What If I Disagree with My Pastor?
1) Direct answer
Stay with the Word, keep your spirit right, and handle it in God’s order. Pray, search the Scriptures, speak to your pastor privately with an open Bible, and seek peace. If it’s only preference, submit and keep unity. If it is clear doctrine or practice against the Bible and he will not receive the Word, obey God rather than men and step away quietly without causing strife.
2) Scriptural explanation
- Test everything by Scripture: The Bereans “searched the Scriptures daily” (Acts 17:11). “Try the spirits” (1 John 4:1). If any preach another gospel, “let him be accursed” (Galatians 1:8–9).
- Respect the office and approach rightly: “Obey them that have the rule over you” as they watch for your souls (Hebrews 13:17). “Rebuke not an elder, but intreat him as a father” (1 Timothy 5:1). Don’t receive accusations lightly—“before two or three witnesses” (1 Timothy 5:19).
- Handle it in order: Go to him “between thee and him alone” first (Matthew 18:15). If needed, take witnesses, then the church (Matthew 18:16–17). “Let all things be done decently and in order” (1 Corinthians 14:40).
- Keep unity when it’s not sin or false doctrine: “Endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” (Ephesians 4:3).
- Separate if the Word is rejected: “We ought to obey God rather than men” (Acts 5:29). “Mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine…and avoid them” (Romans 16:17). “A man that is an heretic after the first and second admonition reject” (Titus 3:10). “Can two walk together, except they be agreed?” (Amos 3:3).
3) Simple clarifying logic
- God sets pastors to feed the flock, but the Bible is the absolute. A true shepherd points you to the Word, not away from it.
- If your disagreement is about taste, timing, or non-essential procedure, lay down your preference and keep peace.
- If the issue is clear Scripture—who will you follow, a man or the Word? If a leader asks you to do or believe what the Bible denies, your loyalty belongs to Christ.
- Don’t gossip, don’t rally people, don’t split the church. Speak face to face, with Scripture, in meekness. If there’s no agreement around the Word, step aside quietly and keep your heart clean.
4) Short reinforcing statement
Stay humble, stay Scriptural, and keep the sweetness of Christ. God defends His Word and guides the sincere who put the Bible first.
Ask a Follow-up Question
What did the Laodicean Church Age (our age) Angel (- messenger) Say about this?
Ranked passages from the local William Branham sermon and Church Age Book database. Relevance is relative, not a statement of doctrinal certainty.
Hear ye Him
60-0712 §55
He's the tutor of the church. He's the One. Let the Holy Spirit live in the church and make way. That's when you'll have real meetings. Listen to your pastor. Let him not, let... See, if the devil can't keep you from seeing the real thing of God, he will push you off the deep end with it, like that. He will make you go to a fanatic. You don't have to be fanatical. There's too much real and real genuine to have to be a fanatic. My, the whole Pentecostal skies are full of it. But listen to your pastor, a good God-sen...
Hebrews, Chapter 7, part 2
57-0922 §17
...while I'm speaking: somebody around this country somewhere, is guilty of writing some cards to move Brother Neville out of this pulpit. You're going to have to settle that with me. That's right. Yes, indeed. Now, I want you... It said something about the deacon board. The deacon board has not one thing to do with that pastor. No, sir! The congregation in full has all the authority. It isn't... A deacon board's just a policeman here in this church, just to keep order and so forth. But when it comes to rules, the wh...
God keeps His Word
57-0115 §37
...ng them things and stood alone upon their convictions---God's servants. And sometimes even in your own family, you'll have to stand alone. Sometimes your mama and papa will disagree with you. Sometimes auntie and uncle, sometimes your lodge members will disagree with you. If God's Word, you're standing on that, stay if you stand alone on God's Word. For every man that ever amounted to a hill of beans, stood on God's Word with his testimony. That's right, because it's the only way to make the goal.
God keeps His Word, part 1
57-0306 §46
...ike you can on divine healing, and other things like that. Then what am I here for? I'm here to help you. I'm here to try to get you to go back to your church, go back. And if you pastors are here and fell in error, repent and go to your pulpit and say, "Church, we're coming back to God." And have an old-fashioned revival, and quit fussing with your neighbor across the other way. If he don't believe just like you, shake hands with him and be a brother anyhow.
Hebrews, Chapter 7, part 1
57-0915E §46
What did Paul say about this man down there was living with his stepmother? They couldn't get him reconciled, said, "Turn him over to the devil." Watch what happens; in the next letter Paul wrote, this man had got straightened out. Sure, God has a way of doing these things, if we will just follow His rules. If something goes wrong in the church, if it's amongst the congregation, each one of you brothers that's on the deacon board... One of you deacons don't behave, the other deacons come and have a meeting, try to...