Teaching is everything. I do not mean that teaching is the only thing that a pastor should do. Nor do I advocate some lifeless orthodoxy. What I mean is that everything that happens up front in a corporate worship gathering is part of the teaching ministry of the church. Everything teaches, whether you intend to or not. The songs teach people doctrine and proper affections for God. Your prayers (or lack of them) teach people how to pray themselves. The kinds of prayers you pray (or don't pray) teach people about the important difference between prayers of adoration, confession, thanksgiving, and supplication. The way you administer the ordinances teaches people about their meaning, and even the very meaning of the Gospel. Your preaching teaches people how to study and use the Bible appropriately. Everything from the call of worship to the benediction counts as teaching. Teaching is everything.
Mark Dever and Paul Alexander, The Deliberate Church: Building Your Ministry on the Gospel
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