Invite A Pastor

ChurchLeaders.com posted an article this morning on the 10 real reasons Pastors quit too soon. After reading, it occurred to me why so many of those reasons are accurate and valid in way too many instances. Congregations don't engage their Pastoral team in community and events outside the church.

Yes, they'll be there for church events, but still that's church related. How often when people go out to dinner after service (or any other night of the week, for that matter) they invite the Pastor. How often, when your kids have a sleep-over, you invite the PK's as well, because who knows when the Pastor had time to work on the marriage without being interrupted by kids? What Pastor wouldn't like to be invited to your Saturday morning round of golf or the Pastor's wife to brunch and some shopping?

We have no problem inviting the new neighbors next door, our "favorite" co-workers, the kids in the neighborhood we can stand to handle or the client with which we just closed a huge deal. Inviting Pastors? That's passed our comfort zone. Until we have major life issues with which we can't share with other people...then it's, "we need to talk to you."

This mentality is so wrong on so many levels, yet it happens way to often. And while it's understandable in nature, it's not sustainable. We wouldn't do it with our closet friends. We don't like it when we're the odd-man out. Why would we do it to those entrusted to speak into our lives on spiritual and practical matters of life, not only our own, but also the lives of our children and our friends and families.

Pray this #communitySaturday, we would start the new year afresh, inviting Pastors into our lives outside of the four walls of the church. Pray we go out of our way, to express our love and gratitude for their ministry, their service to God and their faithfulness to the body of Christ. Pray Pastors would be encouraged today, in the challenges and struggles they face: loneliness, exhaustion, frustration, insecurity, resentment, difficulty in marriage/parenting/finances. May the body of Christ come alongside and lift up tired arms, as Hur and Aaron did for Moses, as we do for our friends and families, as Pastors have done for us.

Take the lead in expressing thanks to your spiritual Leaders today. For the glory of God; we are the body of Christ. Every member is valuable, for one doesn't say to the other, we don't have need of you and the body doesn't say to the head, "our way or the highway".

Moving forward together, for the cause of Jesus Christ.

-PNC

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