And you thought “appreciation” had only two p’s.
You’re right, of course, for your spelling test or spelling bee. However, I’d like to offer an “alternative spelling” to give you some food for thought and encouragement for action.
October is Pastors Appreciation Month, having been started back in 1992 by Focus on The Family and, of course, Hallmark Cards.
Hmm. Its original intent was to give intentional time to honor and show respect for pastors, but it has since expanded to include missionaries and all ministry workers. For simplicity, I will just speak of pastors here.
As a now retired pastor, I feel quite brave to encourage you to honor and show respect for your pastor. When I was a pastor, I never spoke or wrote to promote this because I did not want it to look self-serving. But now, I’m free to boldly invite you and encourage you to shower your pastor with thoughts, words, and deeds of love and respect.
And, oh by the way, please do not limit these to the thirty-one days of this month. I was asked in a full joking manner one time, “Pastor, it’s November 1, can I finally stop appreciating you today?” We both laughed heartily.
Here are my suggestions. The “4 P’s.”
Please note: I’m going to use the male pronouns for the sake of simplicity, but I am well aware that many churches have female pastors, and I would ask all the very same things for them as well.
Pray. I am not numbering these in priority order, yet if I were, this would definitely be number one. Yes, pray for your pastor. Seek the Lord on behalf of your pastor. Ask God to grant health, safety, and protection for him and his family. Pray that your pastor will stay close to God and close to His Word. Pray that the temptations of this world would not lead him astray.
Pray that he will take care of himself and seek refuge from the pressures and problems of leading a congregation in these times. Pray that he will maintain strong Godly leadership without letting his power make him believe he is above others. Pray that the multitude of problems and tragedies of his parishioners with which he deals will not drag him into despair.
And all of this is just getting started in praying for your pastor. You know him. You know his strengths and weaknesses. Pray for him according to his particular needs.
Pen. One of the primary actions for you to take this month to appreciate your pastor is to pen him your heart-felt appreciation. Write to him on a piece of paper, or, oh yes, on a Hallmark Card. They make them specifically for this occasion. Hmm.
Write him that you appreciate him. Encourage him to continue to deliver strong messages from the Bible of the faith, of Christ, of hope and salvation, and tell him how much it means to you each week to receive his Biblical sermons and teachings.
Write down your appreciation for his faithfulness, for his passion for his congregation, for his pastoral care for so many so often. Write and tell him you feel his pastoral love for his flock. Hand him or send him what you have written.
Present. Yes, and I’ll say, “If you absolutely have to,” give him a present as a sign of your appreciation. Hopefully, you know him well enough to give him something that he will both like and be able to use. If it is a tangible gift, be sure to write on it somewhere that it is from you and the occasion. I loved every gift I was given, but sometimes as the years went by, I couldn’t remember who gave it to me.
Also, yes, a gift of money or a gift card to his family’s favorite restaurant will also be well received and well appropriated. These monetary “presents” will be gifts of encouragement, and possibly help a little bit with the pastor’s family budget this month. All good.
Finally, Pay. What comes after October as Pastor Appreciation Month? That’s right, it’s November, “Church Budget Setting Month” for the coming year. I would ask and encourage you to consider your pastor’s salary, not from a spirit of scarcity, but rather from a spirit of abundance.
It is always easy to say to your pastor, “Pastor, we would love to pay you more, but we just don’t have the money.” Now, that may be absolutely true sometimes. However, I believe it is also not true many times. Church leaders, please study pastoral compensation guidelines. Please consider the particular needs of your pastor and family.
Please ask yourselves, “What could we do in the coming year to raise our pastor’s salary?” And ask God to show His Abundance through your congregation’s stewardship and giving?
So, thank you for “appppreciating” your pastor (please Editor Cal, let that spelling go just this one time). And let me tell you that your pastor most definitely loves The Lord and loves you his flock.
Pastors and people: Go in peace. Serve the Lord. Thanks be to God!
[Dr. Justin Kollmeyer, a thirty-eight year resident of Fayette County, is a retired Lutheran pastor. He offers his preaching and teaching ministry to any church or group seeking or needing a Christ centered, Biblically based, and traditionally grounded sermon or teaching. Reach him at justin.kollmeyer@gmail.com.]
