Pastor Appreciation is a time of closeness,celebration,and coming together in unity and purpose for the entire church. It help’s to establish priorities by realizing the plan of God for the pastor and the congregation coming together as Partners in minisity with the Pastor Leading the way.
Someone may ask what does Pastor Mean? Text…Eph 4:11-13
pastor herdsman, from pascere to feed -- One who feed’s a flock. A shepherd,
: a spiritual overseer; especially : a clergyman serving a local church
Eph.4:11-13 And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;
12 For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of christ.
13 Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:
Just some interstering thought’s I found while study this.
In verse 11, the apostle Paul wrote that God gave to some churches apostles, to other churches prophets, to other churches evangelists, and then to some other churches He gave pastors and teachers. Without going into a lengthy explanation, the words pastors and teachers are referring to the same man. The word pastors as you see it in your Bibles comes from the same Greek word for shepherds. In Matthew 9:36, the Bible says that Jesus, “saw the multitudes, and was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no (poimen) shepherd.” In Luke 2:8, the Bible says that “there were in the same country (“poimen”), shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.”
Whenever you see the word shepherd in your Bible, you are seeing this Greek word “poimen,” or shepherds, the same word God used to identify the men He was giving to His churches in Ephesians 4:11. The only exception is found in 1 Peter 5:4, where Jesus is identified as the Chief Shepherd, and that comes from a different word. So, if you like to write in your Bibles, you could mark through the word pastors in Ephesians 4:11 and write the word shepherds and you would have the literal meaning of the verse.
1 Peter 5:1-4
1 The elders which are among you I exhort, who am also an elder, and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed:
2 Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind;
3 Neither as being lords over God’s heritage, but being ensamples to the flock.
4 And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away.
Say this with me. I Appreciation my Pastor…………..
Just as way of Induction into this teaching I want to share some things, Just as some ground work.
I felt That the lord wanted me to share with you and help us all understand the office of a pastor.
FIRST , Understanding the call……….
SECOND , I believe that as MEMBERS there are certain responses we owe to pastors in light of his calling.
1 Peter 3:1
1 This is a true saying, If a man desire the office of a bishop, he desireth a good work.
Roman1:1 Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God,
The call to pastor. The call to preach. What does it mean? In all the times I’ve heard people ask how you know whether God is calling you to preach, the answer is almost always the same: “You just know.”
There are 2 Respond’es we own to our pastor in light of his calling.
#1
The Work
Notice that Paul used the word desire. Some men desire an office, others desire recognition, but Paul said “If any man desire the office of a bishop [pastor], he desires a good work.” The desire God fills a man with is for a good work, in fact it is the best work, but ministry is nothing less than that – it is work. When God calls a man, He calls him to take oversight of one of His flocks: to be an under-shepherd. The pastor is called to care for and feed the flock with spiritual food. Some will take strong food, others will take milk. The pastor is called to study the word, to rightly divide it, to preach it and teach it. Amen.
#2
The Authority
Who places men in the ministry? Who calls them? Who separates them for that purpose? It is God! He gives him divine authority to do the work.
consider these verses of Scripture:
“Let the elders that rule well be counted worthy of double honor, especially they who labor in the word and doctrine.”
That verse doesn’t specify pastors, but it certainly includes them.
Hebrews 13:7 says 7 Remember them which have the rule over you, who have spoken unto you the word of God: whose faith follow, considering the end of their conversation.
Hebrews 13:17
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.
Say this with me,, I APPRECIATION MY PASTOR.
PASTOR APPRECIATION ACHIEVES 3 things
#1 It focuses attention on the position of the pastor. Appointed by God.
#2 It outlines God’s plan of how the church should function
#3 It unifies the church as honor is given to the pasto/shepherd for his obedience to the call of God and the call of the local congregation.
#4 It lays the foundation for believeing God together, Building bridges of respect, and blessing each other in love.
LETS LOOK AT THE WORD PASTOR.
P-------------PROCLAIMER
A…………..ADMINISTRATOR
S………….. SHEPHERD
T…………...TRAINER
O…………...OUTREACHER
R…………..REVEALER
When you consider all these duties , Plus many, Many, More, you can understand the responsibility that surrounds his life.
Say with me I APPRECIATION MY PASTOR.
I WANT US TO CONSIDER 4 WAYS WE CAN HELP IN SUPPORT.
#1 Partnership…. Join him as a partner in doing the work here.
#2 Participation…….Be faithful in taking part in all the activities of the church.
#3 Promotion……Show enthusiasm for your church and display spiritaul pride for the role of your pastor and the work of the church.
#4 Prayer……when you pray for your pastor things happen.
It touches God for his life.
It Treats him with scriptural respect
It Teaches spiritual authority and accountability.
It Trains for partnership in ministery
It Turns on the flow of divine energy
It tutors children and youth in Pastoral support
It tenderizes the spirit for faithful service.
LETS PRAY FOR OUR PASTOR….
