Clergy Appreciation Month

October is Clergy Appreciation Month. I think that the only other profession less appreciated than teachers and farmers has to be pastors.

“No segment of our society is more strategic and more in need of prayer than pastors and their families. They urgently and desperately need our love, encouragement and earnest prayers,” said Dr. Bill Bright, founder and president of Campus Crusade for Christ.

According to Robert Velarde of the National Day of Prayer Task Force, 80 percent believe that pastoral ministry has affected their family negatively. 70 percent say they have a lower self-esteem than when they started in the ministry. 70 percent do not have someone they consider a close friend.

In our area we have several ministers who are over worked and under paid.

Father Richard Ball is Priest for no less than four congregations. St. Mary’s Ute, St. Mary’s D.C, St. Pat’s, Dunlap, and St. Boniface Charter Oak. Whew! What a mass of Masses he has to lead!

Pastor Ernst is no slouch either, juggling all three churches in the Lutheran “Triple-Parish;” St. Luke’s Ricketts, Immanuel Soldier Township, and St. Paul’s Hanover township.

I keep hearing good things about what a difference Pastor Ed Brandt is making over at St. Paul’s Lutheran in Ute since he came here a year or two ago.

Then there’s Ken Baughman at United Methodist, Charter Oak.
And our own Rev. L.C. Gebhardt at St. John’s Lutheran, here in Charter Oak. I’ve been to our voters’ meetings. I know what kind of pressure he’s under.

We need to honor our pastors and their families for all the hard work, sacrifices, and dedication.
Pastors and their families are unique. God uses them to ensure the spiritual well-being of His children, us.

One of the most poignant things I ever remember being said on a TV show was when Father Mulcahy was talking to the surgeons on M*A*S*H about a particularly stressful week. He told them that when they lose a patient, they only lose a life, but when he loses one, a soul is lost. That was frightening theological depth for a sit-com.

Pastors and their families live under unbelievable pressure. They live in a fishbowl, with the whole congregation and town watching their every move. We expect them to have perfect families, to be perfect themselves, to always be available on a moment’s notice, to never be tired or depressed and to always have all the right answers and always say the right thing at the right time.

Those are unrealistic expectations to put on anyone, yet most of us are quick to blame them when we don’t like the way things are in our church or community. That’s why God wants us to recognize them and support them with out prayers.

“The elders who direct the affairs of the church well are worthy of double honor, especially those whose work is preaching and teaching," 1 Timothy 5:17.

Saint Paul even asked his parishioners to pray for him in Ephesians 6:18-20; “And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.

Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, 20for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.”

So if you haven’t done it lately, why not thank your pastor and their family for all that they do? Give them a card or bring them a meal or desert some night. Most importantly, pray for them regularly. Ask God to strengthen them, to guide them and to bless them.

Next time you’re in church and you’re tempted to tune out the sermon, try praying that the Holy Spirit speak to you through your pastor and pray that God would open your eyes and ears to the message He has for you. I bet you’ll be surprised by how much more you get out of your pastor’s sermon that week!