Last week, I was unable to attend my home church, Piedmont Church in Marietta, GA, because I went to see a family member’s baptism. However, I heard from multiple sources about the incredible message delivered by Nate Galloway, our pastor to families.
If you don’t know Nate Galloway, you should. Nate is a Godly man, an incredible husband and father, incredibly kind, and an elite preacher. God has uniquely gifted him in the area of preaching. In full disclosure, Nate is also one of my dearest friends.
Nate was continuing our church’s message series focused on the second chapter of the Book of Ruth. The sermon dealt with how do you go from having bitterness towards God (end of Chapter 1) to being grateful because you have been blessed by God (end of Chapter 2)?
As I watched a replay of the message online, the reviews were accurate. His message was inspired, anointed, challenging, comforting, and deeply impactful. You can watch the full sermon as well by clicking HERE.
The following are 24 Signs Of An Elite Preacher I gleaned from Nate’s message. All quotes are from him.
- An Elite Preacher Paints A Picture Of The Gospel – “Ruth is so amazing because it paints a picture of the Gospel for us.”
- An Elite Preacher Teaches The Scriptures – “Two things we see from the book of Ruth. We see the sovereignty of God. God is the absolute authority and he is in complete control… Nothing happens apart from Him.”
- An Elite Preacher Tells Us God Is Working In Our Lives – “Another theme we see is the providence of God. God begins to intervene and work in our lives.”
- An Elite Preacher Puts Things Into Perspective For Us – “God is always doing 10,000 things in your life and you may be aware of three of them.” – John Piper
- An Elite Preacher Wants What Is Best For Us – “What every woman is looking for… ‘You’ll be safe here and we’ll protect you.'”
- An Elite Preacher Helps Us Deal With Life’s Toughest Moments – “It’s tough in the moment. Then we look back on our lives and see that God had not left us or forsaken us.”
- An Elite Preacher Preaches In The Name Of God – “The name of God is mentioned 23 times in just 85 verses in the book of Ruth because God is working through the entire story.”
- An Elite Preacher Wants Us To Have Provision And Blessing – “Always remember, no matter what is happening in your life, always come back to God. Always come back to His provision and blessing.”
- An Elite Preacher Understands Our Struggles – “I understand the struggle of when the worst news, or season, or day of your life comes. I know the struggle to be mad at God… You don’t want to run to God. You want to run away from Him. You don’t want to pray to God. You want nothing to do with Him.”
- An Elite Preacher Tells Us About Our Sin – “When you keep Him at a distance, when you run from Him, when you’re watching online and won’t step into a church because you’re mad at God, you and me are keeping everything we could possibly need in those difficult moments, we are keeping it away from our lives.”
- An Elite Preacher Tells Us Where To Find What We Desperately Need – “If you don’t come back to Him, you’ll never find what you desperately need.”
- An Elite Preacher Tells Us Where To Find Forgiveness – “So come back home so God can move, so He can provide, so He can bless, so He can meet you right where you are.”
- An Elite Preacher Pleads With Us To Come Back To Jesus – “Every need that you have, every struggle you have, you have to come back to Him.”
- An Elite Preacher Teaches Us What Is Certain In Life – “Always know God cares about you. God sees you. God does love you. And nothing can change that.”
- An Elite Preacher Wants Us To Take Our Cares To God – “We can go to God with the things we care about because He cares about us.”
- An Elite Preacher Reminds You And Me How Much God Loves Us – “God, help us to believe that no matter what’s happening that God you are in control and You care and love us. You love me.”
- An Elite Preacher Teaches That God Is Working In Our Lives Even When We Cannot See It – “Even when you can’t see it, God is at work. He is working throughout all the unseen circumstances. He is in the ‘it just so happened’ moments of our lives.”
- An Elite Preacher Brings Peace And Comfort – “He’s not abandoned us. He sees you. He sees me. Come back to Him. He is working. He is intervening.”
- An Elite Preacher Also Personally Struggles When Things Are Falling Apart – “I do not have a problem with God’s sovereignty and His providence when everything’s good. I have a problem with it when everything’s falling apart.”
- An Elite Preacher Also Personally Struggles With God’s Sovereignty And Providence – “I know what it’s like to struggle with God’s sovereignty and providence when a doctor looks at you and says, ‘Your 3-year-old has cancer.'”
- An Elite Preacher Always Reminds Us About What Jesus Did On The Cross – “Does anyone remember this moment right here?.. That’s not the end of the story. That’s just the beginning. In three days, He’s alive.” Nate then put this picture up:
- An Elite Preacher Tells You And I How Much God Wants To Save Us – “When you ask, ‘God, why don’t you do something?’ He says, ‘I am. I’m saving the world. I’m saving you.'”
- An Elite Preacher Invites You And I To The Cross – “I just to invite you to the cross, invite you to Jesus who understands.”
- An Elite Preacher Prays For Us And Over Us – “I want to pray for you and over you.”
What are other practices you have seen of elite preachers?
My book Timeless: 10 Enduring Practices Of Apex Leaders is available for purchase. If you have ever wanted to become the leader God created you to be, this book is for you! By combining leadership lessons from biblical heroes like Jesus, Daniel and Joseph, along with modern day leaders like Bill Gates, Nick Saban, Kobe Bryant and multiple pastors, Timeless will equip and inspire you. This book is not to be read alone. Discussion questions are included in each chapter allowing you to develop those in your circle of influence. Click HERE or on the image provided and order your copies TODAY.