of The Pastors’ College, oversaw two orphanages, corresponded with hundreds weekly, planted churches, supported denominational efforts, and the list goes on. The scale of Spurgeon’s ministry in the 19th century remains unmatched. But the essence of his work wasn’t all that different from any pastor today: caring for members, leading worship gatherings, training church leaders, overseeing benevolence and evangelistic efforts, engaging in church associations, and, as with Spurgeon, the list keeps going. These are the kinds of things that will fill up every pastor’s task list.
Yet Spurgeon said that the most important thing he did was the preach the Word. Spurgeon once said to his students: “Brethren, you and I must, as preachers, be always earnest in reference to our pulpit work. Here we must labor to attain the very highest degree of excellence. It is in preaching that the fight will be lost or won. It will not avail us to be laborious pastors if we are not earnest preachers.”
Spurgeon believed that every other ministry in the church, as important as they were, were supplementary to the preaching of the Word which was the main ministry of the church. Despite the busyness of pastoral ministry, preaching was the one thing that could not fail. No matter the pressures and responsibilities, he had to give himself to preaching excellent sermons for the sake of his people. Here is some advice he would give to us today:
- Keep growing spiritually. Don’t just keep from drifting from your closeness to Jesus, or even stay as close as you now are, but continue growing in your faith and commitment. Spurgeon once said: “Too many preachers forget to serve God when they are out of the pulpit, their lives are negatively inconsistent. True ministers are always ministers.” Don’t separate your devotional life from your ministerial duties. Make your personal Bible study and prayer time your top priority in ministry.
One of the private ways Spurgeon kept himself sharp for ministry was by leading his household in family worship. He led his household in prayer, singing, and Scripture reading twice a day, morning and evening, offering brief teaching on a Bible text. Even when on vacation, Spurgeon commented how family worship kept him tethered to the Word and trained for ministry. All of this provided a consistency of life that strengthened his preaching ministry.
- Be well prepared when you speak. Spurgeon loved spending time with visitors and regularly opened his home to them, but didn’t let his hospitality keep him from putting in many hours of study for his sermons. He warned his students, “I have no belief in that ministry which ignores laborious preparation.” Every speaker will need to figure out their sermon preparation schedule. But don’t wait until the last minute, don’t hurry the process and don’t use other peoples work except for research. Surgeon’s preparation included: prayer, personal Bible study, consulting external sources, and arranging an outline to guide the development of the material.
- Don’t be easily distracted. Spurgeon faced many interruptions and demands on his time, just like we do, but knew he had to prioritize his preaching preparation, even if it meant saying “no” to people’s expectations. He knew he couldn’t make everyone happy so he didn’t try to. He said: “If we do not see every one, there will be such an outcry. All we can say is—they must cry, for we cannot neglect our Master’s business to play lackey to everybody who is moved by the powers of darkness to call us away from the word of God and prayer.”
- Always be preparing. Even though Spurgeon had a scheduled time in the week for sermon preparation, there was another sense in which he was always preparing. As Spurgeon met with people, led in family worship, read books and newspapers, and trained his students, he was always thinking about his sermon and looking for material he could use. He once said this to his students, “We ought to be always in training for text-getting and sermon-making. We should constantly preserve the holy activity of our minds. We are to meditate on the law of the Lord both day and night.”
- Pray without ceasing. The pressure of the weekly sermon should also cause the preacher to live in constant prayer for himself and his people. “If there be any man under heaven, who is compelled to carry out the precept — ‘Pray without ceasing,’ surely it is the Christian minister.” Prayer does not begin on Saturday nights or a few minutes before our sermon. Instead, it is the posture of dependence that should characterize our entire life
- Know your people. Spurgeon refused to confine his ministry to his study, but he gave himself to the work of a pastor. But his pastoral work was not separate from preaching. Rather, in knowing his people – their struggles, questions, doubts, and suffering – Spurgeon was better equipped to preach and apply God’s Word to them. He modeled what he taught his students, “Take care, also, to be on most familiar terms with those whose souls are committed to your care. Stand in the stream and fish. Many preachers are utterly ignorant as to how the bulk of the people are living; they are at home among books, but quite at sea among men. What would you think of a botanist who seldom saw real flowers, or an astronomer who never spent a night with the stars?”
We certainly all won’t have ministries like C. H. Spurgeon, but we must all be faithful to feed the sheep God has given us. That is Jesus’ command to His disciples: “Feed My sheep.”
2 Timothy 4:2 Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction.
How does your Bible study and sermon preparation compare to what Spurgeon taught his students?
What can you learn from him to apply to your sermon preparation this week?
For more on Spurgeon’s views on preaching and the pastorate, see Spurgeon the Pastor (www.spurgeonthepastor.com). Quotes above are from C. H. Spurgeon, “Lectures to my Students” and “The Autobiography of Charles H. Spurgeon, Compiled from His Diary, Letters, and Records by His Wife and His Private Secretary”
cto Rev. Dr. JERRY SCHMOYER
Christian Training Organization
Jerry@ChristianTrainingOrganization.org
(India, Africa & Spanish Outreach, Spiritual Warfare, Family Ministries, Counseling, World View)
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