I am a “Worship Leader”. I love what I do. But I am not naive enough to believe that my vocational title is accurate.

If “Worship Leader” is limited only to describe one who stands in front of a group of people and leads them in singing songs about our great God, then that’s a very shallow definition. I delve into much deeper waters when I realize that worship is a way of life.  

Worship is simply me taking great pains to give God glory in every mundane and pinnacle action I perform. In the quietness and solitude of my own heart, in the way I treat my family and friends, in the way I love the lost around me…..all the way to the stage.  

I Corinthians 10:31 says,

“Whether, therefore, you eat or drink, or WHATEVER YOU DO,

do all to the GLORY of God.”

So, if I’m a worship leader, so are you, because worship is simply obedience to Christ in every way possible.

Romans 12:1-2 gives a beautiful parallel from the Old Testament idea of worship and translates it to what worship looks like for the Christian who is now indwelt with the Holy Spirit.  There is so much gorgeous imagery here….words like “present, sacrifice, holy, acceptable….”

“I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.”

We no longer offer sacrifices in the same way the Old Testament saints did.  Rather, we are asked by Jesus to offer our very lives as a sacrifice of worship.  Not so we can earn His favor in any way, but as a response of love and gratitude from our overwhelmed and sanctified hearts toward our great God who has saved and made us His children and heirs!

What does this look like?  This means that EVERY action you take in your day to day activities should be filtered through the grid of “How can I glorify Jesus in this?”  From loading the dishwasher, to helping your babies with their homework, to encouraging your hubs, to time spent alone with Jesus, all the way to the outward acts of worship that everyone actually sees.

And here’s an encouraging tidbit.  Just think of how much value this puts on even the mundane activities of life!  So sweet and freeing is the thought that I don’t really have to DO anything noteworthy or dazzling to get the Lord’s attention.  He notices every little thing I do in His honor! The “boring” day in and day out activities I do in His Name reach His very throne room and magnify Him in some way. I don’t really get it it, but there you have it! Isn’t it crazy to think that every action of one’s life has the potential to bring glory to God? Whew! That’ll change the way you do things! At least it should.

And, as Christians, it will go a lot easier for us if we just let go and realize that we don’t belong to ourselves and our own desires anymore.  We belong to Jesus because He pulled out His holy wallet and paid for us.  He saw us there on the slave block. Naked, skinny, and diseased with sin.  Altogether undesirable with absolutely nothing to offer. And He said,  “I love her and I will pay for her freedom. I love him, and I will do what it takes to make him mine.” And MAN!  Were we ever expensive!  

Here’s the reality of what it took to purchase us:

“Knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as sliver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot.”

I Peter 1:18-19

And here’s the reality of the response that that we should have in light of that knowledge: 

“You have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body.”

I Corinthians 6:20

When I really come face to face with this truth, I always cry out in my heart…..

“How dare I live for myself!  How dare I consume anything on my own selfish desires! How dare I waste the life and time Jesus has given me!  I don’t even own myself, I was purchased with the very blood of Christ.  Act like it, Alison.

 Let every borrowed breath be for His glory alone!

I wrote a song a few years ago called “The Altar.” It reflects a little of how I feel about myself and worship.  Here’s the chorus:

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It’s times like this when it does me good to remember the Lord.

“From the end of the earth will I cry to Thee, when my heart is overwhelmed:  lead me to the rock that is higher than I.”  Ps. 61:2

So, today, I am remembering.  Because I know if I can remember the goodness of the Lord in the past, I can deftly navigate the crazy of today with the knowledge that He is with me and His grace has run ahead of my busy and overwhelmed week.  It’s already there in the chaos to come, waiting for me at just the moment I need it.

Sometimes it helps me to recall a specific time in my life when I saw the Lord’s hand of faithfulness.  Can I share a story with you?

I have 3 of the most beautiful boys the Lord ever placed on the planet.  I mean it.  They are gorgeous.  But then, I’m their mom, so what else am I going to say.

Anyway, they all play baseball and have for years.  Not too many years ago, as we were preparing for baseball season, I realized that none of the boys had cleats that fit them anymore.  It’s hard to put into words the panic I felt with this realization.  I wanted to gather them all up in the car, run to the store and just pick out 3 pairs of cleats.  But I knew I couldn’t do that.  We just didn’t have the money.  God had supplied all of our needs, but I knew there was no way in the world I could afford to buy 3 pairs of cleats.

I was in the kitchen on a homeschooling day stewing on this and fighting for all was worth to not worry about this cleat situation.  When I suddenly remembered that I didn’t HAVE to worry about it.  And even more than that, I was commanded NOT to worry about it.  My sweet pastor hubs always says,

“If we need it, God will supply it.  If we don’t have it, it must not be a need.”

Not very profound, I know, but that statement has helped me out on more than one occasion.  However, very profound is this statement from my heavenly Father:

“Do not worry about anything; instead, pray about everything.  Tell God what you need, and thank Him for all He has done.”  Phil.  4:6-7

I made a decision.  I was NOT going to worry, I was going to OBEY. So, I gathered up my 3 boys and we sat down in a circle on the kitchen floor.  I said, “Guys, we need cleats, right?”  Big eyes, heads bobbing up and down.  “We don’t have the money to pay for cleats right now.”  Sad eyes, heads drooping.  “Is Jesus able to supply those cleats if He wants to?”  Excited eyes, heads nodding fiercely.  “Ok then.  We are not going to worry, we are going to pray and ask the Lord for cleats and thank Him for what He is going to do.”  Eyes closed and heads bowed.  It was a sacred moment.

They next day, I was with the boys in the car on the way to work.  I had a few extra minutes to spare and happened to see a garage sale sign.  Now, if you know me at all, you know I’m a garage sale, Goodwill, thrift shop beast!  So, of course, I stopped.  The boys all piled out of the car ahead of me and went running toward the merchandise.

One of my sons made a B-line to a plastic bin and started yelling, “Mom!  Look!”  I knew before I even got to him what was in that bin.  Cleats.  I ran to him and we started digging.  There were not 1, but 2 pairs in the right sizes for each son at the whopping price of $1 a pair.  I was overwhelmed.   As my son clutched a pair of cleats in his arms, he said with wonder, “Mom, look with God did!  We prayed for cleats and look what He did!”

With tears streaming down my face, I gathered up my boys and we stopped right there and thanked the Lord.  Then it hit me, the Holy Spirit is our Paraclete, our Helper who comes alongside.  And He sure had lived up to His name that day.  My Paraclete had provided the Pairs-A-Cleats.  Whew…

I hope you will be overwhelmed today with some remembrance of the Lord’s goodness.

“But my God shall supply all you need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.”

Phil. 4:19

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I was excited to see what the Lord would do!  But as I began processing through this time together and really just trembling in my shoes trying to figure out what direction to go in for this study, one question kept coming to mind:

“Lord, what can I do with this time for these ladies?  How can I be a help to them?”

And the answer came with almost audible clarity:

“Give these women a high view of Me.

Set Me in front of them and let them gaze at me for Who I really am.”

Alrighty then! I had received my orders. But as I thought about it, I realized that the Lord might just as well have asked me to eat an elephant!  How in the world do you even begin to give someone a high view of God?  Talk about Mission Impossible!  And then the answer came.  

There is only one way to get people in front of God.  Only one source where He is revealed as He really is.  

The Holy Word of God.  

The pages of Scripture are The Garden in which He walks, waiting for you to join Him on some secret bench and visit.  The time there is unhurried and limitless, as far as He is concerned, and the air is filled with the sweet fragrance of the Holy Spirit revealing His heart to you as you hang on His every Word.  It is the only place you can be sure to find Him, and every time you visit, you will be changed in earth-shattering ways.

Lest you think I wax unduly gaudy in my description of this reality, check out this unbelievable scripture:

“But when we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the SAME IMAGE from one degree of glory to another.  For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.”  — 2 Corinthians 3:18

I mean, just look at that verse!  The context of the whole chapter of 2 Corinthians 3 is talking about the Bible, so by the time Paul gets to verse 18, he gives a dazzling revelation! Here’s what happens when a Christian (an “unveiled face person”) looks into the Word of God.

1.  You behold His glory.  And what is that?  Moses gives us great insight into that in Exodus 33:18-19 “Please show me Your glory!  And He said, ‘I will make all my goodness pass before you and will proclaim before you my name ‘The Lord’.  Simply put, His glory is all His amazing attributes and everything He is.  I’m about to shout!

1. You will be changed into His image.  Meaning, as you gaze at Him in the Word, you will begin to look like Him.  You will never be deity – that’s heresy – but His Word will supernaturally change your mind and heart so that you begin to take on His heart and desires, not your own selfish and sinful ones.

1. You are not on your own.  I love the last sentence of this verse.  “This comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.” The crazy hard work of gazing at the Lord and being transformed into His image is not something we can accomplish on our own.  How kind of God the Spirit to see us gazing into the Word, roll up His holy sleeves and say, “Here, my child, I wrote this Book, let me help you understand it.”  Now I AM shouting!!! That’s amazing!

I have so often dragged my impoverished soul into that garden and found Him there. Always there.  That old hymn In the Garden says it so beautifully…..

I come to The Garden alone

While the dew is still on the roses

And the sound I hear, falling on my ear

The Son of God discloses

And He walks with me and He talks with me

And He tells me I am His own

And the joy we share as we tarry there

None other has ever known

 So, go to The Garden.  He is waiting there…….. just for you.

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She was, in a word, special.

And today, we were all there celebrating her home-going.  There was standing room only in the church.  Evidence of a life well-lived, yes, but it was so much more.  It was a life that was saturated with the glory of the Savior.  His glory shone so brightly in her earthly life. It flitted into that funeral service today and soothed every heart that had the privilege of knowing her.

She was not there.  No.  She was otherwise occupied worshiping Jesus face to face.  But the fragrance of Christ she left behind was still as poignant as ever.

She was, in another word, beautiful.

As I sat there today thinking of her, I kept crying for the loss we all felt, and then smiling for the joy that I knew she was experiencing at that very moment.

And there you have it. Mourning with hope.  I know, as good as I know my own name, that she is alive. That’s a fact, not a “hope so”.  II Corinthians 4:14 says:

Knowing that He who raised the Lord Jesus will

raise us also with Jesus and will present us with you.

 The void she leaves in the lives of those that were close to her will remain a tender wound for many years to come.  But because of II Corinthians 4:14, I know we will see her again.  I know it because this rock-solid truth has its footings set and cemented in the blood of Jesus Christ.  If He died and rose again, she rose again Saturday morning when she exhaled for the last time on this earth.

And we will too.  Mourning with hope.

If you are a believer in Christ, I’m not saying anything you don’t already know. In fact, if I’m not careful, I realize I run the risk of sounding trite and over-spiritual in a painful situation.  I only hazard saying these things because I know my friend.  I know what she would say if I could call her and ask her about it right now.

I remember one distinct time when my heart was broken over loss of ministry, loss of friendship, loss of direction.  My heart had been broken one time too many, it seemed, and I was in the process of just giving up.  She didn’t even know I was going through any of that and just “randomly” reached out to me me in a text one day that went something like this:

“Hey sweet friend.  The Lord just had you on my heart today and I felt impressed to tell you to keep going.  You may not feel like it, but your ministry is glorifying to the Lord.  You have something to say for the Lord, girlfriend!  Don’t give up.”

So, you see, I only say these things about mourning with hope, not to be trite or “hyper-spiritual”.  I say them because my beautiful friend said, “You have something to say for the Lord, girlfriend!”  She’d tell me, in her endearing southern twang,

“Say it, Alison! Tell ’em!  Yes! I’m more alive than I have ever been, and there is hope! I have gained everything because Jesus paid it all! And tell ’em there’s hope for everyone if they’ll just give their lives to Jesus too!  Tell ’em!”

And then she’d tell me to back it up with Scripture just cause she was sassy that way 🙂

 But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep.  I Thessalonians 4:13-14

I wrote this song a few years ago the night my grandmother died.  I got to thinking about what my granny would say to me from heaven if she could. I had the overwhelming honor of singing it today at the precious celebration honoring my extraordinary friend.  Maybe it will comfort you and give you some perspective if you are hurting over a great loss.

Yes, we mourn….so very deeply.  But, in Jesus, never ever without hope.

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A couple of summers ago, I had the opportunity to watch some bees going about the busy task of flying back and forth for hours, just doing their pollinating thing. This task ultimately produces the lip-smacking honey we southerners love to drench our cat-head biscuits in. And yes, that’s a real thing.

As I watched, I thought,  “They are simply doing what they were created to do.”

They don’t have to pray about it, or waste time trying other things until they figure out what they are really passionate about. They are fulfilling their purpose.

It’s more complicated with humans, I think.  

Sure, our purpose is to glorify God in all we do, but sometimes we struggle to find the means to that end.  I know I do.  And I think I’m in good company.  In Exodus 33,  God gave Moses a job to do. Then He proceeded to say that He would not be with him, because the people Moses was called to lead were a “stiff-necked” people.

I can imagine Moses intently listening to the Lord, wide eyed, ostrich feather and papyrus in hand…..

“Ok, lead the people to a new land? Check! You’re going to send angels before us?  Awesome!  Angels are so cool.  Maybe you could send that death angel you sent to Egypt.  He was super scary!  You’re going to drive the enemies out of the land?  Bring it, God!  I can’t wait to see them run.  NO WAY!  The land is flowing with milk and honey?!?!  YUM! Let’s go! Oh, wait, what….? You’re not going to go with us?  The people are too stubborn? Can I have a word with you alone, God?(Ex 33:1-9)  

Moses must have suffered a jarring case of whiplash.

How could God be so clear and so unclear at the same time?  Go… but go without God?

And isn’t that the way it is for us many times? We think we have a directive from the Lord, only to run toward that goal and hit a wall!  What do we do?  Do what Moses did: Have a “come to Jesus” meeting.  

Exodus 33:7-11 is one of the most beautiful passages of Scripture ever.  It’s so practical, yet intimate and gutsy!  I can’t explain it any better than Moses did, so read it right now. Go ahead, I’ll wait (cue Jeopardy Theme Song)….………..I know, right?  Amazing!  Verse 11 particularly reveals one very important aspect of talking to God.  

Moses used to talk to God as a man talks to his friend.

How is it possible for anyone to talk to God like a friend?  But the Spirit-breathed passage clearly wants us to see this side of God…..Friend….

So, what do you do when you don’t know what to do?  Like Moses, in verses 12-13, BE BOLD!

Go to your omnipotent Friend, ask Him for His favor

to accomplish His calling on your life.

Look at God’s response in Verse 14!  The words Moses was longing to hear. “I will go with you.”  

Whew! Yes!  Moses’ reaction here brings me to my knees because it’s exactly how I feel. 

 “If Your presence will not go with me, do not bring us up from here.” 

In other words, “I’m not going anywhere without You, God. It’s not happenin’!”

It’s so easy for the bees, not so easy for us.  

They get up every day and do what they do.  We, much of the time, have to wrestle with our calling.  And maybe it’s even harder for us because Moses audibly heard God’s voice. However, there was still some confusion on his part just as there is for us at times.  And his example is so relevant to those of us who are chasing God’s purpose for our lives like our heads are on fire. So, when in doubt:

– GO to your Friend and ask Him for what you need.  

–TELL Him you don’t want to do anything if He doesn’t go with you.  

–ASK for His favor and direction.

In Verse 18 Moses gets crazier still by asking the Almighty to show him His glory. Talk about pushing the holy envelope!  

Who did Moses think He was?  But remember, he’d been meeting with God every day, sitting at His feet listening….ready to obey. He had a relationship with God.

Listen, dear reader, Moses loved God.  So He wanted everything there was to have from his eternal Friend.  And what He wanted was to see Him. And God graciously acquiesces in Verse 19:

“I will show you my goodness, my back, because if you see my face, you will die.”  

I have no idea what the front side of God is.  One day I will…. One day…..But, like Moses, I’m asking the Lord to show me everything there is of Himself – to hide me in the cleft of the rock and pass by so I might glimpse what is safe for me to see. That’s where I’ll find the strength and direction I need to navigate through the uncertainties of life and even my calling.

“Father, come to me, reveal Yourself to me, lead me, and go with me!”

He did it for Moses… so I’ll know He’ll do it for me.  He doesn’t choose today to manifest His presence in the visual way He did to Moses, so where can we see His Glory?

GOD’S WORD = Knowing God = Being shown God’s glory = Being changed into that same glory. 2 Cor. 3:18.

No thunder, no lightening, just time in His Word.  It’s as simple as that.

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I was like Hannah who cried out, “For this child I have prayed!”  And pray I did.  Doctors gave little hope that my hubs and I would ever be able to have children. Then in God’s sovereign and perfect timing, we were overjoyed to welcome 3 boys in almost as many years.  I wish I had a dime for every diaper I changed during those frenzied, fantastic days.  Instant college fund!

I was a church kid, and so are my boys.  That’s a good thing!  However, I have this haunting fear that I am going to raise The Walking Dead.  You know, like the Pharisees who looked really spiritual from the outside but were, as Jesus called them, “white-washed tombs, full of dead men’s bones.”(Mt. 23:27)

They looked so good, had all the right answers, and even lived a moral life,

but they were spiritually dead inside.

Walking Dead.  So scary.

As a Christian mom, I am on a mission to instill in my boys the importance of going to church, reading their Bibles, reaching out to the lost, and loving their neighbors, but I am in a panic to make sure that they do these things out of the overflow which is an all consuming love for Jesus.   Why?  Because only the things that are done for Christ out of sincere love for Him will last into eternity and bring Him ultimate glory.  And that’s where the joy is!

I want my guys to understand, first of all, that giving God lip service only is not salvation.

Salvation is complete surrender.  Nothing less.

And then I want them to understand that bringing God glory brings them maximum joy.  And this cannot be attained if they are just being good because I tell them to.  They have to make it their own.

So, it’s ok to tell your kids, “do it because I said so”. That’s where it starts.  But make sure you are praying that Holy Spirit will morph their thoughts from “do it because mom said so” to “do it because Jesus said so!”  I want it to be a no-brainer for my boys. I want them to really see Jesus and think, “Well, duh! Look who He is!  Look what He did for me!  Of course I’m going to love Him back and live for Him!”

I remember hearing all my life, even before I had children, that there was nothing more powerful than a praying mother. So, when my guys came along, I hit the deck in prayer. But as I knelt there, holding each one in turn, and kissing their fuzzy, newborn heads, I found that I was praying more for myself.

“Oh, God,

Let me be a godly mom. Help me to be an example of a passionate pursuit of the greatest treasure there is……YOU. Please shield my sons from my sins. Don’t allow my failures to impede their desire to follow You completely.” And the list went on.

My boys are all teenagers now. My heart just broke a little to say that. But as I hike up my yoga pants and wade into the murky waters of adolescence, I find that I still pray for myself…..alot.  Wisdom, Jesus.  Patience….loads of it.  Perseverance….I’m just a lil’ tired! But one other prayer has become my bread and butter.  It’s very simple, really. It’s The Great Commandment. (Mt. 22:36-40). I pray this every day for my sons.

Jesus,

I’m begging You,  please let Scott, Ethan, and Jonathan love the Lord their God with all their hearts, souls and minds. And please let this love for You overflow into loving their neighbors as themselves.”

“In short, Father, let my boys do the right thing for the right reason!”

                                                                                              Sincerely,

        Momma Everill

If my precious young men will get this deep down, there’s nothing they can’t do for the Kingdom, and I will have raised strong warriors for the cause of Christ.

What could be better than that?

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But there is also so much pain in the body. So much division. So much distraction. I wonder and fear that we have turned it into something that Jesus did not intend.

It is not my heart to be fatalistic about it, but rather to be one tiny voice that may join with others to sound an alarm or at least to do inventory and make sure we are staying true to Jesus’ New Testament requirements for His church for which He died, and of which He is the head.

Let me say that I’m not talking about going back to home churches, or only having one church for miles like they did in the New Testament. That was a unique time in history. I’m talking about the guts of the church.

And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship,

to the breaking of bread and the prayer.

Acts 2:42

This is the foundation. This verse outlines the priority as the body of Christ.

There is so much to say about this issue. But, in this blog, I just wanted to give you one practical way that you can be of great help to your church.

If our churches are to be healthy, they must have a healthy view of their pastors. He is the shepherd of the flock and is a vital key to keeping God’s church true to the calling of Jesus. In fact, Ephesians 4:11-12 calls him a “gift” to the church to equip the saints. What a high calling!

If you have a pastor that is a faithful teacher of The Word and is a man of integrity and godliness in his daily walk, here are some ways you can help your church by helping him.

1. Understand that he carries a heavy mantle. Any pastor worth his salt feels the full weight of his calling. And by that I mean he feels the seriousness of The Word and that he is accountable to Almighty God that he interprets scripture accurately and faithfully brings that truth to his congregation every time he stands in the pulpit.

Every. Single. Time.

He will have to answer to God in person for how he handled his calling.

This will tend to make him a little serious.

2. Let him study. So often, I think, Christians feel that if their pastor is sequestered in his study with a symbolic “Do Not Disturb Except For Emergency” sign on the door, he is being lazy or introverted. But faithful study of God’s Word takes an immense amount of time out of his daily schedule. Guard his time in The Word.  Let him know that you value his study time as much as he does. You will be so glad you did when you are fed to capacity on Sunday morning.

Recently, I heard my hubs say,

“Let the man of God go up to the mountain of God,

and bring the Word of God down to the people of God.”

Whew!  That gives a whole new meaning to how the pastor views his job.  That time up on the mountain is precious and cannot be rushed.

And this, by the way, means that you have to be willing to work on Sunday mornings. When he takes that pulpit, sweet Christian, to bring it down from the mountain, dig in! Come with your spiritual workout clothes on, ready to do the hard labor it takes to understand scripture and apply it to your life.

Don’t seek to be entertained. Just like you can’t eat cotton candy and expect to be strong physically, you can’t expect that a steady diet of “light” and entertaining sermons will change you spiritually.

Whatever does not challenge you, does not change you.
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 3.  Have a Biblical job description for him. Research what the Bible says a pastor is to do.

Don’t expect from him what the Bible doesn’t.

He is not called to be relevant, to tell stories, to attend every church event, to rush to every bedside or accept every dinner invitation.

Should he do these things? Absolutely! But, hear me, not at the expense of being ready to preach The Word and not at the expense of his family. Because if he is relevant and busy to the point of neglecting scripture and his family, he is disqualified from being a pastor. Check out this link for further study on the qualifications of a godly pastor:

http://www.acts29.com/biblical-qualifications-of-a-pastor/

4.  Accept that he is not perfect. It is not possible for him to always do and say the right thing. He is a saved sinner just like you and he battles with his flesh. He gets tired, grouchy, overwhelmed, confused, sad, etc. Plus, he has many different personalities to try to navigate in his flock. No way is he going to be able to make everyone happy all the time.

Be forbearing and just love him if he flubs up with you. If he loves Jesus, and it’s a true offense on his part, I promise, he is aware when he messes up and will confess it to you and make it right.

5. Put yourself on the receiving end of any critical comment you make to him. Ask yourself why you are saying what you are saying to him.

Is it truly from a heart of love?

Is it godly or self-motivated?

Are you angry?

Do you have his best interest at heart?

When you make a critical comment, he takes it to heart. He lies awake at night wondering if you were right when you said he was boring, or uncaring, or even question whether he should be a pastor.

Those things make a permanent mark.

So, by all means, be a wise counsel to your pastor, go straight to him, no one else, but make sure your words are “seasoned with salt to give grace to the hearer.” (Col.4:6)

And definitely don’t do ANY of this right before he gets up to preach.

6.  Be his friend. Pastoring is very lonely. And I realize it’s a risk, but take the time to really get to know him.

Serious pastors tend to be serious people

So…..it might take a little effort. But try. Give him license not to take himself so seriously. Much of the time, he feels like people look at him and treat him differently because he’s a pastor. And that’s normal, but it’s hard when people keep you at arm’s length because they are afraid to be themselves because the “pastor” is in the room. Or they only come talk to you when they need the pastor side of you.

They rarely get called just to chat or hang out. He is a pastor, but he’s also just a man. He wants to laugh with you and he wants you to let him into your world because you just like him, not because you feel obligated because he’s your pastor.

7. Find every opportunity to encourage him. Let him know you’re “Team Pastor”. Tell him when something he says from the pulpit hits home with you. He lives to see you grow. It brings him the highest joy when he sees Christ being formed in you. Don’t just assume he knows. He might be so discouraged thinking his labor is in vain and one word from you could keep him encouraged enough to keep going.

8.  Love his family. They are his prized possession. He will be so much more free to love his flock if his flock loves his family. Tell his wife how much you appreciate her and him. She is his best cheerleader and if you can keep her encouraged, she’ll keep him encouraged.

Don’t let her feel like Adrian in Rocky sitting in the stands,

watching her husband get beat to death and she is helpless to do

anything about it.

Trust me, this is a serious and white-hot kind of pain for her.

She feels every punch he takes as if she were standing in his place. He is her favorite person, and when he hurts, she feels it profoundly.  Same goes with the kids. Love ‘em. Realize they’re just kids. That whole “well, ya know what they say about pastor’s kids” thing? Don’t even go there.

9. Know that he loves you. He really does. He wakes up thinking about how he can help you grow.

In fact, that’s how he loves you best, by laboring in the Word and prayer so he can

teach you what God says about Himself.

And when you truly know God through His Word, you have ultimate joy. That’s the bullseye for your pastor.

He falls asleep praying for you and your family. He pours out his heart all day in prayer that he might be used to see Christ formed in you. He cries out to God when you lose your job, your child is at death’s door, your marriage is in trouble. He praises the Father when you get that promotion, welcome a new baby, buy that new house. He is infused by the Holy Spirit with a love for you that cannot be measured.

10. Pray for him. #1-9 matter not at all if you don’t pray for him. My pastor-hubs used to tell his congregation.

“If you don’t pray for me,

I might as well quit right now.”

And it’s true. Nothing aside from the Holy Spirit and prayers of the saints can enable a pastor to do his calling. Pray for his strengths. Pray for his weaknesses.

Love him the way you want him to love you

And maybe, just maybe, if your pastor isn’t everything he’s supposed to be, your prayers and encouragement will inspire him to be more.

I stumbled upon this talk from John Piper on Charles Haddon Spurgeon just a few months ago, and it rocked my world completely: Preaching Through Diversity.  I wept almost the entire way through it.

Maybe it’s because I am a pastor’s wife and I feel its truth so profoundly.  But I kept thinking the whole time I was listening to it,  “Oh! I wish the church could hear this!  I wish they knew this about their pastor and could understand just for a moment what it’s like to be in his shoes.”  If you have any time at all, I encourage you to give this a listen. It might give you some invaluable insight and love for your pastor.

And, oh, dear one, consider.  If your pastor fulfills all the mandates given to him in scripture, though he may not be a charmer, hip, savvy, life of the party, cutting edge cool, etc., hold on to him with both hands!

For he is a rare and priceless warrior who will guard your soul against wolves that would seek your harm.

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Every good testimony has 3 components:

1. What your life was like before. Either before salvation or the events leading up to your trial
2. What your experience was. Either salvation or the actual trial.
3. What happened after or how your life has changed since. Either since your salvation or post trial.

If you have never written out your personal testimony of salvation, you should totally try this. Maybe these 3 points will be helpful. And, with a little tweaking, you can even use them to journal a specific time of trial or even joy you experienced with the Lord. It’s an awesome exercise!

And it is right and good to tell of the greatness of the Lord! He’s a worthy muse!

Psalms 89:1 says, “I will sing of the mercies of the Lord forever.  With my mouth will I make known Thy faithfulness to all generations.”

So, go on, girl. Tell that testimony with  joy and with all the umph you can muster.

Write it down so you can turn it over and over again in your hand like a priceless jewel. Marvel at the beauty of its multi-faceted grace. Let it be a reminder of your amazing Savior and how intimately involved He is in the details of your life for your good, yes!

But, ah, much more importantly, for HIS glory! (Romans 8:28)

But sometimes……sometimes that 3rd point of a testimony is as allusive as a long hot bath.

Something happened to me one day while I was speaking at a ladies retreat.

I was teaching about all the attributes of God.  Omniscience, omnipotence, omnipresence, immutability.  All the big hitters.

When I got to the attribute of faithfulness, I began to tell my own testimony. I began with great gusto. Recounting the ways the Lord had been faithful in my life. But as I spoke, right there in front of those beautiful, wide-eyed women, I started to flounder.

I suddenly realized that my testimony did not have a 3rd point! There was only a long, skinned-up story that had bled all over the pages and turned into ragged books that seemed to limp along into raw sequels that never ended.

No 3rd point. No book end.

God had been so faithful to me through the years, but it suddenly occurred to me that I was still in the wilderness, still in the fire.

Many books. No book end.

In that moment, it felt like all the air had been sucked out of that room.

I so much wanted to say, “Oh, ladies! It was so hard, so painful! My journey was rocky and steep! Look at all these tattered books! But here I am on the other side….victorious and grateful for all the Lord taught me! And look at my shiny bedazzled book end! Ta-Dah! It’s over! So hang on in your trial! He will come through for you like He did for me!”

But I couldn’t say that. And as the tears filled my eyes and weariness of the burden set in, I felt so discouraged.

As I finished my Bible study with a fizzle and went back to my room, I cried out, “Lord! When will this be over? Please don’t add any more books to my shelf! I need a book end this time!”

Gently, and in His Abba way, He led me to this passage. Verse 26 is crazy-awesome, so I just threw it in there as frosting.

Wonder what God, “riding through the heavens to my help” looks like. Fierce. Another day, another blog. But my main focus is verse 27.

Deuteronomy 33:26-27a

“There is none like God, O Jeshurun, who rides through the heavens to your help, through the skies in his majesty. The eternal God is your dwelling place, and underneath are the everlasting arms.”

I’ve read it a thousand times. One of my heroines of the faith, Elisabeth  Elliot, used to quote verse 27 on her radio broadcast every day.

But this time the word “underneath” caught my rapt attention. Here I had been begging God for a book end, when He had been my unfaltering shelf  “underneath” supporting me all along.

With everlasting arms, He had held true and strong through every chapter in every book of my life.  I had been focusing on the wrong thing. That pesky 3rd point.

That drooled-over book end.

But is that really the goal? To have the end of our trial? Or is it our suffering Savior’s plan, if He should so desire it, that we suffer sometimes?

In His infinite mind, does He know this secret: that the pain, suffering, and long waiting will serve us extravagantly in our quest to be like Him as it drives us to focus on His strength, His presence, His provision, and His everlasting arms underneath us?

But that’s a whole nuther Bible Study.

Our lives rarely meander gently down the flowery path we hoped for.  And sometimes we are called to live for Jesus in the painful waiting with no book end in sight.

If that’s where you find yourself today……pain, confusion, and ohhhh, the waiting……like 1995 internet dial–up,  I would call you to refocus.

It’s not the book end you’re after, but rather the strong shelf underneath it all that will never fail.  Through your long waiting pain, find your peace and joy knowing that “underneath are the everlasting arms“.

Make no mistake. He is faithful and He will bring an end to the pain we experience. I’m merely nudging you in love…..to covet the Shelf  more than the book end.

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