CELINA, Texas (MBTS) – Pastors and ministry leaders from across the north Texas region gathered to discuss preaching “tough texts” at a workshop from the Midwestern Institute for Preaching and Preachers on Feb. 24.
Held at The Trails Church in Celina, Texas, the workshop was the first in a series of regional workshops to be offered by the Midwestern Institute for Preaching and Preachers.
“As most people know, Midwestern Seminary exists “For the Church,” said President Jason Allen. “And one of the ways we seek to demonstrate this reality is seeking to further equip and encourage those already in local church ministry. That is why I am very thankful for the Midwestern Institute for Preaching and Preachers. I am grateful for Matt, Jared, and Afshin for leading our very first one, and I am excited about all of the future workshops we will hold to further bless the Church.”
Led by Matt Boswell, Jared C. Wilson, and Afshin Ziafat, workshop sessions focused on equipping participants to lead their congregations through challenging passages of Scripture.
Boswell, who serves as pastor of The Trails Church and was recently named professor of worship ministries at Midwestern Seminary, opened with an example sermon on a “tough text.” Preaching on the story of Ananias and Sapphira in Acts 5:1–11, he showed how it warns against hypocrisy and calls Christians to walk in the light through repentance and fear of God.
Addressing the preachers in the room, Boswell emphasized the importance of fleeing hypocrisy and pursuing integrity to protect their ministries. “The reason I chose this text was to call us, men who stand on this side of the pulpit week in and week out, to deal with seriously with it,” he said.
He concluded, “Look to Christ, who in our place stood condemned for our sin, including the sin of hypocrisy.”
The second session was given by Jared C. Wilson, assistant professor of pastoral ministry and author in residence at Midwestern Seminary. Wilson addressed the challenges of preaching Christ in every text.
Wilson noted three reasons preachers do not preach Christ in every sermon: They lack vision to see Christ in the text, they lack spiritual vibrancy in their own walk with Christ, and they lack versatility to connect the gospel to the text at hand. To help participants overcome these challenges, Wilson noted New Testament examples of Christ-centered interpretation and offered several hermeneutical tools for seeing Christ in every passage.
Encouraging preachers to pursue spiritual vibrancy, Wilson said, “If we are regularly communing with Christ, reading the Scriptures in a devotional sense in a daily, disciplined way, the instinct is there to preach Christ.”
The final session was led by Afshin Ziafat, lead pastor of Providence Church in Frisco, Texas. Ziafat preached from Romans 9, offering another example of how to preach a challenging text.
Noting the debated interpretations of Romans 9, Ziafat said, “This is a very difficult passage to preach, but I believe that we can preach it in a way that is humble and yet holds God’s Word up as the ultimate authority.”
He concluded by offering five principles for preaching difficult texts: Avoid apologizing for the text, specify what an interpretation does not mean, “be charitable with the opposing views,” “be compassionate and patient,” and avoid preaching secondary and tertiary doctrines as primary for faith.
Following the sessions, participants in the workshop experienced a panel discussion led by the three speakers and had an opportunity to apply the teaching during a group work session.
Participants expressed their encouragement from the teaching sessions and the fellowship with other preachers.
Sean Collins, a senior pastor from Bogata, Texas, shared, “At this workshop, we’ve been sitting under men who have faithfully modeled by example what it means to preach hard texts, and it’s
been truly for the Church. As I go back and shepherd my people, I’ve been encouraged to continue putting in the hard work of digging into the text and seeking to faithfully preach and shepherd well.”
Caleb Fleming, who pastors in Sherman, Texas, added, “My biggest takeaway of today’s event is knowing there are brothers like me in my area who are trying to think through how to preach well and how to shepherd the flock they’ve been entrusted with. It’s been really encouraging to me.”
Jordan Wilbanks, Midwestern Seminary’s vice president of church partnerships and director of the Midwestern Institute for Preaching and Preachers, shared, “It was a wonderful day. The engagement of those in attendance was remarkable. Fresh off their own Sunday services, pastors were dialed in to consider some practical preaching-specific matters in a concentrated format that isn’t often available to them.”
Expressing his gratitude for the speakers, Wilbanks added, “Jared Wilson, Matt Boswell, and Afshin Ziafat were exemplary in the way they loved on these pastors with their session content.”
Wilbanks shared the institute’s vision for regional workshops to support the Great Commission by equipping preachers for faithful exposition with mutual encouragement. “These are community-focused workshops aimed to care for the hearts of the preachers themselves and to make isolation more difficult.”
He added, “We want to provide additional training for a given preacher to immerse himself in the preaching ministry so that all may see his progress, as 1 Timothy 4:15 says.”
The Midwestern Institute for Preaching and Preachers will host three workshops each fall and spring, including one on campus and two regionally. Upcoming spring 2025 workshops will be held on March 11 at First Baptist Church O’Fallon in the St. Louis area, and on March 27 on Midwestern Seminary’s campus in Kansas City.
To learn more about the Midwestern Institute for Preaching and Preachers and to register for an upcoming workshop, visit preachingandpreachers.org.