You are in great danger. You have been complimented so much for the fire of your offhand, maiden sermons you have quit studying. You have no library and do not read. You have already contracted the habit of relying on preaching over your first dozen revival sermons. Such a habit calls for a wide range of ever-changing pasturage. The first time such a sermon is a juicy roast, next time it is only warmed over, next time it is hash, next time it is soup out of the bones. Soon these sermons that once warmed your heart will no longer taste well, not even in your own mouth, and then you may be sure they do not taste well to the congregation. The spiritual stomach, as well as the physical, calls for freshness, variety, and change in the food served. When this stage of non-appreciation in your hearers arrives, you have to move on to another field; you soon will acquire the reputation of not being able to hold any field long.
B. H. Carroll, “The Mystery of Lawlessness. A Good Minister of Jesus Christ: 1 Timothy 4:1-16,” in An Interpretation of the English Bible, 10:65-66.
