Third, spend time with them.
Pastors, we must spend time with our members.
As a seminary professor, I often hear students describe their calling as to be a “teaching pastor.” They explain that they don’t really want to visit hospitals, preach funerals or provide counseling. They just want to preach.
Personally, I don’t know how I could effectively preach consistently to people I don’t know.
Eat with them. Watch football with them. Have them in your home, and go to theirs (when invited, of course).
And listen. Listen. Listen.
My relationships with my church members affect my preaching as much as anything. For example, I recently preached a series through the Psalms because I had a number of church members talking (over the lunch table, at the golf course, etc.) about struggling in their spiritual lives—worship, prayer, devotion and such. I preached about dozens of Psalms that exemplified the heart cries of God’s people during spiritual highs as well as in dark and dry places.
I was surprised at the numerous thanks I received on a weekly basis.
Fourth (and this might be a surprise), observe social media.
While I suppose I should offer an obligatory word of caution about the dangers of all things Internet, I cannot overstate the value of pastors being on Facebook and Twitter.
Not only do I learn what movies my people are seeing, what music they are listening to and what places they are frequenting (all things which shape their worldviews), but since their keyboards give them a strange kind of boldness, I learn a lot about their struggles. I have learned of illnesses, bad marriages, depression and a host of other things that needed my attention—just from checking out my newsfeed.
This is a big piece of the puzzle that helps me to put together a picture of the people who sit under my preaching week to week.
Now, you might think that your Bible and the Holy Spirit are all you need to know what and how to preach. And I will agree that the Bible is your sourcebook, and the Holy Spirit is your wisdom and your guide. However, when the Lord calls us to preach His Word to His people, the least we can do is put the effort into understanding who these people of God truly are.
