God calls his those who will lead and preach ... It is important to remember that “God looks on the inside not the apperance.”

I disagree.  We are losing a generation of preachers, pastors, missionaries, evangelists, etc.  I am a pastor, and I will discourage my son from entering the ministry.  If God calls I will reluctantly accept it, but the way people treat ministers today, and the way they are grossly underpaid and underappreciated, certainly makes me hope God does not call him to preach.

First let me say preaching and pastoring are two different things. Both are hard work but
preaching is allowing the Holy Spirit to use your mouth and yes, we do need more good preaching.  Too many men are following one another instead of the Lord.  We come to church to hear about Jesus and the power He gives us to live our lives in peace, unity, hope, forgiveness, love, etc.  Many time we get a book report or regurgitated sermons from some other person off the internet.  The truly inspired man of God can’t be quiet about what the Lord is teaching Him through the word.  His enthusiasm to share it with his sheep is contagious.  It flows out.  Even the rocks will cry out if Jesus is not preached.  Many of the mega churches are entertaining and amusing their audience when all they need to do is lift up Jesus and His truths…there is where the power is to draw the crowds.  They can’t get that anywhere else.  Too much of what is being done is leftovers and few people enjoy leftovers.

Bernie said:

“No, working in a secular job is not in any way inferior to being a full-time Pastor. Apples and oranges… Every Christian is a full time minister, whether it’s their paid position or not… This division of secular/sacred or lay/professional Christian is a serious error.”

Well said.  As a friend of mine who left “ministry” (i.e., pastorate) to return to real ministry (i.e., secular job) told me:

“All work is holy.”

In addition, it is my belief that when one works in the real world, it makes them far better ministers because they better hone their faith while cutting their “ministry teeth” in learning how to truly relate to people.

The “ministry” tends to insulate those of us who have the privilege to be able to spend more time in prayer and study, although we’re supposed to be reaching people.

I cannot help but think that it may be the requirements—educational and personal—we’re putting on people to enter full time paid ministry.  Here is what I mean:

The current generation cannot stand elitism, since their hypocrisy-o-meter is tuned way to high to tolerate sitting under a fellow sinner who deems themselves “higher” than the pew warmers they pastor.  So long as false teach that pastors must supermen who live by a “higher standard” (that is, a second, more legalistic standard) we’ll keep having this problem.  There is no second higher standard, there is only one standard: “Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” Pastor are not held to a “higher” standard, but held to the *same* standard “more strictly” [James 3:1]—there’s a world of difference.  This second “higher standard” mentality has reserved the pastorate for members of the “I’ve Committed Fewer Big Sins Than You All” club.  Once we start letting real, broken men into ministry—men who are humbled by their sin, not resting on the laurels of perceived self righteousness—we’ll start to see some of the respect return to the ministry.

The other barrier is the staggering costs of getting into the ministry.  Once done with the costs of a bachelors degree, a man desiring ministry usually must look at seminary education and choose one of the few remaining that actually believes the Bible.  First, many seminaries screen applicants based on the erroneous “double standards” dispelled above.  Then, the applicant is faced with the cost of seminary.  The justification is usually, “Well, um, if you’re serious about serving God then cost and time shouldn’t be an issue.” Suddenly you’re looking at several years and $20,000 - $40,000 (in addition to B.A./B.S. costs) for a low pay, high stress position.  Interesting side note: The “buster generation” (born about 1966 to 1984) are eschewing seminary at much greater rates than their parents.  Here’s some great research: http://www.barna.org/FlexPage.aspx?Page=BarnaUpdate&BarnaUpdateID=158

Finally: The ministry requires that the man of God actually have a solid belief in right and wrong *and* be able to fearlessly articulate the that truth.  It’s really really hard to get the “What’s in if for me?” generation to get a master-level education to call their fellow sinner to die to self!

Aren’t there several different words in the New Testament that are translated “preaching” (including the very ordinary “laleo” - speaking), thereby showing the multifaceted nature of this idea of preaching?  Further, even in this high-tech generation, nobody, down the ages, has ever tired of hearing a good story!  Preaching, in its most competent form, has to be story-telling (from faith, for faith, no doubt).  If, as I seem to detect in this discussion from the beginning, we have been using “preacher” as the “catch-all” word to mean ordained minister, then we certainly have limited the idea of “minister”.  At any rate, I do believe that discussions like this will help to sharpen our focus on two apparent shifts, both of which mean something important: (1) young people ARE shifting away from the traditional forms of ministry (2) the traditional forms of ministry themselves, are shifting.  What we have to do is to examine whether, with these shifts, obedience to the Great Commission still remains, and that the laborers for it are not few.  Hey, Art, I would encourage my two sons, ANY DAY, to enter the ministry, despite what they have seen me endure from many who just don’t get what ministry is!

I have been considering this same subject for quite sometime and I believe we are on the brink of a revolution in the preaching of the Word. 
Just yesterday I watched the first services of Joel Osteen’s wonderful work in Huston.  Many call Joel the “smiling preacher”.  He is considered a preacher of the new day.  He is shallow but he is right on in style and content for those whom he reaches.
In reading your blogg I read a note from a brother who said we do not have any professors in the pulpits any longer.  He may be right but we have many who are considered great preachers such as David Jeremiah, Rivi Zacharias, and considering your denomination you can pick and choose as you please.  My point is there are young men listening and learning from these giants of the preaching gift and will some day be called the greats.
Remember, God is bigger than our thoughts and intentions.  He will always have the best proclaiming His Word and those who are obeident will always reap the harvest.
We need to keep looking to Jesus and less to ourselves.
Dave

God is good.  God does know what we need as a church, after all it is His church.  I will say also, that we are in a very sad state of affairs. When people look at preaching as a good business prospect as opposed to a calling.  As it relates to preaching, people today do not understand that the content of the message is of supreme importance.  The “cotton candy” preaching going on today makes it difficult for many to digest the word of God.  Many have doctrinal gingivitis.  I think we do a disservice to the community of faith when we buy into bigger is better-even at the expense of the content of the Gospel.  When we give praise to those who are doctrinally shallow, speak or rarely communicate about those who serve faithfully in smaller congregations.  Finally, another phenomenon that I find so distasteful, all of the talented congregating at one congregation.  I have seen this over and over again, especially in places where there are bible colleges and seminaries.  All or most of the professor congregate in a few select places.  I could go on, but I won’t.  I once heard Howard Hendricks say something very significant.  Someone was commenting on a student who took a charge in a hole in the wall type of ministry.  Evidently, the student must have been very sharp.  The student said, what a waste for a guy like him to go to a place like that.  Hendricks remarked, the best needs to go to the worst place.” I surmise- after all isn’t that what Jesus did.  We men who are committed to being faithful to God and preaching the truth, not “cotton candy” until we hear that in seminaries, bible colleges and teach it in our churches we can forget about revival.