How to Love My Pastor

(An application of 1 Corinthians 13)

All of these qualities of love find their source and perfect expression in God through
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). 

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© D. Thomas Owsley