QUESTION:
Bob, a few people in my church complain they aren’t being fed by my sermons. I am trying to preach the Bible as best I can without boring the seeker or losing the new believer. If someone says, ‘I’m just not being fed in this church’ how should I react? I admit it hurts my feelings because the indication is that I’m not deep enough or knowledgeable enough to feed my sheep. Did you ever hear that? How should I respond?
MY ANSWER
The accusation, “I’m not being fed” is a familiar complaint. Every preacher has heard it at one time or another. Sometimes it reflects a prideful spirit and is a subtle form of boasting. The attitude is, “Others may be satisfied with the Pablum being served up here, but I’ve grown beyond that and I need something deeper since I’m more spiritually mature than others.”
“I’m not being fed” is occasionally an indication of a spiritual drift in a person’s life. When people feel guilty about a moral failure or an unconfessed sin in their life they often blame the preacher for not inspiring them when in reality they are quenching the Holy Spirit in their life by consistent disobedience.
Sometimes the accusation, “I’m not being fed” reflects a misunderstanding of the progressive way people grow in the Christian life. New Christians grow primarily through Bible study. A baby Christian can’t get enough of the milk and the meat of the Word of God. It’s exciting!
Then, once we have a grasp of the basics of Scripture, we crave a deeper Bible study. Perhaps we go to a Beth Moore or a Henry Blackaby class where that hunger is satisfied. Later we may travel for miles to hear a specialist lead an intense study on the Holy Spirit or the Second Coming, and we’re thrilled with additional, fresh insights into profound truths.
Eventually, as we mature in the faith, there should come a time when we understand that most additional growth will come not primarily from more personal Bible study but from loving service to others. After a huge Thanksgiving meal what is really needed is exercise…not another big meal. When someone complained to L.D. Campbell that he wasn’t being fed by his sermons, L.D. quipped, “Well take off the bib and put on an apron!” There comes a time to quit eating and serve.
Lifelong Bible study, by itself, isn’t enough. More Bible knowledge should lead to loving service. Simon Peter wrote, “For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ” (2 Pet. 1:8).
In that regard, it’s amazing how much more meaningful a sermon becomes if you invite someone who doesn’t know the Lord to come to church with you. You listen with more attentive ears and prayerful support when an unbeliever you care about is sitting by your side. It’s my observation that most who complain, “I’m not being fed,” have a consumer mentality. They never bring anyone to church with them. Their focus is on feeding themselves not on sharing with others.
We must admit, though, that sometimes people say they aren’t being fed simply because they aren’t being fed. The Shepherd does have a responsibility to see that the sheep have enough to eat so they can, “…lie down in green pastures.”
The first responsibility of a pastor is to study so that his sermons are not just a surface Sunday School lesson. You have to be convinced that the best thing you can do for your people is to feed them the meat of God’s truth on Sunday morning. I would suggest the focus of your preaching should not be the first-time visitor but the average Christian who needs something a little meatier. Seekers will not be as quickly distracted as you imagine since they are, after all, seeking Biblical truth or they wouldn’t be there.
Meaningful content takes time to develop. That means that study time is a disciplined priority in your ministry. It means that you primarily preach expository sermons that cover the whole counsel of God. It means that you have confidence in the truth of God’s Word to “penetrate the thoughts and intent of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12). It means that the Sunday after Easter is as important as Easter Sunday in your preparation.
It would be good to ask your congregation to respect your study time and then develop a rigid schedule of when you prepare messages. Turn off the cell phone and don’t let emails or text messages distract you. Paul told his understudy, Timothy to, “Study to show yourself approved unto God, a workman that needs not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Tim. 2:15).
James Earl Massey informed his new congregation, “If you will give me time to be alone with my God and my Bible, I promise you that you will not go home hungry or embarrassed.”
-Bob
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