Tag Archives: Pastors

Frustrated with Your Pastor? Pray Like This

One of the better lessons I learned from the book was to pray that God would make your wife the model of beauty.

An apt prayer in a culture steeped in the cult of self-image and supermodels.

The point behind Gary Thomas’ statement is two-fold: one, to steer us away from the temptation to compare our wives to a cover of a Cosmopolitan;  two, to cultivate our sense of beauty on our wives–and not the other way around.

The same principle can be applied to how we view our pastors and preaching.

The Cult of the Superstar Pastor

With easy access to sermons online, and the subsequent rise of superstar preachers like , ,  and , we can easily slip into a pattern of frustration and disappointment with our very own pastors.

You might find yourself making statements like this:

“Why doesn’t he preach the gospel like Chandler?”

“He’s good–but he’s no Driscoll.”

“Mark Dever would never do that.”

Just like with supermodels and celebrities, what we don’t see is the dirty side of these pastors’ lives. We typically only see their most polished work. The stuff that is photoshopped so to speak.

Pray Like This for Your Pastor

Here’s what you need to do if you find yourself frustrated with your pastor: pray that God will make your pastor and his preaching the standard by which all preaching is to be judged.

Just like in a marriage you have to live with this man on a weekly–if not daily–basis. That means you have a commitment to support him. And the best way to do that is to pray for him. Praying for his preaching is a great place to start.

Then you need to repent. Repent for being critical, impatient and self-absorbed. Most of our frustration with our pastors lies in the fact that our needs are not being met.

It’s not the pastors job to meet your needs. His job is to faithfully preach the gospel.

Now, this isn’t a one-way street. You should expect from your pastor a faithful preaching of the whole counsel of God. If he’s not doing that then address it with him. Simply approach him and make your case.

And never gossip. Then you’ll just be a hypocrite.

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Six Pastors Who Influenced My Life

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the people who’ve influenced me.

Specifically pastors.

Pastors who’ve risked fame and friends in favor of speaking truth.

Ever wonder what life would be like WITHOUT people who weren’t afraid to cut across the grain?

Luckily, there are pastors who refused to sleep with the enemy.

Some of these pastors have changed my life. Here are six.

Exposed my ten years as a false convert for what they were–a delusion–and put me on the search for the meaning of a true, biblical conversion.

Picked up where Comfort left off through a series of sermons on authentic faith that pushed me to ground my salvation in the biblical work of Christ and not some weak confession motivated by selfish desires.

Taught me the importance of distributing my time equally among Christians and non-Christians and how to talk to those non-Christians.

Demonstrated how to revel in the beauty and joy of submitting to, exalting in and serving for Christ.

Showed me [in a biography of his life] during the early, ambivalent stage of my Christian walk that raising God-fearing children was a vastly more important legacy to leave than becoming one of the most significant novelists of my time.

Got in my face when my emotional infidelity with my wife surfaced. He boldy drew the line in the sand and challenged me to decide which side I was going to stand on–the sacred life of serving Christ or the libertine life of serving self.

Now it’s your turn. Share a short story about a pastor in your life who’s influenced you.

And if you’re a non-believer, tell us about a person–maybe a father, professor or manager–who gave you life-altering advice.

Let’s honor those people who’ve swam up stream for the sake of truth. I look forward to your thoughts.

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