A Better Pastor

There is a story of a pastor who faithfully preached for several years at a small church and intimately knew the entire congregation. One Sunday morning as he left his study and walked towards the sanctuary to preach, he noticed something new on the bulletin board – in large, bold letters it read “Do you want a better pastor?” and below he saw many signatures… he recognized many of the signatures as his closest and dearest friends in the church. It seemed like the entire church had signed this! He was shocked and gripped with both sadness and anger… he left to go preach nonetheless and fulfill his duty, but found that he just couldn’t do so as he looked down upon his congregation from the pulpit. He stepped down, walked out of the sanctuary, and took one last look at this announcement before leaving the church forever. Just below the letters saying, “Do you want a better pastor?” were words he didn’t see the first time… they read, “Then start praying for the one that you already have!” This was not a rally cry to oust him, but a commitment from a loving church body to better support the ministry of their pastor through prayer.

Posted by RE Matt Spear