How to Love My Pastor

HOW TO LOVE MY PASTOR

(An application of 1 Corinthians 13)

All of these qualities of love find their source and perfect expression
in Godthrough Jesus Christ. If I am truly in Christ, we should express
these loving qualities more and more, even toward my pastor. Fill in the
blank spaces with your pastor’s name.

1. Does my communication with ____________________ come from a
heart of love or am I just an irritating noise maker (1 Cor. 13:1)?

2. Do I use the gifts God has given me to lovingly serve _____________
(1 Cor. 13:2)?

3. Do I love ____________________ sacrificially? In what specific
ways do I do so? (1 Cor. 13:3)?

4. Am I patient with ____________________? In other words, do I show
an enduring restraint with him even when I have a right to act? Do I restrain
my words and actions when wronged or provoked when I have a right to act,
unless there is a particular sin I need to address through gentle rebuke
(Matt. 18:15-22; Gal. 6:1).

5. Am I kind toward ____________________? Kindness proceeds from a
tender heart that contributes to his good will and happiness (1 Cor. 13:4).

6. I am not envious of ____________________. I do not feel an uneasiness
with the excellence, reputation or happiness he enjoys. I have no desire to
depreciate him (1 Cor. 13:4)

7. I do not brag about myself to ____________________. This means that
I do not have an anxious display of myself for the purpose of elevating my own
life, especially at the expense of putting him down. I do not campaign for the
center of attention (1 Cor. 13:4).

8. I am not arrogant, puffed up or swollen with a proud vanity (1 Cor. 13:4).

9. I am considerate and not rude with ____________________. I do not act
unbecomingly or unseemly toward him, nor unnecessarily embarrass him
(1 Cor. 13:5).

10. I seek ____________________’s greatest good and benefit (1 Cor. 13:5).

11. I am not easily provoked or angered by ____________________. I do
not have a trigger temper that stems from bitterness (1 Cor. 13:5).

12. I do not keep a record of the wrongs suffered by ______________ from
which to make a plan for retaliation. Especially since Jesus Christ took
the registry of my sins and my pastor’s sins and paid for them with his own
sacrificial life and death (1 Cor. 13:5).

____________
© D. Thomas Owsley
See The Perfect Pastor? Appendix S, pp. 397-398