How Do You Honor a Faithful Pastor?

How do you honor a faithful pastor?

(full disclosure…I am a Lead Pastor of a wonderful local church which blesses me and my wife abundantly, so this will not be posted on our church sites.)

SHOW UP!

You can’t do anything greater for a Pastor’s vision than be one of those he or she can count on, rain or shine, to be there. Not just Sunday mornings when the crowd is there, but special events and occasions are where your attendance can make the difference!

PRAY UP!

Do you pray for your pastor and spouse daily and do they know that you do?
Are they on your prayer list, that GOD will endow them with wisdom, discernment and spiritual authority?

CHEER UP!

Put a smile on your face when you see him, and put a smile on his face by your encouraging words! He may not be the eloquent communicator that your favorite MEGA-TV-Star celebrity preacher is, but he may not have a creative team and research staff to assist him. He may preach more than once a week, and if he seemed especially weak this Sunday morning, there may be a reason. Your pastor may not have a huge support staff to send out to a crisis, so it was his presence that was needed with the drug-over-dosed deacon’s kid and her family at the hospital from 2am to 6am on Sunday. But you will never hear about that. That’s the kind of leader your Pastor is. He will be there for you in your crisis, too. And he will keep your secrets.

PAY UP

Most pastors would love a little extra just to take their kids for a hamburger now and then. That is because most pastors lead very small churches and do not make the salaries of the MEGA preachers. If you are blessed, pass it on. Honor to whom honor is due, that is Bible!

Pastor Myles Holmes
Lead Pastor – REVIVE
Collinsville, Illinois

Pastoral Care – More Than Just Help for the Hurting

PASTORAL CARE – MORE THAN JUST HELP FOR THE HURTING

Pastoral care is more than simply help for the hurting. It is much more a holistic way of applying the discipleship process. And, indeed, pastoral care is globally the pastoral method integrating diverse aspects of prayerful action through fellowship within the activities of the life of a church. The church, from an interactional viewpoint, might exist to serve the community, but the pastor exists to “to shepherd… to take on the role of guiding, watching over, and protecting the entire flock.”

The church, as a community espousing community for the healing of the individual and the whole, understands that fellowship will deliver more than just help for the hurting. It develops something richer. Similarly, the pastor starts from where people are at. But, like Christ, the pastor is not content to leave them there. The pastor wants to take a person on toward Christ, and to that actual destination – the acquisition of the Holy Spirit through transformation of soul.

Pastoral Visit Considerations

Pastoral Visit Considerations for Effective Visitation Outreach.

VISITING with people in their home or work environment, as a pastoral visit, is something I’ve been doing regularly for nearly twenty years. Every time we step into someone else’s environment we do so as guests with certain privileges, but also with certain responsibilities.

These following considerations are worthy of reflection for any of us who conduct a pastoral visit.

1. Pray before you arrive for the pastoral visit:

It’s good to ensure our hearts are prepared and our minds are attuned. On the way to a home or workplace I’ll try and envisage what the environment might look like, prepare myself for the greeting I’ll receive, and just generally psych myself into being myself. It’s important to be relaxed.

2. Call ahead if there’s any change to plan.

It’s no good arriving early or late or with extra visitors. Catching people unawares is not a good way to start or maintain a friendship. It’s never good to surprise people during a pastoral visit.

Church Letter Writing Tip 1

Each Church Letter Writing Tip builds off an acrostic based on the words “Church Letters”. At the bottom of each tip is a free sample church letter which may be used within your own church communications. This letter may not be posted on any competitive website.

C – Be Clear

When your letter is read, you don't want it to be similar to some bad commercials on television that may have looked and sounded good, but upon completion of viewing (or reading), the person looks back and wonders “what that was all about”.

If you are writing a letter to thank a person for visiting your church, be sure to do exactly that… then go on to tell them about the ministries that are available to them.

As you know, we live in a fast paced world, and when people want information, they want it to be clear, concise, yet when it comes to the church environment, they also want it to be on time! There is nothing quite so disappointing as receiving a letter of an “upcoming” event only to find that it is over because the mail didn't go out in time, or the 3rd class bulk mail took much longer than expected. (Should have used Pony Express!)

Be sure to answer the five basics of “Who, What, When, Where, Why”, and within those basics be sure the person knows what to do upon completing the reading of the letter or greeting card.

Church Letter Writing Tip 2

Our second lesson in “13 Tips For Church Letter Writing Success” will build off the letter “H” in our Church Letters acrostic.

Be Hopeful

One of the reasons for writing the letter is to encourage the receiver, and to provide inspiration and hope for tomorrow.

They will appreciate your positive approach to the situation, and you can certainly do this without being “fake”. Doesn't the Word of God provide hope for each and every situation? Philip. 4:13 – “I can do everything through him who gives me strength.” People need to be reminded of the fact that God is in control regardless of our ability to understand ALL His ways.

When I say, be “hopeful”, I simply mean have a tone of hopefulness in your letter writing, as well as when you speak with them face to face, or on the phone. People will often gain new strength for the next day when they realize someone else believes in them, as well as offering assurance of our God who is in ultimate control!

People will be well served when they read or hear your communication, and go away with the attitude, “you know, I believe I really CAN do all things through Christ!”