Preachers as Gifted People

  
"Preachers are gifted people, but the gifts needed for good and faithful preaching are different than those of the electrifying speaker or the charismatic entertainer. Faithful preaching requires such gifts as sensitivity to human need, a discerning eye for the connections between faith and life, an ear attuned to hearing the voice of Scripture, compassion, a growing personal faith, and the courage to tell the truth. These are gifts of the Spirit, and although gift of the Spirit cannot be taught in the classroom, they can be named, developed, encouraged, shaped, and given direction and focus."

Thomas G. Long, The Witness of Preaching, 2nd ed. (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox, 2005), 14.