Tri-Cities Baptist Church

 
It’s one thing (and often a difficult thing) to find a new pastor.  It’s something quite different to “get” a new pastor.  So many expectations exist.  How is he like the last guy?  What will he do about my priorities?  Does he like what I like?  What will change in my area of interest?  What do we have in common?  How will he click with my friends?  The list of questions and expectations is endless.  
 
The church leader Paul wrote to the church at Thessalonica, “But we request of you, brethren, that you appreciate those who diligently labor among you, and have charge over you in the Lord and give you instruction, and that you esteem them very highly in love because of their work.  Live peaceably with one another”—1 Thessalonians 5: 12-13.
 
Here are a few suggestions about how you can “get” your new pastor:
 
1.      Know him.

Paul used the word “appreciate” which means to perceive or to know.  You value your pastor when you take an interest in him as an individual and discover who God has made him to be.  This takes time, but that means you take that time…that you are patient to get to know him.

 
2.      Support him.

A pastor “diligently labors” which means that he works to the point of fatigue.  Leading a church often requires intense work and long hours.  It is a high calling, but it is also a heavy calling.  So like Aaron and Hur held up the arms of Moses, take responsibility to support your pastor practically and prayerfully.  When you do, you will be sure to better “get” him and the personal calling that is on his life.

 
3.      Submit to him.

God has established pastors as leaders who give “charge over you in the Lord.”  It is the believer’s responsibility to honor the role of the pastor and then to use their own gifts and calling within the body of Christ under the pastors leadership.  This divine order allows the church to avoid confusion and distractions from her mission.

 
4.      Learn from him.

Leaders emerge in order to challenge the status quo.  You need pastors to “give you instruction.”  There are things you need to learn, areas in which you need to grow, and skills you need to develop.  And God brings pastors into our lives in order to teach us.  You will “get” your pastor when you begin to apply what he teaches.  
 
5.      Celebrate him.

No one suggests emperor worship here, but Paul commands you to “esteem them (pastors) very highly in love.”  To “get” your pastor, you are commanded to think highly of him because of his work.  You are to believe the best about him.  While leaders are often viewed with suspicion, the follower of Christ honors his or her pastor because of his work.  The office of pastor is not a job or a career path; it is a calling.  And personal preferences never justify disrespect or disloyalty.

 
How do you get a new pastor?  You become the kind of Christian that honors God by honoring the call of God on your pastor’s life.  
 
Question:  How do you intend to “get” your new pastor?  I’d love your comments.