Great churches¹“Church” = A group of disciples worshiping and growing in Christ together. don’t need great preachers to be great, but cults²“Cult” = Personality cult, false religion, a group centered around a human being, living or dead, rather than Jesus Christ risen from the dead. do.

Wait. What?

If by “great church” we mean a church that is leading unbelievers to become disciples of Jesus, baptizing them, teaching them what Jesus taught, leading them to serve each other and the needy, etc., then average attendance is not that important. A “great church” doesn’t have to be numerically large; it could be, but size isn’t the measure of its greatness.

Conversely, if by “great preacher” we mean someone with great stage presence and who is able to stir the emotions with his or her speaking style and speech-writing skills, well, we don’t need them to make a church “great” as defined above. If the pastor is faithfully teaching the scriptures, his oratory skill is not as important. God can use men who are very good preachers and men who are merely adequate preachers. It is God who builds a church numerically (see Acts 2:47 for example.)

However, for a personality cult to grow, a “great preacher” is an absolute necessity. There were and are many great communicators who’ve created huge movements. But without their personally, their movement fade unless they are replaced by another great public speaker.

There are plenty of churches that are very good, possibly great, that are lead by godly men who are merely passable preachers. There are and have been large churches that are thoroughly unhealthy but since their pastors are excellent public speakers, they grow and financially thrive.

I am not belittling preaching; preaching is vitally important and the Bible has some significant things to say about it. Preaching is the hallmark of the Protestant Reformation. What I’m trying to do is to not add to what the Bible says about the primacy of preaching and include “great public speaking ability.”

And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling,and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power,so that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God. (1 Corinthians 2:3–5)

Faithful preaching? Hail and amen! But “great preaching”? It isn’t as necessary as some people seem to think it is.

Find a faithful preacher who loves Jesus and knows the Bible, who is committed to making disciples, who loves the church the way Jesus does, who walks in holiness. If he is a great preacher, you are blessed. If he is adequate, try to stay awake during his sermons and be blessed by what you are able to find thre.

Not every church has have to have a Spurgeon, a Piper, a MacArthur, a Martin Lloyd-Jones, a John Calvin, or a Jonathan Edwards. These men are rare gifts to the Church. Learn from them, emulate them as they emulate Christ. Don’t just listen to their speaking, heed their message. By all means, don’t measure your pastor or other pastors by them. Ordinary preachers greatly outnumber them and God has been faithfully building his church through ordinary and extraordinary preachers.