The Importance of Training Preachers

Wendell Winkler

Those who want to preach need to be trained. Wendell Winkler, chairman of the Bible Department at Faulkner University, is a great preacher and a preacher-trainer. He summarizes what this training should be.

We are discussing the future of the Lord’s church—its growth, its soundness, its unity—for the next several years, decades; yea, until the Lord comes! When the truth was “once delivered,” its perpetuation depended upon proclamation (Jude 1:3; 1 Tim. 3:15). Hence, from the close of the apostolic age it was a matter of motivating and training men to carry on, to preach.

The school of the prophets (1 Sam. 10; 19:20; 2 Kgs. 5:1) illustrates the fact that men who instruct in God’s word need training and instruction themselves. Furthermore, Jesus said to Simon and Andrew, “Come ye after me and I will make you to become fishers of men” (Mk. 1:17). Notice the “to become.” Such implies a period of development. Timothy and others of similar opportunities were schooled at the feet of the apostle Paul.

The situation is no different today. There is a great and grave need to train men to preach the word of God. Unquestionably we do have and have had some most effective and wonderful preachers who have had no formal training, concerning whom we would never cast a negative reflection. Such would be unthinkable. However, the majority of those who will be preachers among us in the future will come from some type of formal training-setting; that setting may be a preacher training school, a junior college, a four-year college/university, or a graduate school. Accordingly, this article will primarily be approached from this standpoint. We will deal with three basic thoughts: need, training, and requirements.

The Need

There is indisputably an acute need to motivate and train more men to preach.

The resurgent growth of the church—and we expect to do even better—calls for more men.
The mind-boggling population explosion of the world (India is increasing its population at the rate of 1,000,000 every month) calls for more and more men.
Also, there is the reality of the number of stalwart spiritual giants we are losing by reason of death.
Add to this the fact that numbers of young men who aspire to preach are changing majors, or getting double majors (which may be telling us something; or, on the other hand, such would equip them to be “vocational” preachers/missionaries), or have decided not to go into the pulpit but into youth ministry, counseling, or some similar emphasis.
Then, let us not forget that in America alone there are 100,000 towns and cities that do not have a congregation or preacher of the gospel within them! Outside America, the existence of the Lord’s church is almost nil. The need is present; it is real; it is acute.

The Training

The type of training our young men need can be discovered by observing the kind of product we desire to produce. After all, the Bible graduate will measurably be the product of his training. Otherwise, why have our schools? Now, in discussing the type training our young men need in order to preach, we are presupposing they are men of unquestioned, basic Christian character (Acts 1:1; I Tim. 4:12). But additionally, we need to train men:

Who will love God, the Bible, the church, people, and the art of preaching. Such must be taught by and seen in the instructors.
Who will be balanced, being neither liberal nor rabblerousers and fanatics.
Who will know how to preach and are preachers! There must be a strong emphasis on homiletics, sermon preparation, and delivery. Where are our pulpiteers, our heralds, our evangelists, our church builders?
Who will have something to say when they preach; rather than just having to say something. Sermonic information should be given constantly; and notebooks with usable notes being required. Content, content needs to be the emphasis.
Who will be Bible preachers, rather than story tellers, motivational lecturers, philosophers, or self-help specialists.
Who will know the Bible. Such necessitates many textual courses being taken; and, where the text is studied instead of the total semester dealing primarily with background, authenticity, and similar matters.
Who will know religious error and how to meet it. Calvinism and premillennialism are vociferously advocated by the entire evangelical protestant movement. Their positions and arguments must be known, elucidated, and refuted.
Who will know the workplace of the preacher. Evangelism, edification, and enlistment (of other preachers) must become their life.
Who will know the issues of our brotherhood, but who are not issue-oriented. Great churches are not built by constantly preaching on the issues; or, by a constant reference or insinuation as to how bad the church is. However, at present, for example, our graduates should be well informed on such matters as the new hermeneutic, the role of women, instrumental music, special music, and unity in diversity.
Who will know how to establish biblical authority. Thus, there must be a strong and recurring emphasis on hermeneutics.
Who will know the varying systems of infidelity and how to meet them. Christian evidence will be offered and encouraged.
Who are evangelistic and soul-winning conscious. They must be taught “how to” and motivated to ”want to!”
Who will be sound in the faith; that is, from them will come no uncertain sounds. Elders can have complete confidence in them as they step into the pulpit.
Who will be church builders and not church splitters. It is very strange that a congregation is recognized as being scriptural and good in its history and during the preacher’s interview, only to become unsound and unscriptural six months or several years after the preacher moves there, resulting in the church being split. This should cease.
Who will have broad knowledge rather than tunnel vision. Our graduates must know more than how to do personal work, or apologetics, or religious error. Their knowledge must be broad-based and well-rounded, above all knowing the Sacred Text.
Who will have loving hearts, but who have convictions they will not compromise. In other words, they “speak the truth in love” (Eph. 4:15). They will know they can be sound without being mean.
Who will radiate. They are winsome. You can get along with them. Their personalities are wholesome and admirable. They are not hard, uncouth, and repelling.
Who will know the original languages, but who will not flaunt such.
Who will love and respect elders. They know elders have authority in the local church and that the local pulpit is a medium they employ to assist in feeding the flock. Thus, a close working relationship will be sought, developed, and maintained.
Who will be discriminatory. They will have been taught and know the difference between law and expediency, aids and additions, gospel and tradition, the temporary and the permanent, the bound and the loosed, etc.
Who will be acquainted with varied tools of communication. We are, and will continue to be, in the age of technology. What marvelous tools and opportunities are at our hands. The Bible major needs to be workably acquainted with computers, television, radio, writing, audio-visuals and such like.
Who will know many passages by memory. Peter’s sermon on Pentecost occupies twenty-four verses of Acts 2, with eleven verses of such being quotations from the Old Testament. What a model to hold before our young men in training!

The Requirements

There must be an institutional commitment to the task of training young men to preach. Such must start with the board of directors. These men sacrifice so much time and give so liberally of their resources. We owe much to them. These good men must be encouraged to make certain

that one of the primary goals of the institution is to train preachers, and
that these preachers are being trained correctly and adequately. With direction-policy coming from them and accordingly, the administration working closely with the Bible department—all must be committed to the implementation of (1) securing qualified men in character (2 Tim. 2:24-26; Phil. 4:9) and academics, from whom no uncertain teaching will emanate, and who can preach and have successful works; (2) providing adequate facilities; and, (3) arranging a curriculum designed to produce the product we have previously discussed.

There must be the support of a great brotherhood. Young men who are potential preachers of the gospel should be encouraged to attend one of the Christian schools. Such young men need to be told, “The Lord hath need of thee.” Congregations can be encouraged to make contributions to the Bible department; in fact, many do. Then such being the case, the Christian college/university, and the Bible department in particular, owe a measure of grave responsibility and accounting. Thus, if uncertain and unsound vibes begin to come from the Bible department, there should be an immediate call from elderships for explanations and corrections. And such sincere calls from brethren of unquestioned biblical loyalty and balance (we are not talking about extremism) should be heard and weighed by all concerned.

Summary. Solomon said, “A threefold cord is not easily broken” (Eccl. 4:12). Thus, may the home, the school, and the brotherhood join ranks in correcting any inadequacies; and, in motivating and training more young men to preach the unsearchable riches of Christ. Unless we do, our schools could become the breeding ground of departures; and, too, vacant pulpits are on the horizons, along with mission fields going untouched.

Conclusion

In this brief article we have observed (1) the need to train preachers, (2) the type of training needed, and (3) the requirements necessary to achieve our aims. Every educational institution/arrangement among us should be greatly concerned about training more men, the right men, and training them correctly and adequately. May God help us to motivate and train young men to be men of the cross, with

the message of the cross and bearing the marks of the cross.