This can be a very overwhelming task and one that can lead to a lot of stress, late nights, and coffee. Your leaders are entrusted to watch over the entire congregation, small group, family group, etc. Hebrews 13:17 (Contemporary English Version) Otherwise, they won’t be able to help you at all. So don’t make them sad as they do their work. They are watching over you, and they must answer to God. Now with the growth of media and technology, the idea that sprang from Paul has now evolved and diffused into even more congregations around the world. But, typically with double honor, you can expect double stress, this is why we need to make an even greater effort to celebrate and encourage those in leadership.Ĭlergy Appreciation Day/Pastors Appreciation Day was not commercialized until the early 1990’s, Hallmark Cards in 1992 and Focus On The Family led the charge in 1994 by making it a point to remind congregations to make the month of October special for their Pastor. Paul highlights the fact that our Pastors be considered worthy of double honor for assuming this role in His church and do it well. “Let the elders who rule well be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in preaching and teaching.” 1 Timothy 5:17 (English Standard Version). Paul says this in his first letter to Timothy, Paul mentions this idea in a number of different letters that he writes to the various churches. Pastor Appreciation Day started as “Clergy Appreciation Day”, the idea of showing appreciation for your Clergy, Pastors, or Leaders is very Biblical and can be traced all the way back to Paul’s new testament letters. Now, while this isn’t always the case and it may not be this extreme, it is something we all need to keep in consideration and remember that even if one person’s life is changed by the pastor’s message, then isn’t that what it’s all about?īefore we go any further, let’s look at how Pastor Appreciation Day started… The History Of Pastor Appreciation Day If we are not careful, we can fall victim to the spirit of entitlement where it becomes all about us. We can easily think that a pastor is just there to serve us and deliver a sermon that we want to hear and if either of these doesn’t go the way we want it to, we forget that our pastor also is pastoring an entire congregation. We far too often forget that they are human, and have a life, family and other responsibilities they have throughout the week. “I think they could have done a better job preparing or delivering their message.”.“I didn’t really connect with their sermon.”.“I wasn’t a big fan of their sermon today.”.It can be easy for us to criticize them on how good of a job they did on their sermon, saying things like: We can easily and far too often take our pastors for granted. Regardless of where you fall on the introvert/extrovert scale, regardless of your role in the church and regardless of how much you think your pastor likes you or doesn’t like you, you can and should appreciate your pastor. Consider this article as the ultimate guide for Pastor Appreciation Day and perhaps you would consider taking the whole month of October to honor and appreciate your pastor. While it may seem your pastor gets enough appreciation from their loyal fans or the satisfaction of a well-delivered sermon, your pastor could likely use some appreciation. As of 2019, the number of people employed as clergies in the United States stands at 458,411.Pastor Appreciation Day is celebrated annually on the second Sunday of October. You may also know this day as Clergy Appreciation Day. This day came to be known as Pastor Appreciation Day. In highlighting Clergy Appreciation Month, Focus on the Family urged that there be a national celebration of the clergymen, who play important roles in the functioning of the Church.įrom Clergy Appreciation Month came the idea of dedicating one specific day to pay tribute to the pastors. He was especially concerned about honoring “those whose work is preaching and teaching.” Paul the apostle also entreated Christian communities to acknowledge those “who work hard among you, who care for you in the Lord, and who admonish you.” He believed that holding these spiritual leaders “in the highest regard in love because of their work” is crucial to Christian beliefs.Įven though clergymen had enjoyed special standing in their parishes, it wasn’t until 1992 that Focus on the Family, an American Christian organization, would begin promoting Clergy Appreciation Month as a national month of observance. As founder of many of the first Christian churches, Paul enjoined the congregation to give ‘double honor’ to the elders who managed the affairs of the church. The call to honor our church leaders’ contributions goes back to the time of Apostle Paul. For a long time (since 1992, precisely), October has been observed as Clergy Appreciation Month in the U.S.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |