The Story of Jonathan Stockstill

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36 MinistryToday March // April 2015
is precious time not to be disturbed easily.
Churches, having once heard one, will
know that a well-read pastor is a gift of
God to the congregation.
Certainly the current “church world”
literature is important. There are great
ministry books being written every year.
Keeping abreast of current thought is
obviously important as long as it doesn’t
degenerate into a bondage to fads.
Dr. Dennis Kinlaw, the former president
of Asbury College, convinced me to read
at least one major book a year that has
nothing to do with the ministry. Twentyfirst-century
leaders will need to be lifelearners,
and life-learners are life-readers.
Ministry Today
A teacher whom I admired greatly
used to say, “The sermon is the preacher
up-to-date.” The risk for preachers today
is that sophisticated listeners can discern
if the expiration date has passed.
They want fresh bread. They want the
real deal. They want leaders who can
lead, manage and steward the church
affairs wisely. They want to hear today’s
sermon, not last year’s. They want
to hear it from an inspired, prepared
communicator. They want educated,
well-rounded ministers who can calmly
face all this century can hurl at them,
whether lions or mayors or whatever.
The 21 st -century listener is spoiled,
impatient and demanding when it comes
to communication. Shall we then give
up on preaching? God forbid. We must
simply learn to do it better. The business
people in our churches have seen great
leadership and know what it looks like.
Should we be intimidated, shrinking
from leadership? God forbid.
The best administrators, the best
leaders, the best thinkers and the
best communicators should be in the
church. Educating Christian ministers
to serve in the 21 st century, is among the
most challenging and important tasks
facing the church today. It may well be
what decides the future of Christianity
in the West.
D r . M a r k R u t l a n d is president of
Global Servants. A renowned communicator
and New York Times best-selling
author, he has over 30 years of experience
in organizational leadership, having served
as a senior pastor and a university president.
Through Global Servants, Rutland
has founded ministries in Ghana and Thailand.
A native of Texas, he was educated
at the University of Maryland, Candler
School of Theology at Emory University in
Atlanta, and holds a Ph.D. from California
Graduate School of Theology. Rutland has
authored 14 books.
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