Every generation has preachers that rise to the top. Their sermons are listened to (or read) by people far and wide. Other pastors listen too. Every pastor needs a pastor, and some of these influential preachers serve that function. There are many that I am personally so thankful for, both past and present. (I won't list them all here, maybe under comments...)

Now I know that not every influential preacher is good, and not every celebrity pastor even deserves a pulpit, (we all had the same name pop into our heads right there, so I don't need to say his name), but there are many that have been used by God to train, rebuke, encourage, teach and challenge us.

There are many who have helped you and I personally. Thank God for them.

Blog posts have been dedicated to criticizing these guys. (and gal, if you count Joyce Meyers) And some of them deserve it (and I definitely count Joyce Meyers)

But sometimes we forget to be grateful for the gifts God has given us. (Ephesians 4:11-13) I wonder if the John Piper's, Charles Spurgeon's, Rick Warren's, Helmut Thielicke's, Bonhoeffer's, Mark Driscoll's etc...are at least a partial fulfillment of that passage.

I don't know if you'd call them "apostle"-types or what, but in many ways they have become pastors to pastors, and God has blessed their faithfulness by spreading their influence.

Peter Mead says:

I just read an article from Preaching magazine -25 Most Influential Pastors of the Past 25 Years. ...What struck me was how many of these preachers have blessed me in recent years (and I don’t spend much time listing to famous preachers).

I would encourage you to read the article and give thanks for these and other well-known preachers who have faithfully sought to serve God through their ministries. It is easy to critique the famous, but actually it must be hard to be in their positions, perhaps facing some unique stresses that most of us don’t face.

Perhaps the list might suggest some names that you haven’t heard before, leading you to trawl the web for a sermon by E.K.Bailey, or W.A.Criswell, or Fred Craddock. Or someone who doesn’t fit in your theological or ecclesiological comfort zone . . . anyone from Adrian Rogers, to Bill Hybels, to William Willimon, to Stephen Olford, to Warren Wiersbe, to Rick Warren, to Jack Hayford, to Tim Keller, etc. Have you observed Andy Stanley preach?

Maybe this kind of list has a handful of preachers that you have really been blessed by over the years – stop and give thanks for them. I’m delighted to see Haddon Robinson on there, I know many who would give thanks for the influence of John Piper in their lives, I have friends who have been so blessed by John Stott, and other friends who have faithfully tuned in to Chuck Swindoll, and of course, there are numerous people I know who would count Billy Graham as the preacher God used to reach them with the gospel.