Love Your Pastor Series

An elderly woman walked into a little country church. A friendly usher greeted her at the door and helped her up the steps.

"Where would you like to sit?" he asked.

"The front row please," she answered.

"You really don't want to do that," the usher said. "The pastor is really boring."

"Do you happen to know who I am?" asked the woman.

"No," said the usher.

"I'm the pastor's mother," she replied indignantly.

"Do you know who I am?" the usher asked.

"No," she said.

"Good," the usher replied. (Van Morris, Mt. Washington, Kentucky, www.PreachingToday.com)

At the end of another service, a woman greeted her pastor and said, "I enjoyed the sermon." The minister, humbly receiving the compliment, said, "Don't thank me. Thank the Lord," To which the lady replied, "It wasn't that good." (Robert S. Smith, Kane, Pennsylvania, Christian Reader, “Lite Fare;” www. PreachingToday.com) Ouch!

Sometimes, it’s hard to appreciate a pastor who is less than perfect, but pastors need that appreciation as much as anyone else.

The question is: How can a congregation show appreciation to their less than perfect leaders? How can people in the pews care for the ones who care for their souls? How do you love a pastor in such a way that truly encourages him and benefits you, as well? Well, if you have your Bibles, I invite you to turn with me to Hebrews 13, Hebrews 13, where the Bible shows you how to care for the spiritual leaders God has placed before you.

Hebrews 13:7-8 Remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God. Consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. (ESB)

If you really want to love your leaders…

REMEMBER THEM.

Memorialize them with your life. Honor them by imitating their faith.

Don’t remember them with plaques and pictures. Don’t honor them with monuments and mementos. Don ‘t put their names on buildings, because the church is not all about them; its all about Christ!

It would be terrible if anybody ever named this church “The Green Memorial Church” with “Tucker Auditorium,” “Lehman Hall,” “The Diener Stage,” and “Corbett Classrooms.” Oh, and don’t forget “The Bunton Banquet Hall.”

That doesn’t honor a godly leader; it embarrasses them. No! If you truly want to honor your leaders past and present, let your life be a living legacy of the lessons they taught you from God’s Word! Let your life be a memorial of the model they have been for you.

Imitate their faith. Trust Jesus like they did. Then experience His transforming power in your life just like they did, as well. You see, any good you see in your leaders is NOT something that came FROM them; it came TO them as they leaned heavily on Christ! And your life can be transformed, as well, as you depend on Christ like they did! For “Jesus is the same yesterday and today and forever” (vs.8). He never changes, but He can change your life as He changed those who went before you!

As an under-graduate student, theologian and author D.A. Carson helped to lead an evangelistic Bible study on campus. Even though he is one of the greatest theologians today, He confesses that in those days skeptics at times asked him questions he couldn’t answer. That’s when he would take them to Dave, a student who was known as a bold witness on campus. On one such occasion, a young skeptic said to Dave, “I came from a family that doesn't believe in a literal resurrection and all that stuff. That's a bit much for us. But we're a fine family – a good, church-going family. We love each other, care for each other, and we do good in the community. We're a stable family. So what have you got that we don't have?”

Dave looked at the young man and said, “Watch me. Move in with me. I have an extra bed. Just follow me around. You see how I behave, what's important to me, what I do with my time, the way I talk. You watch me, and at the end of three months you tell me there's no difference.”

The young man didn't take Dave up on that offer, but he did keep coming back to watch how Dave lived his life. Eventually the young man came to Christ and went on to become a medical missionary.

You see, a godly leader says in effect: “I'm one poor beggar telling another poor beggar where there's bread. I drank deeply from the wellsprings of grace. God knows I need more of it. If you watch me, you'll see some glimmerings of the Savior; and ultimately, you'll want to fasten on to him, as well.” (From D.A. Carson's sermon Biblical Authority: The Exclusive Authority of Scripture for Faith and Practice, 2008; www.PreachingToday.com)