Pastor Appreciation Sunday... Month....Year

One of the most influential people in my young life, other than my own dad, was a former pastor named HJ Eckelmann. Pastor Eck, as he was called, was a headstrong man who knew the Holy Bible (aka Scripture), as well as anyone I have met since those formative years. He preached with an enthusiasm and surety that came from studying at Faith Theological Seminary, this after he acquired much knowledge in his other field - electrical engineering. His premise was that men came to faith in Jesus Christ in an intelligent way, not by stupidity and misinformation. He loved the scientific world and often had illustrations that bore that out. He personally knew and debated with Carl Sagan, along with many men of anti-God sentiments.

I appreciate that God led me before I had any choice in the matter, to a solid and sound church base that taught me the Truth. God's Word is Truth. Pastor Eck preached God's Word.

After college I had the opportunity to attend this same church with my Brasilian born and Seminary bound husband and young children for a time, and I found Eck to be still preaching the Truth, but not necessarily abiding by the whole counsel of God.  My husband and I left for Seminary ourselves so that a decision as to whether or not to stay under his ministry was taken out of our hands , again in the providence of God.

My own husband, David,  became my Pastor in following years, and we enjoyed many years of serving God and His Church together. In Scripture the passage in I Timothy, written by the apostle Paul, is key to my basis for evaluating 'goodness' in my pastor.
It reads: 1 Timothy 3:1-7 (New International Version)

1 Timothy 3

Overseers and Deacons

 ¹Here is a trustworthy saying: If anyone sets his heart on being an overseer, he desires a noble task. ²Now the overseer must be above reproach, the husband of but one wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, ³not given to drunkenness, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. ⁴He must manage his own family well and see that his children obey him with proper respect. ⁵(If anyone does not know how to manage his own family, how can he take care of God's church?) ⁶He must not be a recent convert, or he may become conceited and fall under the same judgment as the devil. ⁷He must also have a good reputation with outsiders, so that he will not fall into disgrace and into t

Another version reads:

1 Timothy 3:1-7 (The Message)

1 Timothy 3

Leadership in the Church

 ^1-7If anyone wants to provide leadership in the church, good! But there are preconditions: A leader must be well-thought-of, committed to his wife, cool and collected, accessible, and hospitable. He must know what he's talking about, not be overfond of wine, not pushy but gentle, not thin-skinned, not money-hungry. He must handle his own affairs well, attentive to his own children and having their respect. For if someone is unable to handle his own affairs, how can he take care of God's church? He must not be a new believer, lest the position go to his head and the Devil trip him up. Outsiders must think well of him, or else the Devil will figure out a way to lure him into his trap.

I saw this section of Scripture rather disrespected by my husband in the year 2001, as he chose to be uncommitted to his wife(me) and our children. So I left his church,even before he did.

I find myself hesitant to give accolades to pastors much, having witnessed many men failing in this area. As an older and experienced church goer, I know that men will be men, sins will defile them, and their faithfulness to God will oftentimes take a back seat to their self motivating desires.

What to do then, with Pastor Appreciation Sunday?
Gifts and cards and words of appreciation are superficial at best. A gift can be opened and used, a card can be discarded after left out for all to see for a week or so.

My last two Pastors have failed me and my family quite miserably.  A friend recently wondered aloud, after she heard more of my interesting story, how it was I stayed 'in religion' after a particularly bad part of the story about a church taking me to court when my husband abandoned us.  It really was exciting to tell her that I followed God's Son,  Jesus Christ, not religion, and He has never failed me!

Today, my church -Heritage Presbyterian Church in New Castle , Delaware- celebrated  Pastor Appreciation Month, with a luncheon. I needed to make a decision on how to show my appreciation to Dr. Rev. Doug Perkins and Rev. Glenn Evans. These two men share the pulpit and ministry.

I have known Doug for 8 years, almost the same amount of time since I left my former church. His character has been watched by me , often scrutinized, to make sure he was worthy of honor, worth listening to every Sunday morning, believable to a skeptical former Pastor's wife.
He has shown such enthusiasm and love for his Savior, Jesus Christ, that I was drawn in by this Pastor friend even when I did not want to be.

I have not known Glenn as long, our former church All Nations Fellowship  led by Doug, merged with his church about 3 years ago. What I see and hear from Glenn, however, is a genuine knowledge of and love for God's Holy Word. Glenn preaches in a manner that motivates, by Truth. He tells us what we need to hear from God's Word, not necessarily what we want to hear! His sermons are filled with real life situations and followed by Scriptural admonitions. He is warm and caring and has proven to be worthy of respect.

I have two special friends who are also Pastors and I need to say that because of their friendship and faithfulness over the years, I am able to know that God uses many people in our lives to accomplish His purposes. These men have influenced my children and I am sure of their genuineness. I appreciate you, Dave Robinette and and Bob Lacock for your servant's hearts through the years.

Finally, there is one more passage of Scripture that I feel demands attention as I thank and appreciate my Pastors and their wives. It is found in I Peter.

1 Peter 5:2-4 (New King James Version)

² Shepherd the flock of God which is among you, serving as overseers, not by compulsion but willingly, not for dishonest gain but eagerly; ³ nor as being lords over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock; ⁴ and when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that does not fade away.

The best gift of all is going to be theirs, the gift will come from their Boss, Jesus Christ : the crown of Glory that will not fade away.

The Beauty of Community

There are 365 days in a year, 24 hours in a day and 60 minutes in an hour....and yesterday, in 240 minutes, my home was rejuvenated by community. This particular community was a small sampling of the Church in action, and I am still thanking and praising God for each of them!

There were two teen neighbors, two ladies from my local church, and eight total strangers, with two other people who I never talked to that dropped in to work for an hour.

Since 2001 when my husband left and my children had children making them very busy people, my home has had various things get old and worn. Everyone has this particular trouble because we even call it "the problem with owning your own home is....". Well, at church recently I was approached and asked if I could use some help because there was a mission team going to Russia this summer and they needed practice working together.
After assuring them I had no money to contribute to this worthy cause, they assured me that they were just trying to follow the command of Jesus Christ in helping the widows and fatherless. My husband abandoning us makes me a virtual widow and my youngest sons sound asleep in their bedrooms reminded me they were fatherless...so I accepted.

Community, a group of people gathering together to accomplish a single purposeful action, WOW. At 9:00 am they arrived bearing cups of half drunk coffee, unloaded their coolers of food(they brought lunch and snacks), and got to work. First, I snapped a picture to remind myself of God's Goodness when I am feeling lousy. This particular thankless attitude happens more often than I care to admit, and I am working on curing the beast.

Two people grabbed window washing rags, four people headed upstairs to my hall which had not been painted in eleven years of owning this home, two other lovely ladies began scraping the front porch to paint as two young men grabbed the power washer to remove something green and growing all over my deck! Suddenly two more people arrived, never said a word and started weeding the flower beds!!

God had His kind and thoughtful ways of encouraging us all too! As the day, previously threatening rain and a cold front, surprisingly became a sunny, warm, glorious experience of Spring at its finest!

Four hours later, as if by magic, but most definitely by hard labor and good attitudes of service, my HOME was renewed!! Upstairs hallway sparkling with new light green walls(we decided it was a celery color that was on sale in an unmarked can),front porch glowing in the sun, flower beds ready to plant fowers instead of growing the weeds that were there, windows able to be seen through clearly, and back deck actually made of Wood, not mold!!

I was in shock and filled with a sense of Wonder that God could throw together by Divine Design, a group of strangers, forming a Community of Help and point them in my direction for 1/6 of a day! The accomplishments were astounding and I was speechless.

The icing on this very rich cake of kindness, was the sitting down and eating of a yummy lunch prepared, shared and provided by my caring community. We talked and relaxed and they felt like friends gathering for a light lunch after a day at the beach.

Oh, and after everyone left, the house sparkled, and I had showered, I walked out to my front porch and there, sitting in place as if they had always been around, were five(5!)mysteriously appearing and blooming potted, hanging plants!!

Our God is an awesome God! Community is an awesome concept! and I am a thankful woman!