Tonight, I was reading over some of my writings and I came across something I had written back in 1987. My dad was pastoring a church at the time and being a pastor's daughter, down through the years, you can hear all kind of things people say about the pastor. I lived it first hand. So I wrote this one year, and as I read over it tonight, I decided to share it with you. Hope you either enjoy it or it maybe will make you feel a little different about your pastor.
"Things I Always Wanted to Say, But Couldn't....Because My Father was a Pastor"
10 Most Frequent Comments Made to or About the Pastor......
1. PASTORS HAVE IT MADE. THEY ONLY HAVE TO PREACH 2 DAYS A WEEK. THEY DON'T WORK: Little do people realize that a pastor studies every day & many times at night preparing for his sermons. God doesn't just throw a sermon in their lap & say "here it is". A true pastor is called of God to help lead his church & in order to do that, he has to seek God in prayer & sometimes fasting. Pastors are working alot of times when we are at home resting.
2. A PASTOR HAS IT GOOD WHEN IT COMES TO MONEY. THEY JUST SIT BACK & DRAW A NICE SALARY, LIVE RENT FREE, & DON'T EVEN HAVE TO WORK FOR IT: If you only knew! As far as working for it, a pastor is on call 24 hours a day. If you call him in the middle of the night because you need prayer, you expect him to get up & pray for you. If someone is having surgery, you expect him to be there. If he is gone somewhere & something happens to someone in the church, he's expected to come back home to be there. If you just need someone to talk to, you expect him to be available to listen to you. As for the money, pastors are human also. They have a family to support, bills to pay, they also usually have to pay their own taxes, & many other things that we fail to think about.
3. THAT'S WHAT WE PAY YOU FOR: How many times have I heard this said to pastors! Sometimes people act like they're doing the pastor a favor by paying them a salary. Not true! Jesus tells us in Luke 10:7 as He was sending the disciples out to witness & preach the gospel, He said, "For the labourer is worthy of his hire." We can't pay for the gospel of Jesus Christ, we can only do what God expects us to do, take care of His ministers. Just think, if we didn't have pastors, we would probably have a lot of confusion in the church.
4. I HAVEN'T BEEN TO CHURCH LATELY & THE PASTOR HASN'T EVEN CALLED OR CHECKED ON ME TO SEE WHY I HAVEN'T BEEN THERE! : A pastor should not have to pet us or beg us to come to church. If he has to do that, we are coming for the wrong reasons. We should have a desire in our hearts to come to church because we love God, want to worship Him, & serve Him. Our pastor is concerned when we do not come to church, but it is our responsibilty to be faithful to our church. We are always missed when we're not there, by the church people & the pastor.
5. I SEEN YOU TODAY IN YOUR CAR AND YOU DIDN'T EVEN WAVE! : Being a pastor does not automaticly qualify being superman also. He is not faster than a speeding bullet, (although you have to wonder sometimes about that when you see him driving through town) & he can't see everything. He's human just like everyone else & sometimes he may not see us when we see him. I'm sure he's not just being rude to you, he just didn't see you...plain & simple. It happens!
6. YOU ARE NEVER THERE WHEN I NEED YOU! : As I said earlier, a pastor is on call 24 hours a day. But there are times that they have to go to the store & buy groceries, or go get something to eat, or even just get out of the house sometimes. I remember at one church where daddy pastored, they had gone to the grocery store. They had been home all day up to this point. When they returned home, there was a message on the answering machine that said, " I'll just call someone I can depend on!" Little did this person realize that if she had only left a message, he would have returned the call as soon as he returned home.
7. WE'RE GOING TO HAVE YOU OVER TO THE HOUSE ONE OF THESE NIGHTS: One thing it seems that we have gotten away from these days is fellowship. Getting together & just enjoying each other's company. A pastor & his family needs the fellowship of the church people. They don't expect you to have them over for supper every night but it is always good just to be with friends sometimes & have fellowship with each other. A lot of times when a pastor & his family move to another church, they leave friends & family behind. And it's important that we try & fill part of that void by getting together & just having a good time. Pastors & their families get lonely too.
8. HE STAYED LONGER AT SO & SO'S HOUSE THAN HE DID MINE!: Well, why were you timing him in the first place? We do not need to be jealous of each other, but instead, be thankful that our pastor & his family can get out & enjoy themselves. Besides, who knows, maybe someone else is keeping up with how long they stayed at your house.
9. HE NEVER VISITS. HIS CAR IS ALWAYS IN HIS DRIVEWAY: One minute people say he's never there when we need him, & the next minute they say he never visits because he's always at home. Unless you live in a pastor's family, or sit outside their home all the time, you have no ideal how much he visits, or even what he does for that matter. It always seemed like to me that Mother and Daddy were always going visiting. And to others, maybe it didn't seem that way. But I was there. I saw it first hand. People will call you up & tell you to visit someone & if you happen not to visit a particular person one day or during that week, then you are considered not visiting like you should. But we need to bear in mind that Jesus did not say it was a requirement for only the pastor to visit & the members didn't have to. God requires us to do our part in the visiting also.
10. OUR CHURCH WOULD GROW IF WE HAD A YOUNGER PASTOR: The ultimate statement. Do people have any idea what they are saying when they make this comment? I don't think they do. A growing church takes not only the dedication & work of the pastor, but it also takes the dedication & work of the church people. The pastor cannot do it alone. It takes all of us working together to accomplish this. The age should not matter. As far as the older ministers, well, look at the experience they have from years of pastoring, the personal experiences they have had to deal with. The trials & problems they've had to face. The wisdom & understanding they have acquired over the years. They pray & fast & their hearts ache to see souls come to the Lord. They are concerned with their church & the youth. How can anyone say someone younger would make their church grow? Prayer & fasting are things that will make the church grow. Not trying to get a younger pastor.
**********We need to love our pastor & his family &pray for them & realize that it's not as easy for them as people sometimes think it is. God has placed a tremendous call upon a pastor. He has to be ready & willing at all times to do whatever God needs him to do. He will be talked about, put down at times, accused of not caring for the church, accused of not preaching like he should, & all kind of things. But believe me, I've lived as the pastor's daughter & I've lived as the church member. I know what it's like on both sides of the fence. A pastor & his family deserves our love & support.
************** Keep smiling **********************
"Things I Always Wanted to Say, But Couldn't....Because My Father was a Pastor"
10 Most Frequent Comments Made to or About the Pastor......
1. PASTORS HAVE IT MADE. THEY ONLY HAVE TO PREACH 2 DAYS A WEEK. THEY DON'T WORK: Little do people realize that a pastor studies every day & many times at night preparing for his sermons. God doesn't just throw a sermon in their lap & say "here it is". A true pastor is called of God to help lead his church & in order to do that, he has to seek God in prayer & sometimes fasting. Pastors are working alot of times when we are at home resting.
2. A PASTOR HAS IT GOOD WHEN IT COMES TO MONEY. THEY JUST SIT BACK & DRAW A NICE SALARY, LIVE RENT FREE, & DON'T EVEN HAVE TO WORK FOR IT: If you only knew! As far as working for it, a pastor is on call 24 hours a day. If you call him in the middle of the night because you need prayer, you expect him to get up & pray for you. If someone is having surgery, you expect him to be there. If he is gone somewhere & something happens to someone in the church, he's expected to come back home to be there. If you just need someone to talk to, you expect him to be available to listen to you. As for the money, pastors are human also. They have a family to support, bills to pay, they also usually have to pay their own taxes, & many other things that we fail to think about.
3. THAT'S WHAT WE PAY YOU FOR: How many times have I heard this said to pastors! Sometimes people act like they're doing the pastor a favor by paying them a salary. Not true! Jesus tells us in Luke 10:7 as He was sending the disciples out to witness & preach the gospel, He said, "For the labourer is worthy of his hire." We can't pay for the gospel of Jesus Christ, we can only do what God expects us to do, take care of His ministers. Just think, if we didn't have pastors, we would probably have a lot of confusion in the church.
4. I HAVEN'T BEEN TO CHURCH LATELY & THE PASTOR HASN'T EVEN CALLED OR CHECKED ON ME TO SEE WHY I HAVEN'T BEEN THERE! : A pastor should not have to pet us or beg us to come to church. If he has to do that, we are coming for the wrong reasons. We should have a desire in our hearts to come to church because we love God, want to worship Him, & serve Him. Our pastor is concerned when we do not come to church, but it is our responsibilty to be faithful to our church. We are always missed when we're not there, by the church people & the pastor.
5. I SEEN YOU TODAY IN YOUR CAR AND YOU DIDN'T EVEN WAVE! : Being a pastor does not automaticly qualify being superman also. He is not faster than a speeding bullet, (although you have to wonder sometimes about that when you see him driving through town) & he can't see everything. He's human just like everyone else & sometimes he may not see us when we see him. I'm sure he's not just being rude to you, he just didn't see you...plain & simple. It happens!
6. YOU ARE NEVER THERE WHEN I NEED YOU! : As I said earlier, a pastor is on call 24 hours a day. But there are times that they have to go to the store & buy groceries, or go get something to eat, or even just get out of the house sometimes. I remember at one church where daddy pastored, they had gone to the grocery store. They had been home all day up to this point. When they returned home, there was a message on the answering machine that said, " I'll just call someone I can depend on!" Little did this person realize that if she had only left a message, he would have returned the call as soon as he returned home.
7. WE'RE GOING TO HAVE YOU OVER TO THE HOUSE ONE OF THESE NIGHTS: One thing it seems that we have gotten away from these days is fellowship. Getting together & just enjoying each other's company. A pastor & his family needs the fellowship of the church people. They don't expect you to have them over for supper every night but it is always good just to be with friends sometimes & have fellowship with each other. A lot of times when a pastor & his family move to another church, they leave friends & family behind. And it's important that we try & fill part of that void by getting together & just having a good time. Pastors & their families get lonely too.
8. HE STAYED LONGER AT SO & SO'S HOUSE THAN HE DID MINE!: Well, why were you timing him in the first place? We do not need to be jealous of each other, but instead, be thankful that our pastor & his family can get out & enjoy themselves. Besides, who knows, maybe someone else is keeping up with how long they stayed at your house.
9. HE NEVER VISITS. HIS CAR IS ALWAYS IN HIS DRIVEWAY: One minute people say he's never there when we need him, & the next minute they say he never visits because he's always at home. Unless you live in a pastor's family, or sit outside their home all the time, you have no ideal how much he visits, or even what he does for that matter. It always seemed like to me that Mother and Daddy were always going visiting. And to others, maybe it didn't seem that way. But I was there. I saw it first hand. People will call you up & tell you to visit someone & if you happen not to visit a particular person one day or during that week, then you are considered not visiting like you should. But we need to bear in mind that Jesus did not say it was a requirement for only the pastor to visit & the members didn't have to. God requires us to do our part in the visiting also.
10. OUR CHURCH WOULD GROW IF WE HAD A YOUNGER PASTOR: The ultimate statement. Do people have any idea what they are saying when they make this comment? I don't think they do. A growing church takes not only the dedication & work of the pastor, but it also takes the dedication & work of the church people. The pastor cannot do it alone. It takes all of us working together to accomplish this. The age should not matter. As far as the older ministers, well, look at the experience they have from years of pastoring, the personal experiences they have had to deal with. The trials & problems they've had to face. The wisdom & understanding they have acquired over the years. They pray & fast & their hearts ache to see souls come to the Lord. They are concerned with their church & the youth. How can anyone say someone younger would make their church grow? Prayer & fasting are things that will make the church grow. Not trying to get a younger pastor.
**********We need to love our pastor & his family &pray for them & realize that it's not as easy for them as people sometimes think it is. God has placed a tremendous call upon a pastor. He has to be ready & willing at all times to do whatever God needs him to do. He will be talked about, put down at times, accused of not caring for the church, accused of not preaching like he should, & all kind of things. But believe me, I've lived as the pastor's daughter & I've lived as the church member. I know what it's like on both sides of the fence. A pastor & his family deserves our love & support.
************** Keep smiling **********************
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