We hear the words often, sometimes in the favorable and others in the negative: pastoral preference. Are they right? Can a local pastor have them? Can a local pastor expect them to be respected and honored? These are great questions that I believe merit a balanced response. Let’s dive in!

The Local Church

The church is cast as a universal, regional, and local organism. We find the universal sense of the Church in the metaphoric language of the New Testament that presents the church as the Body of Christ. This Body, with Christ at the head, is the collective whole of the Church worldwide. We find the regional sense of the Church in various texts, such as I Corinthians 16:19, that address “the churches of Asia.” We find the local sense of the Church throughout the New Testament in salutations or greetings that reference the “church that is in their house” (Rom. 16:5), speaking of Priscilla and Aquila.

As time marched on into modernity, the church found more success globally, regionally, and locally. Organizations were developed as an umbrella of safety, accountability, and fellowship that also sought to preserve the nuanced autonomy of local churches under that umbrella. While not a business, religious organizations capture many organizational features that provide a framework of collective agreement, synchrony of visions and beliefs, and a compelling vision toward success at all three levels (global, regional, and local).

Now, the local church is complex. Part of this is due to the personality each local church develops. Personality in a local church can result from many factors. Still, one primary factor is the pastoral leadership (pastor and the first lady) and the teams established under their care. Walk into ten local churches in varied locations, and you will come away with ten unique cultures that reflect the leadership, their teams, and even the culture of the community they are reaching.

However, in those local churches, leadership will have established certain expectations that reflect the convictions or personal desires of the local pastor. Now, many of these convictions or personal desires may reflect little biblical support, which often becomes the source of consternation for those not in agreement with the local pastor’s said convictions or personal desires.

For example, I have been to churches where the expectation for the front-line team on the platform includes the preference that women wear pantyhoses or that men wear a limited range of shirt colors (white or light blue). The church I pastor does not have either of these expectations, but I have no problem with another pastor establishing local guidelines like those.

The Crux of the Matter

It would be unwise to think that an organization cannot operate under preferential guidelines. Like it or not, the local church is led by an organizational head (called the pastor), and depending on the leadership theology of that local church, this can further include teams, board members, and other related organizational features that may reflect varying degrees of legislative governance. That said, on specific positions and expectations within that local church, the guidance flows from the top as with any organization.

As someone who has had to move various times as a child and teen and then as an adult due to life changes, marriage, and ministry-related changes, I have walked into church cultures that have reflected many different expectations. The personality of each church I entered was very different from the others. In each circumstance, the expectations often shifted based on my pursuits in the local church. Wanting to be a Sunday School teacher, I was given expectations, and some of those expectations included personal preferences that stemmed from pastoral leadership. This was true for van ministry, outreach teams, and practically every other department or ministry that I served in or pursued. As a general rule of thumb, the expectations were elevated for any ministry that delved into frontline influence (platform ministries, teaching ministries, and discipleship ministries).

I remember one pastor I was under for a short time due to work relocation who asked me, and others being used in ministry, to keep our sideburns from growing below the ear. I had zero problem with this and still have no problem with it. I would ask my young ministers to do the same in my local church. Not because it is sinful but because I prefer it with my ministry team.

Now, how I approach these things does matter. I should never treat them as sinful, except when someone who aspires to sit under my leadership in a ministerial relationship decides to argue, fight, and refuse to respect my reasonable guidelines. To welcome this is to welcome chaos, and no organization can succeed when everything is left to a democratic vote. Some things are simply the choice of a leader to establish.

If I have done a poor job of communicating my expectations, am lax in establishing them clearly and articulately, and have moved people into positions of ministerial influence without clearly communicating these expectations, I better be cautious about how I approach these things should I decide to implement them. Too often, this occurs, and unnecessary battles, infighting, and spiritual fatalities ensue. A leader may best be served by a humble, apologetic approach rather than a heavy-handed one that catches everyone off guard.

For the “Saints” of Time

While the above can occur, it is an exception to the rule in most cases. The question must be asked: When one decides to join a local church (especially those with a religious background of similar persuasion, not new converts), did you not know some of the expectations when you decided to make the church home? Did you not think it essential, especially if you have ministerial pursuits or a desire to be utilized in ministerial features in that church, to inquire what the expectations of the local church were for said ministries?

Second, if you discovered a position in that local church that you did not know, is that position or preference representative of the local leadership for said ministries something you cannot do, and if so, why? My feelings on “necessary” do not matter regarding a local church. With so many options in the Pentecostal community, if you can join a church whose preferences do not include that “specific” thing, why not join that community? Could it be, and this is important, that maybe God brings us to locations that are designed to help us, and though such help is vital to our spiritual growth, God is also aware that there may be some things we have to change or adjust in our practices to align with a local churches preferences?

Sure, I could “change churches,” but is my reason for changing churches only over a single platform position or a few things I don’t see eye-to-eye with local leadership? Did God send me there? Am I growing spiritually? Am I exposed to a biblically grounded community that loves and cares for me and is there to grow alongside me? I have to stop and ask myself, do I have the right to fight this, and should I fight this? Like any employment I have, there are always pros and cons to working for specific companies or leaders. Still, we often measure our willingness to stay based on the positives while dealing with the things we don’t like as willing adjustments on our part.

So, in conclusion, a local pastor has every right to establish expectations that come down as being in a preferential category. If you were to start a church, you would find that you would be guilty of some leadership preferences of your own. That said, do we somehow think that God will come to our aid when we openly defy, fight against, or sow discord regarding those preferences? I think not. While I don’t recommend ever leaving the will of God over “preferences,” I will submit that it is a better alternative to trying to split a local church over the same.