OPINION | God calls men and woman for His different purposes. He has delegated many of the spiritual needs of His people to different ministries He knows are paramount. One such need that God knows is important is to have a shepherd of a local assembly of believers. That man is called a “pastor” or “preacher”.
Unfortunately, pastors often have the awkward job that many think deserves no appreciation. The pastor’s job is to take care of his church, and it is the church’s job to take care of their pastors.
There are a number of churches today that are trying to teach a culture of honor. Honoring your pastor is not sin, turning him into an idol is.
1 Thessalonians 5:12 tells us: Honor those who are your leaders in the Lord’s work. They work hard among you and give you spiritual guidance.
Churches stay spiritually weak when the people take their spiritual leader casually and gossip about them and oppose them for the lightest things, they take away the functional authority of Jesus as the head who appointed them over the church and the functional authority of the Bible which these men and women stand to speak from.
Aaron and Hur knew a principle about helping the man of God that would encourage and help any pastor today. They noticed when Moses’ arms were up while directing a battle, that Israel had the victory over the enemy. When the leader was tired and had not the strength to lift up his arms, the battle was in the favor of the enemy. Aaron and Hur made sure their leader’s arms were held high, so that they would get the victory. They physically held up their leader’s arms. [Exodus 17]
If more people would realize that honoring God’s men is honoring God and His work, and would pray, encourage than gossip about them, more spiritual battles would be won; and more pastors would be encouraged. Lift up your leader’s arms, do not force them down!
What is wrong with letting my pastor know that he is a beloved member of the church family, and not just an employee who will eventually hand over duty when his bones loose strength. Join me in pouring into our pastors who have so generously poured into us what they have received from the throne.
If I honor my pastor in a way different from how you do it, should that be a year’s debate? Never ridicule my praise to God if you do not know my testimony. What I am trying to say is, to what you have no revelation/knowledge of as a christian, let your comments on the same be limited.
I always come across long posts where one thinks the other is not scripturally qualified for Church leadership; perhaps because they do not agree with how he is performing ministry, or just having the belief they can do a better job than their pastor.
Telling someone that we are honoring a Church leaders is unheard of at such a time when divisions and murmuring about leaders is all over the body of Christ.
We all know that spiritual leaders are as culpable as any others are. When consistent scriptural error is involved, Christians should rise up in prayer.We must sound the alarm, hoping and praying that the ones who preach false doctrines will repent and the ones who have bought into false doctrines will find deliverance. 2 Timothy 3, Titus 1:1-16, Matt 18; 1 Tim 5 etc explain this well.
If you want to receive honor, you have to give honor. If you want to experience honor, you have to embrace humility. God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble. Let alone celebrations, I believe that one of the ways we show honor to our leaders is by submitting to their authority. At the same time, though, leaders are instructed to show honor by serving those they lead.
By Ssenyonjo Micheal.
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The views expressed by the author do not necessarily reflect the editorial opinion of UG Christian News or its editors.
