09/03/2026
This was a great take away from what I posted yesterday about the difference between being Pastored and preached to! I could not have explained why I posted what I posted any better! Thank you Auntie DrCynthia Renee Rumph Anderson🫶🏼
I actually received Pastor Shavon’s post differently. I saw it as enlightenment and an invitation to perspective.
Gone are the days when pastors are expected to simply be quiet, absorb every criticism, never process what happened publicly, and never offer another perspective. Pastors are human, too. We learn, we evaluate, we grow, and sometimes conversations like this help the entire Body of Christ think more deeply.
Yes, I appreciate that someone was willing to share why the person left. That information can absolutely be received as something to consider. But I did not read Pastor Sharon’s post as refusing hearing her readon. I read it as her raising a legitimate question:
Is the issue the preaching, the preaching style, or the pastoring?
Those are not necessarily the same thing.
The methods of the old-school church are not automatically obsolete simply because ministry delivery today has evolved. There are now many expressions and styles of preaching, teaching, whooping, expository preaching, prophetic preaching, conversational preaching, celebratory preaching, and practical instruction. One style does not automatically make another ineffective.
And everything loud is not “antics.” Everything expressive is not “showmanship.” Just as everything quiet is not necessarily deep, everything loud is not necessarily shallow. The fruit, the Word, the integrity, and the presence of God must ultimately speak for the ministry.
People absolutely deserve to be fed the Word of God effectively. Righteousness and holiness matter. Sound doctrine matters. But pastoring also matters. Discipleship matters. Being present through marriages, children, crises, funerals, sickness, correction, development, and everyday life matters.
Sometimes someone can be genuinely pastored and still decide that they prefer another preaching style—and that is okay. But that does not automatically mean the pastor cannot preach, nor does it erase the pastoral investment that was made.
I believe Pastor Sharon was strategic in sharing this because it makes us examine something bigger:
Did I leave because I wasn't being fed, or because I didn't prefer the way the meal was being served?
There is a difference.
This conversation does not have to produce offense. It can produce evaluation, perspective, growth, and understanding on both sides of the pulpit.
Dr. Cynthia R. Rumph-Anderson
