ENCOURAGE THE PREACHER
Preachers have a tough job. It's not an easy task to come up with
a fresh insight, a word of wisdom, a touching story, or an
amusing anecdote EVERY week, then deliver it with poise and
perfection to a demanding and often critical audience. The man or
the woman in the pulpit needs your prayers and support.
Ways to encourage a minister's preaching:
- Pray for your pastor every day. Let him/her know you are
praying. Find out from him/her any special requests he/she
may have.
- Pay attention to the sermon. Give the preacher your full
attention, with eye contact and nods of approval. Preachers
need to know that they are connecting with the congregation.
- Decide that you want to learn from your pastor. Let the
Sunday sermon be the beginning of your study for the week.
Take what you heard and apply it to other reading, study, and
Bible reading.
- Don't bring up different points of view at the end of the
service - especially if you know he/she is going to be
preaching the same message at a later service. Save your
comments until the appropriate time for discussion and after
you've evaluated them. Test what he/she says by the
Scriptures, not your own opinions.
- Ask yourself: How am I encouraging the pastor each Sunday?
What can I start doing that I have not done in the past to
encourage him/her? Am I behind the pastor and his/her
ministry - and am I showing that in what I say and do?
- If you have questions about your pastor's teaching, ask for
Scriptures, and study them carefully, with an open mind.
Discuss the interpretation with your pastor, honestly and
fairly, then allow the Holy Spirit to guide you and teach you
the truth. Be prepared for honest differences of opinion
about the meanings of some Scriptures.
- Encourage your pastor to spend time regularly in prayer and
study. Make sure that your church budget has funds for
his/her on-going education, purchase of books, and attendance
at seminars and workshops.
- Drop him/her a note once in a while, mentioning things he/she
has said or done that have been meaningful to you. Mention
specifics of how the messages have ministered to you. Where
appropriate, mention things about his/her family members that
you've noticed that are positive. (Kids behave well,
wife/husband was a help to a particular person in need, etc.)
Make your comments sincerely, without flattery.
- Encourage groups in the church - especially those of which
you are a part - to encourage the pastor and his/her family.
Talk with others about the teachings in the sermons. Make
discussion and learning, based on the sermons, a regular part
of your discussion in the church.
- Ask the Lord to show you different, innovative ways to
encourage him/her.
E. Glenn Wagner is the author of The Heart of a Godly
Man and a contributor to the best-selling Seven
Promises of a Promise Keeper. He is senior pastor of
Calvary Church in Charlotte, N.C., and has served as
vice president of ministry advancement for Promise
Keepers. Dr. Wagner and his wife, Susan, have a
daughter and a son.
Glen S. Martin is senior pastor of Community Baptist
Church in Manhattan Beach, Calif., and the author of
Beyond the Rat Race and The Issachar Factor. He is
also a member of the Leadership Seminar faculty for
Promise Keepers. Dr. Martin and his wife, Nancy, have
three children.
From Your Pastor's Heart: Serving the One Who Serves
You by E. Glenn Wagner and Glen S. Martin, copyright
(c) 1998. Used by permission by Moody Press, Chicago,
Ill., 1-800-678-6928.