I Am A Grateful Pastor

I Am a Grateful Pastor (repost from Thom Rainer

I am a grateful pastor.
I admit I get discouraged at times. And I admit that I can get frustrated and weary as well.
But I have so much for which to be grateful. There are so many church members who bring me joy and encouragement.

I am a grateful pastor.

I am grateful for the church member with a great attitude, the one who encourages me, who prays for me, and has a ready smile for me.

I am a grateful pastor.

I am grateful for that church member in worship services almost every week. He has his Bible open and his heart open to hear God’s Word proclaimed.

I am a grateful pastor.

I am grateful for the lady who is in a Bible study group every week. She loves to study the Word of God in fellowship with others.

I am a grateful pastor.

I am grateful for the young mom who serves in the church with joy and commitment. She is busy, and her family does come first, but she makes time for her church as well.

I am a grateful pastor.

I am grateful for that dear man living his retirement years sharing the gospel wherever he can. He is a witness in both word and deed.

I am a grateful pastor.

I am grateful for that single mom who gives abundantly. I know she has to stretch her dollars, but she trusts God and is generous without hesitation.

I am a grateful pastor.

I am grateful for that business executive who was tempted to drop out of the church but didn’t. He was hurt by other church members, but he chose to forgive and to stay.

I am a grateful pastor.

I am grateful for the young man who recognized he was playing church games. He committed in God’s power, to become a truly functioning part of the body of Christ. His change is evident

I am a grateful pastor.

I am grateful for that 40-something lady who dropped by my office to tell me she had recommitted her life to making a difference for God through her church. In just a short while, she has touched countless lives.

Indeed, I am a grateful pastor.

I could focus on the tough times and the critics, and sometimes I do. But I have so much for which to be grateful, so many church members who bless me week after week.

I am a grateful pastor.

And I thank you, God, for letting me serve at this great church.

 

Would a Christian church call Jesus for its pastor?

Would a Christian church call Jesus for its pastor?
Here is his resume.
While he never murdered, raped, robbed, accosted or otherwise committed a felony crime, he was executed as a common criminal. He never swindled, cheated or got a speeding or parking ticket as far as we know. He did break the Blue Law by working on the Sabbath to feed the hungry. He probably committed a couple of misdemeanors when he turned the tables over in the temple and withered the fig tree, and maybe even more when he drowned 2,000 pigs. But, execution? What did he do to deserve such a fate?
The religious establishment accused him of heresy and the civil authorities accused him of treason or, at least, of being a troublemaker. What did he do to deserve such judgment?
Well, he never married. He was a partygoer, seemingly never missed a good party, often with publicans and sinners. He made wine. He befriended the outcast, related to women on level grounds, helped and extolled the poor, and wanted to free the prisoners and turn the other cheek from war. He gave away his cloak. He made only 12 appointments, one of which was fraught with intrigue and conspiracy. He seemed to say the ends justify the means. His economic values included paying the same wages regardless of hours worked and a return on investments. His fellowship of believers held everything in common. He was a faith healer.
He was pretty critical of the church leaders for not doing the same, telling them they didn't have a chance of making a passing grade. He was also fairly tough on the wealthy; they, too, did not grade well.
He taught in parables so the people would listen but not understand and informed his closest companions in secret. He was very clear in his instructions to not pray in church or in public to be seen but to pray in your room with the door closed. He clearly supported separation of church and state and fidelity to both.
He walked the dusty rural roads and the cobbled city streets and addressed human needs wherever they were and that got him entangled in a host of social, political and economic issues. He was relevant. He ministered at the point where faith meets life. He tried to build a kingdom based on this model.
For doing so, the letters to the editor questioned and criticized him daily. He clearly had church, politics and the poor all jumbled up. His associations and lifestyle were questionable. He was not widely popular.
With this record, would your church call Jesus as pastor? What would happen to attendance? Contributions? Would he make so many members so mad so quickly with his theology, priorities, lifestyle and involvements that the church would be threatened?
Or, maybe, just maybe, there are churches that would call Jesus as pastor -- churches that have called pastors who model Jesus and with members who support that model. Should we seek and find and join that church and follow and support that pastor? 
Or, should we write another letter to the editor questioning the pastor's faith and the church's calling and, thereby, challenging the Jesus model?
Why not crucifixion? Would we, are we, doing it again? Surely, hopefully, not. Even so, he would love and forgive us anyway, knowing we know not what we do. That is the Jesus model.

Reprinted from an article in Sunday’s The Birmingham News . Click Here to read whole article.