It is a problem that all pastors doubtless face, “How can I make sure that I am feeding all of the people that God has given me?”
When I look out upon our congregation on Sunday morning I see a wide spectrum. I see faithful and mature folks who have been walking with the Lord for decades and then some who have been Christians for only a few months. I see people in their 60’s and then folks in their 20’s. In addition to that there are many little 5 year-olds staring up at me trying to understand. There are people from a completely biblically illiterate background and then there are those who have grown up in evangelical churches but never heard the gospel. Then there are many guys who are running hard theologically and wanting to be challenged and fed.
And so I push back from the table, exhale, put my hands behind my head, and wonder to myself about how to best deal with this good problem.
I was sharing this dilemma with a friend recently. He would be in the ‘running hard theologically’ category. He smiled and said, “Just make good fish and chips every week. If you make fish and chips well then we will all be happy and fed.”
His point was this, regardless of what you are used to, expecting, or really want, you always appreciate a well-made plate of fish and chips. It seems to have that unique ability to simply ‘hit the spot’ every time you have it. So, says my friend, “Give us well-made fish and chips.”
I appreciated this. If the preaching is clear, biblical, fried in the gospel-batter and simply served then it will be helpful and profound wherever you are spiritually. The hard work then for the preacher is to take from their own level of interaction and bring it to a place where an 8 year old would understand the big picture, the new Christian would marvel at the Christological significance, and the hungry pastoral intern would be clenching his fist with a resolve to live for this glorious Christ. This is the work of thoughtful and dependent prayer and meditation. This is the work of pastoral ministry.
