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Here is the script for episode 2 of the podcast View From the Pulpit (https://www.bensmithsr.org/vftp/ben). Write a subtitle. " Welcome to the first episode of View from the Pulpit, a podcast about the preaching but not a podcast just for preachers. Have you given much thought to preaching? Have you ever thought deeply about what makes for good preaching? If you are like me and grew up in the church, your first answer to these questions is to say, “yes of course.” For that matter, most church members would instinctually say yes. But have you really considered the place of preaching in church? For Christians, preaching is as familiar as singing Amazing Grace. The most significant amount of time during Sunday services is given to preaching. We have preaching at our funerals and weddings. Though the style of preaching can vary from the scholastic to the bombastic, every Christian from every type of church can recognize preaching. Sometimes the familiarity of something can create a lack of curiosity and even a lack of understanding. Preaching is ever-present but seldom studied by anyone other than the preacher. If you were to ask church members “What is the most important ministry of the church? You will certainly get various answers including evangelism, community connections, youth and children’s programs, and music. With each of these answers comes an implicit assumption that the program or ministry mentioned is responsible for the church's health, growth, and viability. What is seldom listed first is the ministry of preaching. When preaching is referenced, it is often in connection with how the pastor’s delivery of his sermons is received. However, I am convinced that the ministry of preaching and the gathering of the saints on the Lord’s Day for worship is not a valuable part of the ministries of the church but the very core, fundamentally central ministry of the church. The primacy of the ministry of preaching is such that if you remove it, a church ceases to be a church, and every other ministry of the church flows from it. My name is Ben Smith. I pastor a church in rural south GA and have been a pastor for nearly twenty-five years, and I want to talk about preaching. I want to talk about preaching because I believe that a recovery of the ministry of preaching is not only good for the church but essential to the health of the church. I am a child of the 80s and 90s. During my childhood and youth, my world revolved around the church more than any other institution, including school, sports, or other entertainments. The singular constant in my life was Sunday worship and preaching. When I was home, my family attended my church for Sunday services in the morning and evening. When I visited grandparents and other family members, I attended church with them. When my family traveled for vacations, our plans included a church to worship with on the Lord’s Day. I have heard a lot of preaching over the years, but I have not always appreciated what it is, its importance, or had the ability to distinguish between faithful and unfaithful preaching. There are some lessons I have learned through the years on what makes for good preaching. Actually, I think a better way to say that the Lord has changed what I honored and celebrated as faithful preaching. Allow me to tell you three stories to illustrate what I mean. Education versus conviction: The earliest lesson I learned about preaching is to honor conviction over education. I grew up under the ministries of well-educated pastors who delivered crafted, well-written sermons each week. In contrast to my home church, when I visited my extended family member’s church, I experienced preaching that was very different. Some of these pastors had no formal education, and their preaching style was in keeping with the vernacular of their working-class peers. Their language was not refined or even grammatically correct. Being a bi-vocational, their sermons reflected the limited time they had to study and prepare to preach. It was never said explicitly that these pastors were less than the well-educated who preached from larger, more honor pulpits, but none the less I recognized that there was a difference in the honor and respect given. I grew to assume that these less-educated men meant well but that deference should be given to the more refined and educated pastors in matters of interpretation and biblical theology. However, in those days, a conflict arose in our church denomination over the authority and divine inspiration of the Bible. It became a heated battle for control over the direction of the denomination. These were years before I entered the ministry, so I was only a spectator to the denominational political battles. However, I witnessed that the bi-vocational pastors, who had little education or theological training, demonstrated a higher view of scripture, a more biblically faithful view of the authority of scripture and the centrality of preaching than the better educated pastors. By the time I entered ministry, I deeply appreciated the hundreds of humble pastors who would not be silenced and would not retreat from the conviction that the Bible is God's divinely inspired, inerrant word. They may not have been able to read from the Hebrew or parse the Greek, but they recognized the dangerous threat of those who were teaching that Genesis was a myth and that the New Testament miracles could be explained away. Performance versus substance: Having grown up in a very formal church, I was fascinated when I was first exposed to energetic, flamboyant, and entertaining preaching. At first, I equated the more energetic performances with better preaching. Because I was entertained, I was more engaged. Because my attention was captured, I found it easier to listen. And because some of these preachers employed extravagant and novel illustrations, I remembered what was said longer—or at least I remembered the illustration longer. My first impression was to think that these attention-grabbing efforts were synonymous with good preaching. And to be fair, the preachers I was listening to at the time were phenomenally gifted communicators. However, after the excitement of discovering something new subsided, I realized that though their communication skills were exceptional, some of these men had lost and even errant theology. For all the personal enjoyment of their preaching performances, I came to realize that preaching must be more than performative. I came to appreciate biblically faithful preaching more than the performance of preaching. I came to love the what more than the how, that is what is preached than how it is delivered. Size verse faithfulness The hardest lesson is the illusion of crowd size. As a child and certainly as a young pastor, the metric most commonly used to determine the success of a ministry is the crowd size. Celebrated pastors were the ones who grew churches to great attendance numbers. Preachers who were lauded as models to emulate were ones who pastored large churches. Now I need to be careful here because I do not want to communicate that large crowds are bad. God has certainly used men to preach faithfully to large crowds and grow large churches. I am simply saying that crowd size is not the only, most important, or most helpful metric in assessing the faithfulness of a preaching ministry. Faithfulness of the preacher is a judgment of God that is independent from the celebration of the crowds. I share these stories to illustrate that God has been teaching and transforming me and my understanding of preaching. I know that as a high school student I could not have articulated a biblically faithful understanding of the role or importance of preaching in church. Frankly, I am not confident that as a young preacher, I had a solid understanding of the role or importance of preaching in church. But I am so thankful that God has grown and developed my understanding of his word and of preaching. I am so thankful that God has continually deepened my love for His word and the ministry of preaching. And I want to help you grow in your understanding of God’s word and the ministry and role of preaching. So my hope and prayer for this podcast is that it will be used to recapture and recover the church’s love for, appreciation of, and devotion to preaching. Here on the View from the Pulpit, I will have conversations with the pastors and church members about the role of preaching in the church, the labor of preparing to preach, the effectiveness of how one preaches, and much more. You will hear from pastors who preach to thousands every Sunday and pastors whose congregation is less than 100. You will hear the struggles that come with preaching, the joys of proclaiming God’s word, and long-form conversions about how God is working to recover the ministry of preaching in the church today. I hope this will be helpful. I pray it will be God honoring. I know this… I have already recorded several interviews for future episodes; each one has been unique, tremendously encouraging, and personally convicting. I cannot wait for you to hear them. And one last thing before I go - a little self-promotion if you will. Please consider helping me promote the podcast by subscribing to the show, leaving a review, and sharing it with a friend. In whatever podcast you use, be sure to subscribe to the show so that you will be notified each time a new episode is published. I like to listen in Apple Podcasts, but the show will be available in Spotify, TuneIn, and other podcast platforms. When you rate and review the podcasts with promotion within the podcast platform. However, the greatest form of promotion is personal connections. So, post a link on your social media feed and text a link to the show to a friend. I would very much appreciate it. The first interview will publish on March 17th. I can’t wait for you to hear it! Until then, Preach the word; be ready in season and out of season. God bless."

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Recovering the Primacy of Preaching in the Life and Health of the Church

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Write a full description of the episode, including detailed information optimized for Spotify.

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Episode Description (Spotify-optimized)

What makes preaching good—and why does it matter so much to the life of the church?

In this foundational episode of View From the Pulpit, Ben Smith invites listeners to slow down and think carefully about something most Christians take for granted: the ministry of preaching. Familiar, ever-present, and central to Christian worship, preaching is often assumed rather than examined. Yet when preaching is misunderstood or diminished, the health of the church itself is at stake.

This episode is not just for pastors. It is for church members, leaders, and anyone who loves Christ and His church and wants to better understand why preaching is not merely one ministry among many, but the central ministry from which all others flow.

Drawing from nearly twenty-five years of pastoral ministry and a lifetime spent under the sound of sermons, Ben reflects on how God has reshaped his understanding of faithful preaching. Through three formative lessons—conviction over education, substance over performance, and faithfulness over size—he explains how cultural assumptions, denominational pressures, and modern metrics can subtly distort what we value in preaching.

You’ll hear reflections on:

• Why preaching is essential to the identity of the church

• How familiarity with preaching can breed misunderstanding

• The difference between gifted communication and biblically faithful proclamation

• Why crowd size is an unreliable measure of faithfulness

• How God has used ordinary, often overlooked pastors to preserve a high view of Scripture

• Why the recovery of preaching is vital for the church today

This episode also introduces the vision for the podcast: honest, thoughtful conversations with pastors and church members about the labor, joy, struggle, and spiritual weight of preaching God’s Word. Future episodes will feature voices from large churches and small congregations alike, all united by a shared conviction that preaching matters.

Whether you preach, listen to preaching weekly, or want to grow in your appreciation for God’s Word proclaimed, this episode sets the stage for a renewed love for the ministry of preaching.

New interviews begin March 17. Subscribe now so you don’t miss them.

📌 Please follow, rate, and review the podcast on Spotify—and consider sharing it with a friend to help spread the word.

Keywords: Christian preaching, pastoral ministry, expositional preaching, church health, pulpit ministry, sermons, faithful preaching, Bible teaching, church leadership, reformed preaching, Word-centered worship

“Preach the word; be ready in season and out of season.” (2 Timothy 4:2)

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Episode Description

What makes preaching good, and why does it matter so much to the life of the church?

In this foundational episode of View From the Pulpit, Ben Smith invites listeners to think carefully about something most Christians take for granted: the ministry of preaching. Familiar and central to Christian worship, preaching is often assumed rather than examined. Yet when preaching is misunderstood or diminished, the health of the church itself is at stake.

This episode is not just for pastors. It is for church members, leaders, and anyone who loves Christ and His church and wants to better understand why preaching is not merely one ministry among many, but the central ministry from which all others flow.

Drawing from nearly twenty-five years of pastoral ministry and a lifetime spent under the sound of sermons, Ben reflects on how God has reshaped his understanding of faithful preaching. Through three formative lessons—conviction over education, substance over performance, and faithfulness over size—he explains how cultural assumptions, denominational pressures, and modern metrics can distort what we value in preaching.

Listeners will hear reflections on why preaching is essential to the identity of the church, how familiarity with preaching can lead to misunderstanding, the difference between gifted communication and biblically faithful proclamation, why crowd size is an unreliable measure of faithfulness, how God has used ordinary and often overlooked pastors to preserve a high view of Scripture, and why the recovery of preaching is vital for the church today.

This episode also introduces the vision for the podcast: thoughtful conversations with pastors and church members about the labor, joy, struggle, and spiritual weight of preaching God’s Word. Future episodes will feature voices from large churches and small congregations alike, united by a shared conviction that preaching matters.

New interviews begin March 17. Subscribe now so you do not miss them.

Please consider following the podcast, leaving a review, and sharing it with a friend to help others discover View From the Pulpit.

Preach the word; be ready in season and out of season.

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Write a formatted description of this episode, supported by Apple Podcasts. Also include a special thanks to Jim Gibson for permission to use his recording of “Brethren We Have Met to Worship” for this podcast. In the podcast, I share my personal connection to Jim’s parents, James and Ella Gibson, and how their example and testimony of honoring the preaching of God’s word had a profound impact on his life. You can find more information about Jim Gibson’s music and many other recordings at https://www.hickorycovemusic.com/. Music by Jim Gibson. “Brethren We have Met to Worship.” Songs of the South III, @2003 Hickory Cove Music. I chose the hymn "Brethren, We Have Met to Worship" because its lyrics emphasize the importance of preaching for the salvation of the lost and for the ministry to the church.

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Episode Description

In this introductory episode of View From the Pulpit, Ben Smith invites listeners to think carefully about the place, purpose, and priority of preaching in the life of the church. Preaching is familiar to most Christians, yet it is rarely examined or thoughtfully considered by anyone other than the preacher himself. This episode seeks to recover a deeper understanding of why preaching is not simply one ministry among many, but the central ministry of the church from which all others flow.

Drawing from nearly twenty-five years of pastoral ministry and a lifetime spent under the sound of sermons, Ben reflects on how God has reshaped his understanding of faithful preaching. Through three formative lessons—conviction over education, substance over performance, and faithfulness over size—he explains how assumptions about style, personality, and numerical success can subtly distort what we value in preaching.

This episode is not only for pastors. It is for church members, leaders, and anyone who loves Christ and His church and desires to better understand how God uses the preaching of His Word to save sinners, sanctify the saints, and sustain the church. Ben also introduces the vision for the podcast: thoughtful conversations with pastors and church members about the labor, joy, struggles, and spiritual weight of preaching.

Listeners will hear why preaching is essential to the identity of the church, why crowd size is an unreliable measure of faithfulness, and why a recovery of preaching is vital for the health of the church today.

Special Thanks

Special thanks to Jim Gibson for granting permission to use his recording of “Brethren, We Have Met to Worship” for this podcast. In this episode, Ben shares his personal connection to Jim’s parents, James and Ella Gibson, and reflects on how their example and testimony of honoring the preaching of God’s Word had a profound impact on his own life and ministry.

Ben chose the hymn “Brethren, We Have Met to Worship” because its lyrics emphasize the centrality of preaching, both for the salvation of the lost and for the ongoing ministry to the church.

Music Credits

Music by Jim Gibson
“Brethren, We Have Met to Worship”
Songs of the South III
© 2003 Hickory Cove Music

More information about Jim Gibson’s music and additional recordings can be found at Hickory Cove Music.

New interviews begin March 17. Subscribe to View From the Pulpit to be notified when new episodes are released.

“Preach the word; be ready in season and out of season.”

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Excerpt

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Preaching is everywhere in the life of the church, yet it is rarely examined. In this episode of View From the Pulpit, Ben Smith reflects on how God reshaped his understanding of faithful preaching through years of listening, learning, and pastoral ministry. From conviction over credentials, substance over performance, and faithfulness over size, this episode calls listeners to recover a deeper love for the preaching of God’s Word and to see it as central to the life and health of the church.