You may or may not know that October is more than the most beautiful month of the year. It's also Pastor Appreciation Month. For many congregations it carries the same weight as Arbor Day. It means very little, if anything, to most churches.
Many people bristle at the idea of showing anyone extra appreciation or honor if they're being paid for doing their job. I once asked a Deacon if they were doing anything special for their pastor in October and he replied, "Yep, we're giving him a paycheck!" And he wasn't being cute. He was being serious. That attitude is completely opposite of what we are commanded to do in scripture.
How can we honor and respect those God has called and equipped to lead us? How can we avoid worshiping a personality while simultaneously loving and blessing our pastors and setting them up to win and succeed in serving us? Here are 5 practical places to start...
1. Obey The Bible
The pastors (elders) who lead the affairs of the church well are worthy of DOUBLE HONOR, especially those whose work is preaching and teaching. I Timothy 5:17
This is a hard verse to argue with. I can choose to pick that verse apart by finding examples of bad pastors that I don't think deserve it, or I can submit myself to God's authority and begin to give double (generous, gracious) honor to my leaders. Don't refuse to honor your pastor because you're afraid it will go to his head and cause him to be arrogant. How foolish! Honor and encouragement foster humility, not pride.
2. Verbally Affirm Them
Dear brothers, honor those who lead you. They work hard among you and give you spiritual guidance. Show them great respect and wholehearted love. I Thessalonians 5:12
Not only should I use my mouth to encourage pastors, I should also use my hands. I can write a card, send a gift certificate, compose an encouraging email, or post on Facebook and Twitter how much I love and appreciate those who lead the church. I can brag on them in public and pray for them in private.
3. Consistently Defend Them
Do not listen to an accusation against a pastor (elder) unless it is brought by two or three witnesses. I Timothy 5:19
At some point, people won't like something our leaders say or do, and they will talk about it. When we hear these comments, we should quote this verse and explain to the gossiper and anyone else who is listening that we won't put up with that kind of harmful slander against our pastor. I did this once in a restaurant when someone was berating a good friend of mine. I warned him twice to stop. He refused. And I caused a scene when I rebuked him for his cowardice (anyone can talk smack about a leader when the leader isn't there). You wouldn't let someone talk about your kids or spouse in front of you. Get your pastor's back!
Being the spouse or the child of a minister is akin to being married to soldier who is perpetually deployed. They are on a mission and family can get overlooked. Everyone else wants and needs something from the pastor, and their families often get the leftovers. Try to understand the fishbowl that they live in and reach out to them with gifts, cards, words of encouragement and offers to help with small tasks. Invite the pastor and his wife out for coffee or lunch. Have them in your home. Have their kids over on a Saturday to play so he can rest and prepare for Sunday. Babysit so they can go on a date. Trust me...if you want to appreciate your pastor, love on his wife and kids.
5. Faithfully Bless Them
For the scripture says, "Do not muzzle the ox while he is treading out the grain" and "The worker deserves his wages." I Timothy 5:18
Generosity is a biblical principle. So is blessing and taking care of those who lead us spiritually. Find out what your leaders enjoy and pray about giving it to them as a gift. This is above and beyond their salary. Here are some ideas...
*a gift certificate to their favorite restaurant or shop
*an iTunes gift card
*an overnight trip to their favorite getaway
*a surprise party on their wedding anniversary or the pastor's anniversary at the church
*tickets to see their favorite team, musical, play or concert
*an invitation to use your beach house or mountain house as a getaway when they need time alone
All my best friends are pastors. I am a pastor. I love pastors. And I know that the more we honor and care for our leaders, the better they will love and shepherd and serve us. They win and we win, and ultimately God is glorified and His church is advanced. Let's follow God's instruction by loving on our leaders. Pastor Appreciation month is a great place to start.
Comments
October 14 2012
Antonio Washington
Pastor King thank you for such a powerful word from God.Go ahead and get your shout on because God has truly been good to us all.God bless your 2 boys for allowing you to experience a strong presence of God.Be blessed allow Him to use you.
October 14 2012
Donna Jensen
Thank you for bringing an awesome message today at Newspring! We appreciate all that you do and especially all the Pastor P does for Newspring. We <3 our church and all of our pastors- Special thanks to Charlie and Amy Bagwell who are THE BEST! <3 The Jensens… Myrtle Beach Campus
October 15 2012
Pam Atkison
Thank you Clayton for being so open and sharing your struggle and pain of losing your parents. You always bring such an encouraging message and hope for those of us with painful past. Today’s message was particularly wonderful!!! God can use my weaknesses? Imagine that!!! You touched so many at New Spring Greenville. Thank you again!
October 15 2012
John Adair
Thanks Clayton for preaching yesterday and for posting your blog. Perry is awesome and we (my wife and I) do get defensive when people talk smack. Especially, when they haven’t been to NewSpring. I haven’t punched anyone in the throat yet, but I have gotten close.
October 15 2012
Claris MacDonald
Thank you for sharing your heart yesterday at Newspring. It was a powerful message and I was very moved by it. I’m reading the devotional book Jesus Calling: Enjoying Peace in His Presence and when I got home yesterday afternoon, I read the devotion for that day. Imagine my surprise when it was about suffering and pain and how God works through that! I think that sometimes God uses multiples of the same principle to get across something that He really wants us to grab hold of and put into practice in our lives. So I was able to share some of your sermon points with my friends who are reading the Jesus Calling book! Thank you for your transparency and your heart. God is truly using you in a mighty way!
October 15 2012
Carrie
Well said. My best friend is a pastor’s wife. I’ve seen first hand how much they can struggle, are publicly criticized at times, and care so deeply for their church at the same time. The more we can support and encourage our pastors (and their families), the better.
October 15 2012
Brian
Thank you for this post and for the awesome message at NewSpring yesterday
October 15 2012
Kelly
This is awesome! On behalf of pastors everywhere, thanks!
For the record, if you DO find yourself defending your pastor, please don’t feel the need to tell your pastor you did so. He probably knows he has haters, but doesn’t need to be reminded of it. Trust that God will bless you for standing up for your leader.
October 15 2012
Kathryn
Thank you for reminding us of the sacrifice a pastor and his family makes. I pray that I will keep this reminder in my heart.
The message you brought yesterday was heart-rendering. I’m so very sorry you and your family have experienced and endured so much pain and stress in the last two years. I know this time of sharing touched my heart, and feel sure it touched the hearts of many others. As I have faced tremendous struggles over the last two to three years, and continue to do so, it was no accident God allowed me to be at church last night. I needed the assurance and confirmation that God is working all things together for our good. Thank you for your openess and humility, Clayton. I pray for God’s continued healing and strength in your life.
October 15 2012
Dalton and Norman Blankenship
So glad we were in the process of handing our our gifts to pastors BEFORE we read this post and BEFORE you mentioned it yesterday!!
God called us to be generous this year through the scripture from Ephesians 3:16-20. He has indeed given us more than we could have asked or imagined over the past five years: incredible teaching about being a Godly man and woman, which we had never heard in having 11 previous pastors and which has called us to BE those Godly people resulting in a fantastic, unbelievable change in both of us and our marriage (fancy that!); convicting sermons on tithing, which has enriched us by removing all stress associated with finances (notice I did not say made us rich!); and a call to generosity and love that has given us the privilege of ministering to those who needed financial help as well as giving gifts to those we wanted to bless—like our fantastic pastors that we are in process of gifting to show in a tiny way how much we love and appreciate what they do each and every day.
We tend to forget that being a pastor is not a Sunday job. It takes daily preparation and nightly prayer to listen to God’s vision for our churches. I thank God for the pastor’s that still hear the voice of God to shepherd his people. The very least we can do is say “Well done. We love you.”
As always Clayton, preach on! Don’t take no smack. We’ve got your back!
We love you thickly,
The Blankenships
October 15 2012
Karen
Thank you for the wonderful message at NewSpring last Sunday it was truly inspiring!
October 17 2012
Samantha Johnson
Thank you for this wonderful blog post. I am a pastor’s wife and I have deeply-rooted relationships with people in full-time ministry. It challenges me to a whole new level on how I show gratitude and appreciation for people who lead me.
October 26 2012
Nino Edward
Thank you for sharing what’s in your heart in expressing appreciation to our Spiritual leaders.. Blessed are the feet who bring God’s Word.
Expressing love and kindness and good deeds fuels up the fruit of the Holy Spirit in us as believers of Jesus Christ.
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