Sermon quotes on pastors
Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Do not try to make the Bible relevant. Its relevance is axiomatic. Do not defend God’s word, but testify to it. Trust to the Word. It is a ship loaded to the very limits of its capacity.
Eric Metaxas, Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy.
John Calvin
The pastor ought to have two voices: one, for gathering the sheep; and another, for warding off and driving away wolves and thieves. The Scripture supplies him with the means of doing both.
Timothy Keller
Pastors must practice a two-fold program of cultural engagement: deconstruction and demystification of cultural idols, and reconstruction and re-enchantment of a Gospel-shaped worldview.
Woodrow Kroll
Pastors need your grace, not your gripes.
John Owen
The first and principal duty of a pastor is to feed the flock by diligent preaching of the word.
Eugene Peterson
The vocation of pastor(s) has been replaced by the strategies of religious entrepreneurs with business plans.
Eugene Peterson
Isn’t it odd that pastors, who are responsible for interpreting the Scriptures, so much of which come in the form of poetry, have so little interest in poetry? … Words create. God’s word creates; our words can participate in creation.
A.W. Tozer
A local church will only be as great as its conception of God.
Philip Wagner
Peter Drucker, the late leadership guru, said that the four hardest jobs in America (and not necessarily in order, he added) are:
- The President of the United States
- A university president
- A CEO of a hospital and
- A pastor
Mark E. Van Houten
No matter how adept an exegete a theologian is, . . . it is all for naught if he does not understand his contemporary audience.
John Stott
The very first thing which needs to be said about Christian ministers of all kinds is that they are “under” people as their servants rather than “over” them (as their leaders, let alone their lords). Jesus made this absolutely plain. he chief characteristic of Christian leaders, he insisted, is humility not authority, and gentleness not power.
The Fuller Institute, George Barna, and Pastoral Care Inc.
50% of pastors have considered leaving the ministry in the last six months. 50% of the ministers starting out will not last five years. One in ten pastors will actually retire as a minister in some form. Over 4,000 churches closed in America last year. Over 3,500 people a day left the church last year.
Stuart Briscoe
Qualifications of a pastor: the mind of a scholar, the heart of a child, and the hide of a rhinoceros.
Still Looking for inspiration?
Consider checking out our illustrations page on Pastors.