Pastor Appreciation Month

It's that time of year once again, folks. For more than 30 years, this month has been officially recognized as Pastor Appreciation Month with Pastor Appreciation Day falling on the second Sunday of the month. According to christianitytoday.com, the celebration, originally known as Clergy Appreciation Month, was established by a group of church leaders in 1992 with a mission of uplifting and encouraging pastors, missionaries and religious workers, all of whom do what could easily be considered some of the hardest jobs out there.

The celebration was grounded in these words of Paul to Timothy in 1 Timothy 5:17: "The elders who rule well are to be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who work hard at preaching and teaching."

No matter which sect of Christianity you find yourself in, you undoubtedly have at least some level of regular exposure to some form of clergy. In the vast majority of cases, none of those people will ever make any mention of what this month is, but it's safe to say they've all thought about it. Many feel as though they drown in the sorrows of their congregants while their own sufferings — and even accomplishments — go unnoticed.

As the month enters its second half and begins to come to a close, my tendency to overthink everything has taken over a little bit, once again. As I've mentioned before, my pastor, Brandon, has been much more than a pastor to me for many years. Not only is he one of the best friends I've ever had, if I'm being completely honest, he's more like family. In fact, I've been asked more than once if I was related to him and even though there isn't any known blood relation there, I always think I might as well say yes.

Just a few months after I started attending the church I'm currently heavily involved with, he was preaching a message in which he said something that still sticks with me, even though he said it nine years ago. He looked around the room and said, "This might sound weird, but I love each and every one of you." Well, Brandon, it wasn't weird to me, because I thought the same thing and still do.

Brandon's brother, Nathan, is our associate pastor. One of my favorite activities — aside from giving him a hard time about how it's time for a nap when he's preaching — is when he and I are able to find opportunities to get together and go to the shooting range. Despite him being the less emotional expressive of the pair, I've heard him say similar things to that statement Brandon made early in my time at that church and the feeling is just as mutual on that front.

As much fun as it can be to give him a hard time — that's just how I am when it comes to interacting with my friends — I'd never actually want to or even be able to take a nap when Nathan is the one who's doing the preaching at church. As I told him the last time he did it, I always end up thinking too much to do that. In this case, though, that thinking is a good thing, since it's always about different biblical interpretations than I've heard before or theological concepts in which I may not always be all that well-versed.

Brandon has always had a similar talent, but as should be the case since they're different people, it's always just a little bit different when I listen to Nathan speak. Brandon was the one who first got me started looking into different interpretations of Scripture from those I'd grown up hearing, as well as reading the Bible more in its proper context than I used to and Nathan just helps to amplify that.

I know I've done and said some things over the years that neither Brandon nor Nathan liked and annoyed them in many ways on occasion, but my appreciation for the role they've played in my life can't be understated. I've said it before and I'll say it again: I genuinely don't know where I'd be if I had never come across the church those two men have done so much to lead, but I don't think it's unreasonable to assume I'd likely be dead.

I'm often not that great at expressing myself when I'm not doing it in writing, so I don't think there's much doubt that I fail pretty miserably, at times, when it comes to showing just how much those around me matter and what kind of impact people have on my life. I do, however, still try to make sure I take the opportunities I get to do the best I can, which really is the main purpose of this post.

As many people fail to realize, no pastor or other church staff member ever just works however many days their particular church has services and those two men are certainly no exception. I may not always be the best at showing it, but their efforts and the impacts of those efforts beyond what they can see don't go unnoticed.

I know I'm not alone in many of the sentiments I've expressed here. Many people likely struggle to find appropriate ways to express it, but all but certainly have similar appreciation for their church leaders. If you're among those people, there's no better time like the present. Pray about it, think it over and in whatever way you're led, let your church leaders know what's on your mind and help make this Pastor Appreciation Month a special one.