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What does a strong church look like to you? You might say that it includes a lot of things: community outreach, a missional mindset, Christ-centered teaching, an atmosphere of discipleship and strong leadership. But we should not rely on pastors alone to accomplish these things. As congregants, we also need to do the work of ministry.

As a kingdom of priests (Exodus 19:6), we need to find ways to serve alongside our pastors rather than let them do all of the ministerial work. Here are three ways that we can support them.

Pray

Perhaps this point needs little explanation. Your pastor needs our prayer and our unreserved participation in the joys and the sorrows of the church. None of us has a more important place in the kingdom of God, distinct as our roles may be. In Ephesians 6:18, Paul instructs the church: “… pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people” (NIV).

Pray that your pastor may have great discernment as he opens God’s Word each week and as he seeks to serve in the often demanding and sometimes exhausting life of the church. By regularly praying for our pastors, we not only come to God on their behalf; we also bring to mind the unique challenges that they face and are made more aware of their needs.

Don’t idolize

Most of us would hesitate to admit that we have ever made an idol out of our pastor. It’s usually very subtle (although, I did hear of a case were church members became outraged when a new pastor attempted to remove his predecessor’s picture from the wall of his office). Idolization of a pastor can start to take shape when we hold the pastor’s words above or equal to Scripture. This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t respect your pastor – you absolutely should. Respect is not the same as idolization.

Why do we idolize? It’s the tendency of our fallen human nature. Pastors can be great, and after all, if all we had to do is listen to them and have a good relationship with them, the Christian life would be a little easier. Yet clearly damage is done when we place anything before the Gospel. We know this to be true when it comes to other “idols” in our lives: money, sex, power, family, etc. Though it may be entirely unintended, church leaders can also be a dangerous idol if our hearts are not fixed on Christ.

Take Initiative

Initiative is important. I say this to challenge myself as much as anyone else, since it can be difficult to be the first one to step up when a need arises. It’s so much easier to let the pastor direct all outreach, service and discipleship connected with the church. However, it is quite possible that pastors would be able to function best when their parishioners are willing to step up to the plate without being asked. If you have a gift – and we all do – you shouldn’t need a special invitation or permission to use it.

Working together

From beginning to end, the Bible is a story about God and His people. Yes, there were key individuals along the way, but there were never alone. Moses had Aaron to speak for him, Jonathan humbly acknowledged David’s kingship, Joseph stayed by Mary’s side and the Philippians gave money so that Paul could minister to others. These people cared little about their own gain or the status of the people they were associated with. Instead, they acted together and did what they could for the kingdom. In that same spirit, we ought to support our pastors by living out our roles in the kingdom that Jesus described as being, “in your midst.” Luke 17:21b (NIV).

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