October is Pastor Appreciation Month. This is the month when many churches will take some time to show their appreciation to their pastor for his love and ministry over the past year.
Some churches will take up a love offering for their pastor. Many will put a basket in the vestibule for members to place cards in with kind sentiments they want to share with their pastor. A few churches may even have a dinner or a reception — a nice time to get together to express their feelings for their pastor.
All of these things are nice and good. In fact, I believe that it is a great idea for a church to take one month out of the year to do something special to show just how much they appreciate the time and effort, love and concern that their pastor has for them.
I know that I’ve been blessed in recent years by a church that does just that. Now, it wasn’t always that way. When I first came to Temple Baptist Church I remember when one of our new staff members, who had come from a larger church in North Carolina that evidently knew how to show their love for their pastor, approached Temple’s deacon chairman and asked him if the church ever had some sort of a pastor appreciation day.
The chairman got a funny look on his face and said, “No. We never have. We just always paid ’em good.” My new associate shared how strange that sentiment was to him. He just couldn’t understand how a man so successful in the business world could overlook something so simple as expressing love and appreciation for a year’s worth of ministry. I remember him telling me how his former church would try to outdo themselves every year when it came time for pastor appreciation month. I know that pastor had to appreciate all they did to show him their love.
As I was driving to the office this morning I was thinking through some of the gifts that I know I have appreciated over the years as a pastor and thought that I would share what I believe are the top ten gifts you should give your pastor, not just during Pastor Appreciation Month, but the other eleven months of the year as well.
1. Your prayers. This is the greatest gift you can give your pastor. If you don’t love him like you should, begin to pray for him and you will. Of course, if you already love him, then you’ll naturally want to pray for him. I’ve had several of our senior adults tell me when I call just to check in on them how they pray for me every day. That’s fuel for more ministry!
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article courtesy of BCNN1.com
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