Equipped for the Kingdom: Preaching as an Act of Worship

When Brian first began taking classes at Southeastern Seminary as a Doctor of Ministry student, he brought with him nearly 20 years of pastoral experience. Despite these many years behind the pulpit, he felt a need to learn more. He knew the importance of God’s inspired word; he loved it; and he loved sharing it with the people who sat in his church’s pews each Sunday morning. It was this love that fueled his desire to grow in his ability to preach and exposit the word of God.

Little did Brian know, over the next five and a half years, God would challenge him both as an individual and as leader, equipping him to handle the Scriptures with clarity, Christ-centeredness, and a heart turned towards worship.

Encountering Christ in Exposition

Growing up in one of the smallest counties in North Carolina, Brian never envisioned the ministry and academic journey that was ahead of him.

“Considering my background, I always felt like an underdog, and with 13 years between MDiv work and the DMin program, I was intimidated,” Brian recalled.

Stepping into the classroom for his first seminar, however, he quickly realized he wouldn’t be able to grow in his education without facing some fears first.

“When I faced the challenges of papers, deadlines and discussing topics in class I would find myself wanting to retreat into my shell,” Brian recalled. “The Doctor of Ministry program wouldn’t allow that; we were constantly sharing in class or presenting book reviews or projects. I learned to let my voice be heard when needed. I always felt like what I shared mattered and was important.”

It wasn’t long before Brian started to see the impact that his studies had on his preaching.

“The vast number of books on preaching that we read and wrote about opened my eyes to information I had never seen before,” Brian said, “and they challenged me in every area from sermon preparation and delivery to daily spiritual disciplines. I learned how to study more effectively and communicate with greater clarity.”

He added, “My first seminar with Drs. Akin and Shaddix left me shaking my head on more than one occasion as they taught me things I had missed for years.”

During one class in particular, Christ-Centered Exposition, Brian’s entire understanding of preaching from the Old Testament began to shift as he started to see the anticipation and fulfillment of Christ in each passage.

My first seminar with Drs. Akin and Shaddix left me shaking my head on more than one occasion as they taught me things I had missed for years.

“For much of my ministry, when preaching from the Old Testament, I focused only on the stories and not necessarily on how they point us to Christ. The end result then was a moralistic sermon that encouraged people to do more and try harder rather than revealing how Christ has completed those things for us,” he explained. “We can truly rest when we see Christ at the center of it all.”

“Real People with Real Ministries”

While Brian grew as a scholar and expositor of the word, he soon realized that his professors, many of whom were still actively serving as pastors, held a wealth of wisdom and experience in the practical aspects of ministry too.

“I loved class discussions and the fact that we could ask our professors questions about issues we were dealing with in our churches,” Brian said.

He recalled one particularly moving conversation he had with Scott Pace, provost and professor of preaching and pastoral ministry.

“One day during discussion he and I were talking about the feeling of unworthiness that grips the pastor before he preaches. With tears in his eyes, he shared about the weight that he feels when he walks up to the pulpit,” Brian recounted. “It was a moment during which we could see that our professors are real people with real ministries. I was wiping tears as well.”

It was a moment during which we could see that our professors are real people with real ministries.

Another memory that has remained with him is an evening dinner with the Shaddix family and the hospitality that Jim and Debra showed him and fellow students. Jim Shaddix, who served as senior professor of preaching until his passing this spring, played a pivotal role in Brian’s decision to attend Southeastern.

“His wife, Debra, prepared a wonderful meal for us, and we sat around the table and talked about life and ministry,” Brian recalled. “I believe there were 12 of us in that seminar and there was food left over! I will also always remember Dr. Shaddix sitting beside me at lunch one day and asking about where I grew up. We compared pictures of the mountains of Western North Carolina and a few of the places he had lived along the way. He always made each student feel important. He genuinely cared about his students.”

The Role of Worship in Preaching

Advice and investment were particularly meaningful to Brian at that time in his ministry. At the start of his degree, Brian and his family were in the midst of the difficult process of transitioning between churches and pastorates. Then, only seven months later in March 2020 while Brian was still settling into his second semester, the World Health Organization declared a worldwide pandemic. This brought with it a slew of unprecedented challenges and changes for him and his church.

“There were many times I wanted to give up,” Brian said, reflecting on his long five and a half years of study. By the time he was reaching the end of his degree in the fall of 2024, Brian had seen many of his fellow students graduate ahead of him. Yet God taught him perseverance and endurance through that long journey.

During his studies, deep in his final project, Brian had the opportunity to interview Robert Smith Jr., well-known pastor and teacher and a regular Southeastern guest. That conversation connected deeply to Brian’s research and profoundly impacted his preaching approach.

For years Brian had wrestled with the fact that many believers did not consider preaching as worship, and it was this that drove him to focus his final project on that very topic.

“Smith made it clear,” Brian recalled, “that as preachers we cannot expect our people to worship if we aren’t worshipping while we are preaching. It begins with the man of God.”

As preachers we cannot expect our people to worship if we aren’t worshipping while we are preaching.

“Are you willing to let the Holy Spirit edit your sermon?” Smith asked him. He urged Brian, in his preparation and prayer before preaching, “to tell the Lord, ‘I am nothing,’ and then to ask the question, ‘What will you do with nothing, Lord?”

Worthy of All Worship

In September 2024, months before graduation and the completion of Brian’s final project, Hurricane Helene struck his hometown of Asheville with devastating force, taking out water, power, and internet.

“Our church became a distribution hub, and I was there 6-7 days a week for almost 5 weeks,” Brian recounted. “I was exhausted, but by the grace of God I was able to complete the program.”

Throughout it all, in Brian’s ministry, preaching, and studies, God remained sovereign and faithful, worthy of all worship. In December of 2024, Brian walked across Southeastern’s stage as a Doctor of Ministry alumnus, his final project titled: “Preaching as Worship: Cultivating a Heart of Worship in the Preparation for and Delivery of Christ-Centered Expository Sermons.”

“I have been pastoring for 25 years, and my time at Southeastern has made a noticeable difference in my preaching,” Brian said, thinking back over the past years. “My wife has said often that after I began the program there was a change. I presented the truth more clearly and connected more with the congregation. I have also improved in leadership.”

“One of the great aspects of this program,” he maintained, “is spending time with the professors and other brothers who are walking through similar times. It is a joy to share and discuss the ins and outs of daily ministry and glean information from different parts of the state. On more than one occasion I returned home and implemented small elements that I had learned in each seminar.”

“I am so grateful to the Lord that he provided the way for me to attend Southeastern. I look back on my time there, and my heart is filled with joy.”

Join us in praying for Brian, his family, and Newbridge Baptist Church where he serves as senior pastor. Pray that the gospel would bear fruit in his ministry and that in all seasons of life, he would exposit God’s word with a humble heart of worship and his eyes set on Christ. Pray that through the preaching of the word, many would come to know and love King Jesus.