“And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and
to good works: Not forsaking the
assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one
another: and so much the more, as ye see
the day approaching.” (Hebrews
10:24-25 KJV)
October is here a time set aside for appreciating our pastors and all they and their families do—the sacrifices they make to care for the people in their charge. Of course, we should appreciate them the other eleven months of the year! October is Clergy Appreciation Month, with this in mind, I will be sharing (with some editing) what I posted the last two Octobers.
To read previous posts in this series, please see: Clergy Appreciation Month, Clergy Appreciation Month: Pastor Appreciation Sunday, and Clergy Appreciation Month:Laity Serving.
We are told in the Bible to encourage each other daily,
while we still can (see Hebrews 3:13), this includes our pastor. How are we doing in following the counsel of
the writer of Hebrews?
One area where we can encourage our pastor is in dreaming
and or visioning for the church, one of the many parts of a pastor’s job
description. It is here that our pastors
seek the Lord, ideally, for direction in leading the church. For example, it is here that new ministries
are born or new formatting for worship is realized.
Dreaming or visioning is simply planning, setting goals for
the future. Without goals churches, like
people, tend to aimlessly drift through life.
Dreams or visions help get things accomplished.
Be supportive of those dreams—handling them with care
because they are delicate—like soap bubbles.
Many times, those dreams are inspired by the Holy Spirit. Dreams can be costly in terms of time,
effort, and even money. Yet Holy Spirit
inspired dreams can change the direction of churches and of lives. Holy Spirit dreams can (and have) set the
world on fire! Holy Spirit dreams are
still setting the world on fire and making a huge difference in the lives of
countless people.
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| Personal Photo |
What dream(s) is the Holy Spirit giving you?
When the temptation arises to criticize the dreaming and or visioning
of your pastor (or anyone else!), recall how it felt to have your dreams
destroyed by someone who simply did not understand or simply refused to
understand. How did you feel? What happened to those dreams? Please encourage others to not criticize as
well.
Encourage your pastor to keep dreaming! Ask good questions and seek to understand
your pastor’s ideas. In so doing, I
believe that you will learn more about the heart of your pastor. Learning more about your pastor’s heart is
priceless! Deeply consider and pray
about how you can help him or her in implementing those dreams, by using your
gifts and talents.
What dreams and/or visions has your pastor shared with you
and/or your church? How can you support
him or her in those dreams and/or
visions?
Please join me in prayer:
Dear Lord, we pray that our
pastor will find the freedom and courage to dream godly dreams and have the
courage and strength from You to follow them.
Bless our pastor in planning for the future ministry of our church. Help us to support and encourage our pastor
to pursue the dreams and visions and not get in the way; encouraging others to
be open to new ideas and new ways of doing things. Open us to the ways we can assist our pastor
in dreaming and visioning for the church and in pursuing those by the use of
the gifts You have graciously given us.
In Jesus’ name we pray.
Amen.
From My Heart to Yours,
Kim
Special Note: Faith Journey with Kim: Growing in Christ Jesus has a Facebook page. To get to the site, please click on the grayish text above or here.
Encouraging their dreams . . . That is an awesome way to acknowledge our pastor and to help in making his/her dreams for the church a reality. Makes me happy all over again that Danny's been selected to head up the Board of Trustees at our church. He is a natural encourager!
ReplyDeleteLove and blessings!
Martha, encouraging the dreams of others is a blessing to the one who is encouraged, as well as the the one who encourages. It sounds like Danny is in a good ministry for his skills/knowledge as well as his gift of encouragement.
DeleteLove and blessings!
Yes, it is so important to encourage and listen to the "dreams" and ideas of our pastors, as we may not realize that this is from the Lord and God is speaking through His servant. One experience we had in the ministry was that we (my hubby the pastor and I) both felt that the church truly needed to consider relocating their church facility to a different part of town as things were "changing" where they were, and they, as a congregation, were no longer meeting the needs of the changing community. It was either adapt and change the direction of their ministry, or move the ministry to a more viable location. The church refused to do so. Not long after we moved on to a new ministry in a different state, and the next leader that came in our place picked up where we left off and further "encouraged" the church to relocate. They finally agreed and moved to a community that was growing and thriving, and it also helped the church to thrive and grow, where it had been declining before. In His time, God got His message across and accomplished His plan for His church. He gave us the vision, but it took more convincing for the people to believe and move forward. In God's time it happened.
ReplyDeletePam, Thank you so much for sharing this example from your ministry of a pastor's "dreams", insights, visioning. It sounds like the need to move or radically change was a necessary thing for the health and vitality of the church. Church is a challenging place to interact and try to do much. It's the whole, "we've never done it like that before" mentality! I imagine you have many other examples like this where dreams were supported, encouraged and others where the opposite happened.
DeleteBlessings!
Hi Kim! I like how you made 'visioning' a little simpler, describing it as future planning. That is a great part of a pastor's life, because without it, the church becomes static and lifeless. I think many people in large congregations think that their ideas don't matter, or are not important, but that's just not true. The church is to serve everyone, and every voice matters.
ReplyDeleteGod bless our hard-working pastors. And congrats on the new Facebook page! I'll have to jump over and visit :)
Ceil
Hi Ceil! I'm glad you liked how I described visioning. It's a big concept that can be hard to understand. You're right, each person in any and every church is so very important--all our gifts are needed. Learning about and then using our spiritual gift(s) is what helps grow our church and keep it going. Pastors can't do it alone!!
DeleteYes, "God bless our hard-working pastors." Thank you for the congrats on my new Facebook page, and thank you for visiting and liking it! :)
Blessings,
Kim
My pleasure Kim! We are here to support and accompany each other on our ways in God's path. Best of blessings to you as you walk yours!
DeleteThank you, Ceil! Journeying God's path with others makes things easier. Blessings to you on your journey, as well.
Delete