Tough Position

I think that it's a little sad that we have to set aside a month as "pastor appreciation month." It should definitely be a common (and frequent) practice of people building and lifting up their pastors.

I have yet to hold the title of Senior Pastor in a church setting, but we feel that is the route that the Lord is taking us. Though I've never held that position officially, I was shown the demands of the position in a real way when I took my first full-time youth ministry position.

I joined a great team of ministers working together to lead a great church. About a year and a half into it, thing got a little intense. There were some major moves in leadership. At the age of 24, I found myself being the oldest minister on staff. We went from four full-time ministers down to two (me and the 23 year old children's pastor). We had to take the reigns and do the everyday work of the senior pastor even after we hired an interim pastor.

I thank the Lord for sending a great interim pastor to help through those days. I realized that the pastor position is one of great demand: preaching, studying, planning, meetings, hospital visits, weddings, funerals, counseling, evangelism, leadership training, and more. All of this on the pastor's plate along with the God-given duties of being a spiritual leader to his wife and children, as well as taking time to grow personally.

Sadly, many still think that a pastor doesn't really do much "work" compared to other "professions." Truth is, pastor might just be one of the most demanding and difficult positions in the world.

Many men perform the duties of this role with little or no appreciation. Church members may be tempted to think, "Our pastor knows we care." They may "know" you care or they may actually be wondering... Why not remove any doubt and let them know how much you appreciate their obedience and service to the Lord's calling?