It all comes down to ONE.
It only takes about 10-20 years for most of us to be forgotten. Even the iconic names, the ones in our minds who are on the Mount Rushmore of preachers, are mostly forgotten by now.
A few years ago I was talking to a group of good young preachers about the Monday morning luncheons that for years happened in the Lipscomb Faculty Dining room. Batselle Barrett Baxter, Willard Collins, Jim Bill McInteer, and Ira North would have lunch together, encourage each other, and talk about the churches where they preached. At that time, Hillsboro (Baxter), Charlotte Avenue (Collins), West End (McInteer), and Madison (North) were all around 1,000 members.
It’s said that eventually, as Madison grew to 2, then 3,000, they stopped comparing notes!
My, what a joy it would have been to just sit at the table next to those men and overhear their conversations!
As I related that, 2 of the 3 young guys said they knew who Collins was but didn’t know the others!!!
Wow, my mind was simultaneously blown and corrected.
Men who had once been household names among preachers had become names that a new generation barely recognized.
On this earth, unless the Lord returns first, we WILL be forgotten. And not one Gospel preacher worth his salt would give that a moment’s worry.
Because our assignment was never to make our name known. It was to make His known to as many as we can.
“We preach Jesus…”
“I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified” (1 Corinthians 2:2).
“For we do not preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord” (2 Corinthians 4:5).
“Him we preach, warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom” (Colossians 1:28).
“But we preach Christ crucified” (1 Corinthians 1:23).
“They did not cease teaching and preaching Jesus as the Christ” (Acts 5:42).
“Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning at this Scripture, preached Jesus to him” (Acts 8:35).
“This Jesus whom I preach to you is the Christ” (Acts 17:3).
“The gospel of God…concerning His Son Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 1:1–4).
“To reveal His Son in me, that I might preach Him among the Gentiles” (Galatians 1:15–16).
“Whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is preached” (Philippians 1:18).
That’s the goal. Not that twenty years from now somebody remembers the preacher. But that twenty years from now, because the preacher was there, somebody still knows Jesus.
Preacher, they will forget your name. Make sure they remember His.
Oh, and one more thing: HE WON’T FORGET YOUR NAME!
Don’t quit this Monday.