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.
Abraham and his Seed after him
61-0416 §25
Now, God called him by election. Now, brethren, my precious, darling brethren, if I happen to get out of order in the scriptural doctrine will you just forgive me for it, and know it's my ignorance? Will you do it? And my theological brethren out there, if you feel that my doctrine is wrong, will you just forget it, see? Just... Now many of you people are writing me letters and saying, "Brother Branham, should we do this and do that?" I always say, "Ask your pastor," see, because... I'll do anything I can answering...
Questions and Answers, The Law having a shadow
54-0516 §28
..., Luther, Wesley and all down through the Pentecostal age...Now as I said, "I'm not Pentecostal." I believe in Pentecostal doctrine, many things. There's some things that I disagree in, as I told you last night, some things. I--I disagree perennially in the initial evidence, what they call, "you have to speak with tongues to prove that you've got the Holy Ghost." That cannot be Scripturally proven. Now that is just...Let your pastor come to me. See. That's right. And I've even, from the highest, of Doctor Pope, and...
Questions and Answers, part 1
54-0103M §1
...e some more has come in. And so we're... It may take me just a little bit of time to kind of read some of these, because I just got them this morning. And I want to express my feeling of being here to worship God today on this beautiful Sabbath that He's give us to come together. And a little place that we gather in and for the pastor, our brother, Brother Neville---a servant of God---and for all the deacons, and the co-workers. You know, if we didn't have the laity, we wouldn't have much church, would we? That's r...
Faithful Abraham
61-0312 §10
If the pastor has preached the gospel, and you are converted and filled with the Holy Ghost, trust him on. He'll take care of the rest of it. Just go right on. So I don't answer doctrinal questions. I just believe in the great fundamental evangelical doctrine of the Bible. And what I say here, even if your pastor disagrees with it, we'll know this one thing: basically we both believe the same thing.
Questions and Answers, The Law having a shadow
54-0516 §9
We believe in church government. And the government is ordered of the Holy Spirit in the Bible. The pastor is always the head of the church, the pastor is always. That's God's elder. In organizations, you have to come through the bishop. Now, the Bible...there's no higher order in the Bible than the elder of the church. Just tell me where it's at. There's no higher order in the Bible for the church than the elder, which is the pastor. He's the highest order of the Bible. And then, if the--the elder, if...Don't rece...