Quote of the Week

Why can people who trust Him with their soul not trust Him with their pocket books?
D.L. Moody

Quote of the Week

When leaders give their heart to a mission, they hold whatever they are given with open hands. A good leader is more passionate about the mission than the program. — Author Unknown

BEFORE YOU ROAST THE PASTOR

 The following was given to me a few years ago when I became an associate pastor. The man who gave it to me had been a former pastor and was then ministering as an  associate pastor. I will never forget the look on his face when he gave it to me and said , Preacher your pastor needs you to encourage him and pray for him. I did not truly understand what he meant until my second year pasturing. I often told my Pastor he tricked me by making it look so easy. IT IS A CALLING NOT A CAREER.

The Bible often equated complaints against the spiritual leader as a complaint against the Lord. “…the Lord heareth your murmurings which ye murmur against him: and what are we? your murmurings are not against us, but against the Lord” (Exodus 16:8).

The next time you are tempted to join this crowd and participate in “roasting the pastor” after Sunday services, take a moment to remember this list…

Remember the sacrifice he makes to be in the ministry.

 Good pastors would be good at a lot of other things, and most of them could make a lot more money in secular employment. He stays in the ministry because he loves you.

 “And I will very gladly spend and be spent for you; though the more abundantly I love you, the less I be loved” (2 Corinthians 12:15).

Remember the biblical nurture he provides for your life and family.

His study and prayer time have proven effective in feeding and nurturing your spiritual life. He labors in the Word so that your Christian life can be stronger.

“And how I kept back nothing that was profitable unto you, but have shewed you, and have taught you publickly, and from house to house” (Acts 20:20).

Remember the qualities that caused you to appreciate his leadership.

At some point you voluntarily placed yourself under his leadership and influence. Take a moment and remember the good qualities that originally led you to this decision.

Remember the victories he has led you towards in life.

Because of his leadership you’ve probably had a part in some personal and ministry victories—some joyful, abundant moments.

Delight in those memories. Remember the spiritual decisions you have made because of his influence.

Because of his preaching, you’ve probably avoided some traps, been spared some bad decisions, and seen some real spiritual growth. Take a moment to reflect on those decisions.

Remember that plenty of others are criticizing him.

Anybody can be a critic, because everybody is imperfect. Look long enough and you’ll find fault with everybody. Too many people join “the dark side.” There’s nothing virtuous or valiant about finding fault and pointing it out—any unspiritual nitwit can do it. It takes a lot more spiritual maturity and depth to be steadfastly committed to a perfect cause with an imperfect church family.

Remember he’s probably bearing burdens in the care of the church that he cannot tell you about. Outside of my petty little world, my pastor is probably dealing with big things—a man whose life is falling a part, a family on the brink of destruction, a dying loved one, a personal spiritual attack, a church member facing a trial, a child who’s been sexually abused, a wife whose husband just left. He can’t tell you about it all, but it’s still there and it’s all very, very real.

Remember he probably has information you don’t have.

Critics never have the full story, and usually they grossly distort the few details they do have. It’s their modus operandi. They don’t want the full story because it removes their ability to imagine and distort it in their favor with their troll-ish followers. I used to believe everybody wanted the truth. Boy was that naive! The few times I’ve tried to approach a dedicated critic with the truth, they either ignored it, didn’t believe it, or refused to hear it. When you don’t understand a decision, just remember, the pastor probably sees a part of the picture that you can’t see.

Remember he would be by your bedside praying if you were sick.

Yes, even the critics are loved by the pastor. He would drop what he’s doing, leave the dinner table, or change a day off just to be there to visit and pray with you.

Remember he would be standing by you if you faced a hard trial.

He would pray, support, and strengthen you during a difficult time, even if he couldn’t know the details.

Remember he would be waiting with you if a family member was hanging between life and death.

He would be sitting there, probably weeping with you, and praying for God to intervene with a miracle.

Remember he would be sitting beside you in a lonely courtroom.

Innocent or guilty, your pastor would be there to pray for the best and encourage you through the worst.

Remember he would give you counsel during a difficult decision.

He would help you see through the fog of your own surroundings, sort through the options, and apply biblical principles for a wise decision.

Remember he would still love and support you if you completely failed.

 If you came to him with the worst news, right now, he would still love you and help you do the right thing in response. He would graciously sit down with you, your family, and those involved and help rebuild what is broken, restore what is damaged, and recover what is lost.

Remember the Lord said to acknowledge and remember him.

This is really all God’s idea. Hebrews 13:7 says, “Remember them which have the rule over you, who have spoken unto you the word of God: whose faith follow, considering the end of their conversation.”

Remember he is God’s shepherding gift to your life.

God says it this way in Ephesians 4:11, “And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers.”

Remember your critical spirit makes you and your family vulnerable.

Resisting God’s structure of authority is wrong for you just as it’s wrong for your children. Criticism of your spiritual authority opens the door for spiritual attack and it messes up your kids.

Remember no pastor on earth is perfect.

This is a no brainer. Your next church will have just as imperfect a pastor as your present church. Even the Apostle Paul called himself the chief sinner (1 Timothy 1:15).

Remember he doesn’t have to be a pastor.

 He could walk away tomorrow. Many do. Many finally reach an end—tired, weary, and wounded. Many finally have enough. They realize they don’t have to put up with the public criticism. They can return to private life and live according to their own concerns. Don’t push your pastor that direction—plenty of others already do. Pull him the other direction with your encouragement.

Remember your criticism is more a reflection of your spirit than his faults.

Wrong-spirited criticism is a product of an impure heart, not an imperfect pastor. If your heart was pure, your criticism would not be criticism. It would be concern and it would be shared one on one with the person of concern. Critics don’t seek to resolve concerns and restore relationships—they seek to fester, stir up, and exaggerate issues. They relish turmoil—even if they have to fabricate it.

Remember your criticism ultimately hurts you.

The spirit that drives criticism is like a festering cancerous sore of the soul. “Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled” (Hebrews 12:15). It robs joy, clouds vision, skews perspective, and destroys your ability to live joyfully and abundantly. Beyond the internal damage, criticism always damages your testimony. Wise people start avoiding you.

Having a biblical love and respect for a godly, servant-hearted, growing pastor is just right—from God’s Word. It is not man-worship. It isn’t blind. It isn’t mindless. It doesn’t violate the priesthood of every believer, the authority of every father, or the individual soul liberty of every person. It’s just wise.

The next time you want to criticize the sincere, godly man you call “Pastor,” remember this list. Stop and think about it. Someone wisely said, “Nobody ever erected a monument to a critic.” Take the high road of spiritual maturity and keep a right spirit. Over the long term, you’ll be glad you didn’t throw away your joy to such mindless, base behavior.

Benjamin Franklin said, “Any fool can criticize, condemn, and complain—and most do.”

Teddy Roosevelt said, “It’s not the critic who counts, not the man who points out how the strong man stumbled, or where the doers of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who was actually in the arena, whose face is marred by the dust and sweat and blood, who knows at best the triumph of high achievement and who if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.”

On my mind

 “The minister who does not earnestly pray over his work is most assuredly a vain and conceited man.” — Author Unknown

A LIGHT DISTRACTION

“Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

Hebrews 12:1–2

Your focus determines your impact.

Flight 401 was bound for Miami from New York City with a load of holiday passengers. As the huge aircraft approached the Miami Airport for its landing, a light that indicates proper deployment of the landing gear failed to come on. The plane flew in a large, looping circle over the swamps of the Everglades while the cockpit crew checked out the light failure. Their question was this, had the landing gear actually not deployed or was it just the light bulb that was defective?

To begin with, the flight engineer fiddled with the bulb. He tried to remove it, but it wouldn't budge. Another member of the crew tried to help out...and then another. By and by, if you can believe it, all eyes were on the little light bulb that refused to be dislodged from its socket. No one noticed that the plane was losing altitude. Finally, it dropped right into a swamp. Many were killed in that plane crash. While an experienced crew of high-priced and seasoned pilots messed around with a seventy-five-cent light bulb, an entire airplane and many of its passengers were lost.

Isn’t it amazing that in the midst of the situation, not one person felt the plane diving or saw it getting closer to the ground? I don’t know about you, but I would have been yelling and screaming for the pilot to focus on flying the plane rather than staring at the little light!

Many times I have focuses on little lights in my own life. Lights that truthful needed my attention but not all my attentions, lights such as work, calendars, agendas, critics, and even self. These little “lights” can draw your attention away form the true cause we have in this life,  As we start the this 2011 let us focus on the one who died and rose again for our redemption. Let us be God’s light to this lost and dying world.