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Your Pastor Is Not Famous and That’s a Gift
Your pastor does not need a large platform to faithfully care for your soul. In this episode, Dave Jenkins explains why ordinary preaching, prayer, and personal shepherding are gifts to cherish in the life of the local church.Listen or Watch
Faithful Shepherding in a Culture of Celebrity
Follower counts, public recognition, and online influence can shape what Christians expect from ministry. Yet these things cannot tell us whether a pastor faithfully teaches God’s Word, cares for his congregation, and points people to Christ.As the September series on the church continues, Dave considers the value of pastors whose work often goes unseen beyond their own congregations. Preaching week after week, praying for struggling believers, visiting the suffering, guarding sound doctrine, and equipping the saints are central to faithful pastoral ministry.The issue is not whether a pastor is widely known. The issue is whether he is faithful to Christ and to the people entrusted to his care. A public platform should never displace the responsibilities of local shepherding.In This Episode
- How platform culture can distort our understanding of ministry.
- What faithful pastoral care looks like in everyday church life.
- How the absence of fame can protect a pastor’s focus and the congregation’s priorities.
- Why online resources cannot replace local church care and accountability.
- How to value the ordinary means of grace and grow in gratitude for faithful shepherds.
Online Teaching and Life in the Local Church
Faithful podcasts, sermons, and other resources can help Christians grow. We should thank God for sound teachers whose ministries serve believers beyond their own congregations. These resources, however, cannot take the place of gathering with God’s people and receiving the care of qualified shepherds who know us personally.Christ cares for His people through the ordinary life of the church: the preaching of His Word, prayer, baptism, the Lord’s Supper, fellowship, and believers bearing one another’s burdens. These gifts remain precious even when a congregation receives little public attention.Receive Faithful Pastoral Care with Gratitude
Consider the quiet ways your pastor serves your church. Give thanks for faithful preaching, personal care, and perseverance. Pray for your pastors, encourage them, and participate faithfully in the life of your congregation.Our confidence rests in Jesus Christ, the Chief Shepherd, who purchased His people with His blood and remains faithful to them. A church centered on Him has every reason to treasure the ordinary work of faithful ministry.
Dave Jenkins is happily married to his wife, Sarah, and lives in beautiful Southern Oregon. He is a writer, editor, and speaker who loves Christ, His people, the Church, and sound theology.
Dave serves as the Executive Director of Servants of Grace Ministries and the Executive Editor of Theology for Life Magazine. He is the Host and Producer of the Equipping You in Grace Podcast and a contributor to and producer of Contending for the Word.
He is the author of The War of Worldviews: Truth, Lies, and the Battle for the Christian Mind (Theology for Life, 2026), Contentment: The Journey of a Lifetime (Theology for Life, 2024), The Word Matters: Defending Biblical Authority Against the Spirit of the Age and The Word Explored: The Problem of Biblical Illiteracy and What To Do About It (House to House, 2021).
You can connect with Dave on Facebook, X (Twitter), Instagram, YouTube, or subscribe to his newsletter.
When he is not engaged in ministry work, Dave enjoys spending time with his wife, going to movies, sharing a meal at a favorite restaurant, or playing a round of golf with friends. He is also a voracious reader, particularly of Reformed theology and the Puritans, and is often found working through a stack of new books from a wide range of Christian publishers.
Dave earned his M.A.R. and M.Div. from Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary.
