God: "I looked for someone to take a stand for me, and stand in the gap" (Ezekiel 22:30)
Expository preaching has three decided advantages for any pastor: First, it takes the congregation through a book of the Bible so that they are able to observe and understand the various covenantal themes contained in it. Second, this type of “series” preaching protects the congregation from the pastor’s “hobby horses.” Therefore, rather than preaching on a number of his favorite topics, he is bound by the text to preach and teach the variety of doctrines found in the Word of God. Moreover, in the history of preaching it has been this expository approach that has proven to be the most spiritually beneficial to God’s covenant communities. Third, this will solve the problem for the younger pastor of choosing a text every week. Being guided by the text and your exegesis, you know what you’re preaching on next week.
We need to address the issue of personality and gifts tests. In my opinion, trying to make gift assessments based on these factors alone can be risky. People can reflect different personalities in different situations. Some people may misunderstand the questions and mistakenly answer them. Others may force certain answers hoping for certain results. Answers can be misread and misapplied. Therefore, to rely solely on personality tests to help a person determine his life’s service to God could be a serious mistake.