Every believer is a ‘minister’, a priest, a preacher, a teacher. 2
I But, from within that priesthood of all believers, God raises
up men to carry out a stated ministry. 3 Even so, while I now
want to stress the need for a stated ministry, I do not want to
give the impression that I limit ‘preaching’ to formal pulpit
work. Indeed, I am most anxious that I should not say
anything that might serve to enforce the institutional view of
preaching – namely, by a clergyman standing in a pulpit,
lecturing a silent audience, often with a physical (and not
only physical) gap between the two. This concept owes
nothing to the New Testament, but everything to the
inventions of the Fathers 1800 years ago. |
