Appreciate them!

October has been declared Pastor Appreciation Month.   I hope you found some way to show your pastor and his family how much you appreciate them for all that they do.    Our church held a  soup dinner, complete with desserts and gifts.   Just a small token of all their hard work.

 

I want to brag a little on my pastor.   He is probably one of the most consistent Christians that I know.  He doesn't preach one thing, and live another.   He doesn't preach to please anybody but God.  He preaches what is in the Bible and not his opinion.    He preaches hard and tells you like it is.  No sugar coating at Calvary Baptist Church from my pastor. He loves his God, his church, and his family.  He is always, always, always happy.  He knows his Bible inside and out and if he doesn't know the answer, he will study and find the answer. I know firsthand that my pastor and his family have sacrificed A LOT for our church - without complaining.   There is no way I can fully explain how much I love my pastor and his dear family.

 

With that being said, everybody needs to realize that your pastor is just a man.   Sometimes, we put them up on pedestals.   I don't think any true man of God wants to be put there.   Don't make him the fourth person of the Trinity, because at some point, he will probably disappoint you.  That is not fair to him.   Now, don't get me wrong, I think their position is to be honored and respected.   Just don't expect them to be sinless.   They have the same sin nature as we all do.   In fact, I regularly drill it into my Sunday School students that we need to pray harder for our pastor and his family.   Being the leader of the church, I am sure he and his family are under attack more that any of the rest of us.   If Satan can destroy his testimony, or  that of his family, then it will affect the entire church.  So be sure to pray for your pastor and his family daily.

 

Also, don't forget about his wife.   While you voted on him as a pastor, she is there supporting him.   Remember that you didn't get a" two for one" with the pastor.   Let her find her own place within the church's ministries and don't expect her to fill every position that needs to be filled.    My preacher would be the first to tell you that he couldn't do what he does without the support and love of his wife.  

 

While October is set aside specifically for all their hard work, take time all year to show them how much you appreciate them.  

 

Give them a kind word

Give them a "thank you"

Give them a "I appreciate you"

Give them an invite to lunch (your treat)

Give them a card for no reason

Give them the gift of being faithful

Give them the gift of volunteering when needed

 

 We will never know this side of heaven all that our pastor and his family have endured or sacrificed for the calling. 

 

 How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things.

Romans 10:15b

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Listening to the dings in life

I love my new car with the exception of one little feature.   If you don't buckle up, it has a very annoying beep that is quite loud and takes forever to go off.   While I always buckle up, I have to lock / unlock the gate, so I tend to not buckle up until that is done.   I also have a bad habit of undoing it as I pull into the parking lot at work  before I come to a complete stop.  Bad idea.   It doesn't let up and can be in fact, quite obnoxious about it.  It will nag you until you do something about it.    I can just imagine that the sound of my car is about what teenagers hear when their parents try to advise them.   Just loud noise.

While the dinging is annoying, it has it's purpose.   It is their for my protection.  I can tune it out, or I can heed it's advice.   It is always in my best interest to heed it's warning and buckle up.  It is there not to bug me, but to keep me safe.  Ultimately,  I have the choice to buckle up,  or just keep listening to the dinging.

The same thing applies to our lives.  We are always faced with decisions that should not be rushed into.    How do you know if your decisions are sound?     The human heart can't be trusted with some decisions.   We can distort the facts to back up our decisions and make them a reality in our minds.       My husband is currently looking into a career change.  Everything in him wants to say yes to the idea.   But that would be foolish on our part.   He is talking to different people and getting their advice.    Some of that advice isn't what we want to hear.   But as much as we don't like some of what we are hearing, it is good sound advice from people with some  experience in that field.  We have the choice to ignore it,  or listen to it.  Ignoring it and going with what we want  to do instead, could have detrimental effects on our household budget and our lives.   We would ultimately regret it.  Real quick.   The impulse to act on what we want instead of listening to sound advice usually comes back to haunt us. 

 

Nobody likes to listen to the advice of others.  It is just not in our nature to do so.  We all feel competent in our decision making skills, especially the ones that  are ultimately ours to make.  But there is some valuable lessons to be learned through the mistakes and life experiences of others.   Ultimately, not listening to good dings in life  will almost always hurt in the long run.  Long after it is too late.

 

The way of a fool is right in his own eyes: but he that hearkeneth unto counsel is wise.

Proverbs 12:15