Former NFL and MLB superstar Deion Sanders is finding new success on the field, not as a player but as a collegiate coach. He’s off to a winning season in his first year as head coach at the University of Colorado.
Coach Sanders has a coach of his own. Sanders is in regular contact with The Rev. Dr. E. Dewey Smith, senior pastor at House of Hope in Atlanta, Georgia.
The two men met 20 years ago and have deepened their relationship in the past decade, when Smith became the spiritual advisor to the gifted athlete nicknamed “Prime Time.” A recent photo of the pair together on the sidelines of a Colorado football game went viral.
Sanders is not the only Christian professional who works one-on-one with a minister. Personal or concierge pastors are gaining ground among people of faith.
“Two years ago, I realized that taking my business to the next level was above my pray grade. Not my pay grade, my pray grade,” said Sheletta Brundidge. “I go to church every week but I needed someone to cover me.”
Brundidge, an award-winning broadcaster, author and founder of ShelettaMakesMeLaugh.com, a podcasting platform and small business, reached out to Rev. Dr. Joe Palmore. Brundidge met Palmore some 30 years ago when he was the minister at the church she attended while a student at the University of Houston.
“I needed someone I could call and confide in and the Lord led me to Pastor Joe. He was and is a great minister, prayer warrior, leader,” Brundidge said. “He knows me and my family.”
Now retired from church ministry, Palmore spends regular one-on-one time with Brundidge. They are on a call together each Monday morning and check in frequently throughout the week, in phone calls, e-mails and text messages. Brundidge shares her professional concerns and the two pray specifically about her projects and for the people she is working with; they occasionally pray while she is in her car in a parking lot before heading into a pivotal meeting.
They also pray about her personal life and the needs of her four children, three of whom have been diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder.
“We talk about her vision, the areas she may be challenged by so I can intercede on her behalf. We talk about things in reference to her goals for the future; we pray futuristically,” Palmore said.
“There are times we pray about her struggles and personal battles. We remind her of where her strength comes from so she doesn’t get distracted. We keep her on task and remind her that she is fit for this journey.”
Palmore, 67, co-pastored at a Houston church with his wife Rev. Dr. Yolande Herron-Palmore for many years. During the pandemic, the couple pulled back from the day-to-day duties of working with a congregation and both began working with individuals seeking personal spiritual guidance.
“This is something new. We don’t have role models for this,” Palmore said. “There are gifts we have that are still vital and a lot of people desire them.”
Brundidge has an ongoing relationship with her pastor at Missionary Fellowship Baptist Church in Minneapolis, but she recognizes the ministry team there has a whole congregation to care for. She said that it would be “unfair” for her to ask for regular, daily spiritual attention and prayer that is uniquely and specifically for her.
She believes her relationship with Palmore has sharpened her vision and helped her deepen her spiritual relationship with God.
“After we prayed I feel like I can take on the world. My business has grown more than I could have dreamed. I know doors are opening because he’s praying for me,” Brundidge said. “My spirit is connected. It is the key to my success.”
Palmore declines to claim any credit for things going Brundidge’s way in her professional realm.
“I want to be clear, it's not me. I may be a tool, a conduit. But God is directing me,” he said.
Palmore believes retired or semi-retired ministers are an untapped resource for spiritual guidance and advice. Brundidge encourages others to seek the wisdom found in prayer with a personal pastor.
“He has never asked for anything but I don’t ask him to do this for free. This is his gift; he should be paid for this,” she said. “I tithe to my church and I tithe to my personal pastor as well.”