3 Pulpit Green Flags 💚
The pulpit is a special place; it is the place for the proclamation of God’s word. Tons of eyeballs and hearts wait in expectation to grow deeper in their relationship with God. That place (pulpit) represents safety, wisdom, and revelation. I plan to talk about the difference of teacher and pastor soon- but in the meantime… I’ll use them a little interchangeably. Here are GREEN flags of a pastor/teacher:
Jesus is the focus. I know this probably sounds like a given, but trust me... it is not. Now, this doesn’t mean a pastor simply mentions God or Jesus as a throwaway thought. Instead, they teach the congregation how to see Jesus in the text of the bible. You should be able to walk away knowing something about the character and nature of God. In John 5:39, Jesus says, “You study the Scriptures diligently because you think that in them you have eternal life. These are the very Scriptures that testify about me,”. Don’t get it twisted…. ALL of scripture points to the Lord. Your teacher and pastor should emphasize this. 2 Timothy says, "do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling God's word of truth." How teachers and preachers use the text is of IMPORTANCE to God!
They have a pulse on their community. I am not big on pastors/teachers contorting scripture to appease their congregation’s flesh. I am, however, big on pastors understanding the concerns, needs, and proclivities of the congregation. In wisdom from Holy Spirit, we discern the spiritual warfare in our communities. For example, Hollywood has a specific principality of new age and witchcraft. The North West states skew more atheistic and wrestle with disbelief. The South is full of people steeped in religious dogma, but no relationship to Jesus. There are cities dipped in lust and others in violence. A loving, attentive pastor cares and points people back to a Jesus who cares.
They promote your prayer & devotional life Healthy leaders want you to rely on the word of God and a personal relationship with Him, not themselves. They will consistently and fervently send you to read the text for yourself. They want you to pray for discernment and guidance. They urge you to test what they say as true within God's word. Luke talks about a group of believers called the Bereans; He says they were even MORE spiritual because of their eagerness to test the teachers by studying their word, “Now the Berean Jews were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true. 12 As a result, many of them believed, as did also a number of prominent Greek women and many Greek men. Acts 17). I cannot stress this enough. Healthy teachers desire to take the shine off of themselves and point you back to devotion with Jesus and God’s word.
I hope this is helpful- that you walk away with a tool. Perhaps you’re looking for a new church home or maybe you have some concerns at your current church. My prayer is that you feel empowered and emboldened. There are still PHENOMENAL teachers and pastors out there… pray that God would lead you and your families to truth.
Love you!
