Your preacher is not done growing. The same can be said for every preacher in town. Concerning the public reading and preaching of Scripture, Paul even says to Timothy “Practice these things, immerse yourself in them, so that all may see your progress” (1Tim 4:15). That word, “progress,” is key.
That’s why we host a preaching workship every year in partnership with The Charles Simeon Trust. From January 29–31, we were joined by 63 area preachers from 40 churches, including 30 lead pastors. Many names you would recognize including a friend of mine, Jim Wetterlund from Suber Road Baptist Church.
I’ve asked Jim to share about himself, his church, and the workshop we just hosted.
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1. Jim, thanks for joining us at the workshop this year. You’re preaching and pastoring at Suber Road Baptist Church around the corner from us in Greer. Tell us the story of how the Lord brought you into your preaching role.
I began at Suber Road as the youth pastor in 2008. I served in that role for about 6 years before our church went through a pastoral transition. Our senior pastor at the time pursued a burden to see the gospel preached in New England where he had grown up. He became the pastor of a small church in Connecticut. In the spring of 2015 I became the lead pastor at Suber Road and both the church family and I have grown in our love for God’s Word over the last 10 years. They are a joy to preach to and have been patient, responsive, and gracious as I have grown as a preacher.
2. This was your tenth workshop. Why have you made these workshops a part of your calendar as a busy pastor?
The Simeon Trust workshops are uniquely helpful in enabling a pastor to continue to sharpen his skills in handling God’s Word. I am challenged at every workshop to keep making progress both in how I study a text and in how I prepare to preach the text. I have attended many conferences and classes, read many books and discussed preaching with friends. By far the workshops have provided me with the most useful feedback on my work in a text as well as offered me applicable steps for further growth.
3. We’re all making progress in our preaching, a little bit at a time, by God’s grace. How are you making progress these days and how did the workshop help you?
This workshop encouraged me in my convictions again that the Word of God does the work of God in building up the people of God. The more diligently I work at understanding the Scripture the more confident I can be when I enter the pulpit to preach. I am continually reminded that the clearer I am about the text in my own heart and mind, the clearer and more passionate I will be in proclaiming it.
This year the focus of our workshop was on the Gospel of John. I am preparing to preach through that book to our congregation in the next few months. Therefore the time spent working through John’s gospel with other like minded brothers was invaluable. I am grateful for the good discussions that we had around the passages that we each prepared for our small group.
4. You spent six hours in a small group of men working on texts together. Tell us about the makeup of your group. Then tell us about one particularly “aha” moment you had together.
My group was made up of men who preach on a more occasional basis. Most were assistant pastors desiring to grow in their weekly teaching ministry. I was so encouraged by their humility and zeal for applying the tools for study that we were given.
In the texts that were selected I began to see the repeated focus on how those with whom Jesus interacted had a partially correct view of Him, yet they did not fully understand who he was as the Son of God. For instance, the Samaritan woman says that she perceives that Jesus is a prophet. That’s close, but not all that Jesus is. He doesn’t just speak truth that leads to the Father as a mere prophet does. Belief in Christ himself brings a sinner into an ever deepening relationship with God himself. Later in the gospel he clarifies to Martha at the tomb of Lazarus that he is life itself. Because he is the Son of God he is the resurrection and the Life. This kind of clarification happens over and over throughout the gospel. He is far more than what we initially believe. As God’s people our faith needs to continue to grow as we see Him more and more clearly in his word.
I was also greatly helped in understanding the ongoing emphasis that belief in Jesus Christ leads to life. Every passage highlighted some aspect of our belief, our understanding of who Jesus is or how a relationship with Him leads to eternal life.
5. How can we pray for you and your church?
God has very graciously given us a strong sense of unity around the gospel and His Word. Please pray 1) that our worship of our Triune God would be both vibrant and passionate; 2) that we would continue to grow in our commitment to build one another up as we speak the word to each other and 3) that we would be a church family that faithfully shares the gospel as he provides the opportunities each week.
