A Gift for your Pastor

Modern day pastoral ministry is far removed from the way it functioned in an earlier day. In days long since passed the community looked upon the pastor as one who had vital knowledge of God, and would meet with them to learn how to bring such knowledge into their everyday lives.

Proof of this can be found in letters written to and from St. Augustine. (My favorite of these is the letter on prayer to Proba.) Even in a more recent day pastors would be called upon to publish their sermons in the newspaper. Could you imagine such a thing taking place today?

Well, in good and bad ways, times have changed things. And in the current era pastors are not primarily seen as those who bring helpful knowledge of God to the community. They are not primarily viewed as shepherds that guide God's flock into a deeper walk with him. To be sure, that is still why many pastors have been called to the ministry but, like teachers who became educators because they have a passion for a certain subject and want to see student thrive, but quickly discover that they have to prepare students for standardized tests, many pastors find themselves entering pastoral ministry and having to focus on other things.

I happen to be a pastor. I understand the struggle. So here is a modest proposal for one way you can give a gift to your pastor. It comes from Charles Spurgeon's sermon titled, “No Room for Christ in the Inn”:

We talk about many things; a man may nowadays talk of any subject he pleases... Speech is very free in this land; but, ah! how little room is there for Christ in general talk! Even on Sunday afternoon how little room there is for Christ in some professed Christian’s houses. They will talk about ministers, tell queer anecdotes about them — perhaps invent a few, or, at least, garnish the old ones, and add to them, and make them a little more brilliant; they will talk about the Sunday school, or the various agencies in connection with the Church, but how little they say about Christ! And if someone should in conversation make this remark, “Could we not speak upon the Godhead and manhood, the finished work and righteousness the ascension, or the second advent of our Lord Jesus Christ,” why we should see many, who even profess to be followers of Christ, who would hold up their heads and say, “Why, dear, that man is quite a fanatic, or else he would not think of introducing such a subject as that into general conversation.”

My suggestion, therefore, is that you would talk to your pastor about Jesus. Set up an appointment to discuss how God is working in your life. Ask them if you can pray together about how you'd like to grow in godliness. Inquire as to how you can bring a living knowledge of Christ to bear on an important situation at work. Discuss what it means to be led by the Spirit of God. Talk about how discipleship works as a parent. Talk to your pastor about Jesus!

If you do this and you don't see a twinkle in their eyes I will be very surprised. For pastors are used to having conversations about everything other than actual pastoral ministry. And they are happy to do so... sometimes. But they were called to be knowledge workers of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is their chief pride to have conversations about the one who called them into such a glorious vocation.

So give it a shot and let me know if after one hours conversation about the Lord Jesus Christ your pastor wasn't sitting a few inches straighter with a smile plastered upon his or her face.