Over the last few weeks I have met with several Pastors and noticed some things that I felt were important enough to share.
#1 Every Pastor I met................Loved Jesus
#2 Every Pastor I met................Believes in His Call to Ministry
#3 Every Pastor I met................is devoted to their Church
#4 Every Pastor I met................wants to see new people come to Christ and Christians grow in Grace.
#5 Every Pastor I met................Loves their wife, Kids, friends, and family
Truth is I am encouraged by their PASSION for all of these things, but I noticed something else.
#1 Every Pastor I met...............feels as if he is failing God
#2 Every Pastor I met...............Believes He is called but questions himself
#3 Every Pastor I met...............has church problems. (people, buildings, money)
#4 Every Pastor I met...............is struggling with the hurt caused by people who leave
#5 Every Pastor I met...............is aware of the need for Family/ministry Balance, and has to work hard to keep that balance.
Truth is I am encouraged as well by their PAIN for all these things.
It has shown me that their passion overrides their pain because they keep fighting
It has shown me that though others may have given up and fallen away they are willing to take the pain as the end goal is more important than personal discomfort.
It has shown me that there are still men out there who are willing to risk it all for the Kingdom.
Praise God for men who don't neglect their First Love
Praise God for men who believe in themselves
Praise God for men who LOVE their CHURCH
Praise God for men who care more about souls than self
Praise God for men who put their FAMILIES FIRST over others
We are blessed to have Pastors in our lives and tomorrow I will help you understand how an Owner can help their Pastor
Have a Great day and see YOU ALL TONIGHT!
Reminds me of an article I read awhile back titled "What Our Pastors Wish We Knew" by Lysa TerKeurst. "The elders who direct the affairs of the church well are worthy of DOUBLE honor, especially those whose work is preaching and teaching." 1 Tim 5: 17 She says that some would say that double honor sounds excessive, but no one really understands the burdens our pastors carry, 24/7, for us and their church, and this is why Paul calls us to double honor. How do we do this?
ReplyDelete1. Be faithful people that attend, serve and give consistently, humbly and quietly. 2. Let go of unrealistic expectations we have of our pastor and his wife. They are real people with a real life and a real family; give them freedom to be themselves. 3. Love the pastor's wife. And remember, negative comments impact her too! 4. Don't assume other people are encouraging and praying for your pastor. Encourage, be positive, appreciate! 4. Keep studying how to bless your pastor. Make it our mission to stay out of drama, give and not take, and stay in it for the long haul, honoring our pastor all the way. We are incredibly blessed with Pastor and DJ and I know we don't fully comprehend how much!