A Biblical Rationale for Preaching Teams

This post is an excerpt from my e-book, Preaching Teams: Sharing the Load and Building the Kingdom Through Collaborative Proclamation. For a free download of this 40-page book that covers a philosophy and rationale for team preaching, as well as many practical tools and tips gleaned from my 20-plus years on preaching teams, please click here:

Solitary Shepherds and Apostolic Teams

I grew up in the home of a traditional evangelical pastor.  I was raised in ministry on the “Lone Ranger” model.  When I became a pastor, I saw my role as being the ultimate resource for every need, the consummate diplomat for every conflict, and the capable problem-solver for every administrative hiccup.  And the pulpit was my responsibility, and mine alone.  It was to be protected as my sacred trust, rarely and begrudgingly to be shared with anyone else.

I am grateful for this ministry heritage, and I believe it to be a valid model, widely appropriate in many settings, even today.  There is much to be said for the solitary shepherd who leads, cares for, and feeds a flock in an intimate and multi-dimensional relationship.  However, with the complexities of contemporary ministry, the daunting cultural challenges we face, and breakneck pace of our lives, we may need to consider a more shared model of leadership, ministry, and preaching.

The “solitary shepherd” model has significant biblical support in the imagery of both the Old and New Testaments.  But I also believe that the New Testament in particular points to the validity of shared ministry, shared leadership, and shared preaching responsibilities in a local church. 

In the earliest days of the church, we find the believers devoting themselves to the “Apostles’” (plural) teaching (Acts 2:42).  Later in Acts, we see Paul and Barnabas preaching as a team on their missionary journeys. Then we see them appointing multiple “elders” in every church (Acts 13:23), some of whom specifically labored “in teaching and preaching.” (I Timothy 5:17) One of the qualifications for “overseers” was also to be “able to teach.” (I Timothy 3:2)

I would also suggest that the five-fold equipping gifts in Ephesians 4:11 could all manifest themselves in multiple ways in the life of the church, including public preaching.  How effectively might the church be equipped and enriched if it were to receive a steady preaching diet from multiple preachers, each of whom is uniquely and supernaturally gifted as an apostle, prophet, evangelist, shepherd, or teacher!

Jesus: The CONSUMMATE Team Preacher

Of course, in the background of the early church was the foundation laid by Jesus.  If anyone were ever qualified to be the solitary shepherd who did all the preaching, it was the Son of Man.  He understood every individual in every audience perfectly.  He personified every spiritual gift uniquely.  He grasped every truth completely.  He communicated memorably and connected intimately with his audiences.  He was the total package, the most complete preacher who ever lived. 

Yet, Jesus was more concerned with developing a small cohort of preachers than he was with building a large following for his own preaching ministry.  He sometimes sent the multitudes away so that he could spend time with his rag-tag preaching team.  Other times, he would fade into the shadows as he sent them out to proclaim the message of the kingdom – even before they understood completely what the kingdom was all about.  Eventually, this small band of preachers provided the apostolic foundation upon which Jesus would build his church.

Although the New Testament never says, “Thou shalt preach in teams,” life in the early church certainly seems to have included multiple preachers in a congregation. Preaching teams may not be prescribed as a norm, but I believe they are at least described as a possibility – and a good one!