September 19, 2024
CLAYTON, Ga. — It’s obvious from the moment Pastor Joey Thompson walks into the pulpit at Clayton Baptist Church on Sunday mornings that he has a passion for preaching.
He delivers high-energy, gospel-focused sermons, the kind that keep members of his congregation on the edges of their seats as he declares their need to rely on the righteousness of Christ — not their own — to get to heaven.
“There’s an eternity that awaits all of us,” he declared Sunday morning. “It is impossible to be good enough. You can try all the rules. You can go to all the churches. You can try all the philosophies. You can try all of it, and you’re going to fall short every single time, because you simply cannot be good enough.”
The love of preaching and teaching puts Thompson in league with the majority of American pastors, according to the Barna Group, which asked 585 senior pastors about the favorite parts of their jobs.
“When asked what they liked about being a pastor, respondents overwhelmingly highlight preaching and teaching, with 60% saying this is their favorite part of the job,” Barna said in an article released on Wednesday.
The research was part of Barna’s Resilient Pastor initiative that digs into pastor’s feelings about various aspects ministry.
Thompson said preaching allows him to show people just how out of step the current culture is with the Word of God.
“If you really love the sheep, if you really love your people, you’re going to want to set the culture right, and that begins and ends with the Word,” he said.
Pastors told Barna’s researchers they also love practical pastoral care like visiting the sick and elderly, developing leaders, providing emotional and spiritual care to members of their flocks, evangelism, and organizing church events and new ministries. But all those areas were overshadowed by their love for preaching and teaching.
Steven Taylor, pastor at McConnell Baptist Church in Hiawassee, said what’s most rewarding for him about preaching and teaching is to see faces light up when they all of a sudden understand or grasp gospel truth.
“I love seeing people grow in their faith,” he said. “The thing that lights my fire is when you see the light come on, when they see that the Christian life is not about what you do on Sundays and Wednesdays, but it’s about cultivating a life with Christ on a daily basis. When people get that, it excites me.”
