True Pastor

" And we beseech you, brethren, to know them which labor among you, and are over you in the Lord, and admonish you; and to esteem them very highly in love for their work's sake."  I Thessalonians 5:12-13a

October is traditionally the month many churches celebrate Pastor Appreciation, and I have been asked to write about the importance of honoring our pastors and showing them in some way how deeply they are appreciated.

My mind went back to the very first pastor I can remember. I was very young when my family began attending Manchester Pentecostal Church in Manchester, Kentucky. The pastor was Brother Johnny Roberts. He was an elderly, white-haired man in a wheelchair. He was no longer able to carry out the pastor's duties physically, but he was always there. My most vivid memory is of him calling the children around and giving us candy and chewing gum. I can't tell you if he was a good preacher or an efficient administrator, but I remember his kindness and love for me as a small child.

My pastor, Perry Fouts, keeps candy in his office, and the little kids are always around him after church asking for a treat. They will never forget him for that.

According to Pastor Care Network:

   80% of pastors believe ministry has negatively affected their families.

   50% feel unable to meet the demands of the job.

   70% do not have somebody they consider a close friend.

   50% of those who go into full-time ministry drop out in five years.

It has never been easy to be a pastor, but 2020 has been a year that has put unprecedented pressure upon faithful shepherds of God. They have had to close their church doors, learn to live stream services, and preach to audiences they can't see. They have had to sit helplessly at home as beloved members of their congregation were hospitalized with COVID-19. Many pastors have performed funerals wearing masks and unable even to reach out and touch grieving family members. They have had to cancel revivals, camp-meetings, youth rallies, homecomings, and a host of other events. If ever they needed to know they are appreciated, they need to know it now.

I believe Satan has launched an all-out attack against the church of Jesus Christ and his primary targets are pastors, ministers, and leaders in the church!

More than he needs gifts, a meal, or a celebration, the thing pastors need the most is for their members to be like, "Aaron" and "Hur." In Exodus chapter 17, the Amalekites came against Israel. Pastor Moses stood on top of the hill, holding up the rod of God. As long as he held the rod up, Israel prevailed, but when he got tired and let the rod down, Amalek prevailed.

Aaron and Hur, representing church members, put a stone under Moses to sit on, and they got on each side of him and held up his hands. Israel, the church, was victorious.

That's what your pastor needs; that's what your pastor desires. When church members become like Aaron and Hur by praying, being faithful, making his load lighter, interceding for him, the pastor will be blessed, and the church will prevail!

A "true" pastor has been called by God.

Paul told Timothy, " Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of the Lord...Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our 

works, but according to His own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began."  2Timothy 1:8-9

A "true" pastor is chosen.

"Ye have not chosen Me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain."   John 15:16a

A "true" pastor is sent.

"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? 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!"   Romans 10:14-15

Acts 13:22 says that God removed Saul as king and raised up David to be king because he was a man after God's own heart.

A "true" pastor will have the heart of God for his congregation.

The heart of God is "agape" love. The kind of love that suffers long and is kind, vaunteth not itself, seeketh not her own, and is not easily provoked, I Corinthians 13:4-5. A true pastor will have selfless agape love, a love that looks past the faults and sees the need.

It's one thing to love to preach; it's quite another thing to love those to whom you preach.

A gem dealer was strolling the aisles at the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show when he noticed a blue-violet stone the size and shape of a potato. He looked it over, then, as calmly as possible, asked the vendor, "You want fifteen dollars for this?" The seller, realizing the stone wasn't as pretty as others in the bin, lowered the price to ten dollars. The stone has since been certified as a 1,905 - carat natural star sapphire. It was appraised at $2.28 million!

It took a lover of stones to recognize the sapphire's worth. It takes a pastor with the heart of God to be a lover of souls and to see the value and worth of every individual member of his congregation.

The heart of God is faithful.

A "true" pastor will be faithful to God, his wife, calling, and congregation.

God said,  "And I will give you pastors according to mine heart, which shall feed you with knowledge and understanding."  Jeremiah 3:15

If the man in your pulpit has been called, chosen, and sent by God, and he is serving his congregation with a loving, faithful heart, then you have much to be thankful for. He is a gift from God to you.

Even in these trying, unprecedented times, I challenge you to find a way of letting your pastor know how much he is appreciated!

The prayer of a "true" pastor:

   "I do not ask that crowds may throng the church, that standing room be priced. 

   I only ask that as I voice the message, they may see Christ!

   I do not ask for churchly pomp or pageant, or music such as wealth alone can buy,

   I only ask that as I voice the message, He may be nigh!

   I do not ask that men may sound my praises or headlines spread my name abroad,

   I only pray that as I voice the message, hearts may find God!" ~ Harry S. Cushman