THE GREATEST PASTOR APPRECIATION GIFT EVER!
Editor’s Note: October is Pastor Appreciation Month. There are many ways to celebrate the ministries that pastors are doing in Alliance churches. The following story is one way a congregation said thanks to its leader when he needed it the most.
I was in the darkness between “overwhelmed” and “burned out,” a heavy place where a pastor takes on burdens only Jesus can lift. The board and I had just finished meticulously going through the church’s bylaws. We had measured every word, discussed and argued the issues and eventually voted on them. I was also trying to finish my ordination at the same time we were developing new ministries within the church and considering selling our building. Did I mention that baby number six was on the way?
Thankfully, I had good leadership with me in the church. While I was busy wondering if I was cut out to be a pastor, my church was busy praying—for me! That is when the floodgates opened, and I received what I consider “The Greatest Pastor Appreciation Gift Ever!” It gave me a greater understanding of Scripture, a greater passion for my Savior and a greater love for my people!
Name That Place
The gift came at the end of a Sunday morning service. One of the elders stood up after the final prayer and invited the congregation to “stay and play a game.” I trusted this elder, so I did not stop him, but I considered it! The game was called “Name That Place.” Two men were picked to play along with me. The first two pictures projected onto the video screen were generic—they could have come from anywhere in the world! When asked to “name that place,” I could not do it. The other two men, of course, gave the correct answers. I was given another chance—this time for the grand prize. A picture of the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem was projected on the screen, and I guessed correctly.
My wife came forward with a yarmulke (Jewish skull cap) and some shekels. I thanked her as everyone clapped, but I did not realize that “Round Trip, All Expenses Paid Trip to the Holy Lands” was flashing on the screen behind me. The elder asked me to turn around and read what I won. I wept. The entire trip was paid for by people who love me and wanted to invest in me as a pastor, friend or family member! I was, and still am, completely amazed and thankful for this gift.
A Better Understanding
I had no idea how this trip would change me. I have always had questions about certain things in Scripture: I never really understood the significance of the Tabernacle or how David could have seen Bathsheba while he was walking around the palace. I didn’t know how everyone entered the Temple or about the amazing connection between Mount Moriah and Calvary—until I was in the land where it all happened!
As I knelt where the shekinah glory of God was manifested for 369 years in Shiloh, I was struck by its significance to the New Testament. The trip to Shiloh has changed how I look at passages like John 14:6, in which Jesus said that He is “the way, the truth, and the life.” These were the names of the entrances into the Tabernacle. Jesus went on to say that “no one comes to the Father except through me.” His statement would have made perfect sense to the first century hearer, but the meaning of His words has been lost through changes in culture.
Our group stopped 200 yards from the site of David’s palace, and I understood how this king was able to see into the yard of everyone in his kingdom. I stood on the southern steps of the Temple where Jesus was dedicated and where He entered into the Temple to worship with friends and family. I was overwhelmed with the realization that only time separated me from my Savior.
In Israel, I understood Jesus like never before! I saw Him as a Jewish rabbi leading a group of men who were thirsty for the Scriptures. I followed His path near Bethlehem to Nazareth to Capernaum to Jerusalem. I smelled the sea and tasted the food. For a moment, I looked eagerly past the hill in front of me expecting to see my Jesus wave His hand as if to say, “Come and follow Me!”
I sat with teachers of the law in Jerusalem and heard them say that they “expect the third temple to be built today. If it’s not built today, then it will definitely be built tomorrow. If not tomorrow, then it will absolutely be built by the end of the week!” I sensed the Spirit say, “Do you expect Me like they expect the Temple?” Now I tell our church during Communion that “He is coming again! Probably today. If not today, then tomorrow, but certainly by the end of the week!”
Many people asked for me to tell them about my trip. “It is like walking through a desert and needing a drink,” I said. “Once I got out of the desert, all I could find was a fire hydrant. I wanted all of the water, but I could not drink it all in—but I tried!”
Invest in Your Pastor
The church members loved hearing what God had done with their investment—me! I looked on the people with fresh eyes. I saw them perhaps as Jesus saw them, and I loved them better than I had in the past. They did not buy my affection. They prayerfully saw my struggles, and they invested in me. The bylaws did not matter as much, new ministries were not as tiring, selling our building was secondary and ordination was not the great burden that it had been. The dark place shined, and the heavy place was light!
It is not fair for me to speak of “The Greatest Pastor Appreciation Gift Ever” and not give you an opportunity to bless your own pastor! I am taking a group of pastors to Israel in January 2010. This trip will allow Alliance churches to make an investment that will empower a pastor to have a greater understanding of Scripture, a greater passion for his Savior and a greater love for his congregation. Perhaps you can’t send your pastor at this time, but you want to invest in another pastor. Please do! Several churches have had to decline this trip for their pastor because of financial limitations.
For more information, contact me, Ken White, at 307-577-1847 or e-mail me at pastor@casperalliance.org. The meal is ready. I invite your pastor to come and eat!
Ken White is the lead pastor of the Casper (Wyo.) Alliance Church.
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My dear dear brother in Christ. Oh how I loved your relating of what your congregation and your friends did for you. . . .and also how you soaked it up like a sponge.
We also loved seeing you and Cindy at council in Lousiville back in May.
You are in our prayers, as always, and it’s fun to see some of them answered.
As you mentioned the dark place that you were dwelling in those days before your Elders poured out their and the congregation’s love on you, I was taken back to an afternoon at Nowthen. An afternoon when I had the privilege to pray with you and talk with you for several hours. It was a pretty dark and heavy time then also. It probably was the first time I unloaded my little ‘Rhino’ story on you. God is so GOOD, and God is ALWAYS GOOD!!!
Love you Brother,
bob
Excellent job Kenny! Some day, God willing!
Wow! What an awesome and truly life changing experience for you! Experiences like these are a wonderful way for people to learn and grow. I’m glad you were given the opportunity!
What an amazing heartfelt article. I think this article would be very beneficial for other pastors and church members to have access to through the Alliance Magazine. I admit this article certainly makes me think, I would love to be able to send my pastor on a “once in a life time’ trip like Kenny’s church did.
Please consider publishing this article in a future magazine. I think many will find blessings through it!
Awesome story and what a great gift that was given and a great challenge to other churches out there to show their pastor their appreciation no matter how big or small.
God is awesome Ken! What an experience that can only come at least once in a lifetime, and I hope that more of us can explore Jesus’s actual footsteps in the Holy Lands and to breath his breathe!
This article is great. As a minister’s wife myself, I understand how sometimes you wonder if it is really worth it. I am so glad that your church decided to invest in you and that you came back with a new outlook. I think that sometimes churches take the ministers for granted and they just think that it’s your job and you are supposed to do all this. People do not realize how hard ministry can be and that it is not just a job there is so much involved. Sometimes it feels like you have the weight of the world on your shoulders. I hope that churches really think about and pray for their ministers and will at least send them a note of encouragement not only in October but through out the whole year..
Holly Requardt
I read this article today and was really blessed by the content. Being a former pastor myself, I completely understand the need for a congregation to be behind you in what you do. As a pastor there are definite times of hardship and pastor appreciation is a way to simply say thanks. There gift is unheard of in today’s church. Usually the thanks we get is people complaning and passively passing judgment on everything we do. I think an article such as this, should be in the actual publication vs. only online. Many could learn from this.
Kenny…..to see that HUGE smile on your face in the pictures says it all!!! Amazing church family you have. To see a need in their pastor and then do something about it! You are truly blessed!!! Keep up the great work!
Wow. I appreciate how this comes out of a pastor’s appreciation gift. Not because I believe Pastor Ken deserved recognition, but because I believe as the body of Christ we are to support and encourage each other—A call that we often forget to extend to those in leadership; we forget that while their role in the body is more visible it is not more important. Jesus came and modeled serving one another. And through the serving of Pastor Ken, he was blessed with renewed joy and excitement over serving others. It is stories like this that remind me what it means to be a part of the body of Christ.
Ken’s great article has rekindled the memory of a trip to Israel I took in 1982. Although I was only there a week, it was definitley worth a year of seminary. What a thoughtful and loving church to do this for their pastor!
We have known two pastors to go to Israel under these circumstances, and the result was the same. Fresh fire and renewed passion! I highly recommend sending your pastor!
To bad this article was not in the printed magazine – many will miss the blessing of reading it!
I read with considerable interest Pastor Kenny White’s article about a Pastor’s greatest appreciation gift ever.
I think it has a lot of relevance to lay people across our denomination. So often lay people with good intentions want to show the Pastor how much they love, support and appreciate him, but they too often get trapped in small thinking. Obviously, the members of Casper Alliance Church not only were sensitive enough to see the need, they also rose to the challenge.
In Pastor Kenny’s case, they felt the ‘fix’ was pretty big, so they prayed big, and ultimately reached out beyond their doors, and amazingly, God answered them in ways they weren’t expecting. This was not only a very good and healthy thing for Pastor White, but the congregation grew in ways they had not anticipated as they moved forward, welded together in a cause bigger than themselves.
I would encourage any congregation to read this article, that clearly tells of the healing and of the joy that this kind of support can convey to a struggling Pastor.
Pastor’s can and do at times feel very alone, and what a blessing it can be to have this kind of love poured on them by their flock.
I love the part in which you say, “He is coming again! Probably today. If not today, then tomorrow, but certainly by the end of the week!”
It’s so awesome and encouraging to think that Jesus is coming back…soon! Like, in a minute or so. But definitely soon. So we are called and reminded to be ready, to be living wholly for Him! Because if He doesn’t come back in our lives, He’ll come back in our kids’ lives, so what kind of legacy are we leaving? I hope it’s one of living a life of love for Christ in total anticipation of His return! I love it.
Thanks for sharing your heart! God is good!! Pastor Kenny, it’s really cool to see how God is using you powerfully still :) Thanks for investing in people all over the world, like me! What would we do without pastors who love God and their people like you do?
Hello,
I want to start by saying that I wish I could have been apart of this. I have known Pastor Kenny(PK)and his family for alittle over two years now. I am so excited that I am learning from the after shock of this trip.
Okay when I read the article I felt as if I was there. I know that it seems weird, but I can’t wait for the time that God says I get to go to the Holy Land. I know that PK put alot into this and it is a blessing form me to read and knowing PK as I do I know that he will be a blessing.
Blessings
Kenny,
Thank you for sharing this event. Your church bestowed upon you a great gift. As I was reading through your article, I was noting how it was much more than a physical gift – it was also a spiritual gift. Although the gift was free and available to you, it was still up to you to accept, experience, understand and learn from it – all of which you did to the fullest. I think that it is great that brothers and sisters in Christ provided you with an opportunity to draw closer to God through experiencing a physical and spiritual journey. It is also great that you are now able to take and share with them the gifts that you have received – they can now partake of your filled cup.
WOW! Thanks for all of the kind comments. I really appreciate them. God is so good to us! Even if none of us get to go to Jerusalem in Israel one day we will all gather in the New Jerusalem!