Praying for My Pastor | Previous Challenge Entry

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TITLE: Praying for My Pastor | Previous Challenge Entry
By Bonnie Clarkson
12/02/23
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Being dissatisfied with four churches, I quit going until I heard a person use Jesus’ name to comfort a widow. I chose his church because it proclaims Jesus and uses the KJV Bible. I was satisfied there for several years.

After reading Pit Crew: Praying Pastors Finish the Race by Sally U. Smith, I decided to pray for my pastor’s study time since I heard him admit he only spends five minutes planning his sermon before worship service. That subject started my prayer journey.

Then his sermons became worse. In four months, he used 2 Corinthians 6:6-7 four times. Each time he talked about tribulation, watching, and comfort. I even correctly predicted he would use the woman at the well as an example. He said, referring to the Bible, “It’s all good.” How could I argue with that? The pastor said he was going through the Bible. At this rate, I wondered how many years he had been at it.

If I can get one lesson out of a sermon, it’s been a good sermon. Rather than hearing a lesson, my mind wandered. All this time, I continued to pray. I believed I was not specific enough. I asked God to move the man to preach the whole Bible, not just 2 Corinthians 6:6-7.

The next Sunday’s message was 2 Corinthians 7:2. I thanked God for a new message answering my prayer. By the fourth Sunday of preaching on that passage, I was urgently praying to enjoy the sermons rather than falling asleep. I prayed for the ability to hear what God wanted me to hear.

But it wasn’t happening. I thought about asking if other people were frustrated, but I did not. Two women “ooh”ed and “aah”ed over a baby and toddler during the sermon. Another time, I asked for prayer meetings that started with a word to inspire members to quote their favorite verse on the subject. Some did not have time to look up a favorite verse. The meetings fizzled out. I felt I had little in common with the members.

I learn the best with points and sub-points. Surely that was the problem. Others probably needed it too. So, I began praying with tears for his sermons to be specifically like that.

That did not happen either. Now I fought not being angry with God.

Two men knocked at my door doing visitation and invited me to their church. At my then present church, there were no Sunday evening services. Knowing a church does not come by going once, I started going to theirs. The singing was enthusiastic. The preacher listed his points, and used alliteration which helped me remember.

Still, I continued at my old church on Sunday mornings. Having tasted a church alive, I wanted to switch, but I felt an obligation to work within the church. I did not want to be accused of quitting because something in the Bible offended me.

The Bible says there is wisdom in counsellors, so I asked four strong Christian friends for advice. All four said the same thing: if you feel like you are not growing, change churches. Finally, God said, “Quit complaining,” and I moved to the new church. Apparently, the members of the old church need a different style of teaching than I do.

This is a true story. I did not use a name for the pastor to prevent people from thinking, "Is this my pastor?"

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