Opinion

10 Phrases That Make Your Pastor Cringe

Let me take you behind the scenes again in the life of a pastor.

For sure, your pastor is not likely to let you know the pain these brief sentences cause.

But for most pastors, they hurt. They really hurt.

Here are 10 of the most common painful sentences uttered to pastors by church members:

“I love you pastor, but … .” The pastor will only hear the words after the “but.” And they usually are painful.
“Why didn’t you visit her?” Of course, she’s not a member of the church. She was in a hospital 70 miles away. And she’s married to the third cousin of the church member.
“Gotta minute?” This question is typically asked in the time frame of one to five minutes before the pastor preaches.
“Have you heard this podcast pastor?” Meaning: That podcast pastor is better than you.
“Pastor, people are saying … .” Of course, there are no “people,” just the gutless person who won’t speak for himself.
“We’ve never done it that way before.” And that is one of the key reasons the church is dying.
“I do pay your salary, you know.” In other words, it’s not God’s money; it’s my money.
“I wish she had heard that sermon.” And the pastor was hoping you heard the sermon.
“I wish I worked just a few hours a week like you.” After all, the pastor just needs 30 minutes to prepare a sermon and 30 minutes to preach it.
“Your kids need to behave like pastors’ kids should behave.” You can find those standards in the Bible: Hezekiah 3:16.

What do you think of this list? Pastors, what would you add?

This article originally appeared on thomrainer.com.