Wednesday; March 20

When was the last time you thanked your preacher? Now, since I work fulltime with a church, I want to make a disclaimer that this is not written to my group. The congregation I am with is very supportive and I am not looking for a backhanded way to generate appreciation. However, it has become increasingly difficult to recruit people into the ministry – and one reason is that people perceive it as being a thankless job. Ministers don’t typically do it for the money or the recognition, but appreciation is very welcome. Since they are often out in front, it is easy to provide them with too much credit – but with declining numbers, it is also too easy to saddle them with too much blame.

We live in a time when good people are being dissuaded from entering the ministry and others are leaving because they feel like failures. While we can’t fix everything that is negative about the preaching profession, one thing we can do is support our ministers. The Apostle Paul challenged believers, “How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher? How will they preach unless they are sent? Just as it is written, ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news of good things!’”. (Romans 10:14-15).

When was the last time you did something special for your minister? You never know when an affirmation will be what keeps them from moving on in their ministry … or even convinces them not to move out of the ministry.

Think About It!

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