Appreciate Your Pastor All Year Long

I view with mixed feelings, the practice of celebrating Pastor’s Appreciation Day/Month. Maybe my reservations have more to do with the way I believe a congregation should show appreciation for their pastor. For me, it should not be a single day or month set aside for appreciating clergy or pastors. If there must be a celebration, let it be an all year event.

Back in Jamaica, this tradition was largely practiced in Pentecostal type churches from very early on. Recently, the Jamaica Baptists began to celebrate the anniversary of their minister’s service in the congregation or circuit. I have seen congregations show their gratitude to their pastor in some interesting and other times shocking ways.

There is the usual thing of a service of recognition and thanksgiving. Here the program is filled with tributes and lengthy citations to pastor, and pastor’s wife. There are poems, speeches, and a whole heap of gifts. These gifts range from token(s) from each family in the church, and or a corporate love gift or love offering from the entire church.

There is the story from Jamaica of one pastor who was so loved by his congregation, that they gave him a brand spanking new Mercedes Benz. Another one received a love offering of half million Jamaican dollars.

Now that’s a whole lot of love right there!

Well there is no need to lament if you can’t show that much love or even come close. There are some nicer things that you can do. And if your pastor does not appreciate it. Well there is a word to describe such a pastor. Come closer let me whisper it to you because kids read my Blog. Ooops..my members are here too. Come closer…

My Top 10 Everyday Ways To Honour Your Pastor

1. Be on time for meetings. Show your pastor that you respect her time and her
health especially for mid-day and evening meetings. It makes no sense to tell your pastor to take care of herself when every evening she has a meeting. Lunch is often late or missed not to mention dinner. What was that about care again?

2. Insist that your pastor takes a day off. A day off means just that a day ‘off’. Yes, it does mean from you. I assure you, your pastor loves you. But even “lovers need some time away” (Thanks, Chicago). Off means – Do not call the pastor on her day off unless it’s an emergency. And no, a call to be reminded of the date for a meeting is NOT an emergency!

3. Definitely insist that your pastor takes an annual vacation of no less than 4 weeks. Wait till you read my take on the Death By Ministry series by Mark Driscoll. You will hear what I have to say about “male masochistic ministry” and my male colleagues who gloat about how they work and never take a vacation as though that’s something to boast about.

You, the church are just as guilty for encouraging a pastor to develop such a  bad “testimony”. As if God is pleased with our abuse of our bodies and ministerial death by self-induced burn-out.

4. Do, I beg you! Encourage your pastor’s professional development. An uninformed pastor is a dangerous animal. Be warned. A pastor that is not growing will keep the congregation under-nourished. Talk about ‘bang-belly’ sheep!

So invest in your pastor’s professional development by sponsoring training, conferences, a book allowance, pastoral exchanges, and sabbaticals. You will benefit greatly from the refreshing exposure your pastor gets. Give a subscription to a Journal such as Interpretation (Journal of Bible & theology) / A magazine such as Christianity Today
Or the  Leadership Journal.

5. Encourage your pastor’s fraternal relations in ministers’ fellowships, local associational structures, convention and union structures, regional denominational structures, and international bodies.

A congregation and pastor that is isolationist will soon experience spiritual claustrophobia. Turned in on yourselves you”ll soon die of boredom if your narrow-mindedness doesn’t make you completely blind first.

6. Please support your pastor’s family. Yes, you called the pastor and the pastor brings all of herself/himself, which includes her/his family. You cannot be witnessing to a lost world outside while doing everything to make the pastor’s family end up lost.

Usually the children of the manse suffer the most. Lay off with the criticism of the pastor’s kids. They are normal kids just like yours. There is nowhere that says pastors give birth to angels, leave that for the mythology of Genesis.

And no the pastor’s husband/wife does not have to lead the women’s/men’s group or teach Sunday School or lead the choir. They are free to serve where they feel led just like you. Read about the tough job of a pastor’s wife here. Will some pastor’s husbands/wives please speak up!

Encourage and create opportunities for pastor to spend time with her/his family. Seriously, you do not think you are being good Christians by keeping the pastor out late every night and on weekends too do you?

7. Resist lighting bushfires and quit fighting among yourselves. You have a pastor not a firefighter! Some pastors spend way too much time pacifying feuds, reconciling warring factions, nursing bruised egos, and soothing baby-adults on their lap. Give the pastor a break!

The more time the pastor spends calling cease-fires, the less time will be given to providing spiritual care to you.

8. Do attend teaching and training opportunities. Be present at Bible Studies, stay awake during sermons, and turn up for training sessions. It is gross disrespect to have your pastor spend so much time in preparation only to find 10% of the membership present. What’s that a Tithe?

9. To the work! To the Work! That’s the way to please God and tickle your pastor. Tickle as in delight I mean. [The only approved form of clergy tickling allowed by this Blog]. Want to keep your pastor’s face wrinkle free, with fewer gray hairs too? To the Work. Do not waste time inventing new excuses as to why you are unavailable. Work while it is day..

10. For other ideas consult these two guides for things you can buy, make or do :-
How to Show Appreciation to a Pastor

National Clergy Appreciation Day/Month

Have an exciting and meaningful year appreciating your pastor!
Marvia

——————–

Read more at Revisiting Pastor’s Appreciation Day and  Advocating Yearlong Pastor’s Appreciation.