10 Ways to Help Your Pastor (and Help Yourself!)

[These are from some notes I took at a meeting of the Fellowship of Northwest Independent Baptist Pastors in June, 1994.  Dr. Jim Vineyard was the speaker. I recently found them in the flyleaf of one of my old Bibles.]

When you help your pastor, your are helping your church. When you help your church, your are really helping yourself, since you are part of the church. So, do yourself a favor and help your pastor…

1. Treat your pastor with love and respect (1 Thess. 5:12-13).
2. Follow him as he follows Christ (1 Cor. 11:1)
3. Pray for him daily. Praying for your pastor will keep you from being angry or bitter towards him.
4. Obey him in all Scriptural matters (Heb. 13:7, 17).
5. Do not speak against him or listen to those who do (1 Tim. 5:1, 19).
6. Support him financially (1 Tim. 5:17-18).
7. Encourage him. Say, “Amen” while he is preaching.  Tell him when he has helped you. [NOTE: He has probably helped you the most when he has either rebuked you or corrected some error in your life.]
8. Be patient and understanding with him and his family.
9. Stay busy serving the Lord.  It is usually idle people who cause most of the pastor’s problems.
10. Be a blessing to your pastor by bringing souls to Christ and to church.