We Need Preachers

Mega-Churches thrive. What is it about going to church in a stadium that gets people so motivated to attend? I think the answer is that they like to hear a good sermon. They like the preacher. (The fact that they don't have a lot of responsibilities is probably a nice bonus in a busy world.)

In the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we don't make much use of professional preachers. We have conference twice each year where we hear from our full-time church leaders. The rest of the time we are led and taught by amateurs. As my inclusion of the previous link will attest, I don't think amateurism is a bad thing necessarily. But some people have struggled with the three-hour block of church presented by people who aren't great orators. Even those who, perhaps like me, don't struggle with boredom at church have noticed the problem.

Clark Goble, in a comment at Millennial Star said, "I do think that the biggest issue the Church faces right now are lessons and even its Sacrament service. I'm not sure it is recognized as such. But I think a lack of interest by most members makes church more of a chore than it should be. Of course I honestly can't think of a whole lot that can be done significantly to improve the issue given the structural requirements we face."

Perhaps one of the most influential Conference talks I can remember for me personally was Elder Jeffrey R. Holland's talk, A Teacher Come From God. In that talk, he says, "Now, at a time when our prophet is calling for more faith through hearing the word of God, we must revitalize and reenthrone superior teaching in the Church—at home, from the pulpit, in our administrative meetings, and surely in the classroom. Inspired teaching must never become a lost art in the Church, and we must make certain our quest for it does not become a lost tradition."

I have one college roommate who believed that we ought to have a calling in the church of "Sacrament Meeting Speaker." This would be someone in the ward (if such could be found in every ward) that was an engaging speaker that would be called to speak regularly in sacrament meeting. In each sacrament meeting we would hear a talk from one of these expert speakers. They would be called for their existing ability for speaking, not as a tool to nuture them in their growth in the church.

I think a proposal like this has merits. While we surely need opportunities for everyone to learn and stretch in teaching callings in the church, we need to be sure that no three hour block goes by without at least 20 minutes of high quality instruction.