What is the most powerful, yet least talked about, way every church member can encourage his or her pastor?
Faithful attendance at the church’s gathered worship.
Your consistent commitment to the corporate gathering reveals many different things:
- Your obedience to Hebrews 10:25
- An expectation to meet with God through worship with the body of Christ
- A hunger to hear from God through the preaching of His word
- A hopeful lifting of your gaze off the world and on to Christ
- A delight in fellowship with other brothers and sisters in Christ
- A cherishing of the ordinary means of grace
- A prioritization of the things of God over the things of men
- A treasuring of the primary way God shapes His people into Christlikeness
And all of these things encourage your pastor to faithfulness in his ministry of the word and prayer! It gives him excitement when he prepares a sermon, fervor in his prayer, joy in his shepherding, and longevity in the ministry. And the inverse is true, inconsistent attendance at gathered worship tempts pastors to despair and steals joy from shepherding.
In What is a Healthy Church Member? Thabiti Anyabwile makes a similar point,
Few things are more discouraging or dishonoring to [faithful preachers] than a congregation inattentive to the Word of God. Faithful pastors flourish at the fertile reception of the preached word. They’re made all the more bold when their people give ear to the Lord’s voice and give evidence of being shaped by it. As church members, we can care for our pastors and teachers and help prevent unnecessary discouragement and fatigue by cultivating the habit of expositional listening.
How then, dear church member, are you doing in this area? Is your pattern of attendance one that discourages or encourages your pastor? For the health of your soul and your soul, let it be the latter.