Preaching Conference inspires pastors to teach challenging books of the Bible
By Lindsey Carraway
Writing Specialist
Over the course of three days, professors and Bible scholars from Mississippi’s three Baptist universities tackled the book of Jeremiah during the 2026 Preaching Conference. Hosted by the Leadership Department of the Mississippi Baptist Convention Board from April 13-15, the conference took place at William Carey University, Garaywa Camp and Conference Center, and Blue Mountain Christian University.
Attendees described the conference as a semester’s worth of biblical study packed into a single day.
Dr. Joseph Bird, professor at William Carey University, Dr. Wayne VanHorn, professor at Mississippi College, and Dr. Ronald Meeks, professor at Blue Mountain Christian University, delved into the difficult Old Testament book characterized by a prophet who shed desperate tears as he delivered God’s ominous warnings to an apathetic, irate, and arrogant audience.
Called from his youth to embody God’s prophetic warnings, Jeremiah lived set apart from his fellow countrymen who had wandered far from their God.
Problems with the Prophets
The three professors acknowledged the time-consuming convolution that accompanies studying and teaching the book of Jeremiah. For many understandable reasons, they said, pastors rarely preach a sermon series on this book.
- Content: Misconceptions about Old Testament prophecy misconstrue the message. First, the modern congregation must understand the biblical definition and purpose of prophecy. Second, it is impossible to accurately grasp one prophet’s message without looking at the entirety of God’s Word to His people through the line of Old Testament prophets.
- Context: All the prophets require familiarity with historical context from two and a half millennia ago. A few references are so far out from our context that biblical scholars are left puzzled at their meanings (ex. Hosea 10:5-6 and Amos 4:1-3).
- Complexity: The narrative structure of Jeremiah is not linear, rather it appears as disordered as the situation in which the prophet preached. This structure can easily confuse contemporary audiences.
“God did not write a bunch of myths, just made-up stories that teach us things,” said Bird, addressing the daunting challenge of preaching from Jeremiah. “Our God has chosen to interact with us in human history. We are millennia from when a lot of this happened, so it seems very difficult, but God will help us. I don’t think you have to be an academic, you don’t have to be a historian, an Old Testament scholar. We just need to learn and think about the history.”
In addition to examining context, attendees were also encouraged to remember that God authored the Scripture from start to finish.
“Jeremiah is a difficult book that’s like a scrambled egg and you want to unscramble it,” said VanHorn. “Here’s how you do that: Go to a text you’re familiar with and realize the same Spirit is working in that. That will be your bridge to understanding a text very foreign to us in our preaching and teaching.”
Problems with Preaching
The professors, who also serve as pastors, confessed to some of the issues that can come with preaching the Word of God. Those issues are often exacerbated by challenging books like Jeremiah.
- Schedules: In seeking sermon material for specific themes or honoring calendar dates such as Mother’s Day or Father’s Day, it can be tempting to force application into passages instead of pulling out the intended application of the message.
- Studying: Every sermon takes time and energy to prepare, especially from books like Jeremiah.
- Self-Doubt: Some pastors think they need the right amount of charisma, the right voice, or the right personality for the pulpit.
After observing the students of his preaching class, Bird noticed how young pastors, and even older pastors, try to be someone they’re not. He admitted that he too wishes he had the personality of extroverted pastors from time to time.
“God didn’t call me to be John Piper,” said Bird. “God didn’t call me to be David Platt or John MacArthur or whoever. God called me to preach His Word. He’s not going around who I am, but He chose to use who I am. This is true of all preachers.”
In staying authentic to the personality God gave each pastor, Meeks shared four ways to become a better preacher, which he expanded upon in his lecture and through his resources:
- Walk more closely with the Lord, hear His Word, and be more obedient to Him.
- Improve your study of God’s Word.
- Develop more effective sermons. Learn strategies for sermon preparation. Consider God’s intended message to the original audience next to His intended application for us today. Consider how God wants to share that truth through your personality.
- Become a better communicator of God’s Word by listening to yourself and seeking out meaningful feedback and constructive criticism.
Pastors Pray for New ERLC President
At the beginning of the day at Garaywa, Dr. Evan Lenow, newly elected President of the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, visited the conference from his office at Mississippi College to express gratitude for the relationships he has with Mississippi Baptist pastors and to share his goals moving forward.
For the next year, Lenow will be serving in his new role from Mississippi, continuing to foster those relationships with Mississippi Baptists as he seeks to connect with state conventions on the church level.
The pastors in the room gathered around and prayed for Lenow. Leading the prayer, VanHorn said, “We feel Evan is ready for this job because he will see it as a ministry.”
Link to Recorded Lectures and Handouts
To download detailed conference handouts or to watch in-depth lectures on studying, preaching, and teaching the book of Jeremiah, click here.