Honouring your pastor doesn’t includes unconditional obedience, never questioning leadership decisions, and treating pastoral authority as equivalent to divine authority. In the context of documented pastoral abuse in Nigerian Christianity and across global church culture, this extreme of honour is potentially harmful. There is a clear, gracious boundaries of pastoral honour.
**CATEGORY TAG:** Christian Living · Church Life · Pastoral Ministry · Honouring Leaders · Bible Study
How do you honour your pastor biblically?
The Bible calls believers to honour those who lead them spiritually (Hebrews 13:17; 1 Thessalonians 5:12–13; 1 Timothy 5:17). Practically, honouring your pastor means: (1) receiving and acknowledging their calling over your life; (2) submitting to their spiritual guidance; (3) not criticising or slandering them; (4) praying for them consistently; (5) giving materially to support their ministry; (6) obeying their scriptural instruction; (7) protecting their reputation; (8) guarding their family; (9) being punctual and committed in attendance; and (10) expressing genuine, specific gratitude. Honouring a pastor is not flattery or blind obedience - it is the biblical posture of a believer who understands that God works through human leaders and that how you treat the one He sends reflects how you relate to the One who sent them.
Introduction: The Beautiful and Burdensome Duty
Pastoring is the beautiful duty of caring for God's people.
The word *pastor* comes from the Latin *pastor*, meaning *shepherd*. It is an image full of both honour and labour: the shepherd who leads, feeds, protects, searches for the lost, carries the weak, and stands between the flock and what would harm them. Every Sunday morning, as you take your seat in a service, the person who prepared that sermon spent hours — sometimes days — in prayer and study on your behalf. They carried you before God in intercession this week. They responded to a phone call from someone in crisis at 11:30 p.m. They held someone's hand in a hospital room. They navigated a conflict between two church members. They are managing their own family, their own faith journey, and their own spiritual warfare while simultaneously carrying the weight of the flock.
Sadly, many believers do not take the duty of honour seriously, neither do they put it into action. Honouring your pastor is an important responsibility in Christianity. Perhaps due to over-familiarity, or the casualness that contemporary church culture sometimes breeds, it is rare to see believers who genuinely honour their pastors — which is not how it should be. Honouring your pastor is as important as obeying God's Word, because the way you relate to the one God sent to you is a reflection of how you relate to the One who sent them.
Scripture puts it plainly:
*"Be very careful never to neglect the Levites as long as you live in your land."* — Deuteronomy 12:19 (NLT)
The Levites in the Old Testament had no tribal land inheritance. God was their inheritance, and the community's faithful giving was their practical sustenance. The principle transfers directly to the New Testament Pastor: those who give themselves wholly to ministering to others need to be supported, honoured, and cared for by those they serve.
It doesn't have to do with the relationship you have outside church, be it your tenant, your employee, your student, or your apprentice. There is an anointing over your pastor that supersedes your qualifications and your familiarity. Honour is expected not because of who he is in the natural, but because of who God has made him in the Spirit.
Here are ten biblical ways to honour the pastor God has placed over your life.
1. Receive and Acknowledge Their Calling
In Matthew 10:41 (NIV), the Scriptures point out clearly that “Anyone who receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet's reward.”
The very first way to honour your pastor is also the most foundational: you must receive them as what God has made them — your pastor.
This sounds simple until you examine what it actually requires. It means looking at the person who may also be your neighbour, your former classmate, someone younger than you, someone whose educational background you may consider inferior to yours — and consciously, spiritually, deliberately choosing to relate to them through the lens of their God-given assignment rather than your natural assessment of them.
Matthew 10:41 tells us something remarkable: the way you receive a person of God determines the category of blessing you can receive through them. Jesus said those who receive a prophet *as a prophet* receive a prophet's reward. The same miracle, the same anointing, the same word — but the reception determines the impact. A person could live under the same roof as a man of God and receive none of his blessing because they have never received him by his calling. Familiarity, as Jesus demonstrated in His own hometown (Mark 6:4–5), has the capacity to neutralise what faith would otherwise activate.
This is why the beginning of honour is an internal posture — a deliberate decision, made before you ever sit in a service, before you ever engage with the sermon, before you ever approach the altar. "This is my pastor. God sent this person to me. I receive them as such."
**Practical application:** The next time your pastor ministers to you — whether in a service, a counselling session, or a casual word — consciously choose to receive it as from God's assigned instrument in your life. Write down what they said. Act on it. The reception of the word is where the blessing begins.
2. Submit to Their Spiritual Leadership
**Key Scripture:** *"Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you."* — Hebrews 13:17 (ESV)
The Bible clearly calls us to submit to those who have spiritual authority over us. The definitive New Testament text for this is not Romans 13 (which addresses submission to civil government — the state) but Hebrews 13:17, which speaks directly to the relationship between believers and their church leaders.
Several things in this verse deserve careful attention.
- **"Keeping watch over your souls"** — your pastor's primary responsibility before God is not your finances, your career, or even your physical wellbeing. It is your soul. They carry a spiritual burden for the state of your walk with God that you may not even be aware of. They pray for you. They fast for you. They search the Scriptures on your behalf. This watching is continuous and costly.
- *"As those who will give an account"** — this is perhaps the most sobering phrase in the entire passage for a pastor. On the day of final accounting, they will answer to God for how they shepherded the people entrusted to them. This accountability before God is part of what makes their authority legitimate — they do not simply exercise power; they carry weight.
- *"That would be of no advantage to you"** — here the Holy Spirit makes the motivation explicit. Biblical submission to pastoral leadership is not primarily for the pastor's benefit. It is for yours. When church members resist, undermine, gossip about, and refuse to receive the guidance of their pastor, the ones who lose the most are the members themselves.
Submission does not mean agreement with every decision. It does not mean the absence of respectful questions. It means a fundamental posture of yielded trust — choosing to follow the shepherd's lead unless that lead clearly contradicts Scripture, and doing so with a joyful rather than grudging spirit.
3. Do Not Criticise or Slander Them
**Key Scripture:** *"Who are you to judge someone else's servant? To their own master, servants stand or fall. And they will stand, for the Lord is able to make them stand."* — Romans 14:4 (NIV)
*(Note: The original article incorrectly cited this verse as "Romans 24:4." Romans has 16 chapters. The correct reference is Romans 14:4.)*
This verse is one of the most direct in Scripture on the matter of judging those in spiritual leadership — and it comes with a penetrating rhetorical question that does not wait for an answer. *Who are you?* Not a condemnation, but a reorientation: before you render your verdict on another's servant, identify your authority to do so.
Your pastor is primarily God's servant, not yours. They stand before God, not before your assessment. Whatever you believe their shortcomings to be — and no pastor is perfect, because no human is — the correct response is never gossip, social media criticism, corridor complaints, or the quiet campaign to undermine their credibility. The correct response is prayer (Point 4) and, where necessary, direct, respectful conversation.
Criticism of a pastor that spreads through a congregation does disproportionate damage. Unlike criticism of a private individual, criticism of a church leader affects the spiritual posture of every person who hears it because it attacks the legitimacy of the teaching, the authority of the pulpit, and the trust that makes the entire ministry relationship function. A person who has heard their pastor criticised at Sunday lunch will sit differently in the pew the following Sunday.
This does not mean pastors are above accountability. It means the channel for accountability matters enormously. Public criticism is almost never the right channel for private concerns.
**Practical application:** The next time you are tempted to share a concern about your pastor's decision, sermon, or leadership with another church member, ask: Am I the right person to address this? Is this the right channel? Would I be willing to say this directly to them? If not, it may be better to pray than to speak.
4. Pray for Them Consistently and Specifically
**Key Scripture:** *"I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people — for kings and all those in authority."* — 1 Timothy 2:1–2 (NIV)
If you are compassionate about someone, you want to see them succeed — and so your pastor needs your prayers to succeed. Apostle Paul told churches repeatedly to pray for him. Why? Because he could not do it alone. No minister can.
Pastoral ministry is spiritually exposed work. The pastor stands in the gap week after week - between the congregation and the forces that would harm them, between the Word of God and human hearts that resist it, between the vision God has given and the practical obstacles that resist its fulfilment. Every time a pastor preaches, they enter a spiritual environment that is not neutral. There is a reason Paul said, *"Pray for us"* — not once, but repeatedly (1 Thessalonians 5:25; 2 Thessalonians 3:1; Hebrews 13:18; Colossians 4:3; Ephesians 6:19).
If you have received your pastor as your pastor (Point 1) and submitted to their leadership (Point 2), you want to see them succeed — and prayer is the most powerful thing you can do toward that end.
**What to pray for your pastor:**
Here are
- Pray for their physical health — ministry is physically demanding, and many pastors carry their bodies into service far beyond what is sustainable.
- Pray for their mental and emotional wellbeing — the weight of carrying other people's crises, grief, and spiritual emergencies is enormous, and pastors are not immune to depression, anxiety, and burnout.
- Pray for their marriage and family — the pastor's family lives in a particular kind of fishbowl, subject to congregational opinion, unrealistic expectations, and the unavoidable sense that ministry always has first claim on their parent or spouse.
- Pray for their message preparation - that the Word that comes from their study and prayer will be anointed, accurate, and specifically suited to what the congregation needs.
- Pray for their protection — from spiritual attack, from false accusation, from the enemy's specific strategies against leaders whose ministry he particularly resents.
Let them know you are praying. A brief text message — "I prayed for you this week, specifically for your family and your preparation for Sunday" — carries weight that most pastors rarely receive and always need.
5. Give Materially to Support Their Ministry
**Key Scripture:** *"Who serves as a soldier at his own expense? Who plants a vineyard and does not eat its fruit? Or who tends a flock and does not drink of the milk? Do I say this merely on human authority?... For it is written in the Law of Moses: 'Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain.'"* — 1 Corinthians 9:7–9 (NIV)
In appreciation for how your man or woman of God blesses your soul, sowing back into their life and family materially is not too much. If you are humble and genuinely appreciative, nothing is too small or too much to bless your pastor — especially when it comes from a genuine heart.
Paul makes the case for material support of ministers with remarkable directness across 1 Corinthians 9. He uses three analogies: a soldier who should not fund their own deployment, a farmer who should eat from what they plant, and a shepherd who should drink from the flock's milk. The common thread is obvious: those who labour deserve to benefit from the fruits of their labour. This is not charity — it is justice.
Paul goes further in 1 Timothy 5:17: *"The elders who direct the affairs of the church well are worthy of double honour, especially those whose work is preaching and teaching."* The word translated "honour" here (*timē*) in this context refers specifically to financial remuneration — the same word used in Matthew 27:9 for the "price" of Judas's betrayal. Double honour means double provision. Paul is saying: those who lead well, and especially those who teach, deserve to be paid generously.
Material giving to your pastor takes multiple forms:
**Tithing faithfully and consistently** — the tithe funds the church's ability to pay its pastoral staff, maintain its facility, and run its programmes. Inconsistent tithing directly undermines your pastor's financial stability.
**Special love offerings** — particularly for Pastor Appreciation Month (October in many church traditions), birthdays, anniversaries, the dedication of a new baby, or simply because God moved you.
**Practical gifts** — groceries, assistance with school fees, help with home maintenance, gifting services or skills you possess. Many of the most meaningful acts of material honour are never financial at all.
**Sharing in their family's needs** — the pastor's children and spouse are often as stretched as the pastor themselves. A gift directed to the family, not just the ministry, communicates that you see the whole person, not just the office.
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## 6. Obey Their Scriptural Instruction {#obey}
**Key Scripture:** *"Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account."* — Hebrews 13:17 (ESV)
Obedience is a vital evidence that you respect someone. Hebrews 13:17 makes the connection explicit: the watching-over of souls by the pastor requires corresponding obedience from the congregation. The two go together — authority and accountability on one side, submission and obedience on the other.
But this point requires one critical qualifier that the original article did not include, and which the current climate of pastoral abuse makes absolutely necessary: **the obedience called for in Hebrews 13:17 is obedience to scriptural instruction, not unconditional obedience to every command regardless of its source or content.**
Acts 5:29 establishes the hierarchy: "We must obey God rather than human beings." When a pastoral instruction clearly contradicts Scripture, the response is not obedience — it is respectful dissent, and if necessary, departure. When instruction requires the covering up of abuse, financial dishonesty, or moral wrongdoing, Hebrews 13:17 does not override your conscience, your legal obligations, or your responsibility to protect the vulnerable.
Within those boundaries — which are rarely tested in a healthy church — obedience to pastoral instruction is one of the most concrete forms of honour available to a church member. It says: I trust your reading of this situation. I trust the Word that is guiding your counsel. I trust the God who is guiding you.
**Practical application:** The next time your pastor gives a sermon that is directly addressed to something in your life — a conviction, a call to action, a word of correction — make obedience the first response rather than the deferred one. Act within the week. Tell your pastor what you did. The cycle of hearing and obeying, when it becomes the pattern of a congregation, produces a community capable of extraordinary spiritual growth.
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## 7. Protect Their Reputation {#protect}
**Key Scripture:** *"Do not entertain an accusation against an elder unless it is brought by two or three witnesses."* — 1 Timothy 5:19 (NIV)
The reputation of a pastor is not their personal property — it is an asset that belongs to the entire ministry. When a pastor's reputation is damaged, everyone in that church is affected: the testimony weakens, the community's trust erodes, the impact of future ministry is diminished, and people who were considering faith look elsewhere.
Paul's instruction in 1 Timothy 5:19 is one of the wisest and most protective pieces of pastoral governance in the New Testament: do not receive an accusation against a church leader without corroborating witnesses. This is not a cover-up policy — note that the verse does not say "never entertain accusations." It says require verification before accepting them. A single accusation, without supporting evidence, should not become the basis for your changed opinion of your pastor. Rumours are not facts. Grievances are not verdicts.
Protecting your pastor's reputation means:
Not passing on negative stories you hear about them, especially secondhand ones.
Not participating in social media commentary about your pastor that could embarrass or damage them.
Speaking well of your pastor's ministry to those outside the church — being an ambassador of what God is doing through them.
When you hear criticism of your pastor from others, bringing wisdom and fairness to the conversation rather than amplifying the concern.
If you have a genuine concern, going directly to the pastor or to a legitimate church authority rather than creating a parallel track of opinion that circulates without resolution.
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## 8. Guard Their Family {#guard}
**Key Scripture:** *"But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever."* — 1 Timothy 5:8 (NKJV)
While this verse is addressed to heads of families, the principle it encodes — that those closest to us deserve specific care and protection — extends to how a congregation relates to the family of its pastor.
The pastor's spouse and children did not apply for the job of being publicly scrutinised, having their family life commented on, being held to an impossible standard of perfection, or having every family struggle become a topic of congregational conversation. Yet this is frequently their experience.
Honouring your pastor includes extending care, respect, and protection to those they love. This means:
Welcoming the pastor's spouse and children into the community without attaching expectations to them that come from their relationship to the pastor rather than their own personalities and choices.
Never placing the pastor's children in situations where they feel they must represent the ministry rather than simply be children.
Not commenting on, criticising, or comparing the pastor's marriage, parenting decisions, or family dynamics.
Actively including the pastor's family in the care of the church community — recognising that pastoral ministry frequently costs the family as much as, or more than, it costs the pastor themselves.
The health of the pastor's family is not separate from the health of the ministry. A pastor whose marriage is struggling, whose children are in crisis, or whose family is exhausted from the demands of ministry without sufficient care from the congregation is not at their best. The congregation benefits directly when the pastor's family is honoured and supported.
9. Show Up Faithfully and Punctually
**Key Scripture:** *"Not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near."* — Hebrews 10:25 (ESV)
This is perhaps the simplest and most concrete form of honour available to any church member: show up. Be there. Arrive on time.
Your consistent, punctual, engaged attendance is an act of honour to your pastor that costs you nothing but your time and communicates volumes. Every Sunday your pastor prepares a message, they do so for the people who will be present. Your absence means a seat is empty that a word was prepared for. Your chronic lateness means you consistently miss the early portions of what was prepared on your behalf.
Beyond attendance at Sunday services, faithful participation means:
- Attending special meetings, conferences, and programmes that your pastor has invested in preparing.
- Engaging actively — in worship, in the sermon, in small groups — rather than passive attendance.
- Being present in the difficult seasons of the church's life, not only the celebratory ones.
- Arriving early enough to greet others, pray before service, and be mentally and spiritually present when the service begins.
Consistent, faithful, punctual attendance is one of the clearest signals a church member can give their pastor that they value what is being poured out for them each week.
10. Express Genuine, Specific Gratitude
**Key Scripture:** *"We ask you, brothers, to respect those who labour among you and are over you in the Lord and admonish you, and to esteem them very highly in love because of their work."* — 1 Thessalonians 5:12–13 (ESV)
*"Esteem them very highly"* — the Greek phrase (*hēgeisthai hyperekperissou*) is one of the most emphatic in the New Testament, expressing an almost exaggerated abundance of estimation. Not moderately esteem, not adequately appreciate, not acknowledge when remembered. *Very highly.* In love. Because of their work.
Most pastors receive very little specific, personal, genuine appreciation from their congregations. They hear "good sermon, Pastor" at the exit. They receive occasional offerings. But the kind of specific, personal, meaningful gratitude that says "the message you preached three weeks ago on Romans 8 changed how I handled a crisis this week" is rare — and its rarity makes it powerful.
Express gratitude that is:
- Specific: Name the particular sermon, the particular counselling moment, the particular prayer that meant something.
- Timely: Express it when you feel it, not just at Pastor Appreciation Month.
- Genuine** — not flattery, not performative, not to gain access or favour. Gratitude that flows from a heart that has genuinely received something from God through this person.
- Written, where possible: A handwritten note, a heartfelt message, a well-considered email carries more weight than a spoken comment in passing.
Your pastor is human. They get discouraged. They wonder whether they are making a difference. They carry weeks of effort into a Sunday morning and sometimes leave wondering whether the seeds fell on good ground. A specific, genuine word of appreciation from you may arrive exactly when they needed it most.
The Limits of Pastoral Honour: What Honour Does NOT Mean
The absence of a section like this in this article would cause a significant doctrinal gap. Given the documented reality of pastoral abuse across Nigerian and global Christianity, it would be irresponsible to publish an article on honouring your pastor without clearly defining what that honour does not require.
- Honouring your pastor does not mean blind obedience. Hebrews 13:17 calls for submission to leaders "as those who will give an account" - meaning leaders who operate within accountability structures. If a pastor places themselves above all accountability, this verse does not apply in the way it was intended. Acts 5:29 is always the supreme principle: we obey God rather than human beings.
- Honouring your pastor does not mean covering up wrongdoing. Sexual abuse, financial fraud, domestic violence, or other criminal behaviour by a pastor does not become protected by the language of honour. Proverbs 28:13 says "whoever conceals their sins does not prosper." The person who covers up a pastor's genuine wrongdoing especially where vulnerable people are being harmed is not honouring God. They are preventing justice.
- Honouring your pastor does not mean surrendering your God-given conscience.** God gave every believer the indwelling Holy Spirit specifically to guide them into all truth (John 16:13). When your pastor teaches something that directly contradicts the clear teaching of Scripture and your conscience reacts, your conscience is an instrument of God's protection — not an obstacle to submission.
- Honouring your pastor does not mean treating them as infallible.* 1st Timothy 5:19–20 explicitly provides a process for addressing genuine pastoral sin: require two or three witnesses, and if sin is confirmed, rebuke publicly so others take warning. The Bible does not teach pastoral infallibility. It teaches pastoral accountability. These are different things.
**Honouring your pastor does not mean flattery.**
There is a difference between genuine, Scripture-motivated honour and the culture of excessive praise, lavish titles, and immunity from respectful correction that characterises some Nigerian church environments. Proverbs 29:5 warns: "A man who flatters his neighbour is spreading a net for his feet." Excessive flattery of a pastor is not honour — it is a trap, both for the pastor who believes it and the person who practises it.
True honour is grounded, sincere, scriptural, and balanced. It sees its pastor as a human being entrusted with a divine assignment — worthy of respect, deserving of care, in need of prayer, and subject to the same God who holds every one of us accountable.
What Pastors Owe Their Congregations in Return
Because honour is a relational posture, it is worth noting that the biblical framework for pastoral ministry is not unilateral — it is mutual. Hebrews 13:17 calls on congregations to obey and submit so that the pastor can lead "with joy and not with groaning." That implies the pastor's experience of leading should ideally *be* joyful — which in turn implies they are conducting themselves in ways that make joy possible.
1 Peter 5:2–3 describes what godly pastoral leadership looks like: *"Be shepherds of God's flock that is under your care, watching over them — not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not pursuing dishonest gain, but eager to serve; not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock."*
Willing service — not coerced ministry.
Integrity — not financial exploitation.
Exemplary life — not absentee leadership.
Servant posture — not authoritarian dominance.
A congregation that honours its pastor well is most helped when the pastor is also fulfilling their scriptural responsibility to the congregation. The honour flows most freely in an environment where the shepherd is genuinely shepherding, where the teaching is sound, where the leader's life matches the pulpit, and where the congregation's wellbeing is genuinely the priority of the ministry.
This does not make congregational honour conditional on pastoral perfection. Pastors are human and will fail in ways that require grace. But it does place the entire relationship within a mutual, covenant framework — not a hierarchical one in which the congregation's obligation flows upward without any corresponding obligation flowing downward.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) About Honouring Your Pastor
Here are a few
**What does the Bible say about honouring your pastor?**
Several key passages address honouring and submitting to spiritual leaders: Hebrews 13:17 (obey and submit to those who watch over your soul), 1 Thessalonians 5:12–13 (esteem them very highly in love), 1 Timothy 5:17 (those who lead and teach well are worthy of double honour), Romans 14:4 (do not judge another man's servant), and 1 Corinthians 9:7–14 (the right of ministers to material support from those they serve). Together these passages establish a clear and consistent pattern: those who invest themselves in the spiritual care of others deserve honour, prayer, material support, submission, and genuine appreciation.
**Is it wrong to question or disagree with your pastor?**
No. Respectful questioning and genuine disagreement, expressed appropriately through proper channels, are not violations of honour. The Bereans in Acts 17:11 were praised for examining what the Apostle Paul himself taught against Scripture. What is not appropriate is public criticism, gossip, slander, or campaigns to undermine a pastor's authority without legitimate cause. The channel matters as much as the concern.
**When does honouring a pastor become unhealthy?**
Honour becomes unhealthy when it slides into: unconditional obedience regardless of what is commanded; silencing of legitimate concerns about wrongdoing; excessive flattery that isolates the pastor from honest feedback; treating the pastor's authority as equivalent to divine authority; or participating in the covering up of abuse or financial misconduct. Healthy honour respects the calling without exalting the person above their humanity and accountability.
**Should you give money to your pastor?**
Yes — material support of those who minister is a clearly biblical principle (1 Corinthians 9:7–14; 1 Timothy 5:17; Deuteronomy 25:4). This includes consistent tithing, love offerings, and personal gifts that bless the pastor and their family. It should always flow from genuine gratitude and love, never from coercion, manipulation, or the expectation of spiritual favour in return.
**What is the difference between honouring and flattering your pastor?**
Honour is grounded in the truth of the pastoral calling and flows from a sincere, Scripture-motivated heart. Flattery is excessive praise designed to secure approval, access, or favour — and Proverbs 29:5 warns that it is actually harmful to the person receiving it. Genuine honour sees the pastor clearly — as a human being with a divine calling, worthy of respect and care — not as a figure to be praised beyond what truth warrants.
**What should I do if my pastor does something wrong?**
Follow the Matthew 18:15–17 and 1 Timothy 5:19–20 process: if possible, address it directly with the pastor first. If the matter is serious and unresolved, involve appropriate church leadership or elders. If the matter involves criminal behaviour (abuse, fraud), civil authorities may need to be involved — and Scripture does not prohibit this (Romans 13:1–6 affirms the legitimate role of civil authority in such matters). Covering up genuine wrongdoing in the name of "honouring your pastor" is not biblical. It is enabling harm.
Conclusion: Honour the Shepherd, Bless the Flock
The duty of pastoring is a sensitive and weighty one, and honour is the necessary counterpart to the labour of love your pastor extends to you. If you dishonour your pastor, you also dishonour the God who placed them over you because how you treat the one He sent is a reflection of how you relate to the One who sent them.
But this is not primarily a warning to instill fear and force you to honour them. Instead, it is an invitation for a open heart that truly and willfully honours your Pastors.
There is something profound that happens in a congregation where honour flows freely and genuinely - where pastors are prayed for by name, where the family is wrapped in care, where gratitude is expressed specifically and often, where material support comes willingly and joyfully, where the people show up with the energy and attention of those who know they are receiving something valuable. In that environment, the pastor can lead with joy rather than groaning. The preaching carries the quality that comes from someone who is genuinely supported, genuinely prayed for, and genuinely loved. The community becomes something more than a weekly gathering - it becomes a family, a body, a community where the Spirit moves freely because the relational conditions are right.
Honour your shepherd. Pray for them this week by name, for something specific. Send a note that says exactly what God said to you through them last Sunday. Show up early this weekend. Give something that costs you something. Protect what they have built with your words and your loyalty.
You will not only bless them. You will bless yourself. You will bless the body. And you will honour the One whose sheep they are, whose assignment they carry, and whose glory is the purpose behind every service they prepare on your behalf.
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How does your church honour its pastoral team? Share your thoughts or your own practical tips in the comments - we'd love to hear from you.
Pastoring is the beautiful duty of caring for God's people.
Sadly, many believers do not take the duty of honour important, neither do they put it into action. Honouring your pastor is an important responsibility in Christiandom. Perhaps due to over familiarity or whatsoever it is, it is rare to see Believers who honour their Pastors which is not supposed to be, because HONOURING your Pastor is as important as obeying God's word.
“And be very careful never to neglect the Levites as long as you live in your land.”
Deuteronomy 12:19 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/deu.12.19.NLT
It doesn't have to do with the relationship you have outside Church, be it your tenant, your employee, student or apprentice. There's an anointing over him that supersedes your qualifications and thus, Honour is expected.
Let's look into six ways to honour our Pastors
1. Receive and acknowledge he is your Pastor
In Mathew 10:41, Gods word says that he who receives a Prophet in the name of a Prophet shall receive a Prophet's reward; and he that receives a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man's reward. This verse is telling us that if only we receive a man by his anointing then can we be blessed when he blesses us. Else, one could be living with God's bestie and have no privilege in his blessings because such person has refuse to accept him as who God made him.
2. Submit to your Pastor
The Bible clearly command us to submit to the ones that have authority over us. In Romans 13:1-6 (KJV)
" Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God. 2. Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation. For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power? do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same: For he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil.5. Wherefore ye must needs be subject, not only for wrath, but also for conscience sake.
6. For for this cause pay ye tribute also: for they are God's ministers, attending continually upon this very thing"
3. Don't criticize him
Who art tho that judgest another man's servant? to his own master he standeth or falleth. Yeah, he shall be Holden up: for God is able to make him stand" (Romans 24:4)
Even if you are better, you're not good enough to judge him, God that sent him will always be with him to make him stand if he falls. Honour God through him by not going against him in words and deeds.
4. Pray for him
If you're compassionate about someone, you definitely want to see them succeed, and so your Pastor needs your prayer to succed, Apostle Paul will tell the Church often to pray for him, why though? Because he can't do it alone. If you have received him as your pastor and submitted to him wholeheartedly, you want to see him succeed and you should pray for him (1Timothy 2:1-2).
5. Give to Your Pastor
In appreciation of how great man of God blesses your soul, sowing (back) into his life and family materially is not too much. If you are humble enough and appreciative, nothing is too small or too much to bless your pastor, especially when it is coming from a genuine heart. Or how does he know that you value him if you don't do these things? Little things they say matter (1st Corithians 9:7-9)
6. Obey Him
Finally but major is Obedience, obedience is like a very vital evidence that you respect someone and even the Bible made it known to us in Hebrews (13:17) that we need to obey the ones that have rule over us, because they watch over our souls and are accountable for us and also we must do it with joy and not grief. Byobeying your pastor, you appreciate his efforts in guiding you right
Pray for your pastor regularly and let them know that you're praying for them.
Express gratitude for their leadership and the work they do in the church.
Support your pastor's vision and mission for the church.
Attend church services regularly and be punctual.
Participate in church activities and initiatives.
Offer to help with tasks and projects that can alleviate your pastor's workload.
Be respectful and courteous to your pastor and their family.
Show appreciation for your pastor's teachings by applying their messages in your daily life.
Provide constructive feedback when necessary, but do it in a respectful and considerate way.
Provide financial support to the church through tithing and other donations.
The duty of pastoring is a very sensitive one and honour is very necessary to balance the labour of love over you. If you dishonour your pastor, you also dishonour God who has placed him over you.
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