7 Ways to Bless your Pastor

I realized that October….Pastor Appreciation month came and went.  But I couldn't find words this year to communicate what my heart was feeling about blessing your Pastors.  Most everyone who knows me knows how much I love Pastoral Families… having been a Pastor's daughter and a Pastor's wife in my life!

However, when I received this email link last night… I was like "Aha"! This is what I need to share!  If you missed doing something special for your Pastor during October - it's not too late!  The month of Thanksgiving is a Wonderful time to express your love and gratitude for them and all they do to serve you and your families!!

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Who doesn’t love their pastor? Often times, pastors are just taken for granted because they are called to service for the church. I would love to encourage you, as a church goer, to bless your pastor.

Pastors are human and get discouraged, stressed and overwhelmed. They need more than just our prayers and finances. They need us, as much as we need them.

7 Ways to Bless Your Pastor

1. Invite them to Dinner – Serve your pastor a cooked meal at your home or take them out after church on a whim. The time around the table is so personal and the conversation can be incredibly encouraging to everyone. Laugh together! Our pastor is one of the funniest people I know and he loves to laugh. Laughter is the best medicine and most pastors won’t share with their congregation when they are sick or needing some encourage.
2. Send them a Card – If God has placed a scripture or word on your heart for your pastor, send it to him in a card. We all love getting cards with personal notes in them and our pastors are no different!  Even if you don’t have some purpose in writing a card, just a ‘thinking of you’ card can be the very thing your pastor may need to be joyful in his never ending duties.
3. Raise Money for a Vacation – Pastors are some of the most frugal people I know and their vacations are often connect with visiting family or even a mission trip of some sort. Going around privately to the members of your church for a donation to send your pastor and his wife on a surprise get away just for themselves to be refreshed, I would encouraged you to do so. Even Jesus went away for his own refreshment!
4. Do a Work Day at His House – This can be something you schedule with him or just show up. Landscaping or pressure washing the outside of the house or painting some shutters isn’t invading on what is going on inside and will be a quick way to let his neighbors know that good people live in that house and will uplift the spirits of the family inside.
5. Drop a Gift Card in His Bible – Gift cards are a great way to express your love and allow them to have a time with their family at one of their favorite restaurants, fill up their car with fuel or buy the tool of his choice.  The gifting without being seen is one of the best ways to encourage a servant of the Lord!
6. Throw a Church Wide Appreciation Dinner – Get everyone involved in celebrating the pastors of your church by coming together with an appreciation dinner. Special music, a powerpoint presentation highlighting their lives and sacrifices to His kingdom and even a table for thoughtful gifts can be a few elements to give your pastors a time of appreciation and love as a whole congregation.
7. Inspiration Item to Use Often – I love to give a coffee cup with an encouraging scripture or a plater with a strong message that when it is used will remind my pastors how much they mean to our family time and time again.

If you are interested in the origin of this post, just click on this link:  www.teachersofgoodthings.com

Blessings to everyone that loves, prays, gives, and supports our family so we can do the work God has called us to do in International Missions!

WHY should we honor our Pastors?

Something that is so close to my heart is Pastors and their families.  Having been a pastor's daughter and a pastor's wife.... I understand the inside world of the pressures that pastors face daily.

The elders who direct the affairs of the church well are worthy of double honor, especially those whose work is preaching and teaching.  1 Timothy 5:17

 Some people ask the questions, "WHY should we honor our Pastors?  We pay them to do their job... how are their needs or circumstances any different from mine?"  

That may seem shocking to you - but in reality there are many people out there who really still do not understand the pressures that Pastors face.  IT IS A JOB LIKE NO OTHER.

*  Do you have any idea what it is like to have someone "mad" at you every other week because something at the church isn't how they like it?

*   Do you have any idea what it is like to have people that you love warring against one another and you about how the music is "terrible" (every church seems to have this battle!)

*  Do you carry the WEIGHT of counseling and praying with people you love whose lives are falling apart, marriages are disintegrating, are having to file bankruptcy, are battling addictions and the pull of falling away from God?

*  Do you have to figure out how to make sure there is enough tithes and offering to pay the building payment, the utility bills, the salaries, to support missions, and all of the other MANY things the church does?  Do you have the heaviness of knowing that if everyone would just do their part and tithe - that the church would be able to be all that God wants it to be in the community?

*  Do you have any idea how PERSONAL the job of being a Pastor is?  That every person who leaves the church or who doesn't like something can attack you PERSONALLY?  

*  Do you know what it is like to POUR yourself into people and them still walk away from church over the smallest things?

*  Do you know what it is like to live in a fish bowl?  Where everyone watches everything you do and feels they have the right to criticize you or have unrealistic expectations?

* Do you know what it is like to pour every drop of your life into a church - and when pastor appreciation rolls around you just get a few handshakes and pats on the back... and maybe a check from the church.... which is good and all - but it doesn't SPEAK and SHOUT Appreciation the way it could and should?

I could go on.  But that should give you a taste.  :)

October is Pastor Appreciation Month (aka Clergy Appreciation Month).  I know that many churches have a plan to express their love to their pastors, but I also know that many churches "ASSUME" that their pastor "KNOWS that we love Him".... therefore we don't really need to do anything other than shake his hand, pat him on the back, and say "we appreciate you pastor."

I see it a little like the relationship in a marriage.  Imagine that a husband marries his wife and tells her that day how much he loves her.  However, over the next 10 years they just co-exist and and the husband does not continue to express his love to his wife in tangible ways.  Will the wife really KNOW how much her husband loves her?  Or will his ongoing and sometimes surprise and unexpected acts of love and service PROVE that that love is still alive and true?

Many of us have studied the book, "The 5 Love Languages".  These concepts have helped us with our marriages, our parenting, our work relationships... to understand how others "feel" love and to "speak" their love language.

Might I ask.... during this month of Pastor Appreciation - how are you as a church expressing your love and appreciation to your pastor and his family? Let's just look at the 5 love languages to get our ideas going:

* Words of Affirmation

• Host a banquet or dinner at the church and have an open mic testimony time for people to express to the pastor just how much they have meant to them... Be sure and ask specific people to prepare something (just in case no one is brave enough to get up and talk....that could bomb the whole party!)
• Submit an open letter to your local newspaper appreciating the love and sacrifice that your pastor lives out for your church
• Film a video scrapbook - interviewing as many people as possible in the church about how the pastor has made a difference in their lives and in the church. Your young people should have the technology know-how to help with this project!

* Receiving Gifts

• Present your pastor with a Gifts of Service coupon book.  Have different people in the congregation offer to do special tasks for them through out the year.
• Give them gift cards to their favorite restaurant.
• Send them on a 2-3 day get a way at a nice resort.

* Acts of Service

• Look at what is in YOUR hand.  What do you have expertise in that you could offer to bless them with?  
• Many times pastors do not have the expertise, funds, or time to take care of their personal things like their home or cars...
• If you are a mechanic- offer some type of free service to your pastor's car.
• If you are a handy-man - offer to fix some things at their house that need attention.
• If you are a good cook - offer to bring them a meal once a month.
• If you are a beautician - offer free haircuts for the family for the year. 
• What can you do?  Ask God to show you a way you can serve...

* Personal Contact (Physical Touch)

• When is the last time you personally shook the Pastor's hand and TOLD HIM how much you have been challenged from a sermon?  
• Greet your pastor with a smile and an encouraging word - not just a handshake and a hello.  Pause to express something more than the generic.

*Quality Time

• Take your pastor and his family out to dinner
• Ask you pastor over for dinner
• Ask your pastor and wife to join you and your spouse for a double date or a movie

Please feel free to share this post with others in your church.  Even if you have already "celebrated" pastor appreciation... maybe you could do more?  :)

We love our Pastors, their families, and the churches that are being lighthouses in our communities all across our nation.

Love your missionaries,

Brad & Glenda McMath

Macy, Mia, & Micah

More Ideas on How to Love your Pastor

1.  If your pastor is NOT mechanical (MANY are not b/c they have devoted their lives to study and church work) - offer to help with any maintenance on family cars.  For free!

2.  Ask if your pastor is a handyman...again many are not b/c they have spent their lives specializing in the needs of others....not how to fix things.  Organize a group to make repairs at his home that he feels need attention.

2.  Congratulate, show appreciation, and give love!!!!  Keep your eyes and ears open for ways to show love and concern!

3.  Provide adequate paid vacation!!!!!!!!!!  Most people get to "go home" and "away" from their job every day.  Pastors never really leave their pressures at work.

4.  Take your pastor fishing, golfing, sailing, etc.... -NOT to talk about the church or anything heavy - BUT just to PLAY!

5.  NEVER SAY negative things about your pastor or the church in front of your family or others.  Talk DIRECTLY to the pastor if you have concerns!!!

6.  Care for your pastor's health!  Provide adequate medical insurance!  This is a must!

7.  Respect your pastor's privacy and family time.  Unless it is REALLY an emergency - don't call him at home in the evening.

8.  Buy your pastor a deep freeze and stock it once a year!

9.  Give your pastor's spouse freedom to be who they are.  Don't expect them to fit into a "stereotype" of the "typical" pastor's wife....plays piano....leads the quilting group....sings....etc.   :)

10.  Remember that the pastor's children are this:  CHILDREN!  Don't expect more of them than you do other children!
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11.  Let God use YOU to do something in the life of the church.  One of the most discouraging things can be having a church full of pew sitters.

12.  Make sure your pastor and spouse get to attend conferences to encourage and inspire them.

13.  GIVE NEW IDEAS A CHANCE!  "But we have always done it that way" are the eight most deflating words a creative pastor can hear!!!!!

14.  Never compare your current pastor with a former pastor.  It is unfair, bears no fruit, and stands a good chance of causing discord.

15.  It is amazing how many people expect the church to be lit, air-conditioned or heated, have children's church with creative supplies, be able to get counseling from the pastor and a sermon, or two, or three every week..... yet they never invest ANYTHING into the church...or they give sporadically at best.  Decide TODAY to be a faithful giver of your tithe to the church (10% of everything God blesses you with - you give back to God through your local church).  Your church can not grow and flourish and provide the things you consider so important - without you doing YOUR part!

16.  Form a prayer group that prays regularly for your pastor, his family, and the needs of the church that are heavy on his heart.

17.  Ask your pastor often - "Pastor, how can I help you?"  And mean it!

18.  Write them a letter of how they have impacted your life.  Don't just buy one of those "pastor appreciation" cards.  Write specifics of what you appreciate about THEM.  Pastors need affirmation too!

Pastor Appreciation #2

Pastor Appreciation rolls around every October...and most churches and church boards think....at the LAST MINUTE may I add.... "oh what can we do for our pastor to show appreciation?"

Give him a card?  Take up an offering?  Say from the pulpit "we appreciate you?"

The reality is that there is no other profession quite like ministry.  Where EVERYTHING is personal.  If someone walks out of your store because they don't like your products - no big deal.  If someone doesn't like their doctor - they go to a different one - no big deal.

But when a pastor has POURED his life into investing in people's lives, investing in their children, spent HOURS preparing for sermons, and has even at times sacrificed way beyond what was expected...and THEN some of these same people slander him or criticize him for being overwhelmed, depressed, burnt out, having an "off day"....  it is a serious thing.  In no other profession is rejection so sorely felt.

And yes, many times pastors handle it well.  But in reality - it hurts.  It wears on you. You become discouraged.  You wonder if you are making a difference.

Regardless of their smiling faces you see week after week - pastors NEED encouragement, affirmation, and LOVE!  They need to know that you LOVE them.

“The elders who direct the affairs of the church well are worthy of double honor, especially those whose work is preaching and teaching.”

(1 Timothy 5:17, NIV )

Think about why would Paul have said they were "worthy of double honor"?  They carry a HUGE load!  With spiritual implications!

Please take the time this month to THOUGHTFULLY think of how you can affirm your pastor.  And not just a handshake and a "we appreciate you pastor" given in the hallway!

Maybe you could get them a card where you write something SPECIFIC and MEMORABLE in it of how their ministry has made a difference for you and your family?  Maybe include a Restaurant Gift Card or cash gift along with your card?  Maybe get together with a few others and pay for them to have a weekend break away somewhere?

Be sure and check out the previous blog post for ideas from Focus on the Family about Pastor Appreciation.

Pastor Appreciation Month

One time a pastor friend of ours shared with us what his church does for pastor appreciation.  He sheepishly shared that it was quite embarrassing.  They wanted HIM to get up in front of the congregation and take up an offering...for himself!  He said the appreciation he felt was so pathetic - that he would rather them do nothing!

To help you to REALLY show appreciation to your pastor - Focus on the Family has developed the following resources:

• Our Clergy Appreciation Month Planning Guide is available online with complete step by step instructions and pages of exciting celebration suggestions. It also includes long-term ideas for the proper care of your pastors and their families. This complimentary guide can be reviewed, downloaded or printed immediately.
  (Note: Adobe Reader is required to view this PDF file. Click on the image to the right to download the latest version for free. The CAM planning guide PDF file itself may take several minutes to load into your computer's memory, especially with a modem, so please be patient.)