Rom 10:14 How
then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they
believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a
preacher? 15 And how shall they preach,
except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that
preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!
It is October,
the leaves are turning, Oktoberfests are cropping up everywhere, the colors of
orange and black are taking over at the stores while scary costumes are
decorating the windows.
But October is
also Pastor Appreciation Month. It is time for anyone who is a part of a gospel
preaching church to make the effort to make their pastor(s) feel appreciated.
In a recent
study by LifeWay Research, 55% of Evangelical pastors are discouraged at any
given time. It didn't matter their age, location or the size of their
congregations.
Additionally,
the study showed that the same number, 55% are lonely. Here, though, younger
pastors, those with larger churches and those with higher degrees of education
tend to be lonelier.
Fact is, most
pastors are hurting, discouraged and lonely. But a little encouragement can go
a long way. We may think that they know we appreciate them, kind of like the
husband whose wife asked him if he still loved her. He said that he told her he
loved her when they got married and if anything changed, He would let her know.
Affection needs a bit more expression than that!
Perhaps last
October you gave your pastor a card or gift certificate or you took he and his
family to lunch after Sunday services. But now it has been a whole year since
you consciously expressed your appreciation. Isn't it time to sincerely do so
once again.
Pastors are
basically 24/7. They are always on call. Even when they are not
"working" they are thinking about ministry, praying for the sheep,
wondering what they might do to improve the work. When they get away, they have
trouble really getting away, especially since they take a couple of ministry
books, their phones and laptops with them. Honestly, few pastors really know
how to take a vacation and leave it all behind for a while.
On average only
about 6 or 8 out of 100 parishioners bother to say "thanks for the
message" on the way out the door as they shake hands with the preacher.
Generally speaking, pastoring is the lowest paid profession of all. It is
considered a labor of love. It is kind of like the guy who has continence
problems in a dark suit, he gets a warm feeling all over, but nobody really
notices. Sorry, I couldn’t resist! Realistically, pastors need to be shown some
love and appreciation on a fairly regular basis.
When folks step
up to do things around our church, I always try to express my deep heartfelt
thanks. Jokingly, I often say, "Great is your reward in heaven, 'cause you
sure ain't getting it here." Of course, I accompany that with a
smile/smirk. The thing is, just a "thank you" is what a person needs
to continue in their good works.
Sure enough, the
smile of God and a "well done, my faithful servant!" is what every
servant of God is looking for. But it doesn't hurt to hear a "Good
job!" down here below from the folks for which the pastor pours out his
soul several times and week, neglects his family, his health, gives up a more
lucrative salary and lives in a glass house.
Thanks to all
the good, selfless, godly, gospel-preaching pastors, evangelists and
missionaries. You have my thanks,
appreciation and admiration, if only for October! :<)
I've often wondered why pastor appreciation was/is during the most wicked month of the year, but I suppose it may be during this time they must step up even more that they detour the sheep from going with the flow of the evil traditions of men. In any case, I understand the "lonely" aspect of ministry, and I truly appreciate your willingness to humbly feed His sheep!
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