This article isn't written for those of you who have a personality conflict with your pastor. Get over it. Ditto with petty grievances like sermon length, leadership style or vestment choices. If those are your big issues, then maybe the person in the mirror needs to make some changes before we discuss changing the person in the pulpit.
With that disclaimer in mind, I'm going to present some practical ways you can help your church get a new pastor. I should probably take this opportunity to clarify that by "new pastor" I don't necessarily mean another individual, although occasionally that needs to happen. When you misuse a calling or an anointing, sometimes God needs to make some personnel changes. Just ask Saul and David. (On the other hand, maybe that isn't such a good idea with them being dead and all.)
Share the Gospel with your pastor. John Wesley experienced conversion after becoming a priest. How do you know if your pastor has a personal relationship with Jesus? First of all, look at the gospel they're preaching. Is it one with a foundation of repentance and faith in Jesus or one that emphasizes good works, political activism, social justice or {insert your own noun here} with no call for inner change? That's your first clue. Maybe your pastor has never experienced a real life-changing encounter with Jesus Christ. But unless you've got a supernatural evangelism gift, you've got to build a long-term positive relationship with your pastor in order to earn the right to challenge them with that possibility. In the meantime, examine your own life to make sure you're in the faith, and bring conversations with your pastor back to Jesus whenever possible. Genuine faith is contagious. That "new pastor" you're wanting may be your old pastor after they've experienced a new birth!
Pray for your pastor. And no wimpy prayers, either. If your pastor is preaching a gospel that isn't compatible with orthodox, historical Christian teaching, ask God to change the situation. If you suspect that your pastor isn't a Christian, pray for their salvation. Pray for their health. Pray for them to be filled with the Holy Spirit and equipped with spiritual gifts and power to carry out their ministry. Pray that they'll be able to hear God. Pray for God to send angels to assist them and protect them from spiritual attack. If you feel that there is some kind of spiritual attack going on, confront and rebuke any evil spiritual forces you discern in the situation. Feel free to experiment to see what brings results, but don't go beyond God's leading. Also, make sure you confess and repent of any hidden sins in your own life before you attempt any type of spiritual warfare, and be prepared for some kind of spiritual backlash. It usually means you're doing something right.
Pray for God to raise up someone else. The hard truth is that sometimes people just aren't in the right place. Although God is really good at making lemonade out of lemons, our United Methodist appointment process isn't foolproof, and it needs your prayers as much as anything else in life! A longtime friend and pastor told me for years to "trust that the system will work." I do trust the system to work, but only with a lot of prayer! Without prayer by experienced intercessors, there's a real possibility that the appointment process could screw things up! Everything that happens is not God's will. The fact is, we have plenty of pastors who probably need to find a new line of work. Maybe it's going to take more prayer to help show them the door.
Find alternative ways to feed the flock. So what do you do when your church just got a knucklehead pastor who looks for every opportunity to discredit the Bible and destroy faith? This approach is controversial, but it can be highly effective. Simply find good Christian books, teaching CDs and DVD's, and begin sharing them with others in your church. Start your own prayer and Bible study group. I heard of a United Methodist pastor in Texas who banned Beth Moore (a popular Southern Baptist Bible teacher) in his church but the women of the congregation bought Beth Moore DVD's and had their own Bible study anyway. Don't buck pastoral authority lightly, however. Whether your pastor is right about something or not, God takes their position seriously and you need to as well. But you can't just sit back and and watch people starve spiritually. Methodists supposedly value "open minds", so pass around those books and audio teachings wthout having a guilty conscience. And if you want to remain "brand loyal", there are plenty of good, orthodox United Methodist writers and teachers. What you'll find when you do this is that the church's appetite for God's word will grow, and pressure will mount for your pastor to make some changes.
Church politics and "the system" aren't going away anytime soon. It's how we do things in United Methodism. Every church and denomination has a system for doing things, and most systems are strong in some areas and weaker in others. But we serve a God who is bigger than any system. He can work through systems or around them. In the United Methodist Church, there is a higher authority than the bishop and a higher court than the judicial council- God himself. Make no mistake, placing yourself under someone's pastoral authority is a big deal. Your pastor has a tremendous responsibility, and should be held accountable by you, your congregation, the D.S., the bishop, the church universal, and ultimately, by God. So if you feel that a pastoral change of any kind is necessary, pray and fast first to determine if you should take action... and how to approach the situation if you do. There's more than one way to skin a cat.
