We were off to the church we have been attending for some time now that we have been in Alaska. To be perfectly honest we have tried a couple of churches here, as I'm pretty certain many of you do when you relocate to a different geographic area. In moving, I think most of us have this mental checklist for looking for the place we call our church home. For example, the quality of children's ministry, pastor "realness", how welcome you feel, praise and worship team (because if they are off key we must make note of that, even if we couldn't drown out our off-key-ness in a choir of 700), if you get a good space in the parking lot, and or if someone is chasing after you with a bible shouting "Repent sinner!!"as you run for your life out the door and vow never to return because you wore 'evil' blue jeans to church. Yikes! We just wanted to find where we "fit" is that so hard?
Rewind a couple of weeks. Our pastor was in an accident that he was injured and suffered pretty substantial injuries. The Sunday after his accident he talked to the church on the screen from his wheelchair telling us that his plan was to be there preaching and not in his current state but God had a different plan for that week for him. It gave some other people in the church an opportunity to step up and preach during his absence, even if they had never been a pastor or trained as a pastor before.
That leads us up to this special sermon that is very unique because it was preached by a man that was not a pastor. I cannot say enough of how God used this man to convey a perspective that would never be mentioned by a pastor. Prayer specifically for Pastors. Not only did the man humbly preach about the hardships of pastors but about pastors families and lives(something that if preached by a pastor himself may be considered in some view self-serving).
He researched surveys from pastors conferences and talked to pastors from all over. He asked them what was so difficult about being a pastor. He went on to say that he, himself had figured out as a young boy he wanted to be a pastor. When his mother asked why, he replied something along the lines of,"You work one day a week, take a nap after you work that one day, and get all the money that gets collected in the collection plate!" As we grow into adulthood we realize that is not the entire job but do we really know all about what our pastors do everyday for the Kingdom of God? How are we doing in supporting them?
Pastors work about 55-75 hours a week on a regular basis. Much of the time more.
They are on call all the time, everyday, for you and for me, regardless of what is going on in their own family lives. They take the time to be humble listeners, councilors, truth tellers, soul-feeders, inspiring, loving, caring, vessels in which God works through to help guide us in a stronger relationship with Him.
Pastors are the enemy's #1 target.
Why? Because when a pastor is allowing God to work through him, who is leading and inspiring his church and the people in the church to do God's will on this earth. It is the single biggest threat to the enemy. The enemy will stop at nothing to bring down these light-giving souls and he goes right for those things that are nearest and dearest to them.
It is spiritually dangerous. Isolation is a problem that was expressed by many pastors. Temptation taunts them from every angle. Not to mention people are watching their every move, listening to their every laugh, expression, and verbage as examples, sometimes subconciously waiting for them to say something to contradict the word of God. Seventy percent of pastors said they felt like they could not keep in their company, any close friends to share their deepest troubles or thoughts with. The reason? High expectations or perception of what the perfect pastor is supposed to be all the time as a person, to extend to his wife and children. The truth is we ALL fall short! There is no perfect pastor, just like there is no perfect person. They are humble servants that are willing to follow the calling that God has for them as should each of us.
Pastors families can suffer
Almost 80 percent of pastors wives feel like they must start or lead multiple ministries in the church and lead groups in their homes. Pastors wives also expressed the feeling of loneliness and isolation because church members tend to assume they are too busy or pastors wives would not associate with them because they must be 'too busy' with church activities. Many times this is not the case. They are often not invited to social gatherings because of this assumption. They also can experience the same critical and trust issues that their spouse experiences. With extra stressors such as these on the pastors family, 55% of pastors marriages end in divorce.
Pastors and their churches are criticized verbally
We all have critics. It happens that there will always be people who aren't happy with what pastors are doing. Pastors have a difficult task. A message is laid upon their heart to share with the congregation by God. They pray that God will use them effectively to convey His message. When criticzism is expressed it cannot be discounted. There is usually is some truth to what said. Pastors take constructive critizism with stride and try and improve on what they do. They strive for excellence because excellence honors God. It is still hard to take critizim when you have put your heart into something, especially if it not expressed in a loving, constructive way for the good of the body. I think that goes without saying when each of us does the same. Pastors try to lead by example and occasionally site examples of how they are trying to live the way God wants us to live in their sermons. It can be misinterpreted as bragging. Have you ever heard someone leave church saying. "Kinda sounded like Pastor_______was bragging in his sermon today" No matter how a pastor tries to express in a sermon what they are trying to get across, it doesn't come across to everyone the same. So, our Pastors can't win for loosing. You've heard the saying "You can please some of the people some of the time, all of the people some of the time, some of the people all of the time, but you can never please all of the people all of the time." This completely holds true here. Ephesians Chapter 4 describes what we are called to do for the Unity and Maturity in the Body of Christ. We all can and be aware of this, especially when thinking of our Pastors and how what we say and do affects the body. Statistics say that 1500 pastors leave the ministry each month. That's scary. So if you think what you say doesn't matter, think again. Words have power.
Critical eyes on not only pastors but churches as a whole are becoming more and more common. Four thousand churches begin each year, and 7000 close. Pastors lead the church, but we are still in it! We are part of what makes up a church..All those things that were in the critical mental checklist looking for a church that "fits" Are they things that we can somehow use our gifts and talents to shape them in the way we want them to look? Are we going to blame them on the pastor or see what we can do to contribute to make the church work together better in unity and to honor God in all we are doing?
With all that to say, I think that our Pastors have the hardest job on this earth. The pastors I have the pleasure of knowing have great joy in their hearts and share it through their sermons, actions, and words. They share all they have to further the kingdom of God. They put their hearts into everything they do, to shine the light of Jesus, to uplift us during trying times, share in our joys, guide us during confusing obstacles, and try and lead us on the path of righteousness toward a stronger relationship with our wonderful God.
It's our turn.
This month is Pastor appreciation month, however, we should let our pastors know just how thankful we are for them and pray for them and their families as often as we can. Prayer can move mountains, stop wars, and build cities. It can also equip our pastors with the tools they need to effectively fulfill what calling that God has placed on their lives.
So I just want to say to all the Pastors I know, Thank you! What you do matters in my life, the life of my husband, the lives of my children, and the lives of all the people that you interact with everyday. Because of the calling you chose to answer and were obedient in following, our relationship with God and family is better, I know my life has purpose and meaning and because of how you were able to communicate God's word, I understand and know how I am loved and can love because the gifts God placed in my heart to share. I know I am a child of God. I know I am a work in progress, but saved for eternity by Grace. All this God has allowed me to understand through your faith,love, words, and actions. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.
