418. Lay Leader Preaching
As you probably know, I will soon be going on two months of Sabbatical. You might be wondering who will preach during my absence. I asked our shepherds and spouses to volunteer. Three people did. So they will preach for three weeks, and Pastor Anthony will preach for the other five weeks.
Some may question whether lay leaders can preach because they are used to hearing pastors preach. Of course, it is ideal that pastors are the main communicators of God’s words as they are trained and equipped for such a job. But imagine, there is a remote church where there are only a few members, and it is difficult for them to attend other bigger churches because their church is the only church in the town. Then, one of the members, hopefully someone mature, should take on the role of sharing God’s word. And that is preaching. There is no biblical prohibition on lay people preaching, though qualification would need to be set.
Unlike the pastor’s sermons, lay-leaders’ sermons will be testimonials. Unlike pastors who receive seminary training on interpreting texts, lay leaders emphasize delivering the message burning in their hearts using the scriptures as support. However, what is superior in lay leaders’ messages is their relatability and authenticity. People can easily dismiss a pastor’s preaching because they tend to think pastors are not like them, struggling daily in the secular marketplace to maintain their faith. However, lay leaders can share how they applied their faith in such a world, and that will certainly be more relatable and powerful at times.
It is not easy to bring in guest speakers from Toronto, as other pastors preach at a similar time in their churches. Giving lay leaders the opportunity to preach would be a great way for us to equip them to communicate God’s Word according to their gifts. Please regard their messages as God’s Word, just as you do each week. And please give them a lot of encouragement after their preaching. It requires a lot of commitment to craft a message while working a full-time job.
