By Ed Thompson
On May 24, I wrote about ways churches could show their appreciation for their pastor. Recently, a session pushed back and suggested I write about how pastors could show appreciation for their church. Fair enough. Here it is.
I think pastors can show their appreciation for their church by saying, “Thank you.” I think they can do this frequently. I think they can do it publicly from the pulpit as well as at session meetings and deacons meetings. I think pastors can write thank you notes to individuals. I think they can write thank you notes that are included in church newsletters and on church websites.
I think appreciation begins by saying “Thank you” because the bottom line is it’s a privilege to be able to serve as a pastor. Whether pastors make a lot of money is an open question. Some of us do. Some of us don’t. In the future, there will be fewer and fewer full-time paid pastoral positions. Increasingly, ministry is going to be bi-vocational. In order to do ministry, a pastor is going to have to have another job, and likely that’s going to be a full-time job outside of the church, which will provide enough money to support themselves and their family. In light of that, those of us who get paid to do ministry, who have jobs in the church that allow us to serve the Lord and do what we love and what we have been called to do, should be grateful.
While there are some church members who are cheap and some who spend more on their pets than they give to the church, I suspect there are far more who are giving sacrificially in order to keep the church going. Before we complain about the few who give poorly, we need to remember those who give generously. And maybe before we complain at all, we should recognize that we have been given a gift many others would love to have. We need to be thankful and express our thanks to those who make our ministry possible.
I think pastors can show their appreciation for their church by remembering their limitations. One way to do that comes by recognizing that our seminary professors really don’t and didn’t know everything. I think that kind of reverence for professors is probably truer for recent seminary graduates, but even those of us who graduated from seminary several decades ago will remember words of wisdom from certain professors that still shape our ministry and guide our work. Maybe some of the things we remember weren’t actually what they said or what they intended to teach us. Nevertheless, some of the wisdom they passed on in the classroom, we simply need to forget.
That’s because some of our seminary professors never served as church pastors. Some of those who did never served in a church with less than 1,000 members. Some never served a church in a rural area. Some never served a church in Appalachia. Some may not have served a church as a pastor in the past 20 years. Ministry has changed. So, while our professors may have been teaching us what worked for them or sharing what they believed to be the best practices for how to do ministry, a lot of what they taught us doesn’t really work anymore, if it ever did.
Pastors can also show appreciation for their church by recognizing their own limitations as well as the strengths of their congregation. As a pastor, we are not really bringing Jesus to our people. Jesus was already there before we got there. Jesus will be there after we leave. Yes, we may know more about scripture, church history, and theology than most, if not all, of our church members. We may know more, but we don’t know everything. A large dose of humility is an appropriate way to express appreciation.
I think pastors can show appreciation for their church by praying for their members. Yes, we should pray publicly for them in worship, but we also need to pray for them privately at home and in our study or office. If there is a list of members or a church directory, a pastor could pray for a certain number of members each day or week so that they pray for every member of the church each month or during the course of a year. I’ve also known pastors who go into their church sanctuary and as they pass by the pew where a member typically sits, they would pray for that member. You can find a way that works for you, but I think pastors express appreciation for their churches through prayer.
Finally, I think pastors express appreciation for their church by giving. I think pastors need to set an example here, and if pastors ask members to tithe, pastors need to tithe as well. You can quibble about what a tithe means. I think it means giving 10% of your gross (pre-tax) income entirely to the church. I don’t think pastors can ask others to do that unless they do it themselves. Maybe only the church treasurer knows exactly how much a pastor and other church members give. Nevertheless, I think a pastor can tell their session how much they’re giving. I think a pastor can also tell their congregation how much they’re giving. They could say, “I’m giving this much to the church this year because I love the Lord and because I love you. I believe in what we’re doing. I appreciate all that you’re doing and I want to support that. Together, we can make a difference in the name of Jesus Christ.”
Maybe pastoral ministry doesn’t begin by showing appreciation for the church you serve. But without appreciation for the church, your ministry will – and maybe should – come to an end.