After the service, I was glad I had stayed, for Dr. Calliandro preached a good sermon ending with a life-absorbing story which I have remembered even after all these years. Most of us will agree with Paul on the paradox of preaching, and agree with the churchgoing public that preaching is the first priority on the Sunday morning worship agenda. Teaching Next to preaching, Martin Luther believed teaching was the highest calling of God. Teaching is mentioned scores of times in the New Testament. Jesus was called Teacher and often taught outdoors in both Galilee and Judea.
Teaching is listed among the spiritual gifts.
On his missionary journeys, Paul went first to the synagogues where he taught from the Scriptures. It is fully Christian and biblical that great numbers of people in churches everywhere are committed to teaching, a ministry that approximates the importance of preaching in the hierarchy of Sunday morning ministries. Celebration of music to the glory of God I can remember an era in the church where I attended when music consistently rivaled the impact of preaching and teaching in Sunday worship. The just-right combination of a superb organist, a polished professional pianist, and a nationally known minister of music who directed a carefully recruited choir, had brought the ministry of our church music to an inspiring level. There were mornings when the singing lifted the people to a worship plateau usually reserved for the pastor's sermon.