Every day, a pastor somewhere despairs of ministry. Ministry has become complicated. Pressures multiply. Someone misunderstood your words or motives. A new ministry initiative is slow to take off. Sermon preparation comes around again every week. Technology keeps changing. A long-standing conflict that predates your coming has boiled over again.

Your family needs you, too.

You begin to wonder what you are accomplishing for all the effort and energy you expend.

And maybe nobody knows it but you.

You’re at the end of your rope, and something has to give. Soon.

(Just not the rope.)

Even the Master Preacher understood the pressures of ministry. He rode into Jerusalem on a wave of popularity on Sunday, and He knew what awaited Him at the end of the week. He had endured resistance and rejection from His own people, and it would only grow worse. He felt the sentence of death keenly.

As He approached Jerusalem and saw the city, He wept over it, and said, “If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring
you peace—but now it is hidden from your eyes” (Luke 19.41-42). 

 

The hardness of the people broke Jesus’ heart. He wept over His people. They took out the frustration of their unmet expectations on Him.

The Master saw the potential of a people devoted to God. But they couldn’t see it.

He also knew the outcome of His suffering. He would rise again from the dead. 

You may despair of ministry today. The circumstances you face are happening that you might rely on God instead of relying on yourself. He still raises the dead. What seems hopeless on Friday afternoon may look entirely different in the light of Sunday morning.

The followers of Jesus in the first century experienced mocking, rejection, and even death, just like their Master. His disciples have undergone suffering, disappointment, and despair. The Apostle Paul wrote this to encourage believers:

We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, about the hardships we suffered in the province of Asia. We were under
great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired even of life. Indeed, in our hearts we felt the sentence of death. But
this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead(2 Corinthians 1.5-9)

The situation may not need your “fix” today. It may be beyond a simple fix. It may seem far beyond your ability to endure.

Stay true to the message the Spirit lays on your heart, dear preacher.

“Preach the Word of God urgently at all times, whenever you get the chance…when it is convenient and when it is not” (2 Timothy 4.2 The Living Bible).

Take the opportunity to rely on God, who raises the dead. Rest in the comfort of the Savior who called you to proclaim His name. He walked the same path before you.

ABOUT

Jeff Blackburn has been proclaiming Christ for over 43 years. He served Friends congregations in Indiana and Kansas. His most recent pastoral assignment was with Greensburg Mennonite Church, Greensburg, Kansas, where he enjoyed nearly 30 years of ministry before being called to coordinate the Friends Preaching Initiative in 2024. He works with aspiring preachers and ministry students on campus, often preaches in churches in the region. He developed three new courses for a preaching certificate offered through 91Ӱ��, and he created a preaching lab for Barclay students to work on their communication skills.

Jeff grew up in small-town Indiana, attending Quaker Haven Camp every summer before counseling and directing camps. He is a graduate of 91Ӱ�� and Huntington University. He wrote for Adult Friend and The Fruit of the Vine (Barclay Press, Newberg, Oregon) for many years. Jeff enjoys music and singing, although he can’t read music very well. He continues to serve as the moderator for local schools’ spelling bees.

Jeff has written one book, Light at the End of the Funnel (Amazon, 2017) recounting the experience of surviving an EF5 tornado that devastated his town in 2007. He and his wife live in Greensburg where they are near enough to play with their grandchildren on a regular basis. The Lord put it in his heart to help train the next wave of preachers and to encourage active ministers to “Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke, and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction” (2 Timothy 4:2).

ABOUT

Jeff Blackburn has been proclaiming Christ for over 43 years. He served Friends congregations in Indiana and Kansas. His most recent pastoral assignment was with Greensburg Mennonite Church, Greensburg, Kansas, where he enjoyed nearly 30 years of ministry before being called to coordinate the Friends Preaching Initiative in 2024. He works with aspiring preachers and ministry students on campus, often preaches in churches in the region. He developed three new courses for a preaching certificate offered through 91Ӱ��, and he created a preaching lab for Barclay students to work on their communication skills.

Jeff grew up in small-town Indiana, attending Quaker Haven Camp every summer before counseling and directing camps. He is a graduate of 91Ӱ�� and Huntington University. He wrote for Adult Friend and The Fruit of the Vine (Barclay Press, Newberg, Oregon) for many years. Jeff enjoys music and singing, although he can’t read music very well. He continues to serve as the moderator for local schools’ spelling bees.

Jeff has written one book, Light at the End of the Funnel (Amazon, 2017) recounting the experience of surviving an EF5 tornado that devastated his town in 2007. He and his wife live in Greensburg where they are near enough to play with their grandchildren on a regular basis. The Lord put it in his heart to help train the next wave of preachers and to encourage active ministers to “Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke, and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction” (2 Timothy 4:2).

The Spirit amazed me every week when He gave a message to deliver to Jesus’ disciples. Isn’t that the purpose of preaching—to deliver His message to His disciples? I suppose it shouldn’t have been so amazing that the Spirit shone the light in my heart each week, but it was. The Lord faithfully provided the message. It always came by the end of the week with that clear sense, “Yes, this is it.”

Think of it: He entrusts His Word, His message, to us! He shines the light of understanding into our hearts so that we can proclaim “the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.”

Who are we that we should be given such a privilege?

We are redeemed, belonging to Christ, called by God.

Preaching and teaching the Gospel isn’t something we arbitrarily decide to do. He calls. Even after many years with the same congregation or various congregations, He will 

challenge us…

stretch us…

change us…

so that we may continue to preach Christ.

Walking with Jesus and serving Him is not boring, although there is a sameness to the routine of the work of ministry. He meets us in a quiet place. He meets us in Scripture. He reveals the fresh newness of the living and active Word.

He works in us and through us. He also works in and through others. He may speak to us through an unlikely messenger. Friends believe vocal ministry is a shared ministry, not limited to the “experts” or paid professionals. Each disciple can minister through the Spirit, sharing “the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.”

A seasoned Friends minister of another era, Merle Roe, often came to campus when I was a college student forty-some years ago. He drew his listeners into whatever he was saying. His message was all about Jesus. He wrote,

Now the Holy Spirit never exalts Himself. He never lifts Himself up. He desires to magnify Christ. …the greatest desire of any consecrated committed Christian is to be able to lift up Christ. Oh, to lift Christ up to those about us. …oh God, what can I do to help some people to see what they are missing and what the consequences are going to be if they fail to let Christ have His way? … He has promised to help us testify for Jesus. …if we are faithful, the Holy Spirit will help us to witness when we may not even be conscious of it (Roe. 50 Years a Friends Minister, p. 35).

 

Keep preaching Jesus! The Holy Spirit will help you be His witness!

Adapted from an entry in my journal on Thursday, May 16, 2013

ABOUT

Jeff Blackburn has been proclaiming Christ for over 43 years. He served Friends congregations in Indiana and Kansas. His most recent pastoral assignment was with Greensburg Mennonite Church, Greensburg, Kansas, where he enjoyed nearly 30 years of ministry before being called to coordinate the Friends Preaching Initiative in 2024. He works with aspiring preachers and ministry students on campus, often preaches in churches in the region. He developed three new courses for a preaching certificate offered through 91Ӱ��, and he created a preaching lab for Barclay students to work on their communication skills.

Jeff grew up in small-town Indiana, attending Quaker Haven Camp every summer before counseling and directing camps. He is a graduate of 91Ӱ�� and Huntington University. He wrote for Adult Friend and The Fruit of the Vine (Barclay Press, Newberg, Oregon) for many years. Jeff enjoys music and singing, although he can’t read music very well. He continues to serve as the moderator for local schools’ spelling bees.

Jeff has written one book, Light at the End of the Funnel (Amazon, 2017) recounting the experience of surviving an EF5 tornado that devastated his town in 2007. He and his wife live in Greensburg where they are near enough to play with their grandchildren on a regular basis. The Lord put it in his heart to help train the next wave of preachers and to encourage active ministers to “Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke, and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction” (2 Timothy 4:2).

As a young Friend, I didn’t aspire to lead.

Didn’t feel qualified.

But I often found myself in leadership roles.  Like Jesus did with Simon and Andrew, others saw something in me before God called me to be a pastor at 16. I wasn’t convinced, even after He tapped me.

Still wasn’t sure I wanted to lead.

He hounded me in my inadequacy and self-centeredness. He invited me again to become a pastor at 19.

Maybe that is God’s preferred way of raising up leaders for ministry: Call the ones who feel most inadequate.

What makes a man a minister, pastor, or teacher in the Church of Christ? How does he come to be one? We answer: “By the inward power and virtue of the Spirit of God which will not only call him but will in some measure purify and sanctify him.” Since the things of the spirit can only be truly known by the aid of the Spirit of God, it is by this same Spirit that a man is called and moved to minister to others. Thus, he is able to speak from a living experience of the things to which he is a witness. His words and ministry come from the inward power and virtue of the Spirit of God (Barclay’s Apology, pp. 178, 179).

I hope that through the Friends Preaching Initiative, you who are out there in the field preaching can hear God’s affirmation: “Yes, you’re right where I want you!” Many forces and factors militate against one’s call and the certainty of it, not the least of which are the spiritual forces of evil. Active preachers need affirmation now and then, although we do it for His pleasure, not for human recognition.

Jason Allen commented in Letters to My Students: On Preaching,

For the would-be preacher certainty in one’s calling is essential. In ministerial importance certainty of your call to preach is only surpassed by certainty of your saving relationship with Christ.  You should not—indeed, you must not—pursue a pulpit ministry without gaining certainty in your calling (p. 3).

I would add that once you have answered the call to proclaim Christ, rest in that as you carry out your pulpit ministry and pastoral duties. The certainty of your call becomes a hitching post, a safe haven, and a source of confidence when the way is difficult.

(Interesting Sidebar: When people hear that FPI is up and running, they instantly hope it addresses the shortage of pastors in the Friends Church. We will touch on that subject as we go along.)

For further study, read Matthew 4.18-22 and Matthew 9.9-13.

ABOUT

Jeff Blackburn has been proclaiming Christ for over 43 years. He served Friends congregations in Indiana and Kansas. His most recent pastoral assignment was with Greensburg Mennonite Church, Greensburg, Kansas, where he enjoyed nearly 30 years of ministry before being called to coordinate the Friends Preaching Initiative in 2024. He works with aspiring preachers and ministry students on campus, often preaches in churches in the region. He developed three new courses for a preaching certificate offered through 91Ӱ��, and he created a preaching lab for Barclay students to work on their communication skills.

Jeff grew up in small-town Indiana, attending Quaker Haven Camp every summer before counseling and directing camps. He is a graduate of 91Ӱ�� and Huntington University. He wrote for Adult Friend and The Fruit of the Vine (Barclay Press, Newberg, Oregon) for many years. Jeff enjoys music and singing, although he can’t read music very well. He continues to serve as the moderator for local schools’ spelling bees.

Jeff has written one book, Light at the End of the Funnel (Amazon, 2017) recounting the experience of surviving an EF5 tornado that devastated his town in 2007. He and his wife live in Greensburg where they are near enough to play with their grandchildren on a regular basis. The Lord put it in his heart to help train the next wave of preachers and to encourage active ministers to “Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke, and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction” (2 Timothy 4:2).

“If you love me, you will obey what I command. And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Counselor to be with you forever—the Spirit of truth…” (John 14.15-17a).

Programs. Principles. Techniques. Strategies.

It may be assumed that the Holy Spirit is driving our efforts.

I’m sometimes known for stating the obvious, so here goes: Compelling preaching and effective ministry depend on the powerful presence of the Holy Spirit.

The rapid spread of the gospel in the first century can only be attributed to the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Before any technology came into the mix, the church depended on the Spirit, or she wasn’t effective.

This is our starting point. We must be grounded in the Spirit, walking according to the Spirit, before we use technology to spread the gospel and proclaim Christ.

We begin with the Spirit and remain in the Spirit. Paul confronted the churches of Galatia who had started to rely on rule-keeping instead of the Spirit.

I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by observing the law or by believing what you heard? After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort? (Gal 3.2-3).

Principles and techniques hadn’t brought the Spirit to them. They believed the message about Jesus, put their trust in Him to save them, and they were redeemed.

Friends have long understood the necessity of relying on the Holy Spirit. Seth Hinshaw observed,

“Proceeding as the Holy Spirit led, they felt free to concentrate upon the process of seeking and finding the Divine Presence” (The Spoken Ministry Among Friends, 7).

They relied on the Spirit because they became utterly convinced that the Spirit is Jesus, present with, in, and among His disciples. They believed He was among them because He lived in them, just like Jesus promised (John 14:20).

No one limits the Spirit of God in such worship or brings forth his own laboriously assembled ideas. But everyone will state whatever the Lord has placed in his heart. And it will not be uttered from man’s own will or wisdom, but in the evidence and demonstration of the Spirit and of power (Dean Freiday, editor. Barclay’s Apology, 248).

Take time to wait before the Lord and invite His Spirit to meet you in a quiet place. Pitch your tent there and remain in His presence. It takes faith because you might not feel like the Lord is near. Write the time you have reserved to meet with the Spirit of Christ on your daily calendar if that would help. Think of it as an appointment you will keep. Avoid the temptation to cancel the appointment because you have too much to do. The busiest time or season needs this regular appointment even more.

For further study: Isaiah 40.28-31; John 14.15-27, 15.26; Romans 8.5-11

ABOUT

Jeff Blackburn has been proclaiming Christ for over 43 years. He served Friends congregations in Indiana and Kansas. His most recent pastoral assignment was with Greensburg Mennonite Church, Greensburg, Kansas, where he enjoyed nearly 30 years of ministry before being called to coordinate the Friends Preaching Initiative in 2024. He works with aspiring preachers and ministry students on campus, often preaches in churches in the region. He developed three new courses for a preaching certificate offered through 91Ӱ��, and he created a preaching lab for Barclay students to work on their communication skills.

Jeff grew up in small-town Indiana, attending Quaker Haven Camp every summer before counseling and directing camps. He is a graduate of 91Ӱ�� and Huntington University. He wrote for Adult Friend and The Fruit of the Vine (Barclay Press, Newberg, Oregon) for many years. Jeff enjoys music and singing, although he can’t read music very well. He continues to serve as the moderator for local schools’ spelling bees.

Jeff has written one book, Light at the End of the Funnel (Amazon, 2017) recounting the experience of surviving an EF5 tornado that devastated his town in 2007. He and his wife live in Greensburg where they are near enough to play with their grandchildren on a regular basis. The Lord put it in his heart to help train the next wave of preachers and to encourage active ministers to “Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke, and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction” (2 Timothy 4:2).

Who doesn’t want to be better preacher? We want to proclaim Christ in ways that compel others to believe in Him.

But few of us feel articulate, eloquent, or wise. Most of us feel the weakness, fear, and trembling the apostle felt. We compare ourselves with other preachers. Multiple experts offer their resources for sale to teach us the way we should preach Christ in our time, but there may be too many. Which style do I follow?

The Apostle Paul resolved to know nothing…except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. In fact, he approached the preaching task with fear and trembling. He didn’t feel particularly good with words. That’s hard to imagine of a man who seemed so confident and forceful in proclaiming Christ.

He kept his message focused on Jesus and the impact of the crucifixion. We find the key to his effectiveness here. He didn’t rely on the dramatic techniques of rhetoric in his day. He trusted the Spirit’s power to make the message effective in the hearts of his hearers. He wanted people’s responses to rest on God’s power, not his wisdom.

Friend Seth B. Hinshaw observed,

One aspect of the vocal ministry among first generation Quakers can hardly be overemphasized. Fox and his coworkers preached Christ in true apostolic New Testament fashion. In 1672 George Fox exhorted Friends in this manner: Meet together in the name of Jesus, whose Name is above every Name, and Gathering is above every Gathering…where Salvation is; He is your Prophet, your Shepherd, your Bishop, Your Priest in the midst of you, to open to you to sanctify you, and to feed you with Life, and to quicken you with life (The Spoken Ministry among Friends, pp. 11, 12).

As a young Friend, I didn’t aspire to lead. I didn’t feel qualified. I trembled at the thought of speaking in front of any group! But I often found myself in leadership roles. Others saw something in me before God called me to be a pastor at 16. I didn’t see it, even after He tapped me. Still wasn’t sure I wanted to lead! He hounded me, even in my self-centeredness. He reissued the call to become a pastor at 19. Maybe that is God’s preferred way of raising up leaders for ministry: Call the ones who feel most inadequate. Then He can make the most of the singular message: Jesus Christ and Him crucified. For it is Christ who saves, not the preacher.

Someone may protest that our culture is complex, and the needs of our hearers are multi-layered. “Is it practical to preach such a simple message? Will needs be met if we resolve to know nothing except Jesus Christ and Him crucified? Where do other messages and subjects fit into the greater scheme of holiness, discipleship, and service?”

“And what about being relevant?”

Perhaps it would help to think of it this way: All roads must lead to Christ our Savior. Paul Anderson put it like this:

“Apostolic Christianity has less to do with calendars or institutions, and more to do with encountering Jesus Christ personally and being sent by Him as a partner in His saving, healing, redeeming work. …He did not create a new set of Christian forms to replace Jewish ones. If Christ is enough, nothing else is needed. … If we add anything to Christ, we thereby diminish the all-sufficiency of His work” (Following Jesus, p. 7).

Our impact as followers of Jesus will stem from the central truth of relationship with the One who died and rose again. We live in that relationship as a testimony to the life-changing power of Jesus Christ. And we tell others about that relationship, so they, too, may enjoy life in Him.

Now the Holy Spirit never exalts Himself. He never lifts Himself up. He desires to magnify Christ. …the greatest desire of any consecrated committed Christian is to be able to lift up Christ. Oh, to lift Christ up to those about us. …oh God, what can I do to help some people to see what they are missing and what the consequences are going to be if they fail to let Christ have His way? … He has promised to help us testify for Jesus. …if we are faithful, the Holy Spirit will help us to witness when we may not even be conscious of it (Merle Roe. 50 Years a Friends Minister, p. 35).

ABOUT

Jeff Blackburn has been proclaiming Christ for over 43 years. He served Friends congregations in Indiana and Kansas. His most recent pastoral assignment was with Greensburg Mennonite Church, Greensburg, Kansas, where he enjoyed nearly 30 years of ministry before being called to coordinate the Friends Preaching Initiative in 2024. He works with aspiring preachers and ministry students on campus, often preaches in churches in the region. He developed three new courses for a preaching certificate offered through 91Ӱ��, and he created a preaching lab for Barclay students to work on their communication skills.

Jeff grew up in small-town Indiana, attending Quaker Haven Camp every summer before counseling and directing camps. He is a graduate of 91Ӱ�� and Huntington University. He wrote for Adult Friend and The Fruit of the Vine (Barclay Press, Newberg, Oregon) for many years. Jeff enjoys music and singing, although he can’t read music very well. He continues to serve as the moderator for local schools’ spelling bees.

Jeff has written one book, Light at the End of the Funnel (Amazon, 2017) recounting the experience of surviving an EF5 tornado that devastated his town in 2007. He and his wife live in Greensburg where they are near enough to play with their grandchildren on a regular basis. The Lord put it in his heart to help train the next wave of preachers and to encourage active ministers to “Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke, and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction” (2 Timothy 4:2).