What if Jeremiah was your preacher?

Just finished the book of Jeremiah.  Tough. Depressing.  Confrontational.  Not a good ending. It got me thinking ... what if Jeremiah was a preacher in a church today?  He was not popular, he was not well-received, he spoke the bold truth of God without compromise and with conviction, he lived for an audience of one -- God.  Jeremiah's "ministry" never really took off with people, but he was faithful to God.  He was arrested, abandoned, put in a well, and beat up.  The church "committee" voted him out, the government didn't care much for him, the people hated his messages, but he "committed [his] cause to" God (20:12) Here's a snapshot:

• Jeremiah was called by God to preach.  God got him into the business and thus God was his boss ... not a committee, not the "people" but God.  I think God's call is huge in vocational ministry because sometimes that is all you have to keep you going.


• Jeremiah did not sugar coat sin.  He ruthlessly preached against idolatry and forsaking God and in the end they stuck him in a well for it. 


• Jeremiah extended God's grace.   Sometimes it is easy to get so focused on sin that we neglect grace.  What makes grace so special and so amazing is to be fully convicted of how horrible sin is.  Jeremiah balanced the "sin-grace" tension so that no one had an excuse not to realize the problem of sin or the solution of God.


• Jeremiah had passion.  God gave him something to say (a "word") and Jeremiah spoke with power and conviction (check out this verse).  He could not not speak the "word" God would faithfully give him.  And the reason God was faithful to give Jeremiah a fresh "word" was because Jeremiah was faithful to speak it!  (When a preacher is like that coming to church won't always be comfortable or fun, in fact people may leave or complain or look for a church "that better meets their needs" ... what does anyone need more than a true & timely "word" from the Lord?!?)


• Jeremiah was linked to God's cause.  He was not trying to attract a crowd; he was simply faithful to God's cause.  That meant taking "risks" and being "bold".  The outcome was totally up to God.


• Jeremiah had to spend time with God in order to hear from God.  I can honestly say how important this is for a preacher.  From Day 1 our Elders have sought to protect my time and ability to study, pray, and prepare messages.  I wish I was as faithful as I should be in that pursuit of God's voice.  It is easy for a "preacher" to get busy doing other things that are important (all the counseling, all the hospital visits, knee-deep in the finances, at every event at church and the community, every wedding, etc,. etc.); however, at that point he sees to be a "preacher."  This why a "preacher/pastor" must be a leader who can delegate and why a church must have a strategy to staff the church effectively to keep the church healthy ... and the "preacher" in the listening. {In one case, it took Jeremiah ten days to a clear "word" from the Lord!}


• Jeremiah stepped on toes and kicked shins.  He would do almost anything to get people to pay attention to God's truths -- he smashed a jar, he let a linen belt mildew and decay, he wept openly and often, he could not marry or have children, he wore an ox yoke ... and each time his point was clear and it was not comforting.  Jeremiah shows us that God's discipline is thorough and complete, and it is better to be uncomfortable b/c of what you hear than b/c of what you experience when you ignore God's plans.

So what do you think? Would you have gone to Jeremiah's church?