“Hey honey, I’m going to Texas,” said a man to his wife one Friday night. “Carl here knows where there’s a preacher stuck on the side of the road. We’re going to get him.”
The wife, who knew their small Baptist church in Mississippi was without a pastor, gave her husband a puzzled look as he ran out the door.
By the way, I was that preacher.
My wife and I made a trip to M.D. Anderson Medical Center in Houston, Texas, to visit a member having major cancer surgery. On the way home, the alternator went out on our van, somewhere between Houston and Beaumont.
The local repair shop couldn’t get the part until Monday, so I called my deacon Carl, who had our kids at his house.
“Rent a trailer to haul the van. Get a motel room and get some sleep. I’m bringing my pickup truck to come get you, and you need some rest so you can drive home when I get there.”
With that, he went to see his friend who went to the church without a pastor.
“Y’all still looking for a preacher? I know where there’s a preacher broken down on the highway. Wanna help me get him?”
Of course, he went on to explain that this preacher was already taken, but his friend still agreed to help. So they made the trip that night, arriving after midnight in Texas, and then I drove across the Louisiana swampland in the wee hours of the morning as we came home.
What amazing things some people will do for their preacher (or was Carl just tired of keeping my kids at his house?).
October is Pastor Appreciation Month. You may never have to go to Texas in the middle of the night to rescue your pastor, but you may need to speak up for him when he receives unfair criticism, or just encourage him to take his day off and get some rest from time to time.
My congregation has been very kind to me during this month, and I can tell you that it means a lot. Take time to tell your pastor and other ministers who serve your church how much you appreciate them.
As the apostle Paul reminds us, “The elders who are good leaders should be considered worthy of an ample honorarium, especially those who work hard at preaching and teaching” (1 Timothy 5:17, HCSB).
(Copyright 2013 by Bob Rogers. Email: brogers@fbcrincon.com. Read this column each Friday in the Herald. Visit my blog at www.bobrogers.me.)
