Honoring Our Pastors

As I thought about the wonderful day we had Sunday honoring our Pastor, I couldn't help but think of the Christians who do not honor the man of God. Why? Is it because something didn't go their way? They got their feelings hurt over some truth he has spoken from the pulpit or in private council? Are they listening to gossip about him? What is it that causes a Christian to not want to honor and stand with the man that God has placed as a shepherd over a church?

One way to honor our Pastor is to trust our Pastor. We may not agree with a decision he makes, but keep in mind that more times than none, our Pastors know more about a situation than we do. They have a great responsibility in leading, guarding, and protecting us and we need to keep in mind that not EVERYTHING is our business. Sometimes we need to know just enough to pray. God already knows the details.

Sometimes he'll make a staff decision we don't agree with. But he knows the man or the woman that should be in that position if he's prayed about it. You may wonder why he didn't ask so-and-s0 to take this position. Well, maybe it wasn't necessarily the man. Maybe it was his wife that was troubling this man's ministry because she's a gossiper and back-biter and other people in the church haven't figured it out yet. Maybe the Pastor just didn't have peace about it because God had something different in mind. Our thoughts are not always God's thoughts. Who we think should be in a certain position in the church isn't who God always thinks should be there. So trust your Pastor in his staffing decisions. It's not just staff decisions. It's any decision that he must make. We must trust that he is following God's leading. If you don't trust him....why are you still there?

This was in a special bulletin that was made for Sunday and I wanted to share it with you.

"What We Can Do For Our Pastor"

Pray for him. No one needs our prayers as much as he who stands to preach the truth of God's Word.

Believe in him. If he can know we believe in him with all our heart, he will be encouraged to do his best.

Stand by him. Support his visions and dreams for our church.

Talk him up. NEVER run him down.

Treat him generously. He is worthy of double honor.
I Timothy 5:17

Help him conserve time for study. Any person who speaks as often as he does must spend a great deal of time in study and prayer. Protect his time so he can devote himself to this task.

"And we beseech you, brethern, to know them which labor among you, and are over you in the Lord, and admonish you; and to esteem them very highly in love for their work's sake..."
I Thessalonians 5: 12-13

Pastors, true shepherds of God, are to receive "double honor," be remembered in prayer, followed, and obeyed as leaders of God in all that is right.
I Timothy 5:17 ; Hebrews 13:7, 17