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"Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit."
(Matthew 28:19, ESV)
It is an honor to get to write another devotional for my friend Danny Forshee. My wife and I run a ministry for pastors called "Take 5 Ministries". We host pastors (and pastor's wives) on a three-day gifted retreat where we allow them some rest, relaxation, fun, and great conversation. On the retreat, we also have a roundtable discussion on areas critical to pastors. We talk about the following topics:
- Love for the Lord
- Love for their Spouse
- Love for their Children
- Love for their Church
- Love for their Community
These five areas come from Matthew 22: 36-40. The emphasis is on Love for the Lord; without this crucial element in pastors’ lives, the rest are hard to achieve. We have done close to fifty of these retreats and are blessed by all of the relationships we have with pastors.
Today I will tell you the ultimate way (in my opinion) to bless and encourage your pastor. Yesterday I told you to tell your pastor a specific area of their sermon that you enjoyed. Today we will take that one step further.
If you really want to encourage your pastor, tell them one area of their sermon from last week (or in the recent past) that you acted on, and tell them the outcome. A change in your life that you made, a conversation you had in your daily life, or even a particular sermon illustration that you have lived out: all of these areas will encourage your pastor greatly. They will know that you were listening and were willing to take action from their sermon. Our scripture today is Matthew 28: 19: "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit." This verse is often called "The Great Commission" and is one of the pillars of our Christian faith. We are called by God to take part in three main things:
- Share Christ with people.
- Help people grow in the wisdom and knowledge of the life Christ has for them
- Worship Christ with other Christ-followers
The Lord will be honored, and your pastor will be incredibly blessed by actions you take in your daily life which center around these three things.
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