A woman was having her golden jubilee birthday celebration. She had invited a lot of dignitaries and men of God. Then she told her pastor; “Sir, you will pray for me, and these other men of God will pray.” Her pastor asked her a thought-provoking question; “But who among us is your pastor? I don’t share sheep.”
Friend, not everybody can pastor you (Jeremiah 3:15). The problem of some Christians is the desire to be submitted to every man of God. Especially in our generation, people believe in having multiple pastors (1 Corinthians 4:15). In fact, some pick up pastors like groceries as they move from place to place. This ought not to be so.
Pastor, always remind yourself that you cannot be everybody’s pastor (John 10:14). One job you should be glad to do as a pastor is to help some stray sheep find their pastor. If you continue to keep the wrong sheep in your church, you would cause problems in the sheepfold (Psalm 144:11-12). You would also be keeping the right sheep away from joining the fold.
The reason why there would be different churches and pastors is because different churches and pastors are best suited for different church members (Psalm 68:6). It is only an ignorant or arrogant pastor who wants to be the pastor of an entire city or nation. You can only pastor people to the degree that God assigns them to your calling and ministry (John 10:16).
You won’t realise the importance of knowing and staying with your pastor until you get to critical junctures in life and destiny (Luke 22:31-32). That woman in our opening story had lived her life submitting to different men of God before that occasion, so it was difficult to decipher who should play the role of her pastor on that special occasion (Galatians 4:19).
While we would always have different men and ministries contributing to our lives at different times, this must not be mistaken for the right pastoring and fathering (Ezekiel 34:9-24). The fact that you like someone’s anointing or grace does not make him your pastor. It is God who assigns sheep to pastors and distributes His flock among different churches. Pray to know who and where God has assigned you to and stay planted there (Psalm 92:13).
‘Demola Awoyele
Lead Pastor,
Destiny Impact Church
Akure, Nigeria