I’m going to go out on a limb here (since I am a seminarian) and write about a topic that I think is sadly ignored by many: the local church’s role in preparing men to preach. Before I do so, let me assure you that it’s not because I have a personal vendetta or am inflamed by some pent up bitterness. Quite the opposite really! In God’s providence I’ve had what I would regard as one of the best “seminary experiences” of anyone I know, and I’m thankful for that. But from my point of view there seems to be in many churches a failure to appropriately shepherd seminarians. To a degree I can understand that. If we think of the pastorate as a full grown man, seminarians are in the awkward phase of “pastoral puberty.” Training for the ministry, but not ordained to the ministry; always thinking about the ministry, but not yet officially ministering; learning, growing, and changing at such a fast rate we sometimes can’t keep up with ourselves! As a result they can be sidelined in a hundred different ways in the very years that are most formative to their future calling. All the sheep in the flock need to be shepherded according to their various needs and situations, and so too seminarians need some particular attention. And one of those areas, peculiar to seminarians, is the need to be shepherded in preaching. I’m thankful to be in a local church and a denomination that affords me this type of shepherding, and I’m even more grateful for the dozen men who have come alongside me at various times to mentor me—some giving invaluable help, others good things to think about, and, truthfully, some things that weren’t helpful at all. So, from a seminarian’s perspective, what’s the most helpful thing the local church can do to help?

The first three steps are the most important:

1. Pray for your seminarians.
2. Pray for your seminarians.
3. Pray for your seminarians.

Now that we have that covered here’s ten helpful suggestions:

1. Be an example. It’s been said that good preaching is caught, not taught. For better or worse humans are creatures of imitation. The best thing a pastor can do to train a man to preach, is to preach well himself.
2. Give seminarians the chance to preach. They’ve not given up all earthly callings and pursuits, they’re not subjecting themselves to the torments of Greek and Hebrew, or struggling with biblical and systematic theology to teach Sunday school lessons (as valuable as those opportunities are!), but to learn how to preach God’s Word.
3. Don’t expect them to preach like you. The church is a place of diversity and this is true of preaching as well. There are as many different styles and methods of preaching as there are preachers in the world—Paul was not like James who was not like Jude. Good preaching consists of the text flowing through the personality of the one who speaks.
4. Review their sermons with them. I admit, every seminarian thinks they’re the next Spurgeon or Lloyd-Jones (if only God was willing!). They’re not, and so they need help. Help them discern (don’t just tell them) by balanced critiques, what worked or didn’t work; what was effective, and what wasn’t; what is essential to preaching, and what is secondary, etc. This isn’t a time to “bring them down a notch” but a time to let iron sharpen iron.
5. Be honest, even if it means brutally honest. Pulpit ministry needs to be guarded by the church as fiercely as we guard our own lives. If a man doesn’t belong on the pulpit, tell him sooner rather than later. It’s better to offend a man, than offend the God who calls.
6. Remember your words. They have great power to build up in the calling, or to tear down. For many, seminary is a time of great internal struggle and you can make or break that. Paul wasn’t kidding when he said our words need to offer grace to those that hear.
7. Disciple them against a fear of man. There’s the subtle temptation to preach in order to please: to please seminary professors, to please presbyteries, or to please congregants. At some point every seminarian needs to learn to preach only to please God. This is, in many ways, the only criterion of good preaching and the mark of a truly successful ministry.
8. Guard them from the unwarranted criticisms of congregants. If every pastor has their own idea of what makes for good preaching, it’s also true many congregants thinks they’re homiletical experts. While a few wise saints in the congregation can be of great help (they often see things pastors and elders miss), it shouldn’t be a “free-for-all” on the seminarian.
9. Note progress when you see it. Paul commanded Timothy that he should conduct himself in such a way that everyone would see his progress (1 Timothy 4:15). This is true of pastors, and it’s true of seminarians. One of the best experiences and relationships I ever had was with a ruling elder who sat down with me and reviewed a summer’s worth of sermons. He assured me he was doing it, not because I was a seminarian, but because that’s what good elders do in helping a pastor/seminarian progress in the work of the ministry.
10. Love your seminary students. I once had it explained to me that seminarians are “missionaries for future generations.” These are the men, who by the power of the Spirit, will be announcing the gospel to your children, and your children’s children. Those who, in integrity, are undertaking the ministry of the Word are not doing so for fame, fortune, or fun. They’re doing it because the Lamb is worthy to receive the reward of his suffering.