I attend a large church, and we have some extraordinary pastors. Having been a pastor’s wife years before, I realized one day that praying for my pastor should be a top responsibility of a church member. My thought was If I want my pastor to encourage me in God’s Word, I need to keep him in my prayers. I resolved to make this commitment for the rest of my days, until Jesus comes.
In a town a few hours away is a church I sometimes visited with relatives. There was a new pastor taking over, after the previous one had moved to another district. At first the new pastor was making some inroads with the church family. But soon it became obvious there was a reason this man moved around often. His people skills lacked. At least that’s what many began to think. People were becoming offended, creating whisper campaigns, taking sides, and calling the conference office to complain.
I visited the church one Thanksgiving, and the tension could have cut the turkey even though we had already eaten it two days before. Instead, we had pastor for lunch. I tried to doze a little as my husband and his aunt discussed the church drama. Then his aunt began to tell us her story.
In frustration she had called the previous pastor to complain about the new one. After she voiced her concerns, her pastor friend gently redirected her thoughts.
“Do you want the conference office to do something about him?” he asked kindly.
“They must! The church will dissolve if this guy continues these antics. Already several families are making plans to leave. He’s offensive to visitors, doesn’t care about . . . ”
“So what are you going to do about it?” the pastor interrupted.
“I don’t know,” she replied. “That’s why I’m calling you.”
The pastor became quiet for a moment. Then he spoke.
I found myself praying more for my heart problem than his.
“Here’s what I want you to do. Until something changes, you are to spend an hour every day praying for your pastor. Specifically: ‘God, change his heart or have him leave.’ Oh, and while you are doing that, ask God to change your heart as well.”
The aunt paused for a moment.
“So what happened?” my husband asked.
She took a breath and replied, “I began doing this hour prayer time every day. At first it was hard. I couldn’t stand the man. But over time I began to understand why I’d been given this assignment. I honestly thought the man would change. He didn’t. In fact, it got worse . . . so bad the conference representatives began to get involved. Shady things financially began to crop up. The pastor’s bully tactics could no longer be masked. He was making the wrong people angry. Meanwhile, my own feelings began to change. I hurt for his embarrassed wife and adult children. Worse, I saw reflections of my own sullied attitudes, and God asked me to address myself. I found myself praying more for my heart problem than his. Then out of nowhere it was announced that the pastor would be leaving, immediately—early retirement or something. And he was gone.”
God Comes Near
With this story as a backdrop, for several years I have chosen to pray for my pastor, though not necessarily to get rid of him, but to encourage him. Early in this endeavor I had stayed late after Tuesday evening Bible study to spend time with God. Just before I left to head home, I remembered I hadn’t yet prayed for my pastoral team. I stepped back to the front of the sanctuary, to the left side of the rostrum under the stained glass. My prayer for my senior pastor went something like this:
“God, this coming weekend at church, I want to hear from You. I want You to be so physically present, I want Pastor Jerry to recognize this. In fact, in front of the entire congregation, as You affirmed Moses, I want You to come alongside Pastor Jerry, put Your arm around his shoulders and remind him how much You love him, how much You value him, how much he is worth to You. Do this for me, please.”
Then I left.
The remainder of the week I didn’t think about the Tuesday night prayer, until I was sitting in the church service on Sabbath. The sermon ended, or so I thought, when suddenly Pastor Jerry stepped back from the pulpit, put his left arm in the air as though he was giving a shoulder hug to someone, and said strongly, “It’s as if God comes alongside me, puts His arm around my shoulders, and reminds me how much He loves me, how much He values me, how much I am worth to Him.” As he spoke, he walked back and forth across the platform in front of all of us, his arm still held in the air.
I was stunned. I could hardly move. I could hardly breathe. Even as I write this, my heart beats rapidly. To date, it was the most amazing moment I have ever witnessed. I hold it close to my heart, as God holds His pastors close to His.
