Set Your Hand to the Plough: Practical Advice for Gospel Ministers
#4 Be confessional
Young ministers often enter the pulpit with a fire to change the world, searching for that one doctrine or method – the “golden key” that will spark revival and transform the church. It is a noble desire, but this is the hard truth: there is no golden key. If you think you’ve found it, bury it! You are mistaken. Transformation in the church is never that simple. Instead, anchor your ministry in a historic confession of faith like the Second London Confession (1677) and commit to preaching and living out the whole counsel of God.
The Myth of the Golden Key
Evangelicalism is littered with ministers who think they have cracked the code. One year it’s a new church growth strategy; the next, it’s a rediscovered doctrine. I’ve been there myself, convinced I’d stumbled onto the one thing that would change everything, but there’s no single doctrine or approach that does it all. The transformation we long for – reformed churches, renewed hearts, lives changed – comes from the faithful, patient proclamation of all God’s truth. Master the full scope of biblical doctrine and let it shape your ministry to God’s people.
Why Every Doctrine Matters
It is tempting to fixate on one doctrine and make it your hobby horse. Maybe you have strong convictions about the doctrine of creation (Chapter 4 in the Second London Confession). It is vital that we interpret Genesis 1-3 correctly; it shapes our understanding of God, humanity, and the world, but is it everything? Not at all! Creation follows the doctrine of God’s Eternal Decree (Chapter 3) and precedes the doctrine of God’s Providence (Chapter 5). Then come the doctrines of man, the fall, and the covenants. Each is a key, and you need them all to build up a church in the whole counsel of God.
The problem in evangelical circles is that we often pit doctrines against each other, as if one is the secret sauce and the others are optional. That’s a recipe for imbalance. If you hammer creation but neglect providence, you miss God’s ongoing rule over His world. If you obsess over the covenants but sideline the doctrine of God, you risk losing the foundation of His sovereignty and glory. The Confession keeps you honest, ensuring you don’t cherry-pick favourite doctrines or grind your ax from the pulpit.
The Danger of Ax-Grinding
It is satisfying to climb into the pulpit and sharpen your favorite issue. You might thrill at honing that one point, but your congregation will think differently. They will either grow bored, despair under the weight of your obsession or fall into an unbalanced view of the Christian life. The pulpit isn’t your platform to vent or crusade; it’s God’s platform to proclaim His Word. When you preach the whole counsel of God, you free yourself from the pressure to be the hero who unlocks revival. You simply sow the seed, trusting God to bring the harvest. Spurgeon put it sharply: “A man who has learned not merely the letter of the Bible, but its inner spirit, will be no mean man, whatever deficiencies he may labour under”¹. The whole counsel of God, not a single pet doctrine, makes a minister mighty.
A Confessional Ministry Bears Fruit
Being confessional means moulding your ministry around the glorious doctrines of Scripture. Study the Second London Confession. Teach it. Live it. Preach it. Don’t just confess it on paper – let it shape how you shepherd souls, lead worship, and disciple the saints entrusted to your care. God blesses a confessional ministry because it is rooted in His unchanging truth. Like Paul, who told the Ephesian elders, “I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole counsel of God” (Acts 20:27), you can rest knowing your conscience is clear when you faithfully proclaim all of Scripture. You’ve been faithful. God will do the rest.
This post is part three of a ten-part series offering honest, practical advice for those stepping into gospel ministry. If you’re wrestling with the call or navigating the early days of serving a church, keep journeying with us through these reflections.
Footnotes
¹ C. H. Spurgeon, Lectures to my Students: A Selection of Addresses Delivered to the Students of The Pastor’s College, Metropolitan Tabernacle (Grand Rapids, Baker, 1995), 196.
Oliver Allmand-Smith
Pastor of Trinity Grace Church, UK;
Trustee of International Reformed
Baptist Seminary, Mansfield, TX
