God doesn’t want pastors who will bring out every gimmick to get people in the door. God doesn’t want pastors who will hold back, manipulate, or splice His Word, no matter how noble the intentions seem. God wants men who will proclaim the cross, who will proclaim that you are lost, who will proclaim that you are at God’s mercy, who will proclaim that you never chose to follow God, who will proclaim that what was foolish to the world is the power of God, who will preach Jesus Christ and Him crucified for the forgiveness of sins as the focus of every sermon.

I want to be a megachurch pastor. I want to be the guy who comes up with the big vision. I want people to be inspired by me. I want to be the guy who brings people to church in droves. I want to be the guy who doesn’t offend anyone. I want to be fiercely independent. I want to be a game changer. I want to be able to live off the sales of my books instead of church tithes. I want people to take pictures with me like a celebrity. I want people to see my face in projectors across the world at the same time. I want to shoot hoops with reporters so I can also look like a regular guy. I want to be edgy. I want to push the boundaries of doctrine. I want people to see themselves in the text. I want to come up with something new and creative that Christians have never seen before. I want to get the rockin’ praise band and maybe hop in and play with them from time to time because I can (and it would look so cool). I just wanna praise Father-God. I want to use the translation that fits what I want to say. I don’t want to have to explain context. I want to tell people that God is going to give them everything they want this year. I want to tell people that God has chosen our nation and we need to follow God again. I want to be worth millions of dollars. I want to spend my time being creative. I don’t want to spend my time calling people to find out where they have been. I don’t want to visit run-down care facilities that smell like old urine. I want the megachurch to be filled with millennials. I want to be a household name. I want to be a megachurch pastor.

So why don’t I try to become a megachurch pastor? I don’t try because the Holy Spirit knows better. Instead of my vision we have the Word. I don’t inspire, that’s the Holy Spirit’s work. The church is increased by the Holy Spirit, not me. If people are offended by hearing the Word, it’s because they, like me, are sinners. In the church, independence is an aberration. Instead of trying to increase the size of the church by speaking the language of the world, scripture has its own unique language of the cross. The cross proclaims strength while weak (2 Cor. 12:10). The cross proclaims that totally depraved human beings, all human beings, cannot choose Jesus, cannot come to Jesus, cannot find Jesus (John 15:16; 1 Cor. 1:18-31). The cross declares that every word of scripture is a testimony to Jesus (John 5:39). The cross preaches that the poor in spirit are blessed. The cross offends (1 Cor. 1:23).

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