Appreciation

Going south and being away from the normal routine for a week really gave me fresh perspective on several fronts. For instance, I didn't realize how much I needed to be recharged, poured into, and refilled on a spiritual level. Yes, I go to church every week, and I love my church. But to me, being a part of a church is more about giving than receiving. But by volunteering in the area where I'm currently serving for the majority of Sunday mornings, church doesn't usually end up being the place where I'm "fed". So I'm realizing that if I'm not seeking other sources for personal spiritual enrichment, my tank slowly starts to deplete. If there's no source of input, then it's not going to take long before the quality, energy, and effectiveness of my output starts to suffer. And that's just not healthy. I want to serve in excellence and always give out of my best.

October is Pastor Appreciation Month, and based on what I've experienced serving within the church as a volunteer, it's made me wonder how much more our pastors need to be recharged, poured into, and refilled. Pastors certainly have been given an amazing gift. Ephesians speaks to a few of the spiritual gifts that God's given certain people: It was he who gave some to be...pastors and teachers, to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up.

Have you ever stopped to think what a monumental task God's entrusted into the hands of your pastor? He's commissioned them to safeguard His people. He's empowered them with His vision. He's delegated incredible responsibility on their shoulders. And He's called them to an even higher standard within that position of leadership. We tend to look up to them and without realizing it, we set them on a pedestal. But do we ever realize that even though God has gifted them for this very purpose, they, too, are human? Pastors not only take on the spiritual burden of their flock, but in the process, they also often end up taking on their emotional and physical burdens as well. It's just the nature of the position.

Pastors have terrible, horrible, no good, very bad days. But in our minds, they're not allowed to be grumpy or get annoyed. They're not allowed to just plain not like someone. They're not allowed to get ticked off and cuss someone out. They go through normal every day life trials just like we do. They, too, hit spiritual lows.  But the difference is that while we have the option to just show up on Sunday, serve, and leave, pastors, on the other hand, rarely get a day off. Ministry is their life, and while it can be incredibly rewarding, it is not easy. So I wonder again how much more do our pastors need to be recharged, poured into, and refilled?

Encouragement can be extended in multiple formats, but I think one of the easiest ways is typically the one that's most often neglected...to simply convey our appreciation. To express our gratitude. To just say thank you.

So, I'd like to say thank you to my pastor, Curt Seaburg, at Victory Church.
Thank you for running hard after God's heart and leaning into Him and His leading first and foremost above all else. Thank you for stepping up and delivering God's Word week after week. Thank you for your passion for the lost and your desire to see every single soul come to know Jesus as their Savior. Thank you for loving your wife and displaying an amazing example of what God designed marriage to look like. Thank you for being real, honest, and transparent. Thank you for granting us "permission" to lighten up and laugh in church. :) Thank you for pushing us to step outside of our comfort zones and really grow in our relationship with God. Thank you for pursuing excellence across the board. And thank you for pointing us to Christ every single week.