TPC Pillars : Convictional Belief

This begins a six-part series on our six Preaching Co. Pillars. 

We live in an old brick farmhouse originally built in 1858. Between the sitting room and the kitchen stands a brick pillar holding one end of an archway which separates the two rooms.  Every morning, we come downstairs, turn on the coffeemaker, walk right by that pillar without giving a whole lot of thought to its importance.  But there are moments from my reading chair where I will lock eyes on that big brick pillar and am reminded of its importance.  Without the pillar the floor above me would eventually be crumbled around me. No pillar, no support. No pillar, no structure. No pillar, no strength.  No pillar, no standing the test of time. 

Things that last are built upon pillars that last. We know the importance of a pillar in architecture, but there is another way we use the word pillar. One of Webster’s simple definitions of pillar is: a fundamental precept. There are some fundamental precepts anything that lasts must be built upon.  These fundamental precepts must be built on truth and wisdom.  Here at The Preaching Co. we have some fundamental precepts that are the guiding principles of our work and the foundational strength to our work.  We call them The Preaching Co. Pillars.

Our six Preaching Co. Pillars are:

• Convictional Belief: Developing and deepening a biblical conviction to preach the word. 

• Healthy Preacher: Cultivating the healthy heart and healthy family of a faithful preacher.

• Excellent Preparation: Establishing a clear and intentional process to prepare biblical sermons.

• Engaging Delivery: Sharpening the delivery of sermons to engage the hearts of hearers.

• Dependent Prayer: Practicing prayer for supernatural power in and out of the pulpit. 

• Enduring Impact: Growing a resolve to persevere in the call to preach.

Today we will unpack the first of these Pillars, Convictional Belief.

Pillar 1: Convictional Belief

Convictional Belief is about developing and deepening a biblical conviction to preach the word.  What do we mean by this? The reality is that if you pulled into the parking lot of almost every church, walked in and asked the pastor if they preach the word, the answer would be a convictional yes. You and I both know this, though, pull in on a Sunday morning and listen to the preaching of these churches, and we would be met with totally different theologies and philosophies of preaching. 

The command is so clear in scripture: 

Preach.
 The. 
Word.  

We must establish a clear, convictional, biblical resolve in the hearts of the men God has called to mount the steps each week to preach His word.  They must know what it means to herald, and they must know how to go about heralding the message that God has assigned them to herald, and that is his word.  

Here at The Preaching Co. we believe the call to preach the word is fulfilled by a convictional commitment to expository preaching.  Many have defined expository preaching in trusted resources we use to equip preachers here at The Preaching Co., but here is our working definition of expository preaching:

Expository Preaching: drawing out the message from God’s word, making that the message of our sermon, and proclaiming that message through the explanation, illustration, and application of God’s word. 

Everything we do here at The Preaching Co. will be built on this conviction, and everything we teach will be taught with a purpose of giving an entire generation of preachers this same conviction to exposition as the way we fulfill the call to preach the word.  We will release content to grow this conviction in you, we will build the training of our courses and cohorts on this conviction, and we look forward to the day The Preaching Co. Conference is an annual gathering of some of today’s most faithful expositors to model and deepen this conviction in the next generation of our preachers. 

Our Preaching Co. Pillars hold up all the work of our ministry, and our first one is first on purpose.  Everything flows from our convictional belief about preaching, and we are committed to developing and deepening a biblical conviction to preach the word.