Wednesday, October 8, 2014

Letter to My Pastor

    First of all, thank you. Thank you for the late nights, the calls, texts, visits, prayers, and persistence you show each and every day to fulfill your role as Pastor. Your dedication to the study of God's word, your constant attention on your relationship with Him, and focus on improving the relationships and lives of those who hear the Gospel from you.
    I believe the best thank you I can offer is for me to give you a gift. My gift are the things which I pledge to do my best to do for you. I have listed these things below not only to honor you, but also to remind myself of my role as a member of this church, as a follower of Christ, and as someone under your leadership.

  1. I will understand that you aren't perfect. I understand that my relationship with God is just that - mine. I will cultivate my relationship with God by reading His word, and praying without ceasing to my heavenly Father. 
  2. I will recognize, but not publicize your wrongs. As mentioned in #1, you aren't perfect; therefore, you will make mistakes both in life, in the church, and in Scripture. Because I am reading God's word and praying, I will be able to recognize these times and offer the best help, prayer. 
  3. I will not gossip, period. This applies to you and your family, as well as anyone else in or outside of the church. 
  4. I will pray for you. I will keep you in my prayers always, and also your family. I will be sure to pray for anything specific I may know about, and especially anything specific happening in the church, from events to changes.
  5. I will be okay with change. I respect your decision, and I am going to honor you by following your leadership and vision for the church, while supporting you in any way I can.
  6. I will encourage you. I will thank you for all you do, appreciate your role in my life, and honor you whenever and however I can.
  7. I will realize that I am not your friend. Because I am being led by you, I am not on the same spiritual, emotional, mental, or physical level that you are as the leader of this community of believers. This does not mean that we cannot hang out, but I will not expect to be the best of friends and spend tons of time together.
  8. If I have a problem, I will come to you with it. As mentioned in #3, I will not gossip; therefore, I will come to you personally with any problem I may have that involves you. I will be respectful of your time, and be patient to get to discuss my issue with you. I realize that the prayer, fasting, preparation, and time spent leading this church takes priority over an issue I may have, so I will be respectful of your time.
  9. I will not pretend to understand your life. I am not a Pastor. I have no idea what you deal with on a daily basis, what attacks you suffer from the enemy, or the demands on your time. I will be understanding if you aren't available for my child's birthday party, baby shower, etc... 
  10. I will be respectful of your family. We are all doing life together, and life isn't perfect. I realize children sometimes make decisions out of immaturity that may not align with your values, or values found in Scripture. I will not assume anything about your life, nor judge you as a parent. I will encourage and support in any way I can. 
  11. I will not depend solely on you for leadership in my life. I will find those who are where I want to be in an area of life, and I will seek to be mentored by them. This goes for finances, marriage, parenting, etc...
  12. I will take personal responsibility for my life. You cannot change me, and I realize that. God changes me, and He does so with my willingness. Your encouragement is always welcome, and I am so grateful for it.
  13. I will accept correction from you. I will understand that by being under your leadership that I am agreeing to you being able to correct me if I am ever out of line in any area of my life.  I will accept this correction, and do everything possible to follow it.
  14. I will lead others. I will not sit, collecting dust, within this church expecting you to do all the work. I will participate, lead, grow, and help others to do the same.
  15. I will be an example of unity. Regardless of what happens, what disagreements occur, what decisions I do not like, I will always, in everything I do, support unity in Christ for our church. The enemy would love nothing more than to work his way into our church through a disagreement, event, or anything else in order to disrupt our unity and make us ineffective. I will pray against my pride, humble myself no matter the situation, and always pray for unity.
Your position is of vital importance to the Kingdom of God. We should be grateful and worshipful to Him to be allowed to be a part of such an amazing movement as spreading the Gospel to those in need. We are the light of the world, and you are carrying the lamp. Thank you.

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