Even the great preachers have spent time in the preaching wilderness, talking to arid landscapes of cactus-like people. Take Martin Luther, clearly one of the best preachers Christendom has produced. Luther had been preaching in his Wittenberg church for years, but the longer he preached, the more discouraged he grew. People just didn’t get it. They gladly heard him, but instead of being inspired to discipleship, they only became lethargic. Luther noted that despite his preaching, “no