October is Pastor Appreciation Month. Your pastors generally will not say much about it. After all, he who toots his own horn, his horn should not be tooted. So I’m making the point loud and clear, do something special to affirm your love and appreciation for your pastor and his service for your congregation.
“But,” you may ask, “he gets paid enough. And my employer doesn’t do anything for me beyond my salary.” That may be, but if your conception of the pastor is simply that of an employee, then you miss the very point of his service.
Pastors are not hired as much as they are called. This is a calling granted by God Himself, affirmed by the vote of the congregation and acceptance of the pastor. In faithful obedience to his call, the pastor preaches the truth of God’s word, through which the Lord shapes His church. He shepherds the congregation through those ministries which fulfill God’s purpose. He prays fervently for the church body and the community, drawing others into the same. And he guides the church into becoming the warm fellowship through which the pastoral needs of believers are met and new believers are drawn into the family.
You mostly see the preaching, maybe some of the administration and leadership, and the pastoral care when you draw on it. What you don’t see are the hours of scripture study and prayer, leading to a message your pastor believes to be God’s word for your church at this time. You don’t see the time invested in key leaders, assuring that the full range of congregational ministries take place. You don’t see, and likely will never hear about, those hours when a disconcerted person berated him over something about which he had little control. Nor do you feel the peculiar mix of joy and heartbreak when a family into whose lives he invested hours for discipleship leaves your church for another place of service.
Your pastor loves you and serves your church family well as he serves the Lord. And if you completely ignored Pastor Appreciation Month, every anniversary, birthday, or holiday, he would still do so. But when you affirm the value of his ministry, you bless him. It’s like fresh wind filling his sails after the air’s been still.
You also bless the church. When members take the time to express appreciation to their pastor, it reminds all present they are bound together as a community of faith, strengthening their unity. Even if the relationship is strained, acts of appreciation foster stronger relationships than do random criticism.
And then there was COVID 19. That such a small organism shattered our ministry patterns amazes me. But throughout the pandemic, your pastor adapted to new patterns, keeping the church family knit together and focused on Christ’s mission.
So October is coming. You still have time to determine an appropriate act of appreciation toward your pastor, both personally and as a church.
“Let the elders who rule well be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in preaching and teaching.” 1 Timothy 5:17 (ESV)
Blessings,
Bro. Jim
“But,” you may ask, “he gets paid enough. And my employer doesn’t do anything for me beyond my salary.” That may be, but if your conception of the pastor is simply that of an employee, then you miss the very point of his service.
Pastors are not hired as much as they are called. This is a calling granted by God Himself, affirmed by the vote of the congregation and acceptance of the pastor. In faithful obedience to his call, the pastor preaches the truth of God’s word, through which the Lord shapes His church. He shepherds the congregation through those ministries which fulfill God’s purpose. He prays fervently for the church body and the community, drawing others into the same. And he guides the church into becoming the warm fellowship through which the pastoral needs of believers are met and new believers are drawn into the family.
You mostly see the preaching, maybe some of the administration and leadership, and the pastoral care when you draw on it. What you don’t see are the hours of scripture study and prayer, leading to a message your pastor believes to be God’s word for your church at this time. You don’t see the time invested in key leaders, assuring that the full range of congregational ministries take place. You don’t see, and likely will never hear about, those hours when a disconcerted person berated him over something about which he had little control. Nor do you feel the peculiar mix of joy and heartbreak when a family into whose lives he invested hours for discipleship leaves your church for another place of service.
Your pastor loves you and serves your church family well as he serves the Lord. And if you completely ignored Pastor Appreciation Month, every anniversary, birthday, or holiday, he would still do so. But when you affirm the value of his ministry, you bless him. It’s like fresh wind filling his sails after the air’s been still.
You also bless the church. When members take the time to express appreciation to their pastor, it reminds all present they are bound together as a community of faith, strengthening their unity. Even if the relationship is strained, acts of appreciation foster stronger relationships than do random criticism.
And then there was COVID 19. That such a small organism shattered our ministry patterns amazes me. But throughout the pandemic, your pastor adapted to new patterns, keeping the church family knit together and focused on Christ’s mission.
So October is coming. You still have time to determine an appropriate act of appreciation toward your pastor, both personally and as a church.
“Let the elders who rule well be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in preaching and teaching.” 1 Timothy 5:17 (ESV)
Blessings,
Bro. Jim