Preaching Is the Gift. Discipleship Is the Goal

October 8, 2026

Every so often a guest says something that rearranges the furniture in my head. Nate Ross did that this week.

Nate spent twenty years in local church ministry before launching Moments to Movements, a leadership development work built on a simple conviction: every leader is stuck or stalled somewhere. Doesn’t matter the size of the church. There is always something you’re wrestling with that you don’t yet know how to name.

Here’s the line that got me. Nate said we are producing a generation of preachers who are good in the pulpit but don’t know how to pastor people. Preaching is a gift, he said, but making disciples is the goal—and gifts exist to serve the goal.

That distinction matters more than we admit. Nate walked me through four areas where leaders need development. Personal performance—the preaching itself—is one of them. But there is also learning agility, relationships, and character. Four, not one.

And here’s the problem I’ve watched play out in churches and, if I’m honest, in higher education too: when someone is exceptional at number one, we give them a pass on the other three. The preaching is strong, attendance is up, the budget is healthy—so nobody asks whether he’s read a book in five years, or whether he can sit in a hospital room, or whether there are cracks in his character that Sunday morning is papering over. Excellence in the visible thing buys silence about the invisible things. That’s not stewardship. That’s a time bomb.

Nate rooted the alternative in something beautiful. He pointed out that Jesus asked 307 questions in the Gospels, and quoted Proverbs 20:5—the purposes of a person’s heart are deep waters, but a person of understanding draws them out. Some of Jesus’ questions sound almost silly on the surface. *Do you want to get well?* The man is obviously lame. But Jesus wasn’t gathering information. He was drawing out deep water.

That’s pastoring. And a preacher who has never learned to do it can still fill a room.

Nate also named the loneliness honestly: we prepare alone, we preach alone, and we recover alone. Then he pointed to John 16, where Jesus tells the disciples they will scatter and leave Him alone—yet He is not alone, because the Father is with Him. Jesus could sit in the loneliness of His calling without needing to escape it. Most of us can’t. So we rush to the next campaign, the next series, the next whiteboard vision.

Sit in the moment instead. Ask the question. Draw out the deep water.

The people in front of you don’t need a better performance. They need a better pastor.

Preaching Contextually: Navigating Your Cultural Divide

March 16, 2026

Before he preaches, every preacher needs to ask: am I a generational native, or a generational immigrant? Each of us is naturally designed to preach to our own generational cohort. If you are a Gen X’er like me, you speak the language, you get the references. You are a native. But every other cohort? You might as well be a missionary in another country.

This five-part series of blog posts will explore five principles you can bring to your preaching that will more effectively help you communicate as a generational immigrant.

Preachers today face a cultural divide when communicating the timeless truths of the gospel to generations that are not their own. The first principle for effective preaching to a different generational cohort is to understand and embrace cultural differences by contextualizing sermons specifically for them.

Why Contextualization Matters

Contextualization bridges the gap between the biblical message and the lived experience of a particular culture or cohort. Scripture offers examples of this approach: both Peter and Paul adapted their messages to the cultural contexts of Jews and Gentiles.

Just as missionaries can communicate more effectively by immersing themselves in the culture to which they are called, preachers must study and understand the culture of different generational cohorts to connect meaningfully.

Understanding Context

Each generation is shaped by the experiences of their lifetime. Older generations may value stability, tradition, and loyalty. In contrast, younger generations often display skepticism toward institutions and authority figures, having been influenced by political controversies and religious scandals.

These realities shape their perceptions and their receptiveness (and resistance) to faith. Books like Generational IQ by Haydn Shaw and Engaging Generation Z by Tim McKnight can help.

Moving Beyond Assumptions

Preachers cannot assume their listeners share the same cultural reference points or spiritual background they do. The church no longer has a home-field advantage.

Today, preaching is an “away game,” requiring intentional effort to cross cultural and generational boundaries.

Practical Steps for Contextualizing

Here are four ways preachers can start to contextualize their preaching:

Learn listeners’ language and culture: Engage with their media, values, and experiences to understand what matters to them.
Be present: Spend time with people who are different than you—both in person and digitally—to build relationships and understanding.
Incorporate relevant illustrations: Your reference to that John Wayne movie might not connect. Use stories and examples that resonate with listeners’ context.
Address real-life challenges: Speak to the issues your listeners face, such as anxiety, financial pressure, delayed adulthood, or caring for aging parents.

By practicing contextualization, preachers can become cultural translators who make the gospel accessible, relevant, and transformative for everyone.

Standing in the Middle

March 9, 2026

“And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others.” (2 Timothy 2:2)

My Biological Ancestry

My family’s American experience began ten generations ago when my seventh great-grandfather, Johann Jacob Weller, arrived in America in 1737. Four generations later, my third-great grandfather—Johann’s great-great grandson—moved to northeast Indiana. That’s where he and four successive generations of Wellers rest at Cedar Chapel Cemetery. It’s where they’ll lay my bones one day to await Christ’s return.

My Spiritual Ancestry

As fascinated as I am with my family’s genealogy, I am more intrigued with my spiritual family tree. I wish there was a good website for tracing the ancestry of my spiritual fathers and mothers.

I learned about Jesus from my dad, Larry Weller. My childhood preacher, a man named Jim Platner, led my father to faith in Christ. Jim tells me he became a Christian through the influence of, among others, a preacher named Hank McAdams.

That’s as far back as I can trace my spiritual heritage.

If Brother McAdams were still living, I’d be fascinated to find out who told him about Jesus. And who told that person. And the one before.

In eternity I think I’ll have all the time in the world to meet every person in that long line reaching all the way back to Jesus. Jesus discipled Peter, who told Clement about Jesus, who told Ignatius, who told Polycarp, who told Irenaeus, who told someone, who told someone else, all the way down the line to Hank McAdams, Jim Platner, Larry Weller, and eventually me.

Christians Stand in the Middle

That’s because all those folks lived according to 2 Timothy 2:2—“And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others.”

If you’re a follower of Jesus, you’re called to stand in the middle between the generation who led you to Christ and people who have not yet become followers of Jesus.

Preachers Stand in the Middle, Too

In 2020 I began meeting with a group of younger preachers for coaching and encouragement. These guys ranged from their late twenties to early thirties, and each were first-time preachers.

By that time, I had been preaching nearly every Sunday for twenty-three years, so I had a lot to say. I’ll leave it to them to decide whether I had much to offer.

We talked about preaching. We explored leading in the context of a complicated time in our nation’s history (remember, it was at the start of the pandemic). Our topics ranged from the mundane—like how to prepare a sermon—to deeply personal subjects like how being in ministry impacted our wives and children.

As I move into my fifties, investing in the next generation of servant leaders feels more important to me than ever.

There was a slogan on the wall of the chapel at the college I attended: “God give us preachers.” This rallying cry is as relevant and needed today as it was forty years ago when I first read it.

It is a prayer, but it is also a reminder that I am the answer to that prayer, because I stand in the middle between the preachers who taught me and the ones who will pick up the mantle of proclaiming God’s Word to a new generation.

Evangelism is the responsibility of every Christian. But it’s important that preachers understand their responsibility to stand in the middle pulpit.

The Power of Passing it On

October 1, 2026

One of the verses I’ve preached on repeatedly is 2 Timothy 2:2: “And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others.” The beauty of this verse isn’t just in what it asks us to do, it’s in the posture it demands. We must stand in the middle.

Dave Stone’s journey at Southeast Christian Church perfectly illustrates this principle. For seventeen years, he served as Bob Russell’s associate, learning the craft of preaching, the discipline of pastoral care, the practice of leadership, and the art of sharing the pulpit. Then, for thirteen years, he led as Senior Pastor, embodying everything Bob taught him while adding his own voice and gifts. Now, he’s watching Kyle Idleman live out that same role — a lineage of faithful, long-tenured leadership spanning decades.

What struck me most in our conversation was Dave’s honesty about what he learned from Bob versus what he’s learned from Kyle. “I’ve learned more from Kyle than I ever passed on to him,” Dave admitted. This is the humility that characterizes genuine mentorship. We don’t hand down our way as the final word; we create space for the next generation to stretch us, challenge us, and sometimes do it better.

Bob made space for Dave by doing something unheard of in large churches: he shared the spotlight. He gave Dave tough sermon topics, not easy ones. He let Dave preach Easter. He threw him in the deep end because he believed Dave could handle it. And Dave, in turn, did the same for Kyle. But here’s what moved me most: when I asked Dave what he’d tell his younger self, he didn’t talk about avoiding hard things or playing it safe. He talked about relying on the Holy Spirit rather than the flesh. He acknowledged that he’d been betrayed, that problems would come, but that these experiences drove him — as it should all of us — deeper into dependence on God’s Spirit, not away from ministry.

This is what standing in the middle actually means. It’s not just transferring information from one generation to the next. It’s creating a culture where we expect growth, demand honesty, embrace humility, and ultimately point people toward the Holy Spirit’s power rather than our own competence. At Great Lakes Christian College, we’re trying to build this kind of generational faithfulness. Our students stand in the middle too, between the faith their parents gave them and the faith they’ll pass on to their children. And our job is to help them learn that authentic ministry doesn’t come from mastering technique alone. It comes from learning to stand still and let the Spirit work.

That’s worth passing on.

Fresh preaching insights await.