Before I got engaged to my (now) husband in his second year of seminary, my mother advised me, “Have you heard him preach? Because if you don’t like his preaching, you won’t be able to change churches.” Pastors’ wives may be the only group of Christians who can never find a new pastor. ‘Til death do us part, our spiritual nourishment comes from the same familiar guy.

Nothing has been better for my soul.

Without the option to go looking for the most gifted orator, the most compelling pulpit presence, the most insightful exegete, I’ve simply settled into my pew. I’ve received sermon upon sermon, week by week, morning and evening, from the man who is my pastor. At this point, I’ve heard close to 1,500 of his sermons. And I trust I’ve grown in Christ in at least 1,500 ways as a result.

If you aren’t a pastor’s wife, you have seemingly endless opportunities for finding a new pastor—and for streaming one online—but that’s probably not best for your soul. As Arie Van Weelden wrote recently for TGC,

Personal application, exhortation, and comfort in Christ best come from a preacher who knows and loves you—one who knows the sorrows of your heart, your losses, and your joys.

Over years of Sundays, your ordinary, local pastor will grow to know and love you (and you him), and his preaching will be a steady means of grace to you. What could be better?

If the man in your church’s pulpit loves the Lord, faithfully preaches his Word, lives a godly life, and lovingly applies the Bible to church members both in public and in private, look no further. No online archive or streaming platform can love your soul like he does.

That man up front in your own church is the best preacher you could ever find.