Preachers Teachers and Speakers

Ephesians 4:11-12 NLT
Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. Their responsibility is to equip God's people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ. 

We go to church with varied expectations each week. The senior pastor is ready with a message for the day. And yet we expect this pastor to all of a sudden be a preacher, a teacher, or a Christian motivational speaker. We hear all three of those gifts from ministers on television but do not understand there is a difference. They are not all rolled up into one gift.

Here is my simple understanding of four types I see speaking from the church platform today.

A pastor is a servant caring for those in the church God has entrusted him with. He is constantly in prayer and in communion with God. He cares for all the needs of his church family be they physical or spiritual. He visits the members at home, in nursing or extended care facilities, and in the hospitals. He is ready 24x7 to take a phone call from someone in need of a shoulder to cry on, a prayer, or even a visit.

A preacher is ready in season and out of season. He is constantly in prayer and in God's Word receiving revelation knowledge from Holy Spirit. That is Holy Spirit preparation. He stands in front of the church and opens his mouth expecting Holy Spirit to fill it. And He does. What we hear is exactly what we need for that time and place because he is lined up with God.

A teacher is also prepared, but differently. He too is in constant prayer and communication with Father God. Holy Spirit gives him what is needed and he creates a PowerPoint presentation to present it to the church. He knows what he is going to deliver line by line before he steps up on the platform. It is Holy Spirit created, but delivered by the teacher.

A Christian motivational speaker comes with a prepared message; one he has probably given at a number of churches. It was created by blending a number of facts with knowledge gained from many others and pieced together to speak to any crowd. He has a relationship with God and allows Holy Spirit to help generate the message and is available to hear from Holy Spirit as he gives it.

In all types listed above, Holy Spirit may cause the presentation to drift into what He knows need to be said for the people being spoken to that day. That is His prerogative.

Can one person be all four? With God all things are possible, and Holy Spirit will give us the gift we need at the point He needs us to have it. Typically we are gifted in one area and open for Holy Spirit to use us however He chooses.

We should realize what our "pastor" is gifted in and praise God for it. We should not expect things from him outside of that gift but be happy when Holy Spirit allows it to happen.