Summer 2009 | Volume 67, No. 4

John Meador

by Keith Collier

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Having lost a major part of his hearing due to a childhood illness, John Meador felt his impairment excluded him from a preaching ministry, but Meador says God used it “to create a unique dependence upon Him and His grace to help me daily.”

Although his hearing loss is considered “profound” and he uses lip-reading to understand conversations, Meador says, “There is nothing quite like the sense of humility that comes from knowing God’s grace is alone responsible for any effectiveness in my ministry.”

Meador, pastor of First Baptist Church in Euless, Texas, earned a Master of Divinity at Southwestern, where he was greatly impacted by an advanced preaching class that presented the model of expository preaching. His preaching classes, along with Greek studies, served as a formative chapter in his life that shaped much of the ministry he has today.

“If I do not have a text, I have very little of importance to say–and absolutely nothing to say that will transform a life, as only God’s Word can do,” says Meador.

Meador attributes much of the biblical illiteracy and spiritual immaturity in churches today to a lack of focus on the Word. He believes the cure is found in reading and preaching the texts of the Bible. To this end, he spends more than half of his time during the week thinking, praying, studying, and preparing for preaching.

Illustrating the text and presenting a mental picture of the truth found within Scripture has become another passion for Meador. Whether he is wearing authentic military armor to talk about the armor of God, having a graphic illustrator create characters to represent sins in the book of James, or carving a cross with an axe to demonstrate the reality of the crucifixion, Meador says he enjoys seeing his congregation experience “a new intensity when the text is emphasized and the illustration makes it clear to the mind’s eye.”

Meador develops his illustrations along with a creative team of about seven church members. He presents his preaching schedule for the upcoming months and the team brainstorms ideas about how to best illustrate a text or series.

While creative illustrations are helpful, Meador says life transformation is the highest goal in preaching.

Recently, as he was preaching through ?1 Thessalonians 4 concerning sexual immorality, a young couple was struck by the truth in the text. They were not married but were living together. They immediately repented and separated so they could seek God. Eventually, they married.

“It was a great story that began when a text was taught and they heard the voice of the Spirit speaking to them,” Meador says.

Meador and his church have been greatly involved in the preaching ministry of Southwestern. In addition to preaching in chapel and at the Expository Preaching Workshop, he led the church to donate a gift of $500 the past two years to the students selected to preach on Student Preaching Day.

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