Minister with Joy

Now we ask you, brothers, to give recognition to those who labor among you and lead you in the Lord and admonish you.

1 Thessalonians 5:12

Yes, I am finally back.....if there are any of you left reading my blog I know you will be surprised, I am surprised myself. I have been a slug. I couldn't get a September issue of my devotional, so I pretty much just used that as an excuse not to do it. I however did get an October issue, and as you can see, I have procrastinated, as it is October 4. But I am working on it.....

Today's devotional was a story about a deacon fielding a multitude of complaints about everything from their pastor, to the music to the youth dept. to the children's dept. The deacon was on the phone with a member of the congregation fielding a particularly difficult complaint, when he reminded the memeber that the pastor is called to shepherd God's flock, and that the pastor was appointed by the Holy Spirit.

The pastor is an imperfect person, just as we all are. We all fail in some way or another. It is oftentimes easy to see the flaws in others, but not in ourselves. I know I have been guilty of this myself. We tend to see the leaders of our church as above reproach, we hold them to a higher standard, fair or not. What we need to remember is that they are human, and that we are all sinners. We need to let the petty little things go, and focus on encouraging where there is no encouragment from others.

I think we can be particularly hard on our pastors. We feel like they should be the ultimate man of God. But I think pastors take the most verbal beatings of anyone in the church. I know how hard those verbal beatings can be on a person. Sometimes it seems all you are hearing is what you are doing wrong.....and it can be quite discouraging. I have been guilty of judging my pastor a little to harshly in the past. I am fortunate to have a wonderful pastor, who is a very godly man, and who seeks God's will above all else. I might not agree with everything....but those petty little things aren't worth him hearing my discouragement over. Our pastor needs to hear our encouragment, and know that we love him, and that we appreciate the sacrifice he is making for us and for God.

Steps of Faith:
Father, help us to honor, encourage, and support the pastors You have appointed to lead us, Your flock. Help us to keep any criticism constructive, and build up our pastors.

Deeper Walk:
1 Timothy 5: 17-19 NAS
Concerning Elders

The elders who rule well are to considered worthy of double honor, especially those who work hard at preaching and teaching. For the Scripture says, "YOU SHALL NOT MUZZLE THE OX WHILE HE IS THRESHING," and "The laborer is worthy of his wages." Do not receive an accusation against an elder except on the basis of two or three witnesses.