Proud Pastor

Ministry can be a very difficult task with little rewards at times. There are times though when things seem to click and go well. It's at those times that one has a sense of pride in being the pastor of a church.

When a pastor hears about some of the dealings of church members that are not so "Christ-like," there's the temptation to distance ourselves from our struggling congregation. We shy away from being recognized as the one who is at the top of that group. (Even though we know that Christ is the true head, many see the pastor as the lead guy.)

Then there comes those moments when you are so proud to be the pastor and seen as associated with this group. Recently, I have had the privilege of being in that latter category. Our church family has made me say on more than one occasion, "Yes, I am the pastor at Bethany Baptist Church.

Here's a little of what's been going on:

Event Planning. coming up with events that will be the next big hit is difficult to stay on top of at times. The young adults came to me with the idea of doing a fellowship at a local park around 4th of July. Though only a week or so of planning went in to it, it turned out to be the biggest event - and most talked about event - that has happened since my arrival.

Ministry-thinking. When we did our 4th of July celebration at the local park, a couple of ladies took the opportunity to visit a family that lived next to the park who had a gentleman who was battling lung cancer. These ladies fixed plates of food and took it to the families.
Just this past week, this gentleman passed away. While I have been talking with the family, I asked if we might host a lunch for the family after the funeral at our building. I was told that two ladies from our church had already made arrangements and taken care of everything.

It's moments like these that make me bow up and proudly say, "Yes! I am the pastor of Bethany Baptist Church. Thank you to my church family for being the hands and feet of Christ!