When I interviewed Dean Inserra, pastor of City Church in Tallahassee, Florida, I asked him what encourages him. He didn’t take long to answer.
“I’ll tell you what, the local church. I mean, truly that has been lifeline for me, the local church, and really seeing what it looks like for people to love their church because they love their Savior … Being around church members just truly fires me up. So my family loves local church like that truly, it’s not some pastor answer … I love the local church. If I wasn’t the pastor, I would love the local church. And so that’s that’s what gives me a lot of life.”
Inserra’s Twitter bio reads, “Unashamed of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Huge fan of the the local church.” He often tweets about the church too. A sample:
Big local church fan here.
— Dean Inserra (@deaninserra) January 9, 2022
Inserra isn’t the only pastor who loves the local church. A few years ago, I started listening to Ray Ortlund’s sermons at Immanuel Nashville. I learned a lot from his preaching: how he puzzled through the text with his listeners, how we stood amazed by the truths he encountered. I learned from his boldness, compassion, and warmth. A few qualities stood out in his preaching. One of them was his delight in being part of the church. He couldn’t wait for Sundays, he’d often say. He loved being part of that church. He couldn’t believe he got to be their pastor.
I’m encouraged when I find a pastor who loves the local church.
I went through a phase when I felt disillusioned with the church. Looking back, I felt hurt. I allowed myself to become a critic of the church. It’s hard to love others well as a critic.
By God’s grace, I came out on the other side. Now I can’t believe I get to pastor God’s people.
Bonhoeffer’s words from Life Together ring true: “The man who fashions a visionary ideal of community demands that it be realized by God, by others, and by himself. He enters the community of Christians with his demands, sets up his own law, and judges the brethren and God himself accordingly. He stands adamant, a living reproach to all others in the circle of brethren. He acts as if he is the creator of the Christian community, as if his dream binds men together. When things do not go his way, he calls the effort a failure. When his ideal picture is destroyed, he sees the community going to smash. So he becomes, first an accuser of his brethren, then an accuser of God, and finally the despairing accuser of himself.”
If we’re not careful, our leadership role within the church can cause us to become critics, not lovers, of the church. When we become critics, we forfeit our leadership of the church we’re called to love and lead.
Pastors: you will be hurt by the church. Guaranteed. The church will crush you and criticize you. You will be tempted to become bitter.
Deal with the emotions and grief honestly. It will hurt. You will need support and encouragement.
Just don’t allow that hurt to cause you to become a critic of the church. Don’t enter Christian community as a critic. See the beauty of the church. Be known as someone who loves the church.
I’m encouraged when I encounter pastors who love the church. By God’s grace, let’s aim to cultivate that love in our ministries. Become a pastor who’s known for your love of the church.
