Hi Ladies,
I like for us to take each October to pray specifically for Pastor Jason and the elders. Even though Pastor Appreciation Month is a modern invention, the concept of showing honor to whom honor is due is deeply rooted in Scripture:
- “We ask you, brothers, to respect those who labor among you and are over you in the Lord and admonish you, and to esteem them very highly in love because of their work” (1 Thess. 5:12-13).
- “Let the elders who rule well be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in preaching and teaching” (1 Tim. 5:17).
- “Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you” (Heb. 13:17).
- Under the Old Covenant leadership structure, leaders were also to be respected (Ex. 22:28; Num.12:7-8; Deut. 4:1, 18:15).
There are many things that we could pray for over the next month, but I have narrowed it down to four character traits. This list is certainly not comprehensive, nor is it meant to communicate that our elders are failing in these areas! These are simply the four qualities the Lord brought to mind as I prayed for His guidance on how best to pray for them this time around. So, for the next four weeks we will focus on praying for love, praying for holiness, praying for humility and praying for wisdom.
First, a quick note about why we will not only pray for Pastor Jason, but also for our elders. The New Testament words for these spiritual leaders - presbuteros (elder), episkopos (overseer/bishop), and poimen (pastor/shepherd) - are all used for the same office (Acts 20:28; 1 Pet. 5:2). While some elders are paid and tasked with the more formal role of preaching and teaching, and some are lay or non-vocational, all of them are elders who are accountable to the same list of qualifications given in Scripture (see 1 Tim. 3:1-7 and Titus 1:5-9). So while it is right and good to show extra appreciation to Pastor Jason this month, let’s not forget our other elders.
Why begin with love? I believe there are several good reasons. First, Jesus does! When summing up the greatest commandment, He says, “‘And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these” (Mk. 12:30-31). This is true for all of us, but especially for our spiritual leaders.
Paul echoes this in 1 Corinthians 13 by saying that nothing good or spectacular or “spiritual” is worth anything if it is not rooted in love. No matter how good Pastor Jason is at preaching, no matter how good our elders are at overseeing the ministries, if their efforts do not flow from a heart that loves God and spills over in love for others, the Bible tells us it is spiritually meaningless.
That is sobering.
Let’s pray that our elders would know, feel and act on the love that God has poured into their hearts by the Holy Spirit who has been given to them (Rom. 5:3).
Second, sheep (a.k.a. you and me) can be hard to love. (Surely not you. It’s the other person. 😉) I don’t think I need to try to prove this point. Rather, I want to highlight that the Bible tells us over and over that love covers a multitude of sins and offenses (Prov. 10:12, 17:9; James 5:20; 1 Pet. 4:8).
Let’s pray that the Lord would give our elders tender-loving hearts to overlook what needs to be overlooked and also to pastorally address what needs to be addressed. (And, it wouldn't hurt to pray that we would respond better than the average sheep!)
Third, ministry is really hard. Most of us have no idea how much weight Pastor Jason and our elders carry. The enemy would love to use these weights to harden their hearts in self-protection or cause them to become cynical toward God’s sanctifying work in the flock. Let’s pray that our elders would have Christ’s love that bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things (1 Cor. 13:7).
Perhaps you can think of more reasons. But these three should be enough to motivate us to pray that the Lord would fill our elders’ hearts with love. And as you pray for them this week, consider ways the Lord might want you to act on these prayers and show your love and appreciation in tangible ways.
Thank you for joining me in prayer for the leaders God has graciously given to us! 🙏🏼❤️
