In the early chapters of 1 Corinthians, Paul says he came to them “in weakness and with much trembling.” He refused to employ the rhetorical methods of his day in order that his preaching would be “a demonstration of the Spirit’s power” (2:4). In his helpful book Basic Christian Leadership, John Stott comments on this passage:

I fear that these words would not be an accurate description of many contemporary evangelists. Weakness not their most obvious characteristic. No, seminary homiletics classes aim to inculcate self-confidence in nervous students. If Paul had enrolled in one of our seminaries today, he would have been regarded as very unpromising material. Since he was supposed to be a mature christian,we might even have rebuked him, saying “Paul, you’ve no business to feel nervous. Don’t you know what it means to be filled with the Spirit You ought to be strong, confident, bold! …

According to a second-century tradition he was unattractive, small, even ugly, with bald head, beetle brows, bandy legs and a hooked nose. Moreover, his critics said that his bodily presence was weak and his speech contemptible (10:10). So he was nothing much to look at or listen to. These disabilities would have disqualified him from succeeding as a sophist or rhetorician, or as a popular evangelist today.

All Christians should ask themselves: If Paul showed up preaching in your town or at your church, his eagle-beak nose and bad eyes and lack of rhetorical flourish, would you recognize the power and truth of his message? All preachers should weigh their methods against Paul’s. It’s clear that he made himself a servant to all and became all things to all men so that he might win some, but “all things” did not mean he compromised the message or the humble method of communicating the message.