Stringfellow
When we left Catholicism, the pastor of the Bible church we attended was Bob Stringfellow. I only sat under his ministry for two years before I headed off to college, but without trying to do so, he left an imprint on my soul about what a preacher should be.
The only preaching I really knew – that of our Catholic priests (and I use the term preaching ‘loosely’ there) – was sterile and generic, without conviction or passion. I didn’t get the idea that they took seriously anything they were saying.
But when Pastor Bob preached (or taught – his method was an exciting combination of both), he spoke with conviction. I knew he believed what he was preaching and that made it believable, and its believability made me feel that it was important for me to believe it too. He always made me hungry for more.
Pastor Bob’s preaching was clear. There were no pat phrases and few technical terms. He spoke so everyone could understand what he meant. His illustrations were usually stories from his own life (e.g. experiences hunting and fishing) and colorful examples of what God’s Word meant in his own life.
When I entered a preaching contest through our church’s youth ministry, I sought out Pastor Bob to help me mold my sermon. He briefly reviewed my notes, then said, “This looks fine. But I can’t tell you what or how to preach. Stick with the Word of God (for him that was always one word – Wordagod) and preach what He lays on your heart to the people in the room. He’ll do the rest of the work.”
That was it.
I was disappointed. It didn’t seem that he wanted to help me win the preaching contest. Because he didn’t. Pastor Bob respected the Word of God too much to treat any opportunity to preach as a mere contest or game or show. It wasn’t even practice. It was the real thing – the ministry of preaching the Word, and I should expect God to work through it.
That perspective fired me with enthusiasm.
I don’t think I ever consciously tried to mimic Pastor Bob’s style. There wasn’t really much of a style to mimic. He was just a normal man talking to people from his heart about God’s Word. There was no need for more than that.
My freshman year in college, when I joined a group that visited geriatric centers, no one ever wanted to give the Bible message, so I volunteered. I didn’t say anything fancy. I just opened God’s Word and talked to them. I didn’t speak a “sermon”. I talked to them.
And that’s what I’ve been doing my whole life. That’s how I see preaching.
When I look back at those that influenced me, Pastor Bob Stringfellow’s approach to a walk with the Lord and to preaching was a powerful example to me that I now realize has invisibly directed my steps.
I don’t think Pastor Bob was trying to impact me. He was just being the man God called him to be – and then God did the work.
The only preaching I really knew – that of our Catholic priests (and I use the term preaching ‘loosely’ there) – was sterile and generic, without conviction or passion. I didn’t get the idea that they took seriously anything they were saying.
But when Pastor Bob preached (or taught – his method was an exciting combination of both), he spoke with conviction. I knew he believed what he was preaching and that made it believable, and its believability made me feel that it was important for me to believe it too. He always made me hungry for more.
Pastor Bob’s preaching was clear. There were no pat phrases and few technical terms. He spoke so everyone could understand what he meant. His illustrations were usually stories from his own life (e.g. experiences hunting and fishing) and colorful examples of what God’s Word meant in his own life.
When I entered a preaching contest through our church’s youth ministry, I sought out Pastor Bob to help me mold my sermon. He briefly reviewed my notes, then said, “This looks fine. But I can’t tell you what or how to preach. Stick with the Word of God (for him that was always one word – Wordagod) and preach what He lays on your heart to the people in the room. He’ll do the rest of the work.”
That was it.
I was disappointed. It didn’t seem that he wanted to help me win the preaching contest. Because he didn’t. Pastor Bob respected the Word of God too much to treat any opportunity to preach as a mere contest or game or show. It wasn’t even practice. It was the real thing – the ministry of preaching the Word, and I should expect God to work through it.
That perspective fired me with enthusiasm.
I don’t think I ever consciously tried to mimic Pastor Bob’s style. There wasn’t really much of a style to mimic. He was just a normal man talking to people from his heart about God’s Word. There was no need for more than that.
My freshman year in college, when I joined a group that visited geriatric centers, no one ever wanted to give the Bible message, so I volunteered. I didn’t say anything fancy. I just opened God’s Word and talked to them. I didn’t speak a “sermon”. I talked to them.
And that’s what I’ve been doing my whole life. That’s how I see preaching.
When I look back at those that influenced me, Pastor Bob Stringfellow’s approach to a walk with the Lord and to preaching was a powerful example to me that I now realize has invisibly directed my steps.
I don’t think Pastor Bob was trying to impact me. He was just being the man God called him to be – and then God did the work.