I love pastors and others who serve churches vocationally. But I must admit, I don’t verbalize or write about that love very often. Shame on me. Allow me to take a few moments to articulate some of the reasons I love my pastor.
- I love my pastor because he studies and preaches the Word faithfully. He is consistent every week.
- I love my pastor because he is a man of prayer. He knows he cannot lead and shepherd our church in his own power. He is totally dependent on God.
- I love my pastor because he is always on call. His workweeks are long. He knows his vacations and days off will often be interrupted by crises and deaths, but he doesn’t complain. He views it as a part of his call.
- I love my pastor because he is there to celebrate my victories and to comfort me in my difficulties. His life is a roller coaster of emotional events, but he remains constant and strong for our church.
- I love my pastor because he leads our church with a vision. And he constantly seeks to make certain it is God’s vision and not his own.
- I love my pastor because he endures criticism from church members. And though the critics hurt him, he perseveres and loves them anyway.
- I love my pastor because he is authentic. He does not act spiritually superior or condescending. The pastor I see in the pulpit is consistent with the pastor I see in other settings.
- I love my pastor because he bears the burdens of leading many people without complaints or self-pity. He hears of so many challenges and problems in others’ lives, but that does not deter him from listening and praying for us.
- I love my pastor because he is sacrificial. He seeks to put us church members before himself. He is a selfless man and a grateful man.
- I love my pastor because he loves to share the gospel and the power of the resurrection. He is truly passionate about seeing those without Christ become followers of the Savior.
- I love my pastor because he disciples and mentors many. He understands that his role is not to do all the work of ministry, but to equip others to do the work of ministry.
- I love my pastor because he loves our congregation with a Christ-like love. Though he can get frustrated and discouraged, his love for us does not wane. Indeed we get a glimpse of the love of Christ through the love of our pastor.
I could name so many other reasons I love my pastor, but I will let these be sufficient for now. I would love to hear from you about why you love your pastor. Feel free to give the name of your pastor and the name of your church.
By the way, my pastor’s name is Mike Glenn. He serves the congregation of Brentwood Baptist Church. I am really looking forward to your responses.
Posted on April 29, 2015
With nearly 40 years of ministry experience, Thom Rainer has spent a lifetime committed to the growth and health of local churches across North America.
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106 Comments
I’m Dallas Mazzio. I am 14 years of age and I thought that this describes my pastor wonderfully. There’s just 1 more thing about my pastor I couldn’t help but share. When my pastor preaches, you can feel the emotion. Every time he preaches I end up in tears. He makes me see things in my life I didn’t know where there and I love that about him.
– Dallas Mazzio
Oh by the way, my pastor is Tim Mclendon from Cornerstone Baptist Church in Norfolk VA
I love my pastor for so many reasons but i’m just gonna metion some. My pastor is a great man of God whose God’s grace flows upon i love my pastor because he loves God he serves God with everything he has he is so dedicated to serving God whether at his convinience or not he is at his duty always. I also love him because he is always there whenever we need his assistance he never gave excuses he loves the congregration and teaches us the truth whether it hurts or not, he took everyone as equal he takes the children as his, my pastor is so wonderful he taught me to love God and my acedemics. I love my pastor because he is my mentor and role model. God bless you Rev. Sunday Shedrack Agunzi
I love my pastor because he is devoted, he never wastes time and most especailly because he loves the youth and he teaches us so many things when we go astray he help usunderstand the truth my pastor always tell you the truth whether it hurts you or not, everyone is his friend and he carry everyone along, there are so many reasons i love my pastor but I’ll stop here with this word My Pastor, Rev. Sunday Shedrack Agunzi is too good.
We have 4 shepherds in our church, in lieu of a Senior “Pastor”- they all function in different aspects (Admin, Teaching/Counsel, Youth/Music & Outreach)- they are definitely in their element.
I love our shepherds because they love with the love of Christ. They make time if you need them and they truly care about the sheep.
The only pastor I know, who could check all of those boxes, will deny that even one of them applies to him.
Which is about what one would expect from a person, whose initial letter says, paraphrased: “If you are looking for perfection, and people who are always obedient to Christ, look elsewhere. If you are looking for other sinners trying to follow Christ, this might be the place for you.”
I love my pastor, Ray Deeter of Grace Baptist Church in Evansville, Indiana, because he preaches the Word of God faithfully and will not compromise or bend the Truth. He has said he will go to jail before he would disobey or compromise the Word, and I believe him. He will not bow to the god of political correctness. He stands in front of the holy desk, not behind it, and holds the Word of God close to his heart when he preaches, opens it frequently to read from it so he doesn’t misquote anything, and then returns it to right over his heart. He speaks tenderly of his love for Jesus, his family, and his flock. He is a passionate man of God whose most sincere desire is that no one leaves the service without knowing for sure that he/she belongs to Jesus.
Our Pastor name is Dr.Steven Francis and I love my Pastor because he knows how to put God first in whatever he does. He is the perfect example to live a life in Obedience for me. I have been blessed and inspired when he preach from the word of God. He is annointed and full of wisdom and yet he is very humble,and live a life in Authority according to the word of God.He has set his example to be *A Man After God’s Own Heart*.I pray that God will use him and empower him continuely till the end. God bless my Pastor.
Jesus My King Church- Singapore.
My Pastor is Dr. Terence Merritt. of LIFE Church of Atlanta. I love him because He is a man that chases after the heart of God. He is a man of integrity and He loves Gods people. He feeds us a Word that is never half done. He teaches us tools to not only advance in the Kingdom but to advance in our daily lives. Every vision that he has is ordained by God and everything he teaches us is biblical and not tainted by personal agendas. He is selfless, humble, and always protects the hearts of Gods people. He is absolutely an awesome man of God and im grateful that he is my Pastor.
I’d like to throw in my 2 cents worth. I thank you very much for sharing the things that I need to strive for as a pastor. I cannot say that I alway rate perfectly on them, but only hope that my congregation sees that I’m trying to.
I noticed that a couple people spoke out about how you said you love your pastor for always being on call. There are times when we really do need to get away and allow a substitute minister to handle emergencies. That’s why I like to travel out of country where I can’t be tempted to go back. But at the same time I would never want someone to go through a traumatic experience and not call me because it was my day off.
I believe you were expressing your gratefulness for the willingness of your pastor not to neglect you in times of emergency. But I also believe that you (according to other posts you’ve written) desire the pastor to be able to take time off for rest. For me, I am lucky enough to have the freedom of setting my own schedule. When emergencies come up at midnight or on my day off, I can choose another day to rest.
Thank you for your post.
As a pastor for more than 40 years, this list served as an encouragement AND as a personal checklist for ME!
I was immediately struck by how these points describe so well why I love my pastor (Rev. Dr. David McKinley, Central Schwenkfelder Church, Lansdale, PA.) So I shared your article with his wife and I can’t tell you how much she appreciated the encouragement, support, and love that so often goes unsaid. Thank you, Thom.