Inside Look Into the Lives of Our Pastors
Everyone is busy these days. Retirees, young children — and most in-between — can feel pulled from different directions with all sorts of demands requiring time and energy. Your pastor/ministerial couple is no exception. You may think you know what they’re juggling, but do you truly understand how much many of them travel, break up squabbles, smooth over hurts, counsel marriages, prevent suicides, coordinate events, act as PR reps, conduct human resource duties, manage projects, financially advise, serve as child caregivers, advocate for social justice, recruit, lend funds, respond to mechanical/maintenance calls, and wrestle in prayer over you and your burdens?
The lights faded as the sounds of the welcome video filled the expansive space of the Howard Performing Arts Center. Keyboardist Trey Bosfield sat on the stage, sandwiched between two other keyboardists, watching the video from an angle.
Gena Gordon grew up with her mother and father in Bridgeport, Connecticut. Her mother, in particular, placed a high priority on Gena’s spiritual life. Gena was at Sabbath school every week, even if she was the only one there, and she was always at church, even if her mother was unable to attend.
On a summer day in 1879, fourteen-year-old Luther Warren and seventeen-year-old Harry Fenner walked along a country road in Hazleton, a Michigan town between Flint and Lansing. They were worried about their friends who seemed to be slipping away from God and wondered what they could do to help them. The idea of establishing a boys’ mission society began to develop in their minds so, right there, in a corner of a deserted field, they knelt down and prayerfully committed their plans to God.
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During the course of one’s career, there are usually highlights that stand out in your mind where you feel that what you did, or were a part of, really made a difference. Such were the thoughts of a retired Union treasurer when he reminisced about the part he had in establishing the revolving fund in his territory in the mid-1970s. “Of all that I accomplished, that is what I am most proud of! What a blessing the revolving fund has been for our organizations over the years!”
Pastor Appreciation Month was established in 1992 by a group of pastors and church leaders to honor those who serve in ministry. They grounded the celebration in Paul’s words to Timothy: The elders who direct the affairs of the church well are worthy of double honor, especially those whose work is preaching and teaching (1 Tim. 5:17). In honor of our pastors, I’d like to share a story about how they ministered to our family last summer in a way we will never forget.
This Post Is About That One Time I Got A Chance To Chill With Kawhi and LeBron. Did I say chill with? Oh, my bad, I meant to say “chill like.” Yeah, chill like. That’s better. So, what had happened was, I made a decision to go on a sabbatical. Right? Because I was burned out. My mind and body were just — OFF.
Pastor’s appreciation month is fraught with perils as people often don’t believe the hours that pastors work, yet they and their families are held to high standards that are hard to reach for the best among us
