Relationships

How to Make Your Pastor’s Job a Joy

October is traditionally Pastors Appreciation Month, and it is good to have a dedicated time to honor those who will give an account for the souls of those in their congregation. I am sure that pastors are grateful for the cards and gifts that they receive this time of year, and as Scripture states, we should be generous to those who are members of the household of faith (Gal. 6:10)  and this definitely, and especially, includes our leaders (I Timothy 5:17). 

However, I would venture to guess that more than the notes of appreciation that they get every October, most, if not all pastors, would rather that they serve a congregation who makes their job a joy. After all, they are spending and being spent for the sake of the Gospel (2 Cor. 12:15)! How wonderful would it be that as they do so, as they spend their days serving, teaching, encouraging and supporting the body of Christ, that they could delight in that work? And while it is true that this work is worthy of delight simply because it is the work that God has called them to do, as members of a local church we can either intensify or detract from the joy that they experience. As Christians who desire to honor Christ in all we do, we should desire that we would be individuals who show our love to God by loving well those He has given the stewardship of our care. How can we do that? Here are four suggestions on how to make your pastor’s job a joy.

1. Apply God’s Word to your life

A good pastor spends a considerable amount of time studying God’s Word in order that they might effectively teach it to their flock. This time of preparation can be isolating as well as challenging. However, they labor diligently in this endeavor because they know that the Word of God has the power to transform lives (Heb. 4:12). When they teach us, we should strive to put the truth that they have taught from Scripture into practice in our lives – not “someday” but today! The book of James instructs us to not be merely hearers of the Word but to do what it says (James 1:22).  A loving pastor wants his congregation to apply God’s Word to their lives because they know it honors God and they know it is for their congegration’s good. Therefore, every time we hear the Scripture taught, we should prayerfully and immediately consider how God wants us to put it into practice. In doing so, we not only are conformed into greater Christlikeness, but we bring joy to those who have labored to biblically instruct us from the Word of God. 

2. Pray for them

When they stand before Jesus, pastors will give an account for how they stewarded the souls of those that God entrusted to them (James 3:1). This is a heavy and significant responsibility. It comes with challenges and the Enemy would love it if he could distract a pastor from doing their job well. If we want to make our pastor’s job a joy, we should be regularly lifting them up to the Heavenly Father. We should pray that they would be faithful in their tasks. We should pray for their family. We should pray that the Enemy’s plans would be thwarted, and that God would strengthen them for the work that He has called them to do. God works through the lives and sacrifice of our church leaders for our good. We should be regularly and earnestly asking God to give them all that they need for “life and godliness” (2 Peter 1:3) in order that they might not only do their job well, but that they may find delight in their work. 

3. Encourage them specifically 

Pastors often are the first people that hear the complaints and concerns of those in their congregation. They bear the burdens of those in their flock and this can be a heavy load to bear. While the Holy Spirit can and does strengthen them for their task, if we want to make our pastor’s job a joy, we should do all that we can to “spur them on to love and good works” (Heb. 10:24).  This means that we should encourage them in specific and intentional ways. It is one thing to say “I liked your sermon today” and I am sure they would rather hear that than a  mean-spirited critique. However, it is another thing to tell them the specific illustration or point that they made which God used to equip and encourage you in your Christian walk. As much as possible, let’s be specific in our encouragement so that our pastors know we aren’t sharing platitudes but genuine ways that God has used them in our lives. If we can’t think of a specific encouragement to share, we can always share with them the specific ways that we are praying for them (see Point 2 above). This will assuredly motivate them in their service to the Lord!

4. Resist the urge to complain

Since pastors are often the first to hear of the concerns and critiques, we should do our best to resist the urge to add to the chorus by airing our complaints. Of course, this doesn’t mean that if there is an issue of sin, we do not follow the appropriate steps to get it addressed (Matthew 18:15-18). However, too often I fear we conflate “preference” with “error.” Just because I wish that other decisions were made or that things were done in a different way, does not mean that this is a grievance that needs to be shared. Instead, when the concern is about what we desire or what we prefer, we should first prayerfully bring it before God. In my experience, most of the time, when I talk to God about it first, I find that the issue was really about what was going on in my heart, and not something that needs to be addressed on a larger scale. Let’s major on the major and minor on the minors when it comes to perceived issues that we have with our church. No family is perfect and that includes the family of God (at least this side of Heaven). If we do need to bring a concern forward, let’s make sure we are motivated by what is for the benefit of others and for the glory of Christ’s name – and not merely or primarily by our own interests and pursuits. 

5. Strive for unity 

Growing up, whenever my sister and I asked my mom what she wanted for a birthday or Christmas gift, she would say that she wanted “two kids who got along.” As a parent, I now understand why that was at the forefront of her heart and mind. Division can be devastating to a family, and this includes the family of God. Therefore we should strive for unity – to be of one heart and one mind as we serve our one Savior. Not only does Scripture tell us that this is a good thing (Psalm 133:1) but it always will bring joy to those who are leading our specific body of believers. Sometimes this may mean that we need to overlook an offense (Proverbs 19:11), or to recognize that love covers a multitude of sin (1 Peter 4:8). Sometimes this may mean that we need to speak the truth in love (Eph. 4:15). because we need to heal divisions that are being perpetuated. Again, if there are Scriptural, moral or legal issues that need to be addressed, these could rightly be the basis for dividing and should be prayerfully and biblically brought to light. However, far too often there is division in churches for far lesser things. Let’s not consider ourselves more highly than we ought (Ro. 12:3), and let’s do what we can to live at peace with all men (Ro. 12:18) especially those who attend the same church. 

It is appropriate and good to show our pastors appreciation in the month of October. However, just because we do so this month, let’s not neglect to show them appreciation all year long by making their jobs a joy. As we do so, God will be honored, our pastors will be encouraged, and the Church will shine ever brighter for the sake of the Gospel, to the glory of Jesus’ name.

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Growth Relationships

How To Take a Sabbath as a Mom [Part 2]

In the first part of this series, I wrote about the importance of taking a Sabbath and some principles that moms in particular may find helpful to make a weekly day of rest a more regular part of their way of life. While I think these principles are helpful so that we can rightly consider why we should take a Sabbath and the impact that it can have, I also think it is beneficial to provide some tips on how a mom can practically do that. This is what I hope to provide here. 

First, a disclaimer. The tips that I am about to provide are just that – helpful hints that have made an impact on me as I commit to a weekly day of rest. Some of these may not work for your family routine or the particular stage of life that you are in and that’s o.k. I don’t claim to have the market cornered on how all moms should do this everywhere. However, my prayer is that even if the tips as written can’t be immediately implemented into your life, they might prompt some ideas of your own that you can prayerfully attempt. The goal is not that your Sabbath routine looks like mine; the goal is that every Christian follows the command to keep the Sabbath. 

And so, without further ado, here are some suggestions for concrete ways that we can regularly take a weekly day of rest. 

1. Have and communicate clear expectations. 

As a mom and a wife, my schedule is not my own. This is compounded by the fact that I work full-time outside the home as a university professor. Throw in my other responsibilities as a church member, a writer, an independent consultant, and a women’s ministry speaker and there are a lot of demands on my time, and a lot of people who in some way or another need a regular investment of my waking hours. If I am not careful, it would be easy for all the “to dos” to fill up every single minute of every single day, which means I would never get a regular day of rest. In order to avoid this, I try to prayerfully and clearly know what my expectations are for a Sabbath and have good, direct communication with others so that they know I am planning a weekly day of rest. In my family, this is fairly easy to do since our routines all depend on one another’s. Even still, my husband and I try to weekly discuss what we are going to do with our days off of work to make sure our day that is dedicated to rest and worship is protected. With my students, I intentionally tell them at the beginning of the semester that they should not expect replies to emails over the weekend because it is important for me to take a Sabbath. As other demands on my time arise, I work them around my day of rest, rather than working my day of rest around the to dos. This helps ensure that I regularly have a weekly Sabbath. 

2. Commit to regular rest throughout the week. 

I know it sounds counterintuitive to say that to have a weekly day of rest one needs to regularly rest throughout the week, but I firmly believe this to be true. I find that often the people who most struggle to take a Sabbath are those that burn the midnight oil throughout the week. Small habits become significant ways of life and if we do not build the practice of routinely and consistently resting at night, we won’t have the fortitude and the conviction to take a day of rest each week. As I mentioned in my previous post, God designed our bodies with limitations and one of those is we need sleep. There may be a variation in how much sleep each individual needs, but I believe that those who get a consistent amount of rest each day are most likely to also consistently set aside a day of rest each week. 

3. Create a family definition of rest. 

In families, one of the hurdles to taking a weekly day of rest is that it might look different for different people. Remember – the purpose of the Sabbath is to focus our heart and our mind on God. Some people do this more readily through contemplative solitude; others do this more naturally through being surrounded by a community of believers. While I believe that any Christian’s Sabbath should involve at least some time in corporate worship with the members of the body of Christ, how much of a day of rest should be spent in community and how much time should be spent by oneself may be a matter of personal preference. In our home, we are evenly divided between introverts and extroverts. Half of us feel reenergized and rested after being filled up by interacting with others; the other half of us need some quiet time to focus our hearts and minds on God and His good gifts to experience the same sort of rejuvenation. Therefore, we are deliberate about organizing our Sabbath around both of these things. But we don’t do this haphazardly. We plan our day this way and if any one of us is finding that too much of our day of rest is not actually restful, we discuss and adjust as needed. 

4. Distinguish between labor and service.

Another hurdle that I have found is that many people equate any productive thing that they do as “work.” Therefore, if they spend part of their Sabbath cooking a meal or building a Lego set with their kid, they don’t consider it a day of rest. While I am sure it is possible to make these activities, or a variety of other productive endeavors into work, I am going to suggest that it is helpful to distinguish between labor and service. When I cook a meal for my family it involves some effort, but it doesn’t have to be laborious. And I intentionally choose meals on our Sabbath that aren’t a significant endeavor. However, I still want to serve my family in this way. Just like I want to spend part of our day of rest investing in my kids, and sometimes this is best done over working together on a Lego set. I don’t think just because something yields a productive outcome, we have to consider it work. Furthermore, I would suggest that for most people their day of rest would not be God-honoring if all they do is lay in a hammock and ignore other people’s needs. Jesus said it is good to do good to others on the Sabbath, and that means we continue to serve others graciously. Labor is focused on toil; service is focused on love. We have to circumspectly and prayerfully consider our motivations for the effort that we are expending. If it is to accomplish a “to do,” it is probably work. If it is to do good to others, it is likely service. Be careful – the heart is deceitful and some of us may be tempted to justify “work” because it serves others. If we find ourselves in this quandary, we need to prayerfully offer it to God. If we are using our day of rest to concentrate on what we want to get done and trying to hide it as service, we need to refocus our attention on what He desires us to do. 

A concrete example may be helpful here. My husband and I have the privilege of hosting our small group on one weekend night each week. To build community and deepen relationships, once a month this same small group eats dinner together. In the past, we did these dinners potluck style which seemingly spread out the “work” amongst all the members. However, I found that I was spending so much of my Sabbath day checking the sign-up list and trying to figure out how to get the items that no one opted to bring, it became very laborious for me. After talking with my husband, we decided that we would just make the meal every month. I can plan the grocery purchases and manage the time spent preparing the meal around my day of rest. In addition, I find great joy in serving our beloved small group in this way. What could seem like a lot of labor actually isn’t; it is a monthly way that I get to shower on them my love. And that’s precisely what a Sabbath day is for – to refuel us so that we are better prepared to work for God and to show His love to those around us. 

5. Avoid deadline-driven activities. 

My final practical tip for taking a weekly day of rest is to avoid deadline-driven activities on that day. If I spend part of my Sabbath day making muffins with my daughter because that is something we both enjoy doing, that is different from spending my day making muffins because we need them for a bake sale next week. The second situation has a deadline attached to it and in my experience that makes the same activity more focused on work than rest. Of course, our day of rest is not completely devoid of a schedule because we are committed to making sure that we get to church on time. However, apart from that, we try to avoid anything that “has” to get done on that specific day. God instituted a day of rest for our good and I have never had a day filled with deadlines that seemed restful. We neglect the good that God intended for us if our Sabbath day is filled with things we “must” get done. Practically speaking, this means we strive to schedule deadlines on any other day besides our Sabbath day. That way we can fully participate in and benefit from our day of rest. 

If we are not careful, it is easy for many of us to fill our lives with things, with tasks, with commitments and with obligations. However, God wants our life to be filled with Him. That’s why a Sabbath day is so important. It reminds us that our lives should be wholly dependent upon Him and spent in worship of Him. May we prayerfully and increasingly follow the pattern He set for us to dedicate one day a week to rest. And as we do so may we find that we are better equipped and more ready to do the work He has prepared for us to do. 

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