Pastor Appreciation Month

It's that time of year once again. 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 from 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.

I'm not trying to attack anyone with this statement, but I know it would be incredibly naive, at best, to even consider the possibility that most people out there aren't guilty of taking their church leaders for granted and not even really considering what they might be going through, at least to some degree. I know I am. The thing is, though, it's never too late to rectify that and this month is as good a time as any to do it.

And rectifying my portion of that problem is exactly what I intend to do right now. I've written about my pastors, Brandon and his brother, Nathan, before in a few different ways and for a few different reasons. Yes, they're spiritual leaders and two of the foundational pieces in the workings of our local assembly of the Church, but they're also so much more than that. They're my brothers.

They're not literally my brothers since there's no relation by known bloodlines, but they're definitely about as close as it gets for me. I don't necessarily get to spend as much time around them as I might like sometimes since I know how much work it takes to do their jobs and how busy that means their days can be, but when I do see or hear from either one of them, the love and care one would expect from family is always there. I might not always be very good at expressing it, but I couldn't be more appreciative of that knowledge, especially recently.

As many already know, I recently came out of a nearly year-long battle with a pretty severe medical issue that affected and pretty much completely put a stop to nearly every aspect of my life, including my writing. Throughout that entire ordeal, even when I let my situation and the mental toll my physical struggles were taking on me get to me and didn't do a very good job of showing anything that might be considered a loving or positive attitude, both of them were still there with the same encouragement and love they've always shown me. At each step of my treatment, not only did I know they were both there if I needed anything, but both Brandon and Nathan never failed to request, almost demand, updates on how things were going and how I was feeling.

And not only that, when it was finally over, they were both at least as eager as I was to celebrate my recovery, just as they have been in every other instance of struggle I've encountered over the last ten years. And trust me, for those who don't know, that's been a lot. As much as I'd like to forget some of it, those instances are likely to always remain ingrained in my mind. If I'm really being honest, a simple, "Thank you," for everything they've done and continue to do feels like it will never be enough, but that and making sure they know how much I love them like the family I see them as will have to suffice, I suppose.

Their impact on my life and the church/congregation they put so much effort into leading cannot be understated. It truly is indescribable, how much of an impact those two men have on so many lives and I know my situation is not unique. I know there are countless people out there who share similar sentiments about their church leaders and if that's you, as the old saying goes, there's no time like the present. Just take a minute and let them know. You can't possibly anticipate just how impactful it might be.