Have you blessed your pastor lately?

I am the music director at my church, and the service started a bit awkwardly as I accidentally slammed my right pinky and ring fingers against the upper register of my keyboard.

And the speakers for the keyboard were ON.

And his parents had just walked in for worship.

Duh.

Ummm....judging from the smirk on his face, I wouldn't say that I necessarily "blessed" him, but I did manage to wake everybody up! :o)

Then I went to another church to say goodbye to a friend, Pastor Jim Goodrich. He and his family are moving so that he can pastor a church in a different state. As we fellowshipped after a short service, he came up and was obviously pretty emotional. He said that he had no idea how hard it would be to leave. Then he gave me a hug and said, "You know, I still have a letter you wrote me last summer at camp. You blessed me with your words, and I just happened to read it again this week. Thank you."

Wow.

He still has it!

Hey folks, let's challenge ourselves to see how much we can encourage, love, and pray for our pastors. Let's offer to do things for them. What's your talent? Do you have some time on your hands? Why not ask him (or her) what could be done to help?

Years ago I was engaged to a pastor's son, so I saw first-hand how quickly life can get crazy. This is what I would recommend:

1. Offer to take the kids to play with your own, perhaps a couple of hours or maybe even for a sleepover party. He is probably stressed at times, no matter how wonderful you think your congregation is. Let him have some time alone with his wife; she can minister to him better than anyone else.

2. Even if your pastor happens to be an expert at landscaping (or painting, or fixing cars, etc.), he could still use some help! The more time you give a helping hand, the more time he has with his family. [see suggestion #1]

3. Do whatever you can to ease the burden of being a pastor. That includes calling him at the church office, not at home, as much as possible. Pastor "J," who was almost my father-in-law, used to get phone calls at night over trivial things that could have waited until the following day. Remember: Your pastor has a life OUTSIDE of the church. If he's a new pastor and doesn't yet, then give him time to build a life apart from trying to fix everyone's problems.

4. Write a little note or card of appreciation every now and then. I happen to love cards! But if you'd rather tell him how well he's doing, then say so right after a sermon as you shake his hand to leave. Better yet, mention something to show that you really paid attention during church. Keep it short and sweet so that he can go eat in a timely manner. Ministering to you is hard work!

5. Pray and ask God for direction on what to do to be a blessing to your pastor.