Comments on: The Plague: Restoring Honor http://claytonking.com/the-plague-restoring-honor/ The online connection to Clayton King Thu, 24 Jul 2008 17:21:43 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.3 By: Honor and Bless Your Pastor « Because I said so http://claytonking.com/the-plague-restoring-honor/#comment-1198 Honor and Bless Your Pastor « Because I said so Mon, 05 May 2008 01:43:48 +0000 http://claytonking.com/the-plague-restoring-honor/#comment-1198 [...] Clayton King writes about Honoring Your Pastor [...] […] Clayton King writes about Honoring Your Pastor […]

]]> By: Nicole http://claytonking.com/the-plague-restoring-honor/#comment-1190 Nicole Sun, 04 May 2008 21:08:04 +0000 http://claytonking.com/the-plague-restoring-honor/#comment-1190 THANK YOU Clayton! My dad has been a pastor for 20 years and I have seen first hand the sacrifices he and my mom have made. Some people do expect pastors to do everything from preaching, visiting the sick and even cutting the church grass!!! Yes, it is true!!! My dad has a heart for people and reaching lives for Christ! It hurts me to see him and my mom have to run themselves into the ground because they are expected to do so much in the church. You will never hear him or my mom complain, but I know first hand how much they have sacrificed and also how much my family has been affected. Don't get me wrong...I would not change being a PK or my dad being a pastor, but I would like for everyone out there to hear my heart - Please pray for, love, respect and step up and help your pastor and his family. Your pastor is doing what God called him to do and he and his family need so much support. THANK YOU Clayton! My dad has been a pastor for 20 years and I have seen first hand the sacrifices he and my mom have made. Some people do expect pastors to do everything from preaching, visiting the sick and even cutting the church grass!!! Yes, it is true!!! My dad has a heart for people and reaching lives for Christ! It hurts me to see him and my mom have to run themselves into the ground because they are expected to do so much in the church. You will never hear him or my mom complain, but I know first hand how much they have sacrificed and also how much my family has been affected. Don’t get me wrong…I would not change being a PK or my dad being a pastor, but I would like for everyone out there to hear my heart - Please pray for, love, respect and step up and help your pastor and his family. Your pastor is doing what God called him to do and he and his family need so much support.

]]> By: Your pastor(s) | Between Sermons - A Pastor's Thoughts About Leading And Learning http://claytonking.com/the-plague-restoring-honor/#comment-1044 Your pastor(s) | Between Sermons - A Pastor's Thoughts About Leading And Learning Wed, 30 Apr 2008 20:40:47 +0000 http://claytonking.com/the-plague-restoring-honor/#comment-1044 [...] read two other posts this week that hit it out of the park as far as I’m concerned: thank you Clayton King and Jonathan Herron (I’ve never met either of you, but you said it better than I ever could, [...] […] read two other posts this week that hit it out of the park as far as I’m concerned: thank you Clayton King and Jonathan Herron (I’ve never met either of you, but you said it better than I ever could, […]

]]> By: Ron http://claytonking.com/the-plague-restoring-honor/#comment-1035 Ron Tue, 29 Apr 2008 22:19:21 +0000 http://claytonking.com/the-plague-restoring-honor/#comment-1035 "Slip a $100 bill in his hand after church. Send him and his wife on a cruise. Give them gift certificates to their favorite restaurants." It is one thing to slip a young, struggling seminarian with a growing family an anonymous gift, but if an established, monetarily well-compensated pastor is burning out in his vocation, sending him on a cruise is not the answer to the problem. "Can we regain a sense of honoring the man of God without becoming obsessed with personalities or worshipping personas?" Though we who serve our Risen Lord have different functions in the body of Christ, their are no tiers, hierarchies, or levels within authentic Christianity. To single out a pastor for heightened honor has some biblical foundation, we must not forget that we who are in Christ are all priests in Christ Rather than the church in America has "lost the ancient, and dare I even say Biblical understanding of correctly honoring the man of God", perhaps the problem lies more in the overarching human-centric message and methodology contemporary seeker sensitive churches which often, I am afraid, creates self-focused church goers. Perhaps those who attend such churches, often driven by a pastor with a charismatic personality, creates, without intent, a cult of personality around that pastor. Therein, just maybe, lies one part of the problem regarding pastor burnout. "If anyone wishes to come after me", he said, "he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me" (Lk 9:23). Christ's calls to discipleship are tough. "Pick up that Roman death machine and follow Me" is not an easy call. That pastors need the support of their flock is a statement without need of elaboration. Defend him when necessary. Sometimes he may need, out of grace and love, to be corrected at times, too. In the end, we in Christ are called to submit to and serve one another be one a pastor or deacon, a secretary or custodian, in front of or behind the podium. Our focus in on our Messiah, not the man who proclaims Him. It is the under-shepherds responsibility to make that clear. “Slip a $100 bill in his hand after church. Send him and his wife on a cruise. Give them gift certificates to their favorite restaurants.”

It is one thing to slip a young, struggling seminarian with a growing family an anonymous gift, but if an established, monetarily well-compensated pastor is burning out in his vocation, sending him on a cruise is not the answer to the problem.

“Can we regain a sense of honoring the man of God without becoming obsessed with personalities or worshipping personas?” Though we who serve our Risen Lord have different functions in the body of Christ, their are no tiers, hierarchies, or levels within authentic Christianity. To single out a pastor for heightened honor has some biblical foundation, we must not forget that we who are in Christ are all priests in Christ

Rather than the church in America has “lost the ancient, and dare I even say Biblical understanding of correctly honoring the man of God”, perhaps the problem lies more in the overarching human-centric message and methodology contemporary seeker sensitive churches which often, I am afraid, creates self-focused church goers. Perhaps those who attend such churches, often driven by a pastor with a charismatic personality, creates, without intent, a cult of personality around that pastor. Therein, just maybe, lies one part of the problem regarding pastor burnout.

“If anyone wishes to come after me”, he said, “he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me” (Lk 9:23).

Christ’s calls to discipleship are tough. “Pick up that Roman death machine and follow Me” is not an easy call. That pastors need the support of their flock is a statement without need of elaboration. Defend him when necessary. Sometimes he may need, out of grace and love, to be corrected at times, too. In the end, we in Christ are called to submit to and serve one another be one a pastor or deacon, a secretary or custodian, in front of or behind the podium. Our focus in on our Messiah, not the man who proclaims Him. It is the under-shepherds responsibility to make that clear.

]]> By: Craig and Laura Harwood http://claytonking.com/the-plague-restoring-honor/#comment-1031 Craig and Laura Harwood Tue, 29 Apr 2008 20:05:44 +0000 http://claytonking.com/the-plague-restoring-honor/#comment-1031 I couldn't agree more that more respect and understanding needs to be given to our pastors. I have seen more pastors leave the ministry from burnout, sexual sin or broken families. We fully believe in paying our pastor and church staff above and beyond. It is a little hard to swallow sending your pastor on a cruise or something like it. We've been married for 17 years and just took our first cruise recently. They are expensive and we saved and sacrificed for ours. It would have been great for someone to pay for our cruise out of the genorosity of their hearts but they didn't. Some pastors of churches make as much money as my husband who is a structural engineer with a masters and several professional certifications that took hours of preparation and study to obtain after graduate school. And these are evangelical, seeker oriented churches. I know there are some pastors who pastor small churches who make small salaries but the last church we belonged (evangelical, growing, and approx. 1000 members and only 3 years old the senior pastor was making around $80,000/yr (not in the range of food stamp requirements) and the last three churches the figure is the same or higher. Granted, these are all "Willow Creek" type churches where tithing is high encouraged. Sometimes, "hardworking, tithing, in church ministry, 50 hour work week members" get a bit riled when they are asked to work more in church and watch their pastors take 4 weeks of vacation because they are stressed. I think pastors should realize that working 50 or more hours at a professional job is the norm, then working 5-15 hours at the church/small group a week, plus spend time with family, general chores/maintenance around the house, plus building relationships with non-believers in the neighborhood or work is a bit stressful in and of itself. That doesn't even begin to describe your schedule if you are a single mom or dad. We love Jesus and we love serving him. The apostle Paul was in ministry full time too but there were times he had to work for essentials as well as extras. It is great to be given gifts. We have received many ourselves but we are all under stress, just different kinds. I couldn’t agree more that more respect and understanding needs to be given to our pastors. I have seen more pastors leave the ministry from burnout, sexual sin or broken families. We fully believe in paying our pastor and church staff above and beyond. It is a little hard to swallow sending your pastor on a cruise or something like it. We’ve been married for 17 years and just took our first cruise recently. They are expensive and we saved and sacrificed for ours. It would have been great for someone to pay for our cruise out of the genorosity of their hearts but they didn’t. Some pastors of churches make as much money as my husband who is a structural engineer with a masters and several professional certifications that took hours of preparation and study to obtain after graduate school. And these are evangelical, seeker oriented churches. I know there are some pastors who pastor small churches who make small salaries but the last church we belonged (evangelical, growing, and approx. 1000 members and only 3 years old the senior pastor was making around $80,000/yr (not in the range of food stamp requirements) and the last three churches the figure is the same or higher. Granted, these are all “Willow Creek” type churches where tithing is high encouraged. Sometimes, “hardworking, tithing, in church ministry, 50 hour work week members” get a bit riled when they are asked to work more in church and watch their pastors take 4 weeks of vacation because they are stressed. I think pastors should realize that working 50 or more hours at a professional job is the norm, then working 5-15 hours at the church/small group a week, plus spend time with family, general chores/maintenance around the house, plus building relationships with non-believers in the neighborhood or work is a bit stressful in and of itself. That doesn’t even begin to describe your schedule if you are a single mom or dad. We love Jesus and we love serving him. The apostle Paul was in ministry full time too but there were times he had to work for essentials as well as extras. It is great to be given gifts. We have received many ourselves but we are all under stress, just different kinds.

]]> By: Dean Cooper http://claytonking.com/the-plague-restoring-honor/#comment-1030 Dean Cooper Tue, 29 Apr 2008 18:59:43 +0000 http://claytonking.com/the-plague-restoring-honor/#comment-1030 Thank you for posting this. I needed to be reminded. We have a great pastoral staff at our church. You've inspired me to tell them how much they mean to me and what they do matters in my life. Blessings to you. Thank you for posting this. I needed to be reminded. We have a great pastoral staff at our church. You’ve inspired me to tell them how much they mean to me and what they do matters in my life. Blessings to you.

]]> By: Leland Nelson http://claytonking.com/the-plague-restoring-honor/#comment-1017 Leland Nelson Mon, 28 Apr 2008 20:32:59 +0000 http://claytonking.com/the-plague-restoring-honor/#comment-1017 While I am no longer leading (pastoring) a church full time, I appreciate your post. I full well know the stress and pressure attached with leading a local congregation. I hope that you have been an encouragement to both pastors and those they lead. God bless. While I am no longer leading (pastoring) a church full time, I appreciate your post. I full well know the stress and pressure attached with leading a local congregation. I hope that you have been an encouragement to both pastors and those they lead. God bless.

]]> By: Dwayne Sudduth http://claytonking.com/the-plague-restoring-honor/#comment-1016 Dwayne Sudduth Mon, 28 Apr 2008 19:49:13 +0000 http://claytonking.com/the-plague-restoring-honor/#comment-1016 Amen--and not just once a year on 'Pastor Appreciation Day'. Amen–and not just once a year on ‘Pastor Appreciation Day’.

]]> By: Dave Freeman http://claytonking.com/the-plague-restoring-honor/#comment-1015 Dave Freeman Mon, 28 Apr 2008 19:36:19 +0000 http://claytonking.com/the-plague-restoring-honor/#comment-1015 CK, I don't know you. I have never seen you before finding your blog today. I've never heard you speak, teach or preach. I am not a pastor, though some in our body affectionately refer to me as such. I am a devoted servant to the church, and in a myriad of ways, but I am not the tip of the spear. I don't experience the same level of pain and sacrifice my Pastor and his family knows. I'm not personally held to the level of scrutiny and don’t know the intensity of burden he knows for the body under his charge. I do know the shared challenges many in ministry face on some level; unconfessed and unrepentant sin, positional abuse, personal and spiritual pride, submission, obedience, fiscal limits, lost and dying souls, personal sacrifice. Honoring and respecting those charged with HIS calling in tangible, appreciable ways, means far more to them than their face value or monetary worth ever will. And no it’s still not about the money, the gift, or the “acknowledgement of men”, far from it. It is about genuinely valuing the effort and the person that God has placed over you; the one that covers you with unheard/unseen prayers, that covers you while you are blasting their preaching ‘style’ or lack thereof behind their back, that covers you when your world is falling apart because of choices/decisions you rebelliously made and contrarily to the ‘bad’ preaching previously offered you to help avoid such. If you don’t think it really matters, then what have you got to lose by proving yourself right and trying it sometime… I don't know you, but I Heard you today. Be Blessed! CK,
I don’t know you. I have never seen you before finding your blog today. I’ve never heard you speak, teach or preach. I am not a pastor, though some in our body affectionately refer to me as such. I am a devoted servant to the church, and in a myriad of ways, but I am not the tip of the spear. I don’t experience the same level of pain and sacrifice my Pastor and his family knows. I’m not personally held to the level of scrutiny and don’t know the intensity of burden he knows for the body under his charge.

I do know the shared challenges many in ministry face on some level; unconfessed and unrepentant sin, positional abuse, personal and spiritual pride, submission, obedience, fiscal limits, lost and dying souls, personal sacrifice.

Honoring and respecting those charged with HIS calling in tangible, appreciable ways, means far more to them than their face value or monetary worth ever will. And no it’s still not about the money, the gift, or the “acknowledgement of men”, far from it.

It is about genuinely valuing the effort and the person that God has placed over you; the one that covers you with unheard/unseen prayers, that covers you while you are blasting their preaching ‘style’ or lack thereof behind their back, that covers you when your world is falling apart because of choices/decisions you rebelliously made and contrarily to the ‘bad’ preaching previously offered you to help avoid such. If you don’t think it really matters, then what have you got to lose by proving yourself right and trying it sometime…

I don’t know you, but I Heard you today.

Be Blessed!

]]> By: Jason http://claytonking.com/the-plague-restoring-honor/#comment-949 Jason Wed, 23 Apr 2008 17:13:45 +0000 http://claytonking.com/the-plague-restoring-honor/#comment-949 beautiful post my friend. beautiful post my friend.

]]>