15 Preachers Who Impacted My Life
1) Mac Hammond - Mac is the founder and senior pastor of Living Word Christian Center in suburban Minneapolis. I started attending his church in February 1991, just before committing my life to the Lord. Later that year, I became a member of Living Word. Every weekend I looked forward to listening to Pastor Mac. I was impressed with his speaking abilities and knowledge of the Bible. Pastor Mac repeatedly reminded us from the pulpit that we come to church to hear from God and not man’s opinion. Because Living Word is a megachurch, I never really got to know Pastor Mac personally (discipleship mostly came from associate pastors and lay leaders). Nevertheless, I consider him my first spiritual father.
2) Jerry Savelle - Coming from a traditional Lutheran background, it took me a while to appreciate the guest ministers that spoke at Living Word. Back then, most of them were Charismatics with a southern accent. One of whom was Jerry Savelle. I first heard him in early 1992. I immediately liked his humor and the “adventures in faith” he shared. A few months later, I heard Jerry minister at another local church. During which, someone sitting behind me gave me a $100 bill. It was the first time a stranger handed me money. Every time I hear Jerry talk about angels, I think of this person. Therefore, I believe he was an angel.
3) Jesse Duplantis - I first heard Brother Jesse in late 1992 as a guest on the “Believer’s Voice of Victory” television program. Like myself, Jesse worked in the secular music business before becoming a Christian. That and his wild sense of humor quickly made him one of my favorite preachers. I crack up when hearing Jesse imitate a monkey while poking fun at evolutionary theory. One of his most powerful messages is “Close Encounters of the God Kind.” Jesse talks about his supernatural experiences, which include a visit to heaven.
4) Andrew Wommack - In October 1993, the Lord led me to make a temporary move to the Chicago area. During my time there, I started listening to Brother Andrew on the radio. His down-home laid-back personality differed from the animated televangelists I listened to then. While doing temporary work, I listened to numerous cassettes by Andrew (and others) on my Walkman. Back then, listeners could order up to three sermon tapes of his at a time for free. Over two decades passed before I finally saw him live for the first time.
5) Kenneth E. Hagin - Brother Hagin was a spiritual father to many of the ministers on this list. I learned a lot from reading his books. The first of which was “The Believer’s Authority.” Another one called “Marriage, Divorce, and Remarriage” really helped me after my estranged wife left me for my best friend. In 1994, I met Brother Hagin during a visit to his Rhema Bible Training Center (yes, that’s me in the photo with the long hair and goatee). Nine years later, he went home to be with the Lord.
6) Keith Moore - I first heard this teacher while visiting Rhema. I sat in a class where Brother Keith talked about humility. He was an assistant to Brother Hagin for twelve years before stepping out on his own. Nowadays, Keith pastors churches in Branson, Missouri, and Sarasota, Florida. His teachings are full of the word and have a lot of spiritual meat in them. One series I recommend listening to is “Would Jesus Wear a Rolex?” Pastor Keith addresses objections to the so-called “prosperity gospel.”
7) Nick Kinn - Nick has been the evangelism pastor at Living Word since 1988. It was six years later when I got serious about fulfilling the Great Commission. I started going out on the streets with Living Word consistently. Before outreaches, Pastor Nick usually spends up to 45 minutes teaching from the Bible and sharing some of his witnessing experiences. I still go out ministering with them occasionally.
8) Kenneth Copeland - A lot of religious folks get intimidated by Brother Copeland’s boldness and piercing eyes. As a young Christian, I wasn’t fond of listening to him at first. Through some tapes a friend gave me, I grew to appreciate Brother Copeland's skillful knowledge of Scripture plus his funny imitations of religious people. Every morning, I read “From Faith to Faith”, a powerful devotional written by him and his wife Gloria. You can read it online at kcm.org.
9) Mike Murdock - When first browsing around Living Word’s bookstore, I noticed some of Brother Mike’s books on display. It wasn't until 1995 when I heard him speak for the first time at another church. During the next couple of years, I went to more Mike Murdock meetings and bought many of his teaching tapes. The series that impacted me the most was “The Assignment”, which gave 160 wisdom keys to help Christians discern God’s plan for their lives. While listening to these tapes, the Holy Spirit revealed that my calling would take me to Europe. I would eventually make trips to Germany.
10) Joyce Meyer - During 1995 and 1996, the Lord did much inner healing in me. Part of that came through listening to teachings from Sister Joyce. Her tape series “No Fear Lives Here” helped me overcome being afraid of missing God’s plan for my life. Next to the Bible, I consider Joyce’s “Battlefield of the Mind” the most powerful book I ever read. Her testimony of overcoming abuse and rejection has helped millions of hurting people. I appreciate Joyce’s candor and especially her “What About Me?” robot imitation.
11) Billy Graham - This well-known evangelist was often called “America’s Pastor.” I had the honor of working for his film ministry World Wide Pictures. My job was calling churches to schedule evangelistic film showings as part of an outreach event. It taught me how to interact with pastors of various denominations whose doctrinal beliefs differed from mine. I got to chat with Brother Billy a couple of times during employee picnics. When I told him God called me to be an evangelist, he advised me to study the Scriptures. Another time after telling Billy I enjoyed his autobiography “Just As I Am”, he replied, “Every time I read it, I get bored.” Billy had a unique way of being humorous and humble at the same time.
12) Rodney Howard-Browne - This South African-born missionary to America first became famous for holy laugher manifestations at his meetings. A year before seeing Rodney for the first time, I attended meetings held by his younger brother Bazil (who looks and sounds like him). Then in August 1996, the Lord led me to quit my job to see Rodney in Toronto. The Spirit of God mightily touched me at those meetings. Six years later, I started making seasonal moves to Tampa, Florida, where I often attend Rodney’s church called The River. Last year, Rodney got arrested for refusing to close his church in response to COVID-19 mandates. He now streams nightly meetings (called The Stand) that are watched all over the world. They have encouraged believers who haven’t been able to go to services due to government lockdowns.
13) Perry Stone - I first heard of Perry in 2004 while temporally living in Cleveland, Tennessee, where his Voice of Evangelism ministry is based. Soon I started watching his “Manna Fest” program online. Many episodes are filmed in Israel. Perry has spent thousands of hours studying the Bible. His teachings are full of practical and prophetic truths to help one understand God’s word better.
14) John Scotland - This Liverpool, England native pastored a church for twelve years until a powerful encounter at the Toronto Blessing thrust him into itinerant ministry. The joy of the Lord often manifests through John in unusual ways. I first heard him in 2005 at a church in London, Ontario. We got to know each other two years later during a conference in Tampa. John approved of my producing albums combining electronic music with his preaching. For a while, it became a decent part-time income for me and had blessed many people.
15) Jonathan Shuttlesworth - Here is the only preacher on this list who’s younger than I am. At 41 years old, Jonathan is almost young enough to be my son. However, I now consider this Pittsburgh-based evangelist a mentor. I have gleaned a lot from his ministry during the last two years. Jonathan comes from a family of preachers. Previously I heard his father Tiff and his uncle Ted minister at The River. Until 2020, I mostly heard Jonathan do offering teachings there. Then I started listening to him more when COVID lockdowns prompted him to increase his online exposure. Jonathan has morning teaching sessions and a nightly webcast called “Check the News.” In the latter, he examines headlines and tweets from a Biblical perspective with added humor that is sometimes crude but always has a call for salvation at the end.
There are other preachers I could mention. You probably thought of some that are not on this list. Regardless of which ones are your favorites, we must look to the Holy Spirit as our Ultimate Teacher. We must also avoid seeking out ministers who only speak things we want to hear. As 2 Timothy 4:3-4 warns, “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables.”
In closing, every believer should have a pastor. Accountability is necessary to grow spiritually. Over the years, individuals have sought counsel from me. I believe many of them struggled because they weren’t going to church anywhere. Except in certain situations, watching a preacher online or on TV should be a supplement (and not a substitute) for going into the house of the Lord.
“Obey your spiritual leaders, and do what they say. Their work is to watch over your souls, and they are accountable to God.” - Hebrews 13:17 (NLT)
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