We’ve got to embrace our new identity as believers. Stop lying, tell the truth. Don’t be controlled by anger, deal with conflict. Don’t steal, work to be generous. Don’t be rotten mouthed, be an edifier, an encourager. Don’t grieve the Spirit, be kind, compassionate, and forgiving.

These next 2 episodes were recorded while I was preaching in Finland at my friend Shaun’s church, so please forgive the audio. The focus is on the life of believer. We must live as believers, not as unbelievers. That is not who you are anymore. Your identity is in Christ.

In this final installment looking at the role of the pastor we examine the God designed responsibility of the pastor. Growing churches call a pastor to administer and lead the church so the members are free to do ministry. Dying churches call a pastor to do the ministry while the people administer the church.

As we continue looking at the role of the pastor I advocate for a high view of the pastorate. It’s important that we understand God’s calling in general to ministry and His calling to a specific church. A church doesn’t hire a pastor. A church agrees with the pastor that God has called him to that specific church.

In this episode we begin an examination of the role of the pastor in a local church. This is a message I preached as an interim pastor at a local church about to call their new pastor. Pastors are gifts to the local church and should be valued, loved, supported and encouraged as such. Even though the world no longer values the position of pastor, this should never be the case in the local church.

Unity is more important than your pride and your agenda. Unity is more important than your tradition and your comfort. Unity is more important than your desire to avoid conflict. In summary, Unity is more important than you. So let's work together to build unity and protect the unity of the church.

There are things we can do to help preserve unity and things we can do to harm unity. Today we begin to look at a list of these actions we can take and attitudes we can have. Everyone in the church is responsible to walk in a way that builds unity in the church. Listen to the list and see how you are doing.

Talking about unity is one of the most important discussions we can have regarding the life and effectiveness of the church. At some point the unity of the church will be challenged. People will act in ways to harm unity, sometimes by accident, sometimes on purpose. We must adopt actions and attitudes to protect the unity of the church.

Thom Rainer of Lifeway says that one of the greatest sicknesses in our churches in America is disunity. The #1 reason pastors leave the church is that they are worn out from conflict. The church must be unified. The only way this can happen is for the church to follow God’s design and yield to His leadership.

In part 2 of how to love your church, we talk about God’s love for you and your church. You must allow God to love you, to shower you with His abundance, to be your provider and your provision. Be embraced by His love. Be overwhelmed by His love. Don’t deny God the opportunity to show Himself to you through His great love for you.