Two Reminders For Our Small Church Pastor Friends

Hello Pastors.

This morning I received an early morning call from a mom who wanted to know if the stuffed animal her daughter received from me last night was a keeper or just on loan… Wow. Yup. Remember my recent blog post about giving stuffed animals to kids? Check it out here if you haven’t read it yet… And yes, it was a keeper!

Now, back to the show!

By Kareem M (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0], via Wikimedia Commons

Hello Pastors. We like you. Yes, even Jonny. Even Jonny likes you! He told me.

I have just two more things to tell you on this Friday:

1. You are a pastor who is loved by God!
That’s right. God loves you as His child, but also as a shepherd to his sheep. Jesus said, “As I have loved you, so you must love one another.” He loves you. Pure love. True love. LOVE love. Know his love today Pastor.

God knows what you are struggling with today. He knows your weaknesses, and he chose you anyway. He knows your heartache and your joy, your insecurities and your slam-dunks, your silly fears and your inexplicable courage.

God loves you pastor. He doesn’t expect you to be Superwoman or Superman, but he has filled you with his Spirit of power and ability. Do you think he’s disappointed with you because you’re not better than you are? No, you’re actually the only disappointed one. He knows you and stands with you.

C’mon now Rev, just take this one day off from beating yourself up! In fact, take the whole weekend off!

God. Loves. You.

Yes, God loves the pastor. Just sit in that for a while.

Then, when the people come around this weekend, you can share some of that love with them.

2. Your people love you more than you realize!
You know God loves you, but your people love you too. And, they really enjoy it when you love on them, brag on them, affirm them, honestly care about how they are doing, visit them, and even when you might need to have a difficult conversation with them.

People love, and need, to be cared for, encouraged, supported, cheered on, affirmed, equipped, and even confronted when they are wrong… in LOVE of course. Remember, love is not weak, it is strong and confident – always working for the best of the one loved.

When do the people realize how much they love their pastor? When he or she…

• Leaves, and is then missed,
  
• Helps them in a crisis, then can do no wrong,
  
• Returns good for evil, showing mercy,
  
• Supports and defends a member to an accuser, becoming their hero or heroine, 
  
• Doesn’t give up on them, giving them hope!
  

In the flow and course of ministry, sometimes our people do take us for granted – and sometimes we take them for granted. But in the important, critical times of life, people need their pastor and realize just how much they are loved by him or her, and just how much they love their pastor!

So, my dear pastor friend – you are loved. Not mushy, gushy, meaningless, Valentine candy kind of love. No, real love, from God and from your people.

This weekend, be loved… and love.