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Tuesday Morning Epistles
Welcome to "Tuesday Morning," a source of
encouragement for believers and churches everywhere.
The late Bill Bright, founder and
president of Campus Crusade for Christ, always had an
encouraging word for pastors and challenging words for
the congregations they served. He once said, "No segment
of our society is more strategic and more in need of
prayer than pastors and their families. They urgently
and desperately need our love, encouragement and earnest
prayers."
Shirley Dobson, 2007 chairman of the
National Day of Prayer Task Force, once told this story
of a discouraged pastor who was ready to leave his
church:
"His resignation letter typed,
Pastor Keagan (a pseudonym) slipped its folds between
the pages of a sermon outline and headed out the door.
He walked slowly between buildings for his usual rounds
to turn off lights and water, adjust the thermostat and
lock doors--some of the countless, tedious, thankless
jobs of a pastor. As he turned the corner of the
fellowship hall, bright balloons and streamers caught
his eye. He was stunned. All at once, he heard a shout
from more than half of his congregation. It wasn't his
birthday or his anniversary, but it was a day he will
never forget. The occasion was Clergy Appreciation
Month. After weeks of potlucks, letters of encouragement
and prayers on his behalf, Pastor Keagan shared with his
deacons a torn-up resignation letter. It wasn't just his
ministry that turned around, but the entire future of
the small, 120-member congregation."
Robert Velarde, a member of the National
Day of Prayer Task Force, asked about the things that
come to mind when you think about your pastor--forced
exits, hazards to their families, serious conflicts with
parishioners, few, if any close friends?
"Unfortunately," Velarde said, "these are just a few of
the difficulties your minister has probably faced at
some point."
The Apostle Paul knew something about the
challenges of ministry. He wrote to the Church at
Thessalonica (1 Thess. 5:12, 13 The Message):
"And now, friends, we ask you
to honor those leaders who work so hard for you,
who have been
given the responsibility
of urging and guiding you
along in your obedience.
Overwhelm them with appreciation and
love."
October is Clergy Appreciation Month in
America. Maybe in other nations as well. The title of
this week's "TM" is "October Celebration." In
some places a month set aside to honor ministers might
better be entitled, "October Surprise." Whatever it is
called, it should be celebrated everywhere churches
exist. Follow the admonition of Paul:
Overwhelm your pastor with appreciation and love.
Have an outstanding month of
celebration...or surprise.
Tom Barnard
A Senior Encourager
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October Celebration
Tom Barnard
he month of October has become the time of year when individuals and churches pause to show their appreciation to those who shepherd them in spiritual matters—their pastors. It’s time to do that again. So, please bear with me as I express my thanks in writing to my pastor.
Pastors are special people, but they will be the first to say that all people are special in God’s sight. If you suggest to them that they are gifted people, they will say that all Christians are gifted. Tell them they need to take more time off, and they will say that everyone needs to take time off. Tell them they are over-worked and underpaid, and they will say that everyone is overworked and underpaid. Tell them how much you appreciate them, and they will say how much they appreciate you. It is very hard to get ahead of them in terms of making your praise and appreciation stick. But that is not an excuse to fail to thank them for what they do. So, pastor, here is my humble tribute to you.
You take very seriously your calling. We like that a lot. You tell us how blessed you are that God called you to be our pastor. That tells us you honor God for what He has done to equip you for your assignment. You often mention the loving respect you have for your parents and the role they had in shaping your life as a young person. Occasionally you have referred to the mentors God has brought into your life, and the degree of appreciation you have for them. It is obvious to us that you enjoy being called “pastor,” but you also like to be called by your first name. Your ministerial preparation comes through every Sunday in the sermons you bring. Your skills in communicating the Gospel are obvious to us. You are as comfortable in your interpersonal relationships as you are in your platform presentations. You have taken time to learn about us—not just our names, but personal things you have observed about us, and you have shown us in creative ways how much you care. Excellence is a term we use to tell others about how you go about your role as our spiritual leader. You have assembled around you a group of young, very skilled and personable staff persons. You go out of your way to publicly thank them for their work and ministry. Have we told you how much we enjoy your preaching? It sets the tone for our entire Sunday. When we have been ill or in recovery from hospitalization, you have phoned at just the right time. We know how closely you guard your days off to be with your family. What an example that is for all parents in the congregation. We pray for you regularly, but especially this month we are praying for you every day and beyond that, when God brings your name to our mind. Thank you for letting us call you pastor.
Some of you who read these words may wish that these words were directed to you. Consider it done. If no one else pauses to honor you or thank you this month for what you do in ministry, please accept these words as a tribute to your work. Let me close with the words the Apostle Paul wrote to one of his favorite churches, at Philippi, Chapter One. Consider these words as if they were written for you:
“Every time you cross my mind, I break out in exclamations of thanks to God. Each exclamation is a trigger to prayer. I find myself praying for you with a glad heart. I am so pleased that you have continued on in this with us, believing and proclaim God’s Message, from the day you heard it right up to the present. There has never been the slightest doubt in my mind that the God who started this great work in you would keep at it and bring it to a flourishing finish on the very day Christ Jesus appears…Sometimes I think I feel as strongly about you as Christ does.” (The Message, 1:3-5, 7)elebratoinelebration |