{"id":442,"date":"2008-05-16T01:01:13","date_gmt":"2008-05-16T01:01:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/markdroberts\/2008\/05\/avoiding-pulpit-pride-advice-for-preachers.html"},"modified":"2008-05-16T01:01:13","modified_gmt":"2008-05-16T01:01:13","slug":"avoiding-pulpit-pride-advice-for-preachers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/2008\/05\/avoiding-pulpit-pride-advice-for-preachers.html","title":{"rendered":"Avoiding Pulpit Pride: Advice for Preachers"},"content":{"rendered":"

Part 5 of series: Pride and the Power of the Pulpit
\n<\/em>Permalink for this post<\/a> \/ Permalink for this series<\/a>
\nIn my last post, I suggested what a person should do if his or her preacher fell prey to pulpit pride and started to preach irresponsibly. In today’s post, I want to offer advice for preachers about how to avoid pulpit pride and its negative results.
\n1. Recognize the possibility of pulpit pride.<\/strong>
\nIn my second post in this series<\/a>, I talked about the pride of the pulpit. From my own experience, and from what I know of other preachers, it’s easy to get caught up in the headiness of having lots of people listening to you as you preach. Preachers are human beings, and can easily fall into pride. If preachers acknowledge this possibility, then they’ll be in a position to avoid it. If they pretend that they’re immune from the temptation of pulpit pride, then they’ll be ill-prepared to combat it.
\n2. Come humbly before the Lord.<\/strong>
\nNothing keeps me from pride better than when I come humbly before the Lord in prayer and worship. When I remember God’s greatness, then it feels almost silly to get puffed up about myself. I am renewed in my sense of calling as God’s servant, and therefore as a servant to oathers. Even when I’m in a place of power, the pulpit, if you will, I’m there as a servant leader, with the emphasis on servant. So, if you approach the pulpit on your knees, you’ll be protected from pride.
\n3. Get honest feedback on your preaching.<\/strong>
\nMost preachers get regular feedback on their preaching. It comes in the form of comments after the worship service: Nice sermon, pastor. Thank you for your words, pastor. That was very meaningful. Etc. etc. etc.<\/em> These are encouraging words, to be sure, but rarely do they provide substantial feedback. In fact, I would encourage sermon-listeners not to give heavy-duty feedback, pro or con, to a preacher immediately after a worship service. Most preachers are tired at this moment and not in a place to listen carefully.
\nHow can preachers get honest, helpful feedback on preaching? It depends. Sometimes this can come from wise, mature members of a pastor’s congregation. It could come from peers. It might come from one’s spouse. Of course if a pastors publish their sermons on the web, either in manuscript, audio, or video form, then feedback could come from almost anywhere. I’ve received hundreds of email responses to my sermons (published online<\/a>) from people all over the world. Most have been positive, though some have raised substantive issues.
\n4. Watch a video or listen to a recording of your preaching.<\/strong>
\nIf you’re a preacher and you haven’t done this for a while, perhaps since seminary days, you would be well-served to listen to a recording of yourself. A video would be best. You might see yourself in a new light. If you’re wandering into pomposity and pride, seeing yourself as others see you might be eye-opening.
\n5. Consider the majesty of your message.<\/strong>
\n\"tetonAt the core, preachers are called to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ. This is not only good new, but also the best news of all. We get to tell people that God loves them in spite of their sin, that they are accepted by God’s grace through Christ, that they can live new lives of meaning and purpose as God’s beloved children and ministers of Christ, that the Spirit of God will live in them to inspire and empower them, etc. etc. etc. The more we are overwhelmed by the majesty of that which we’ve been called to preach, the less we’ll be impressed by ourselves. (Photo: from inside the Chapel of the Transfiguration, Grand Tetons National Park)
\nMoreover, when we remember the core of our proclamation, we’ll be less inclined to wander into tangents that get us in trouble. If we’re focusing on the good news of Christ, along with all the implications of that good news as revealed in Scripture, we’ll have more than enough to preach. Thus we won’t have time to pontificate about the sorts of things that can get preachers in trouble. The gospel of Jesus Christ keeps us focused in the right place, even as it humbles us when we consider the sheer privilege of being messengers of such great news.
\nWe preachers need to take our message more seriously and ourselves less seriously.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Part 5 of series: Pride and the Power of the Pulpit Permalink for this post \/ Permalink for this series In my last post, I suggested what a person should do if his or her preacher fell prey to pulpit pride and started to preach irresponsibly. In today’s post, I want to offer advice for…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":214,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[45],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-442","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-pride-and-the-power-of-the-pulpit"],"yoast_head":"\nAvoiding Pulpit Pride: Advice for Preachers - Mark D. 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Roberts","description":"Mark D. Roberts: Thoughtfully Christian Reflections on Jesus, the Church, and the World","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/#\/schema\/person\/1ff094a57b7e41f534434b1723df3d73","name":"Mark D. Roberts","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-content\/wphb-cache\/gravatar\/f2d\/f2ddf5f080861f66ea230384f9d1bab2x96.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-content\/wphb-cache\/gravatar\/f2d\/f2ddf5f080861f66ea230384f9d1bab2x96.jpg","caption":"Mark D. Roberts"},"description":"The Rev. Dr. Mark D. Roberts is a pastor, author, retreat leader, speaker, and blogger. Since October 2007 he has been the Senior Director and Scholar-in-Residence for Laity Lodge, a multifaceted ministry in the Hill Country of Texas. Before coming to Laity Lodge, he was for sixteen years the Senior Pastor of Irvine Presbyterian Church in Irvine, California (a city in Orange County about forty miles south of Los Angeles). Before his time at Irvine Pres, Mark served on the staff of the First Presbyterian Church of Hollywood as Associate Pastor of Education. (Thanks to Janel Pahl for taking the photo to the right.) Mark studied at Harvard University, receiving a B.A. in Philosophy, an M.A. in the Study of Religion, and a Ph.D. in New Testament and Christian Origins. He has taught classes in New Testament for Fuller Theological Seminary and San Francisco Theological Seminary. Mark has written several books, including No Holds Barred: Wrestling with God in Prayer (WaterBrook, 2005), Dare to Be True (WaterBrook, 2003), Jesus Revealed (WaterBrook, 2002), After \"I Believe\" (Baker, 2002), and Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther (Word, 1993). His most recent book is Can We Trust the Gospels? Investigating the Reliability of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John (Crossway, 2007). He is currently working on a commentary on Ephesians that will be published by Zondervan in 2014. Mark writes a devotional for The High Calling of Our Daily Work, a website associated with Laity Lodge. His \"Daily Reflections\" can be viewed online or sent as a daily email. If you wish to receive this email, just visit TheHighCalling.org and sign up. Mark serves on the editorial board of Worship Leader magazine, where he publishes articles and reviews, including his regular column \"Lyrical Poetry.\" Additionally, he has published dozens of articles in leading magazines and journals. He often speaks for churches and other Christian groups, and has been interviewed on over seventy-five radio programs nationwide. Mark is married to Linda, who is a Marriage and Family Therapist, a Spiritual Director, and a retreat speaker. They have two children, Nathan and Kara.For Publicity Photos and Bio Statements for Mark, please check here. Mark's Dossier Professional History: Senior Director and Scholar-in Residence, Laity Lodge, October 2007 to present. Senior Pastor Irvine Presbyterian Church, June 1991 to September 2007 Adjunct Assistant Professor Fuller Theological Seminary, 1994 to 2007. Courses: New Testament Theology and Exegesis. Adjunct Instructor San Francisco Theological Seminary, 1995 to 2001. Courses: New Testament Greek and Exegesis Associate Pastor of Education First Presbyterian Church of Hollywood, 1987-1991 Teaching Fellow Harvard University, 1980-1983 Education: Ph.D. in the Study of Religion. Harvard University, 1992. Area: New Testament and Christian Origins M.A. in the Study of Religion Harvard University, 1984. A.B. magna cum laude in Philosophy Harvard University, 1979. Phi Beta Kappa; Danforth Fellowship Books: Can We Trust the Gospels? Investigating the Reliability of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Crossway, 2007 No Holds Barred: Wrestling with God in Prayer. WaterBrook, 2005 Dare to Be True: Living in the Freedom of Complete Honesty. WaterBrook, 2003. Jesus Revealed: Know Him Better to Love Him Better. WaterBrook, 2002. After \"I Believe\": Experiencing Authentic Christian Living. Baker, 2002. Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther in the Communicator's Commentary Series. Word, 1993. Contacting Mark: You can reach Mark at: E-mail: mark@markdroberts.com mroberts@laitylodge.org Phone: Laity Lodge: (830) 792-1216 Address: Laity Lodge 719 Earl Garrett Kerrville, TX 78028","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/author\/mroberts"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/442","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/214"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=442"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/442\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=442"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=442"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=442"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}