At last month's Gospel Coalition conference, Tim Keller said the following:“When I was in my 20’s I would read McCheyne’s Bible reading calender, and I would get some great ideas – and I would preach on it. And I do it now. And I hate to tell you: I’m a lot better preacher than I was. And I really don’t think its a matter of exegesis skills. Its the fact that you don’t see all kinds of things in the text because you haven’t suffered.
You haven’t had much experience of life. You haven’t had any major failures, where you’ve realized your a lot more sinful than you ever believed. You haven’t had major sicknesses. You haven’t suffered. You haven’t been broken.
And you know, the very same exegesis skills – bible reading – that you do in your 50’s gives you all kinds of insights… And then you preach, and you’re way better than you were 30 years ago. The real difference, I don’t think is usually exegesis or theology…its the fact that you’ve been in life, you’ve spent time with people, you’ve watched people die.”
I found this quote to be greatly encouraging. I am often thanked for my sermons and it encourages me to hear God's people genuinely share how He has blessed them through the ministry of His Word. But my preaching is not nearly what I'd like it to be.
If God wills, I look forward to decades of life experience, failures, sicknesses, suffering, brokenness, and even death with the members of Joy Community Fellowship. If they'll have me, I don't plan to be going anywhere for a long while.
And I am eager to see how 30 years of living life together will affect my pulpit ministry, and every other aspect of my ministry. I am hopeful that, by God's grace, the best is yet to come.
I look forward to the same thing! It gives me great joy that my Pastor thinks along these lines. I pray that I will see this happen, as well. I am also encouraged that my Pastor is almost as in need of Grace as I am!
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