my pastor's appreciation prayer
I love my church!! In fact, I really love ALL churches that preach the Gospel of Christ and love their community. To be called & empowered to serve Christians and disciple new believers is an amazing blessing to me! So, I find it super weird and totally humbling to have a month, a day or even a conversation where I am honored (as pastor) because it’s a joy to serve the Lord and BE who He wants me to be…
As a pastor, what I would LOVE to experience (instead of any gift...) is a few specific things:
I want to see followers of Christ actually follow Christ. To love Him like He loves them: Heart, Soul, Mind and Strength.
I want to see each of us sign off from our computers and put down our mobile devices and walk out of our house, apartment, office, school, coffee shop or church and actually LOVE our neighbors. To be SO full of Jesus that we spill God's love on everyone we meet.
I want to see God's kids STOP hating and hurting each other. To stop finding things to disagree about. To stop creating monsters out of our mentors when we choose to live less. To refuse one word of gossip and to stop using words like spiritually abused or offended as a license to hurt others and focus on ourselves.
I want to see the Bible become our standard again. For it to be the filter that we process all information, decisions, dreams, philosophies, relationships -- you name it! Let truth BE truth.
I want prayer to be communication with our Father, yes, intimacy with The Almighty! Not routine. Never me focused but, instead, let it be listening more than talking. And, always followed by quick, complete, obedience. May our “amen” be spoken at the end of the day as we now view every conscious moment as time in God’s presence.
I want to see the haters become huggers, the doubters become dreamers, the broken become healers, the liars become leaders, the offended become grace-givers, the worriers become worshippers, the abused become heroes, the loners become leaders, the ripped-off become redeemers, the damaged become devoted, the outcast become over-comers, the jaded become joyful, the selfish become servants and for anyone without Christ to be engulfed in His mercy, grace, salvation, destiny and JOY! BOOM!!
I don't need another coffee mug, wall plaque or applebee's gift card. I want to see the CHURCH, that Jesus set in motion, RISE UP and RETURN to being a community-shaking, Holy Spirit powered, world-changing, enemy-crushing, non-stop-smiling, servant-warrior family who are super courageous and explode with crazy love!
Is this too much to pray for? No. It's possible and I believe it will happen!
I REFUSE to give up on the people God has created and sent me to LOVE. So, I'm going to work harder, pray bigger, serve longer, give greater and love purer than ever before!
Start again in me, Lord! Chilly
Who’s with me? Share something in comments!
*ADAPTED from a previous journal entry written/prayed a few
years ago when I was a lead pastor & church planter in Detroit.
