SPIRITUAL PARENTING 101

Your Pastor Isn’t Just a Preacher — They’re Your Spiritual Parent

Let’s get this straight: Your pastor is not just the person who gives you a good word on Sunday. They’re not your motivational speaker. They’re not your religious entertainer. They are your spiritual parent. And that should change how you treat and listen to them. They are not part-time parents and full-time pastors. No, they are full-time spiritual leaders that are gifts to your life.

In a world full of influencers, voices, and opinions, we’ve got a generation starving for spiritual fathers and mothers— people who don’t just inspire us but raise us. They help develop our foundation and faith as we continue to grow for years to come.

📖 SPIRITUAL PARENTING: IT’S GOD’S DESIGN

God didn’t design the faith to be passed down by celebrities, consultants, part-time preachers, or TikTok theologians. He designed it to be passed down generation to generation — through relationship, correction, instruction, and covering. That cannot happen we jump from pastor to pastor or person to person look for someone to validate our life’s choices. No, we are called to submit to those God has placed over us.

From the Old Testament to the New, spiritual parenting is God’s model for raising strong, stable, faith-filled people that impact the world and change the culture around them.

OLD TESTAMENT: THE PROPHETS & PRIESTS WERE SPIRITUAL PARENTS

• Moses to Joshua

Moses didn’t just lead Israel — he fathered a new generation of leaders. Joshua wasn’t a random hire — he was mentored, molded, and mobilized to carry the mission forward.

“So the Lord said to Moses: ‘Take Joshua… a man in whom is the spirit, and lay your hand on him.’” – Numbers 27:18

• Eli to Samuel

Eli may not have been perfect, but he raised Samuel in the temple — taught him how to hear the voice of God.

“Then Eli perceived that the Lord was calling the boy…” – 1 Samuel 3:8

• Elijah to Elisha

Elijah didn’t just drop a mantle — he poured into Elisha over time. That double portion wasn’t just about power — it was about proximity, submission, and spiritual inheritance.

“My father! My father!” Elisha cried out as Elijah was taken to heaven – 2 Kings 2:12

📌 In every case, the spiritual child had to stay close, stay teachable, and stay submitted — or they’d miss the impartation. The call of God was seen, encouraged, and directed by the spiritual parent that God had placed over them.

NEW TESTAMENT: SPIRITUAL PARENTING IN FULL FORCE

• Jesus to the 12

Jesus didn’t run a program — He did life with His disciples. He rebuked, encouraged, modeled, and fathered them in the faith. This wasn’t an event or a weekend getaway – this was a consistent relationship full of life.

“I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you.” – John 13:15

• Paul to Timothy

This is where it gets even clearer:

“To Timothy, my true son in the faith…” – 1 Timothy 1:2

“You, then, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.” – 2 Timothy 2:1

Paul wasn’t just planting churches — he was raising sons. Timothy didn’t just serve Paul — he was parented by Paul. God has called pastors to raise sons and daughters. This is not the job of just anyone, but the strict role of pastors of a local church that you have been called to be a part of.

🧠 WHY THIS MATTERS TO YOU

You don’t grow by podcast. You don’t mature by watching clips. You don’t get corrected, developed, or spiritually covered by scrolling or by short-term relationships. You need a pastor. And not just a “preacher” — a spiritual parent. Not an emotional connection to a person, but a submitted relationship to your pastor. The world craves spiritual parents, but few know the ‘why behind the what.’

A spiritual parent is someone who:

• Calls out your calling (2 Timothy 1:6; Acts 13:2-3)

• Confronts your compromise (2 Samuel 12:7. Galatians 2:11)

• Covers your soul (Hebrews 13:17, Job 1:5)

• Coaches your walk (1 Corinthians 11:1, Philippians 4:9, 2 Timothy 2:2)

• Cares for your eternity (Colossians 1:28, 1 Thessalonians 2:19-20)

That’s not controlling. That’s covenant contained in the Scriptures.

🧎‍♂️ BUT ONLY IF YOU LET THEM

Here’s the deal: even Jesus couldn’t disciple people who wouldn’t follow.

Spiritual parenting is a two-way street:

• They pour in — you receive.

• They correct — you stay.

• They love — you trust.

• They lead — you follow.

If you treat your pastors like spiritual vending machines instead of spiritual fathers or mothers, you’ll end up with shallow roots and surface-level fruit. You will jump from person-to-person trying to find someone to fill the void that God called your pastors to.

CAUTION: You don’t jump from pastor to another pastor because you disagree with them. Unless they are in sin, our calling is to submit to the shepherds God has called us to serve.

🛑 STOP TREATING YOUR PASTORS LIKE EMPLOYEES

They aren’t hired hands — they are heaven-sent parents in your life. The modern church has overvalued personality and undervalued parenting. We chase charisma, not covering. We chase inspiration, not impartation. It’s time to flip that script.

If you’re planted in a church, that means God put your pastors in your life as spiritual parents. Honor them. Receive from them. Submit to the journey with them.

You don’t need a platform — you need a parent. You don’t need another preacher — you need a covering. You don’t need more sermons — you need a shepherd.

“Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls…” – Hebrews 13:17

Your pastor isn’t just preaching for applause — they’re parenting your future. God has called them to partner with you to ‘unleash your full redemptive potential.’

MORE SCRIPTURAL SUPPORT

“I do not write these things to make you ashamed, but to admonish you as my beloved children… I became your father in Christ Jesus through the gospel. I urge you, then, be imitators of me” (1 Corinthians 4:14-17 -ESV).

 “But you know that Timothy has proved himself, because as a son with his father he has served with me in the work of the gospel” (Philippians 2:22 – NIV).

“I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth” (3 John 1:4).

“My dear children, for who I am again in the pains of childbirth until Christ is formed in you” (Galatians 4:19).

“We were like young children among you. Just as a nursing mother cares for her children, so we cared for you … we dealth with each of you as a father deals with his own children …” (1 Thessalonians 2:7-12).