Pastors, prayer and preaching : the intersection of prayer and the ministry of the word

2017·0.84 MB·English

by  Schwarzentraub, Jeffrey

PASTORS, PRAYER, AND PREACHING:
THE INTERSECTION OF PRAYER AND THE MINISTRY OF THE WORD

A THESIS-PROJECT
SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF
GORDON-CONWELL THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY

IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE
DOCTOR OF MINISTRY

BY
JEFFREY SCHWARZENTRAUB
MAY 2017
Copyright © 2017 by Jeffrey Schwarzentraub. All Rights Reserved.
CONTENTS

LIST OF TABLES vi
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS vii
ABSTRACT ix
CHAPTER
1. INTRODUCTION 1
Identification of the Problem 1
The Recognition of the Problem 4
The Reasons for the Problem 9
Importance of the Study 17
Ministry Setting 19
Project Thesis 20
2. THEOLOGICAL FOUNDATIONS 22
The Primacy of Prayer for a Pastor 23
The Primacy of Preaching for a Pastor 36
The Intersection of Prayer and the Ministry of the Word 46
Conclusion 64
3. LITERATURE REVIEW 67
Introduction 67
The Priority of Prayer and Peaching 68
The Centrality of the Word in Prayer 74
The Centrality of the Word in Preaching 82
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Some Challenges to the Primacy of Prayer and Preaching 84
Conclusion 86
4. PROJECT DESIGN 87
Introduction 87
Research Purpose 88
Methodology 88
Overview and Design 94
Data and Results 97
Conclusion 102
5. OUTCOMES 103
Major Findings 104
Possible Improvements 107
Personal Insights 108
New Directions for Our Church 109
Future Plans for My Ministry 112
Conclusion 114
Appendix
A – HIGH-IMPACT DELIVERY—THE PRIORITY OF PRAYER IN
COMMUNICATING GOD’S WORD 115
B – HIGH-IMPACT DELIVERY—THE PRIORITY OF PRAYER IN
COMMUNICATING GOD’S WORD 117
C – HIGH-IMPACT DELIVERY—THE PRIORITY OF PRAYER IN
COMMUNICATING GOD’S WORD 119
D – HIGH-IMPACT DELIVERY—THE PRIORITY OF PRAYER IN
iv
COMMUNICATING GOD’S WORD (UPDATED VERSION) 120
E – COMPLETE RESPONSES TO QUESTIONNAIRE 122
BIBLIOGRAPHY 125
VITA 133

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TABLES

Table 1: Responses to questions one and two of the questionnaire 98
Table 2: Responses to questions three through six of the questionnaire 100
Table 3: Responses to questions seven through ten of the questionnaire 101
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Kimberly, thank you for being my best friend and soul mate. My love for you continues
to grow on a daily basis as I watch you reflect the beauty and joy of Jesus Christ in all that you
do. Your consistent love and support of me was foundational for this project, and it would never
have been completed without you.
I also want to thank my children, Brooke, TJ, and Elle. I realize the sacrifices that you
made for in order for me to finish this project. You are the best kids a dad could ever dream of
having, and I love each of you more than you will ever know.
I am grateful for my parents, Dennis and Pat. Your belief in me from a young age has
inspired me to dream big dreams and pursue them. I attribute the accomplishment of this goal in
part to your support of me and my call to ministry.
Appreciation must also be given to Bob and Maryellen Gill. When a man falls in love and
marries his wife, he does not get to choose his in-laws. Had I been able to select mine, you would
have been my first-round draft picks. Thank you for allowing me to consistently set up my
writing station in your basement. Thank you also for providing meals and a place to sleep from
time to time that allowed me to continue writing without interruption.
I want to thank my good friend and mentor, Dr. Daniel Henderson. Your passion for
encouraging pastors to make prayer and the ministry of the Word primary has been paramount to
my ministry. Thank you for all the phone calls, breakfast meetings, and time spent seeking the
Father in prayer.
I also want to thank my church family at Harvest Bible Chapel. Our elders, staff, and
people are some of the greatest Christ-followers I have ever met. I am so grateful to pastor a
church with people who consistently encourage me to preach with boldness and seek the Lord in
prayer. It is an honor to be your pastor. You are loved!
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Thank you to all of my extended family within Harvest Bible Fellowship. I am so grateful
to be in partnership with pastors who share a commitment to the ministries of prayer and
preaching. Kent Shaw, your leadership and belief in me have been motivating throughout this
project. Thanks for being a mentor, friend, and a man of prayer and the Word.
Thank you to my professors, Dr. Jeffrey Arthurs and Dr. Randal Pelton. I have profited
from your love for God’s Word and passion for preaching. Your investment in me has
significantly contributed to my calling of studying God’s Word and delivering Christ-honoring
messages. I have appreciated your consistent encouragement coupled with your academic rigor,
which stimulated me to believe that I could not only finish this thesis-project but also further my
scope of ministry.
Thank you to my friend and colleague, Dr. Don McReavy. Your love for Jesus Christ, the
Scriptures, and your family is an encouragement to everyone you meet. I am grateful for your
suggestions that proved helpful time and time again and encouraged me to believe that I could
indeed finish this project.
Thanks must also be given to my editor, Linda Triemstra Cook. Working with you has
been a delight. Your competency and the quality of your work are matched only by your kindness
and encouragement. I am grateful for the opportunity I had of working with you.
Finally, I want to thank my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. As a result of this project I am
even more grateful for the gift of being able to seek you in prayer and for my calling to proclaim
your Word. May this project serve to advance the kingdom, through the church with the gospel.

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ABSTRACT
This thesis-project determines if pastors can grow in their devotion to prayer as it relates
to ministering the Word of God in local congregations. The literature concerning the importance
for prayer as well as the literature regarding effective preaching is vast. This study addresses the
intersection between of these two disciplines. A workshop was presented to a group of pastors
addressing the primacy of prayer and preaching to determine if pastors could grow in their
devotion to prayer as it relates to preaching. The results demonstrated that pastors can indeed
grow in their devotion to prayer as it relates to preaching. Pastors should consider the two
disciplines of prayer and preaching as primary for their ministries.

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CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION

Identification of the Problem
The apostles in the early church devoted themselves to prayer and the ministry of
the Word as Jesus Christ built and established his church (Acts 6:4). Therefore, the
notable preacher D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones rightly contends, “preaching is the primary task
of the Church and therefore of the minister of the Church, that everything is subsidiary to
this in daily practice.”1 Equally important, however, is a pastor’s desire to seek the Lord
in prayer. The nineteenth-century pastor and author E. M. Bounds stated, “The preacher
is commissioned to pray as well as to preach. His mission is incomplete if he does not do
both well. The preacher may speak with all the eloquence of men and of angels; but
unless he can pray with a faith which draws all heaven to his aid, his preaching will be
‘as sounding brass or a tinkling cymbal’ for permanent God-honouring, soul-saving
uses.”2
In the process of developing and delivering God-honoring messages the priority
of preaching sometimes eclipses the equal priority of focused prayer. While preaching the
word is imperative (2 Tim 4:2), Dr. Arturo G. Azurdia III, an associate professor of
pastoral theology at Western Seminary, writes that prayer needs to be given equal
prominence to preaching. “It is preaching that emerges through diligent exegesis, to be
sure. But more than that, it is preaching that is infused with a power, a vitality, that

1. D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Preaching and Preachers Grand Rapids, MI: (Zondervan, 2012), 26.

2. E. M. Bounds, Power Through Prayer (Chicago: Moody Publishers, 2009), 39.

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