By Chuck Lawless
As I get older, I think often about people who have influenced my life. One of those influences is the pastor of the only church I attended before I myself became a pastor. He served as my pastor during my teenage years, and he led the ordination service when I became a pastor at age 20.
As a young preacher who thought he knew it all, I sometimes judged my pastor critically. Now more than 30 years later, I am still learning how much I don’t know about pastoring and ministry. Here is what I’d like to say to my pastor today:
- Thank you for preaching the Word. You could have preached anything you wanted. I wasn’t raised in church, and I may not have known if you were preaching something wrong. Every week, though, you taught the Bible. You used humor and illustrations, and you did it well as you took us to the Word. I believe the Word today because you and the church you led gave me that grounding.
- Thank you for allowing me to make pastoral visits with you. We didn’t do it often, but I still remember when we did. It was the church’s “visitation night,” and we visited people who had first visited the church. I watched you interact with others, share the gospel with them, and pray for them. I could not have known then that some day I would be a professor of evangelism at a seminary!
- I did not fully appreciate all you did. I saw you primarily during Sunday services and midweek events. I knew you were at the church during the week, but I didn’t know all you did. Nobody told me about the hospital visits, the personal counseling, the deathbed waiting, the critical phone calls. I did not understand that you walked beside church members from birth until death.
- I did not know the sacrifices you made. I didn’t know how many nights you were unexpectedly called to minister in an emergency. I suspect that sometimes your vacations were interrupted, though you never made a big deal of that. I remember your working late into the evening to help volunteers working on church building programs. Only years later did I realize how much you gave of yourself for the congregation.
- I apologize for not praying for you as I should have. I prayed for you, but only when you faced a health issue or a tough church situation. I didn’t pray for you regularly. I received the blessings of your ministry without returning offerings of prayer for you, your family, and your work. I trust you forgive me for that.
- Thank you for leading the church to give to missions and ministry. I didn’t understand all the details then, but I remember your calling the church to support missions and ministry through our denomination’s giving process. When I began pastoring, I did the same because I had seen that modeled. For the last seventeen years, that same denominational giving program has helped to pay my salary.
- Thank you for baptizing me. Sure, it was part of your responsibility as pastor. Sure, I didn’t fully comprehend the meaning of believer’s baptism at age 13. Looking back, though, I have grown to appreciate what baptism means. You played a role in that spiritual marker in my life, and I’m grateful for that.
- You gave me my start in ministry. You invited me to preach when I was 16 years old. Then, you invited me to do it again even though my first sermon was horrible. In fact, I can only hope that those early sermons (recorded on cassette tapes) have since disappeared! Still, though, you allowed me to grow and learn.
- My dad became a believer a few years before he died. You told me to pray for my family as soon as I became a follower of Christ. My dad would not become a believer until many years later, but God answered those prayers. Thank you for challenging me to pray persistently.
- I wish I had said thank you much earlier. My guess is that many of us took your ministry for granted. I might be late in doing so, but I thank you for being my first pastor.
What stories do you have about a pastor who positively influenced your life?
Chuck Lawless currently serves as Professor of Evangelism and Missions and Dean of Graduate Studies at Southeastern Seminary.
You can connect with Dr. Lawless on both Twitter and Facebook.
Posted on April 30, 2013
Dr. Chuck Lawless is a leading expert in spiritual consultation, discipleship and mentoring. As a former pastor, he understands the challenges ministry presents and works with Church Answers to provide advice and counsel for church leaders.
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15 Comments
PASTOR A.L FANT GOD BLESS YOU FOR THE CITY WIDE CRUSADE YOU HELD IN TAMALE AT THE JUBILEE PARK, IT WAS AWESOM AND GOD REALLY MOVED AS USUAL.
I PRAY THIS WILL CONTINUE MORE AND MORE.
CANT STOP FOLLOWING IYOU AND YOUR FOOTSTEPS EISH!!! MERCY TO GO WHERE. I LOVE YOU DADDY. YOU ARE THE BEST.
I LOVE YOU DADDY PASTOR A. L FANT. GOD THROUGH YOU HAVE BLESSED ME AND IS STILL BLESSING ME. THROUGH YOUR SERMONS IVE BEEN ABLE TO UNDERSTAND GOD AND HIS WAYS ESPECIALLY THE MESSAGE ON THE POWERS THAT DESTROYS KINGS AND BESETTING SINS. YOUR MESSAGE ALWAYS GIVE ME A REASON TO LIVE.
My first pastor for 17 years didn’t believe in the trinity, virgin birth or believing in Jesus to be baptised. Just how to be a good SB. When I left that church I dwaddled not knowing what was true. Larry Harmon at West Acres in Evans, Bill Hilley at Grace Baptist opened my eyes. In moving away Terry Addis at the Pointe continued trying to show me the way. Iam so grateful for men of God who are not afraid to speak truth and model the love of God. I in return try to bless their life with vacations that they might not get to do. It’s a fun way to say thanks.
I love this list. I pray for my pastor regularly but have a hard time calling him to pray for him bc I don’t want to be a nuisance. I always try to buy Christian media I think he or his family would be interested in.
Some things I would like to say to my former pastor of 15 years:
Without a vision the people perish, don’t push your vision on the people, instead find out what dream and vision God has put in their heart, and encourage them to pursue it, and to see it realized for God’s glory…remember pastor, you can help ignite the flame of your congregation”s dreams in pursuing God’s plan for their lives, or you can kill it by being controlling, whether subtle or not…
Scripture says: For In Christ, there is neither male NOR female, nor Jew nor Greek, for we are all ONE in Christ Jesus…stop taking scriptures out of context, and look at the real meaning in Greek, etc, and interpret them correctly, especially in the cultural context of the times, DO NOT use them to justify gender prejudice in your church..remember that Mary was the one Jesus told to tell His disciples that He had risen from the dead…the first New Testament evangelist…
As long as satan can keep us divided, he wins…but if we respect and recognize each others gifts and callings in God, and come together in the unity of the faith, with mutual respect, the sleeping giant called the church will FINALLY rise up in power and roar, and become that glorious bride Jesus is waiting for…and the enemy will cower in fear…
Thanks, Gerald.
As always, great thoughts.
Thanks, Amy, for taking the time to say thank you to these men!
Two pastors instantly come to my mind:
1. Calvin Kelly formerly at Valley Dale Baptist in Birmingham. My husband and I lost twins at birth. He heard the news and offered to come home from his vacation with his family early to be with us. What an amazing sacrifice to offer! Thank you for giving yourself away.
2. Craig Walker of Lifeway Community in Indianapolis, IN. He showed me Jesus like I had never seen him before. He loved people (including me) right where we were. No need to clean up to meet the Savior. Thank you for making Christ real to me.
Amy
Thanks for the encouraging story, Julie, about your pastor.
I trust my pastor with my life. Has been there for me and has always told me the truth, even when I don’t want to hear it. He has saved my life a few times. I suffer from bi-polar depression. We pray for each other and our families. He is my confidant and friend.