During this Pastor Appreciation Month, I would like to give you a gift that you both need and deserve, a gift that could even change your life. Thank you, pastor, for all you do. I appreciate you.

 

October is Pastor Appreciation Month and the second Sunday of the month has been designated Pastor Appreciation Day. Whether or not your congregation is aware of this “holiday” and celebrates you this coming Sunday, I would like to do so.

 

I have been touched profoundly by so many great men and women of God that I cannot imagine life without them. And, I have worked closely with a number of wonderful pastors and have seen firsthand the struggles you all face.

 

Year Round Appreciation

Recently I read an article, written by a pastor, saying how he hated Pastor Appreciation Day. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to be appreciated. He just preferred the appreciation to last more than one day a year.

 

I understand. Being a pastor is hard and it can be a truly thankless job. Like everyone, you need to be appreciated more than once a year. I try to do my part by providing this website for you. Though I can’t meet all your needs or solve all of your problems, but my hope is that through the information provided here I can lighten your burden even just a little bit.

 

I liken myself to Hur, who helped hold up Moses’ arms while the Israelites fought the Amalekites. He wasn’t God’s chosen one, but he did what he could to provide support and encouragement for God’s leader.

 

Though I try to provide support and encouragement on a regular basis, I still want to do something for you in honor of pastor appreciation month. I think I have something for you that is more important than chocolate, ties, gift cards, etc. Something that won’t just bring a smile to your face or add an inch to your waistline, but has the potential to impact your life in a much more useful way.

 

My Pastor Appreciation Gift To You

I want to give you permission to set boundaries. Now, I know that some of you already have healthy boundaries and don’t need this. But many pastors do not. In fact, I believe that the church is one of the places in this world with the least healthy boundaries of all.

 

As a pastor, do you feel that you have to be on call 24/7? If you get a call in the middle of the night, do you answer? How about while you’re on vacation? Do you even dare take vacations?

 

Have you ever felt like your congregants (or other church staff) treat you like their own personal savior; like only you can solve their problems? Feeling so needed can feed your ego in an unhealthy way and also takes its toll on your other relationships. Other relationships more important than your congregants and fellow pastors. I’m talking about your relationship with your family, with God, and with yourself.

 

If church business and parishioner needs have never interrupted your family time, devotional time, or personal time, you’re amazing and need to write a book on how to do that. For everyone else, you know all too well how the pressing needs of your church tend to take over your entire life, interrupting you at all hours and for all reasons.

 

It doesn’t have to be that way. It shouldn’t be that way. But, why should you listen to me about this? I’ve never been in your shoes. Rather, let’s ask ourselves the famous 90’s question: What Would Jesus Do?

 

What Would Jesus Do?

Mark 1:35-37 says:

Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed. Simon and his companions went to look for him, and when they found him, they exclaimed: “Everyone is looking for you!”

 

Jesus needed time alone with God after staying up all night healing the sick and demon-possessed. He just needed some time away. He set his boundaries and made it a priority, regardless of whether or not the disciples and everyone else “needed” him. It’s not like he didn’t know they were looking for him, he just knew what really mattered.

 

If Jesus had had a cell phone, he wouldn’t have simply ignored their calls and texts, he would have completely turned off his phone. There is nothing going on in your congregation that is so important that it can’t wait 1 hour while you spend uninterrupted time with God. Or with your spouse.

 

Time and time again throughout the gospels we see Jesus withdrawing from the crowd. Sometimes it was to spend more quality time with his disciples and sometimes it was to spend quality time with God. And it wasn’t always just for “spiritual” reasons like prayer and teaching. He even withdrew just to wrestle through his own emotions, such as when John the Baptist died in Matthew 14.

 

Jesus wasn’t afraid to set boundaries. He knew that the people needed him to spend time with God more than they needed him to spend time with them. Even though he really was the savior of the world, he didn’t throw everything aside every time someone wanted something from him.

 

Are You Really Helping?

Pastors give up personal, family, and devotional time for their churches continuously because they think they have to. And they think they are helping.

 

It reminds me of a friend of mine. When her son was over a year old, she was still waking up 4-5 times a night to nurse him. She thought she was being a good mom, doing what she was supposed to, meeting her son’s needs.

 

Her doctor told her otherwise. He said that, in fact, she was hindering his growth. At the child’s age, it was much more important for him to be getting a full night’s sleep than it was to be nursing. He got plenty of nourishment throughout the day and by waking up to feed him she was actually enabling harmful behavior.

 

Thank You

Pastors, I love you. I am so very grateful that you’ve chosen to take up your cross and follow His call on your life even though it means long hours, little pay, emotional trauma, and the feeling that you’re carrying the weight of the world on your shoulders. You are the frontrunners of the Kingdom army and we wouldn’t be where we are without you. You truly deserve a double portion.

 

I especially want to thank the female pastors out there. It can be a lonely place when you’re the only woman and many people don’t believe in your authority. But with everything you’ve gone through and done you have inspired thousands. You have shown little girls like my daughter that yes, girls can be pastors too. Thank you for that.

 

On this Pastor Appreciation Day and every other day of the year, pastor, we appreciate you.