Now also we beseech you, brethren, get to know those who labor among you [recognize them for what they are, acknowledge and appreciate and respect them all]—your leaders who are over you in the Lord and those who warn and kindly reprove and exhort you. – 1 Thessalonians 5:12, Amplified Bible

Which profession do you think fits the description below?*

• Be prepared to have maybe one day a week off. Be prepared to have many weeks with no days off.
• On-call 24/7.
• Serve as the “CEO” of an organization, casting vision, managing a staff, counseling people in need, and motivating unpaid volunteers.
• Be ready to visit a new mother and her child in the hospital – and then take an elevator down one floor and sit with a dying friend (becoming intimately acquainted with joy and grief and laughter and tears).
• Need to be humble, confident, meek, and bold all at the same time.
• Able to prepare multiple presentations per week with limited study time. And, the presentations better not be too short or too long lest audience members complain.
• Be prepared to discipline – and potentially run off – people who pay your salary.
• Rarely receive positive feedback from the people you work for.

If you guessed “church pastor,” you’d be right.

Few of us understand the number of hats that pastors wear and the number of stresses that they carry. To be sure, every profession has its burdens, but the burdens of caring for a flock of the Lord’s sheep are heavier than most. In addition, pastors have the inglorious position of being prime targets for Satan’s wrath, for the Enemy knows that if he can tear down a pastor, he can gobble up several sheep at the same time.

The next time you think about it, let your pastor know how much you appreciate him. Also, pray for his well-being – and that of his family, if he has one – and then let him know that you are doing so. Finally, take the time to let him know how something he taught you in a sermon has brought you closer to The Lord. You’ll be amazed at how much you’ll encourage him with such simple gestures of gratitude, and you’ll be blessed by The Lord for caring enough to do so. As God (through Paul) admonishes us in 1 Thessalonians 5:13 (Amplified Bible):

And hold them in very high and most affectionate esteem in [intelligent and sympathetic] appreciation of their work. Be at peace among yourselves.

* Pastoral job description adapted from Focus on the Family’s Daly Focus Blog.

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