Dear Friends,
One of the most rewarding aspects of being National Director is getting to travel around the country to spend time with Vineyard pastors. Pastors are amazing people – they give their lives to caring for others and forming a congregation that can transform its community.
Like anyone else, pastors are subject to insecurity. They wonder if they’re doing a good job, if people like them, and if God is pleased with their ministry.
This isn’t abnormal – it’s the sort of thing anyone worries about. But for pastors, it can be particularly difficult, because their job is so directly related to the things of God.
One issue pastors worry about is the size of their church. In America, so often success is measured numerically – a bigger church is assumed to be better.
When pastors get together, those who pastor smaller churches sometimes feel as if they are less significant than folks who pastor larger churches.
Of course, pastors know theoretically that their worth isn’t defined by the size of their church, but rather by the fact that their heavenly Father loves them. Most have preached this truth to their congregations – that our identity is safe in Christ, and not determined by worldly success.
But it’s one thing to preach a truth, and another thing to internalize it.
October is Pastor Appreciation Month, and this month, I want to speak my appreciation to pastors who lead smaller congregations. Some have to work second jobs to pay their bills, and some live under a constant sense of inferiority because they don’t have the glitzy, large church in town.
My prayer for all pastors, of all churches, this month, is that they would find their identity in their status as the beloved children of God. I pray that the multitude of voices that speak discouraging words over their lives would not hold sway over the voice of Jesus that speaks the love of God to them.
Much love to the shepherds who care for others – in Jesus’ name,
Phil
