I’m sure everybody has their pet peeves when it comes to things their pastor does that you wish they would stop. I was reminded of a practice that pastors do the other day that annoy me and border on being unethical. A man came to visit me the other day who was from out of town and came to visit our church while he was on vacation.
He was telling me a bit about his church- that they just called a pastor from another state and when he was hired he “brought in his own youth guy”. That got me thinking about all the other stuff that annoy me that Southern Baptists do that many people don’t call them out on. For example:
1. As I just mentioned, many newly hired pastors bring their entourage with them.Now, the church mentioned above could have had a vacancy for the youth pastor position- so it’s fine, in fact GOOD, that he brought in a guy he knows works well with him. But, often times the church gives the new pastor carte blanche to fire whatever current staff is there (especially in mega-churches) and replace them with their own. Why in the world can’t they just find a way to work with the people that are already there and already know everyone??
2. On the opposite end of that are churches that INSIST on going through all the red tape in looking for an associate pastor instead of looking at the recommendations coming from the pastor first. They do this in the name of objectivity, so that so-and-so’s nephew, who’s looking for a pastor job and has been a long time member of the church, won’t be looked upon with favoritism. But, that’s just stupid. If the recommendations from the pastor are legit or that nephew’s legit, just go ahead and hire them. Stop trying to get more “bang for your buck” by stockpiling resumes. And stop trying to look objective. Nobody buys that shctick anyway. I am glad my church didn’t do this (at least not nearly at the level of some other churches) because if they did, I may not have been hired.
3. Pastors who repeat the same story/joke/illustration that they heard at the last pastor’s conference.This practice is okay on a limited basis and IF you give credit where credit’s due. But, c’mon. It’s lazy sermon writing that leads to borrowing from another pastor or using the same story/joke/illustration every other week. Most people don’t notice this as much because they only listen to their own pastors preach. But, trust me- many of them do this and it’s annoying.
4. Pastors who secretly court other churches when things look sour at their own church or they are offered a better salary package.I hate this one. They don’t confide in anyone (which means nobody can be trusted and I think that’s sad) and then they suddenly announce that they are leaving the church. It has a jarring effect on the congregation, leaves many scars, and does little good? So why do pastors do it?? My only guess is that they have shady motives from the start. That and the church they currently serve is so shallow that they go ahead and fire him the minute they find out, which is also wrong.
5. Pastors (but especially YOUTH PASTORS) who pride themselves on spending more time on the application of the scripture than on the scripture. I think everyone is guilty of this, including me. But, when a pastor’s sermon is literally 90% application/illustration and 10% exposition then there is something wrong. And it’s annoying because I came to hear what GOD had to say about my life and about Him and not just your interpretation of it.
6. Pastors that want well-balanced, mature, independent staff members but don’t take the time to mentor them to get them there. I’ve had pastors expect me to be at a certain level of operation but did NOTHING to provide assistance in helping me get there. Again, I am glad I have pastor who does care enough to mentor since he is 25 years my senior and has a lot to teach me.
Anyway, I feel better now that that’s off my chest. Got any annoying things you’d like to get off your chest? In the meantime, I’m going to fix myself another cup of coffee and spend time thanking God that, although I don’t deserve it, He placed me in a great church that knows how to avoid annoying things that Southern Baptist are known for doing. 
