Your Pastor Needs Your Help This Sunday

“Pastor, we are out of paper towels in the lady’s room.”

It was Sunday morning and I was walking from my office to the sanctuary. I had just spent the last hour in prayer and sermon review in final preparation for the service. My mind was focused. I had a word from God.

“Are you the kind of person who points out things that are wrong, or are you the kind of person who fixes them?”

A slight pause...

“Where do we keep the paper towels?”

“Thank you. In the closet at the end of the hall.”

There’s an account in Exodus of a battle taking place where we find this passage;
“As long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites were winning, but whenever he lowered his hands, the Amalekites were winning. When Moses’ hands grew tired, they took a stone and put it under him and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur held his hands up-one on one side, one on the other-so that his hands remained steady till sunset.” Exodus 17:11-12

Your Pastor needs your help this Sunday. Your Pastor needs your help every Sunday. Your Pastor needs someone to hold up their arms. Here’s a few tips.

Pray

Pray for your Pastor during the week. Pray for your Pastor before church. Pray for your Pastor while they are preaching. Prayer is powerful, and spiritual warfare is going on during church. When I first began preaching the exhaustion of the service perplexed me a bit. I had always been thoroughly involved in church, so what had changed? I realized that much of it was spiritual. Most preaching is prophetic, and a battle is taking place. Be sure you’re lifting your Pastor up in prayer.

Serve

Church works best when everyone is doing their part. Get involved. If someone asks you what your role is in the church you should be able to answer the question. “I keep this seat warm,” isn’t a good answer.

Don’t Bring Things Up Before Church Unless They Are Truly Urgent

“Pastor, I need to speak with you.”

“Is this urgent? Church is about to begin.”

“It is.”

We walked down the hall. Turns out the urgent issue was the individual didn’t like how someone had spoken to their sibling.

That’s not urgent. This was a conversation that could have easily taken place after church. Most conversations can take place after church. Your Pastor is focused on the service before church. An encouraging word in those moments is perfect. Venting because the choir didn’t set the chairs back the way they were in your classroom after their Saturday rehearsal isn’t urgent. Should they put things back the way they found them? Absolutely. Do you need to have this conversation with your Pastor right before service? Absolutely not.

If your Pastor has served for years they’ve heard everything from,

“Just wanted to let you know this is our last Sunday,” to,

“The light bulb blew in our SS room,” to,

“Last Sunday you said II Chronicles instead of II Corinthians,” to,

“There are a lot of guests today. I hope you have a good sermon this week,” to,

a thousand other things that didn’t need to be said before church. 

Your Pastor doesn’t need their mind filled with other things before church.

Write It Down

Don’t expect your Pastor to remember things you tell them on Sunday. Too many people are telling them too many things. When people tell me things on Sundays I’ve learned to say, “Please text me this later or send me an email as a reminder. I won’t interpret it as you nagging me. I will appreciate being reminded.”

Let Your Pastor Know If You Will Be Away

Don’t let your Pastor look out and wonder where you are. A quick text during the week of, “Working this Sunday, I’ll be praying for the church,” will be greatly appreciated.

Encourage Your Pastor

Let them know you appreciated the word. Depending on your church’s culture offer affirmation during the sermon. Wave a hanky, give an “Amen,” offer a good Baptist nod. Let them know you’re with them.

No one wants church to go well as much as your Pastor does, but you can help make it happen. I love the local church and I love Pastors. The preacher on TV may seem exciting, but it’s your local church that is impacting your community. It’s your local Pastor who is praying for you, and who will be there for you and your family in times of need. Work together to make your church great this and every week.

Following the Son,

James A Williams