From "2 Corinthians" by Linda L. Belleville
"There is a tendency in evangelicalism today to place great store in charismatic preaching, professional programming and a worship service that is glamorous and glitzy—in short, to expect a good performance rather than a good message. Paul faced serious personal challenges throughout his ministry because he rejected the performance orientation of his own culture and focused only on preaching 'Jesus Christ and him crucified' (1 Cor. 2:2)."

I agree that this is a tendency in evangelicalism. I had to leave a previous ministry because of similar issues. I was not charismatic enough. I wasn’t successful enough. I wasn’t getting the results the church leadership wanted. I was a youth pastor. No wonder the average tenure of a youth pastor today is 18 months. Worship pastors are beginning to experience this type of criticism and pressure as well.

We must turn away from this mindset just as the apostle Paul did. We must continue to preach only Jesus and him crucified! My fear is that the emerging, postmodern church will be just as susceptible to this tendency. Will the emerging church only welcome and honor those individuals who are "charismatic preachers?" Will the postmodern church only celebrate "professional programming and a worship service that is glamorous and glitzy?" Or will the emerging church appreciate the preaching of Jesus Christ and him crucified above all else in the church?

Belleville closes her reflections on this idea with this: "In a day and age where there is a similar emphasis on spiritual achievements, financial empires, miraculous gifts and performance skills in the pulpit, we do well to heed the warning of how easy it is to end up communicating another Jesus, another Spirit and another gospel."