We live in a society which either reveres the preacher or they ridicule the pastor. I realize that there are many men masquerading as pastors today who have no more business leading an ant farm than they do overseeing a local body of believers. I also realize that there is another side of the spectrum to where there are churches who harm the pastor by not cooperating with him. They won't join the church. They won't tithe/give regularly. They won't attend consistently (sporadic attendance) and yet they want the pastor to remain a pillar of consistency and a bulwark in their life. Guess what; Pastors are human too. Pastors also have days where they need fellow believers to lean on. They also have days where they need to be carried. They have crazy family lives. They have children. They have bills. They have health issues. They have the flesh to deal with too. They also have a congregation full of little "thems" that they have to work with. They have to handle multiple personalities at one time (sometimes in one person) and yet they have to behave themselves as flawless as the average person expects them to act. They are human. It has been said that there is no lonelier place than that of the ministry. It is a place of solidarity. It is a place where any spare moment apart needs to be spent apart or else they will come apart.
It is the responsibility of the church to properly care for and encourage the Pastor in good days and in bad days. How then does a church do this?
Gifts:
"If we have sown unto you spiritual things, is it a great thing if we shall reap your carnal things?" I Corinthians 9:11Throwing money at the pastor is demeaning. It isn't about the money. Money isn't the focus of his ministry. Money is cliché. it is impersonal. It screams "I haven't really thought enough of you to get you a gift which reflects my gratitude for your involvement in my life."
A new Bible! Face it, A Bible to a Pastor is like a broom and a dustpan to a wife. Growing up, my mom would buy us school supplies for Christmas. That was cruel. During my first pastorate a church member wrapped tablets of paper and a pack of ink pens each year for Christmas. I understand that it is the thought thought that counts but that is just it; THOUGHT.
The Pastor always needs new ties. Let us go get him new ties from the second hand store. No, lets not. Lets go to Joseph A Bank or Men's Wearhouse and buy him a tie and cufflink set. Put thought into his interests. Pay attention. Pay for a new vehicle. Have the church purchase a new car. If the pastor is driving a beater with a heater and everyone is driving a newer car - upgrade his car. I am not saying a newest model but a decent upgraded car. Send he and his wife on a week getaway. Pay for college courses. Pay for extended education. Splurge on his family. Love his wife. Be generous to his children at home.
Self
"I commend unto you Phebe our sister, which is a servant of the church which is at Cenchrea: That ye receive her in the Lord, as becometh saints, and that ye assist her in whatsoever business she hath need of you: for she hath been a succourer of many, and of myself also." Romans 16:1-2
Imagine if you will a Christian filled with the spirit and able to both identify her spiritual gifts and also using them in such a way to further the kingdom without becoming a woman preacher. Imagine a church being secure in the fact that a spirit filled woman could actually be used by God to help many in and out of a church? Women have a great propensity for Christian gifts and are often limited within the church out of misunderstood application to Scripture. Here we see Phebe who was not only a commended sister who served a local church but was personally recommended by Paul as an aide. Someone who came to his assistance in a time of hazard or peril. Some preachers (I will not discredit the title Pastor by associating it with them) believe that it is unscriptural for women to teach other women except how to have children and how to stay silent in church at all times. I believe we do much harm to each other and ultimately to the cause of Christ when we silence women from exhortation and service. No, I do not believe women should have any authority over men. No, they should never be pastors or deacons(deaconess) but they have a purpose in a church. Miriam led a congregation in song upon the deliverance from Pharaoh and the Red Sea. Priscilla helped Paul and Apollos in their ministry. Lydia was an aid to the Apostles.
There is a great need within churches for people to help the Pastor. The pastor needs a kind word. The Pastor needs administrative or secretarial assistance. The Pastor needs an accountant. The Pastor needs a greeter. The pastor needs help. The Church needs everyone to find out what they are to be and go about to do it.
Service
"But Jehoshaphat said, Is there not here a prophet of the LORD, that we may enquire of the LORD by him? And one of the king of Israel's servants answered and said, Here is Elisha the son of Shaphat, which poured water on the hands of Elijah. And Jehoshaphat said, The word of the LORD is with him. So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat and the king of Edom went down to him." 2 Kings 3:11-12
Face it. Someone has to clean the toilets. Someone has to change the trash can in the nursery. Someone is going to need to straighten the song books in the pew. Someone has to stack the chairs. Someone has to help in soul winning. Someone has to help fold bulletins. I need to rephrase that. Someone SHOULD do these things; other than the Pastor. It isn't that he is above it but it is that he has an important duty and although he is the servant of the Lord he is not the slave of the church. We get the idea that all Jesus did was stoop down and wash feet, heal sicknesses, deal with lepers and feed multitudes. He also spent time alone in prayer. Pardon the bluntness but Jesus wasn't a pastor. He never intended himself to be the pastor. He came to die. He didn't pattern his life for a life long service. His ministry was for 3 years. If the pastor of your church did what Jesus did in a week he would be burnt out in a day.
Elisha poured water on the hands of Elijah. It wasn't that Elijah was helpless or that Elisha was some second rate servant boy. It was that Elisha was a servant heart. He was a worker. He was the same man who was found by Elijah plowing behind twelve yoke of Oxen. He was a hard working man. He was not spiritually deficit. He had the double spirit of Elijah on him. He was a good man. A Godly man. He was a spiritual man. Yet, he saw his role as a place of service. If you want to show appreciation to your pastor, be a servant.
Find a way to be a blessing to the church and you will be a blessing to the pastor.
In the month of October, for whatever reason, people have designated it as "Pastor Appreciation Month." I do not know who came up with it or why they chose a month which is synonymous with Halloween but it is never good to trick your pastor into thinking he is in store for a treat. (See what I did there?)
How can you show your Pastor you appreciate him?
1. Be genuine. Examine yourself. If you don't appreciate him...either learn to or leave. I am being kind here. Do not stay at a church where you cannot respect a man who is trying to serve God. If he is a lousy pastor - leave. If he is a good pastor- fix yourself. simply put.
2. Be graceful. don't say or do things you'll regret. Don't gift something with strings of remorse. don't hold it over his head. What kind of sadistic person does that?
3. Be thoughtful and insightful. Someone once offered to take me to a bakery knowing I was trying to lose weight. Be intuitive. Get to know him.
4. Space it out throughout the year. Don't be a commercialized appreciator. Do it often.
