A Word for Preachers...Boice on the Indispensability of Preachers

"Preaching is also the primary means of growth for the local church. There is a great deal of debate about this in our day, but it is the preaching of the Word that God most uses to build up a church, not only  numerically but above all (and far more importantly) in the spiritual depth and understanding of the people who make up the congregation.

"When we talk about the importance of preaching, preachers are inclined (modestly) to say, 'Well, after all, no one is indispensable.' And, of course, that is true, if we understand it in the right way. But it is false if we understand it in the wrong way. It is true that God does not need us. God does not need us to glorify Him. God does not need us to worship Him. God does not need us to proclaim the gospel. If the people at the time of Christ’s entry into Jerusalem had failed to cry out, the stones would have done so, Jesus said. God is well able to raise up preachers from stones. But at the same time it is true that if God has called a man to be a preacher in a particular situation, that man is, by the calling and disposition of God, indispensable for that situation. If he gives good leadership and provides good teaching from the Word, that church will go forward. If he fails to do it, that church will not go forward."

James Montgomery Boice
Feed My Sheep: A Passionate Plea for Preaching