Feed My Sheep, NOT Milk My Cows

I have recently been reading books in preparation for my final paper for my leadership class (I figured I'd benefit more from writing a paper than taking a final). The paper is quite open-ended, and the only restraint upon the paper is that it has to do with leadership in the church. Seeing as I am going to be a pastor in the future, and because I have a great heart for preaching, I've decided to write about preaching vision. What preaching vision means is preaching to the people God-exalting, Trinitarian modeled, Cross-focused messages that draw them to see what can be--that is, a life focused upon Christ that reflects Him. It draws them from the here and now to the future, and what can and will be.

I have been reading some good books and some pretty awful books during this time. Some are helpful and they lift up preaching and the Scriptures and give the results to God. Other are marketing books that, like Charles Finney's methodology, promise quantitative results, but deliver no more Spiritual goods than Newsweek. There is quite a gap between styles: some concentrate on taking God's people out to pasture, faithfully feeding His lambs on the promises and knowledge of God in Christ. The other side, however, takes God's people into the barn and proceeds to milk His cows. Rather than being concerned for the well-being of the sheep, their methods are gaged at building empires and turning a profit. Some of what these people say is helpful, but most of it is a professional model that will lead only to death.

Why did I write this blog? To be honest, I don't know. I think I just needed to put some thoughts in writing.