A PASTOR'S LETTER TO THE CHURCH
(By Pastor Gary Patterson)
To The Dear Church Of Jesus Christ;
I found this story from a devotion from the Radio Bible Class - Our Daily Bread entitled: "Getting Rid Of The Pastor"
"A Christian leader told of a group of laymen who came to see him one day for some advice. They wanted to know of a diplomatic way to get rid of their pastor. The man, sensing that they were not being fair, gave them some suggestions:
1. Look your pastor straight in the eye while he is preaching and say amen once in a while. He’ll preach himself to death.
2. Pat him on the back and tell him his good points. Before you know it, he’ll work himself to death.
3. Rededicate your own life to Christ and ask your minister for a job to do. He’ll die of heart failure.
4. Get the church to unite in prayer for him. Soon he’ll become so effective that a larger church will take him off your hands.
If your pastor faithfully preaches God’s Word and tries to live an exemplary life, do all you can to support and encourage him.
Of course, no pastor is perfect, and sometimes a careful rebuke may be needed (1 Tim. 5:20). But a pastor carries a big responsibility (Heb. 13:17), and a faithful man of God is worthy of loving respect and generous financial support (1 Tim. 3:1; 5:17-18).
By the way, when did you last say to your pastor, “I’m grateful for you and all you’ve done for me”?
By Richard DeHaan - ODB 11/10/1995
"And we urge you, brethren, to recognize those who 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. Be at peace among yourselves." (1 Thessalonians 5:12-13)
I write to you the church of Jesus Christ, to thank you for the wonderful priviledge of serving you. I have been a pastor now for 47 years. I have been retired from pastoral ministry now for 3 years. I now am involved in online ministry, and have been for the last 17 years.
I can relate to some of the experiance that the apostle Paul had in his ministry for the Lord. There were good times, and bad times. There were times when I felt very excited about the work I did for the Lord, and times when I felt like giving up.
I served churches that were very supportive, and there were those that were not, and it became a very rocky road for me and my family.
I am sure that any one who has been in pastoral ministry for a long length of time, as myself, can relate to this experience.
I am not going to take time, in this writing to share my negative experiences. It has taken some time to heal from them, and yet, I feel that I am still healing from the wounds of my difficult ministries.
But the true and comforting fact that I carry with me, even to this day is; that the Lord Jesus Christ was with me, and my family, through all the tests and trials of the pastoral ministry. If He hadn't been with us, I don't know what we would have done. What God said to Joshua, as he took Moses' place in leading the nation of Israel, every pastor needs to embrace.
"Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go." (Joshua 1:9)
I write to you the dear church of the Lord Jesus Christ, to tell you, that even with the wounds of the negative experiences, I am forever grateful for the privilege of serving you, for the sake of our Lord, and His Kingdom. I hope that In the years that I served, that I was a help, and an encouragement. To those that were at odds with me, I hope that there can be forgiveness, and a desire to put the past behind us, and work towards accomplishing new and exciting things for the Lord Jesus Christ.
In this writing, I want to focus on two verses of Scripture that I hope you the church of Jesus Christ will take seriously. It has to do with the responsibility you the church has, to their pastor. I do not want to use this Scripture to scold, or reprimand, but to remind you the church, that if you have a good relationship with your pastor, the ministry you share together, will be one that is very productive for the kingdom of God.
The two verses of Scripture I want you to focus on is from 1 Thessalonians 5:12-13. From these verses I want us to look at a three-fold responsibility to those who are spiritual leaders in the church of our Lord Jesus Christ.
1. WE ARE TO RECOGNIZE THEM
(1 Thessalonians 5:12)
How thankful we are for the apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers, (Ephesians 4:11) and various spiritual leaders that watch over us, and provide the spiritual encouragement we need to live this wonderful, and at times challenging, walk in the Lord Jesus Christ.
We should never take them for granted, or neglect to support them in every way we can. It is a hard road to walk, and the expectations can be great. Some, in the body of Christ, the family of God, do not understand, what a spiritual leader goes through, to be an effective leader. Of course, no one is perfect, and even spiritual leaders can fall off the grid, make mistakes, and need to be restored in their Christian walk and responsibility.
In some situations, fellow Christians can be severely critical, and non-supportive.
As Christians, we can make our spiritual leaders, feel very discouraged, and develop an attitude of defeat.
"Stress, loneliness and political division are the three items that rise to the surface. Over half of pastors who have considered quitting full-time ministry (56%) say “the immense stress of the job” has factored into their thoughts on leaving. (2022 Barna)
“Flatter me, and I may not believe you. Criticize me, and I may not like you. Ignore me, and I may not forgive you. Encourage me, and I will not forget you.”—William Arthur Ward (Ministry 127)
George Truett was a tremendously effective pastor for decades in Texas. His heart was broken when he accidentally killed his best friend while they were on a hunting trip. His daughter said that she never heard him laugh after that day. Truett had a radio program, and each day when it came to a close he would say, “Be good to everybody, because everybody is having a tough time.” Because he knew personally what a heavy burden people could be carrying, he encouraged compassion toward them.
Sometimes we cross paths with people who seem to be brusque and not very easy to like. Yet there is usually a reason for their behavior, and often it is because they are hiding a heavy heart. If we take the time to understand what has happened, we may find that while they have a tough outer exterior, inwardly they are desperately wishing for someone to care about them.
(Ministry 127)
Here are six ways that we can lift the burdens of others, especially our spiritual leaders.
1. Pray - Prayer is not the least we can do; it is the greatest we can do!
2. Write a note of encouragement - It doesn’t need to be a long epistle. Just a few sentences that tell someone you love and appreciate them, will uplift their spirit.
3. Give a small gift - Train yourself to pay attention to the small things that others enjoy.
4. Opening your home to others is a form of opening your heart. It says, “I care about you, and I want to be personally involved in encouraging you.”
5. Lend a helping hand - Maybe someone has a burden that you can help with. Little things mean a lot.
If I were to define the word "recognize" I would say that it means, to "give attention to", to display the qualities of something, or someone's good points.
In regard to our spiritual leaders, you the dear church of Jesus Christ need to "recognize the good things, and also the needs, that these special, wonderful people have.
2. WE ARE TO ESTEEM THEM
(1 Thessalonians 5:13)
To esteem our spiritual leaders is to hold them in high regard. To love them, as Paul says in Romans 12:10 "Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another."
We need to continually show gratitude because of the work they do for us. They feed us the Word of God, explaining it like Philip did to the Ethiopian eunuch in Acts 8:30-31. They make themselves available to minister to our spiritual and physical needs.
As your elders (spiritual overseers of the body of Christ, and your deacons, who take care of physical needs) minister to you, let them know how much you love and appreciate them. Let them know constantly how much you appreciate their labor of love for you.
Dave Branon - "When my son Steve walks into a room, he often gets immediate respect. People want to shake his hand. They smile. They congratulate him. They thank him.
It happens at church. It happens in restaurants. It happens wherever he goes—as long as he is wearing his uniform of the United States Navy.
While in uniform, Steve gets instant respect because everyone knows that he is serving. He has given up many personal freedoms and desires so that he can serve his country.
People respect service. We honor police officers who serve. We pay homage to military personnel who serve. But do we give the same honor and respect to those who are in an even greater service—service to God? Do we show respect to our pastors, missionaries, Sunday school teachers?
Scripture tells us to give honor to whom honor is due (Rom. 13:7). Specifically, it tells us that double honor goes to those who direct the affairs of the church through teaching and preaching (1 Tim. 5:17).
Instead of criticizing your pastor, teacher, or spiritual leader, let others hear your words of gratitude and praise for their service. Hold them up in prayer. God’s servants deserve our respect and honor.
By: Dave Branon (Radio Bible Class, Grand Rapids, Michigan)
TS. In our duty to those who watch over us:
3. WE ARE TO BE AT PEACE
(1 Thessalonians 5:13)
It is a great burden for spiritual leaders to deal with conflict and disunity in the body of Christ. I write to you dear church of Jesus Christ, to do all that you can to maintain unity in the family of God.
"But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy. Now the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace." (James 3:17-18)
A traveler was driving along one day and had an accident. He drove his car into a ditch in a desolate area. A local farmer came by to help with his horse named Buddy. Well, the farmer hitched Buddy up to the car and yelled, "Pull, Nellie, pull!" Buddy didn't move. Once more the farmer hollered, "Pull, Nellie, pull!" Buddy didn't respond. The farmer repeated this action again, with the same results. Then the farmer nonchalantly said, "Pull, Buddy, pull!" And the horse finally dragged the car out of the ditch. The motorist was really appreciative but he was also curious. He said to the farmer "I really appreciate what you did for me, but why did you call your horse by the wrong name?" The farmer said, "Oh, Buddy is blind - and if he thought he was the only one pulling, he wouldn't even try."
What a difference it makes, especially to our spiritual leaders, when you as the church of Jesus Christ pull together, instead of letting your enemy Satan, tear you apart.
As a pastor, I have been in the middle of this tearing apart. The task of trying to restore unity in the body of Christ, is a very heart wrenching experience. One that is very disheartening, and can drive you to the point of giving up all together.
The responsibility of our spiritual leaders is to help us as fellow Christians to exercise what the apostle Paul said, was the three greatest gifts. "And now abide faith, hope, love, these three: but the greatest of these is love."(1 Corinthians 13:13)
So in regards to you the dear church of the Lord Jesus Christ, may you do this to honor your spiritual leaders, and help to have a very healthy, strong, productive, Christian community, "if it is possible, as much as it depends on you, live peaceable with all men."(Romans 12:18)
Discussion Questions:
1. Can you name the spiritual leaders, who watch over your souls? Those who oversee the fellowship of believers in the body of Christ?
2. In what ways can we show that we love, and appreciate all that our spiritual leaders do for us?
3. If a spiritual leader, falls into sin, or is not leading in the proper way, according to what the Scripture says; what should our response be, as members of the body of Christ?
4. How would it help to recognize, and esteem, the spiritual leaders in the church of our Lord Jesus Christ.
5. How can conflict, and disunity really weigh heavy on the life and responsibilities of our spiritual leaders?
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