What a blessing it is to have a pastor who loves the Lord, who teaches the Word, and who leads his "flock" aright. I thank God we have a man like that in the church which I attend. In these days of apostasy, when there is such a tragic departure from an emphasis on the Word, how we should praise the Lord for those who are true to the Book, who live the life, and who speak with the fire of conviction. If you have such a pastor, thank God for him, pray for him, and give him a word of encouragement. (By the way, how long has it been since you gave your pastor a good firm handshake and said, "I thank God for you, and all that you have meant in my life. I'm praying for you every day"?)
"Oh," but you say, "that may be all right for your church, but we're trying to figure out how to get rid of the pastor in ours." Is that your problem? Well, then perhaps the following article I found some time ago will be of help to you:
"Not long ago, a well-meaning group of laymen came from a neighboring church to see me. They wanted me to advise them on some convenient, painless, yet successful method of getting rid of their pastor. Here's what I told them:
1. Look him straight in the eye while he is preaching and say `Amen!' once in a while. He'll preach himself to death.
2. Pat him on the back and brag on his good points. He'll soon work himself to death.
3. Re-dedicate your own life to Christ, and ask the preacher for a job to do; or tell him you plan to lead some lost soul to Christ. He'll die of heart failure.
4. Get the church to unite in prayer for the preacher and he'll soon become so effective that some large church will take him off your hands."
When your preacher is doing
The best that he can,
Pray for him, help him
He's only a man!
— P. Langvand
Prayerless pews make for powerless pulpits!