Looking for Counsel?

I’ve heard Pastor say many times that he does not counsel people. He’ll tell you to hear him from the pulpit or read the Word of God. Sit in a rocking chair and listen to the whispers of the Holy Spirit, but don’t ask him to counsel you. He feels he’s made too many mistakes in life to give good advice. But I can honestly say that everything I know, I’ve learned from Pastor Jerry Hovater. Yes, I give God all the glory for the knowledge I’ve gained over the years, but Pastor was the faithful vessel and through his anointing, he has spoken life and wisdom to me and countless others. Through his messages, he HAS indeed counseled me.

If you’ve sat under his teachings for any length of time, you know that he preaches from the heart, often times exposing personal failures or obstacles to drive home that he is a man of his word, there only to speak the words God gives him to speak. I’ve been to other churches and I don’t get that feeling. Sometimes the service seems too organized, too polished, too scheduled or too ritualistic. That isn’t what moves me. I learn more from someone with a testimony, someone who can share what they’ve been through and how God saw them through it and out of it.

Sure, you can pay an alphabet soup therapist…someone with lots of letters after their name…and I’m sure there are many who have been helped by people educationally trained to give advice. But what if Pastor is right? What if you could sit on a rocking chair and just have a chat with Jesus? What if you sat in a pew and really heard the gospel message coming from one of his sermons? I don’t want a textbook response to my problems, and if I need to talk with someone, I want to know they’ve been in the trenches, where I’ve been. To me, it’s not about someone who knows his stuff, it’s about someone who’s been through some stuff.