YOUR PASTOR – A MAN HELD IN GOD’S RIGHT HAND
It’s Sunday morning, and a woman gently nudges her husband awake, ‘Get up, Honey, it’s time for church.’ He lifts his head and squints at the clock, then moans, ‘I’m not going, he says wearily. ‘I don’t like any of those people, and they don’t like me!’ After giving him a long look, his wife says: ‘C’mon, Sweetie, we’ve got to go – you’re the Pastor.’
This old joke brings a smile, but the truth is that being a pastor is not an easy job, and it can be difficult and demanding. In Ephesians 4:11, we are told that Jesus ascended on high and gave gifts to men: apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers. Do you know that your pastor is a gift from God and should be treated as such? If you want to ‘tick’ God off, dishonor and mistreat a pastor. That’ll do it every time. I believe that the Pastor’s office is the nearest and dearest to the heart of God.
We see Jesus in Revelation 1:6 holding in His right hand seven stars. In verse 20, He explains that these seven stars are the angels (ministers) of the 7 churches. Each of seven letters is addressed to the church’s angel or pastor, and Jesus calls these pastors angels. When was the last time you called your pastor an angel? Just a thought.
We are to value and appreciate our pastors. Look at 1Thessalonians 5: 12-13: And we beseech you, brothers, to know them who labor among you, and admonish you; And to esteem them very highly in love for their work’s sake.
Admonish means to warn or reprove gently. God has called pastors to be fathers to us. Fathers have to reprove and correct when needed. We are not to allow the same spirit of lawlessness and anarchy in the world around us to get into the church. We are to esteem our pastors very highly in love for their work’s sake.
ARM CHAIR GENERALS
In any congregation, armchair generals’ can abound. People who are not involved in the ‘thick of it but think they know exactly how everything should do. They have never pastored a church – but can tell you precisely where the pastor is missing it. And the ones that have never been over anything are the most vocal. “I don’t know why the Pastor doesn’t (fill in the blank) or “It would be better if Pastor would (fill in the blank).
We are a generation of ‘independent thinkers’ or ‘free spirits,’ which is just another way of saying, “Smarty-pants know-it-alls! We sit comfortably in our pews and pick apart everything done in the church. God hates this spirit of murmuring and complaining in His people, especially against His leadership. It is what got Israel into major trouble. And it will get you into trouble, too.
WHEN A PASTOR FALLS
‘Well now, Brother, what if the Pastor is wrong? What do I do then?’ Is the Pastor still in Jesus’ hand? Yes. Leave him there. It is not your business to run the church, and it is God’s church, and God is capable of handling all that concerns it.
So, what if a pastor slips back in his development, makes a misstep, or even falls into sin? First of all, do not forget all of the good he has done – or the blessing he has been in your life. Keep this uppermost in your mind. Pray for him. If you are no longer comfortable under his leadership, seek the Lord’s guidance about leaving.
And if you do leave – leave with your mouth shut. And keep it shut. Do not count him as an enemy but as a friend who, at this crucial time, needs your love and prayers more than ever. Remember that those on the front line of the battle are often badly wounded. Now, that’s what you can do.
“ME SUBMIT – ARE YOU KIDDING?”
Nobody tells you what to do. Right? Well, okay – they can say to you, but you’re not going to do it. But look at what Hebrews 13:17 says: Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves: for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy, and not with grief: for that is unprofitable for you.
Yes, someone is over you! The Great You – that you are to submit to! Wow – you didn’t know that did you? God put someone over you. And when you submit to your Pastor, you are submitting to God. When you honor him, you are honoring God. ‘I submit,’ you ask – – ‘Are you for real?’ Yes, I know that you are an American. But when you step over the threshold into God’s house, you are under a greater law and more demanding citizenship. You are in the household of faith, and you must know how to behave yourself. We see this in 1Timothy 3:15: But if I am delayed, that you may know how you ought to behave yourself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.
You are not only to submit to your Pastor; You are to obey him. (*heavens!) God must set him to watch for your soul. And there is a way to behave yourself in God’s house. Often good and sincere people who don’t know this hinder their progress in the things of God. I am not putting myself up on a pedestal. For years because of ignorance, I was hurt and hindered in my walk with God and held back from much that could have been mine.
1Timothy 5:1-3: Rebuke not an older man, but treat him as a father; and the younger men as brothers; the more senior women treat as mothers; the younger women as sisters, in all purity. Honor widows that are indeed widows.
Jesus is high and holy and wonderfully kind – but He is a stickler when it comes to His church. After all, He purchased it with His blood. Therefore He carefully instructs us as to our conduct there. He is watching how we treat His people in HIS church – especially the Pastor who is His hand-picked and anointed Steward. Always remember this.
YOUR PASTOR KNOWS TOO MUCH
Yes, he does. He knows things that he wishes he did not know. We all look so holy in church with our hands lifted sweetly to God. But the Pastor carries the burden of the reality of all our struggles, hang-ups, and sin. Why, who would think that this one here beats his wife; that that one cheats on her husband; or suspect that this one is a cross-dresser; or that one who is a trusted employee (who keeps the books) has been stealing from her company for years; or that this grandfather is hooked on porn (his wife told the Pastor); not to mention all of the addictions…. ! Pastoring is an eye-opener.
‘I don’t know why Pastor doesn’t let dear Brother Ezekiel be over the youth program. You know that’s what he did at the church up North before coming here. You know, he seems so good with the kids – so funny and all. That’s what’s wrong with this church; Pastor never seems to put the right people in place!’
Listen, the Pastor knows all about dear Brother Ezekiel. He had a long talk with him when he first moved here – and he knows not ever to have him involved with the young people. Period.
PICK ME PASTOR – GIVE ME A CHANCE
Pastors are also blamed for decisions that are not their own. Let me explain by giving you a little scenario: Faithful Gwendolyn is feeling ambitious – that it is time for her to begin her ministry. The Pastor feels pretty much the same way. There is a position over a new outreach; Gwen is his top choice. Yet when he prays about it, he gets a definite check in his spirit. He is genuinely puzzled and feels bad for Gwendolyn. So he obeys the leading of the Spirit and picks Sandra as his second choice.
Gwendolyn is confused and very hurt. ‘Why everyone knows I am better qualified than Sandra,’ she thinks. She complains about this all around the church and stirs up much trouble. “Pastor has his ‘picks,’ she says – “He’s just not fair.” Eventually, she leaves the church angrily – and many years and several churches later – she is frustrated that she still has never been ‘picked.’
Here’s the thing. It is not unfair for pastors to hold Gwendolyn back. For whatever reason, God Himself is resisting Gwendolyn’s desire for ministry, and her negative reactions have thus far proved Him right.
What about being ‘picked?’ During His ministry, Jesus had hundreds of disciples. Out of these, He picked seventy after first picking twelve. No one could decide to be one of Jesus’ disciples. Jesus had to pick you. And this same God reserves this same right to ‘pick’ His today.