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Old 04-10-2011, 08:51 AM
budrok budrok is offline
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Thumbs up The importance of Praying for Your Pastor

I wrote the following about a month ago I hope everyone can use this.

The Importance of Praying for Your Pastor
By William Buddy McKenzie
3/15/2011

A pastor is defined as a spiritual overseer; a clergyman serving a local church or parish. What this definition is missing is the following: A human with spiritual, emotional, physical and economic needs who is often taken for granted, overworked and exhausted by Monday. An individual who must balance his responsibility as a pastor, a spouse, and now more frequently than ever, a worker in secular employment. He is expected to work 80 hours a week and function on meager funding from the few tithe-paying members of his congregation, not to mention; not complain! Why then would someone want to go through all the hardship and get so little in return?



The Call



The pastor not only loves you; but is called by the Most High God to be the spiritual leader of the church. According to Ephesians 4:11 your pastor is divinely assigned to your church. “And he gave some, Apostles: and some, Prophets: and some, Evangelists; and some, Pastors and Teachers.” Your Pastor gives of his money, his sweat, his tears, and most importantly his limited time that could be spent with his family.



Recently I attended The Apostolic Man, Men’s conference at Christ Tabernacle in Herrick Illinois. Reverend Thomas Suey had an enlightening message about the role of the saints and their response for their pastors. This prompted me to investigate how fragile our pastors’ really are. According to Barna, Maranatha Life, and Focus on the Family the Fuller Institute, and Pastoral Care Inc. Ministries Today, Charisma Magazine, TNT Ministries:



Pastors

* Fifteen hundred pastors leave the ministry each month due to moral failure, spiritual burnout, or contention in their churches.
* Fifty percent of pastors’ marriages will end in divorce.
* Eighty percent of pastors and eighty-four percent of their spouses feel unqualified and discouraged in their role as pastors.
* Fifty percent of pastors are so discouraged that they would leave the ministry if they could, but have no other way of making a living.
* Eighty percent of seminary and Bible school graduates who enter the ministry will leave the ministry within the first five years.
* Seventy percent of pastors constantly fight depression.
* Almost forty percent polled said they have had an extra-marital affair since beginning their ministry.
* Seventy percent said the only time they spend studying the Word is when they are preparing their sermons.

Pastors’ Wives

* Eighty percent of pastors’ spouses feel their spouse is overworked.
* Eighty percent of pastors’ spouses wish their spouse would choose another profession.
* The majority of pastors’ wives surveyed said that the most destructive event that has occurred in their marriage and family was the day they entered the ministry.

These figures are alarming. As a third generation Pentecostal with family members in pastoral responsibility; I feel ashamed that I have not prayed harder, fasted longer and interceded on behalf of these pastors. Galatians 6:2 says, “Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ”. Our most important job as a church member is to pray for our pastor’s burdens. We must help him bear the daily burden of giving in every aspect of his life with little return on investment.

In a related article, from the World Network of Prayer, When praying for our pastors we need to approach four specific areas of his life: Personal Needs, Family Needs, Spiritual Needs, and Leadership/Directional Needs. Your pastor fights Hell on a daily basis. He is a man and he deals with trials of humanity. He encounters worldly influences, not only must he stay grounded and not be swayed by the influences of the world, he must also then persuade them that Jesus is what they need to fill the gaping hole in their hearts. This is compounded by the fact the majority of the congregation must be resaved every Sunday.



Our pastors are falling out of balance and concurrently being pulled away from the necessity of their daily walk with God and study of the scriptures. Many pastors are bombarded by depression as they rely on God to meet their needs while the Body of Christ does not respond to Gods calling. The pastor deals with late night phone calls, and hospital visits. Every tragedy in the church is a tragedy for the pastor. These responsibilities take away from the family bonding that is needed to maintain a happy productive household. While some pastors pull in six figure salaries, the majority of pastors have small church with a number of members who are unemployed or underemployed and cannot support a full salary for a pastor. One of man’s greatest desires is to support his family and it affects his psychological welfare when he cannot.



There are 168 hours in a week; if a pastor must take a forty hour per week job, then spend ten hours in preparation of sermons for mid week and Sunday services, ten hours in coordination of church related activities and meetings. Ten hours of putting out fires, visiting hospitals, and running general errands for the church. Then ten hours in actual service. He has eighty-six hours remaining. Subtract fifty-six hours for sleep. You are left with less than four hours per day. This excludes drive times, showering, relaxation, prayer, Bible reading-outside of sermon preparation. How many hours are available to spend with their family? Most do not realize the pressures and time constraints that befall a pastor.



Let us not forget also to pray for his spiritual needs. If we examine how our pastor is pulled in every direction the evidence is irrefutable that he needs us to pray for power, anointing, holiness and direction. Outside of his responsibility to the ministry, the draw of his family, the needs of the community and the hours spend in preparation of all aspects of life is Warfare. Our churches are inundated by the enemy on a daily basis, even more on Sunday just prior to church services the enemy gathers around the physical building and sets in on the pastor and the members. The goals is to get us distracted, and worried about where to eat after service, or how we wish the pastor would just get on with it so we can go home...Your Pastor is giving everything in his heart to get his congregation to heaven and we sit on the pew unsympathetic and unresponsive. Meanwhile, he is dying on the inside, criticizing himself because of the lack of response. Pray the armor of God over your pastor, quote from Psalms 91 and Luke 19:10. Pray that no weapon formed against him would prosper.



Finally, we must pray for his leadership of the church. Your pastor does much more than just preach. Your pastor is a counselor, a symbol to the city, a CEO over the decision and direction of the local church. We should rejoice in his accomplishments and we should sorrow in his disappointments. We need to bind together to lift him up. If Satan can manage to take out the shepherd the sheep will scatter. Your pastor is praying for you and be assured that praying for your pastor is not only biblical it is greatly needed.



Bibliography



Barna, George, <span>Why Pastors Leave the Ministry</span>, The Free Believers Network

http://freebelievers.com/article/why...e-the-ministry

Granroth, Davin, <span>Clergy Statistics and Resources,</span> Celebrate The Jubilee,<span> </span>

http://www.yearofjubilee.org/2008/07...and-resources/

Kwon, Lillian <span>Falwell: Measurements of Success in Ministry Are Messed </span>The Christian Post



http://www.christianpost.com/news/fa...ssed-up-45219/

Fuller, Jim <span>10 reasons why Pastors leave the Ministry </span> Pastoral Care Incorporated,

http://pastoralcareinc.com/Articles/10Reasons.php

Suey, Thomas, <span>How to Pray for your Pastor</span>, World Network of Prayer,

http://new.wnop.org//moduleUploads/h...YourPastor.pdf
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  #2  
Old 04-10-2011, 10:14 AM
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Sister Alvear Sister Alvear is offline
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Re: The importance of Praying for Your Pastor

very true and very touching...
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Old 04-10-2011, 10:39 AM
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Re: The importance of Praying for Your Pastor

I do pray for my pastor and for a list of several pastors/missionaries/ministries/etc.

I would like your permission to sent that out to a distribution list to which I send emails a couple of times a week.
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Old 04-10-2011, 11:46 AM
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Sam Sam is offline
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Re: The importance of Praying for Your Pastor

More thoughts on praying for your pastor.
This comes from http://www.my-pastor.com/how-to-pray...ur-pastor.html

Note: This is written as if all pastors are men. There are many women who have also been called to the office of pastor.

How To Pray for Your Pastor
You want to pray, but you’re not sure how to pray for your pastor. I’ve listed below 10 prayer requests that can help you start praying for him.

--Insight into scripture and an understanding of how it applies to people today.
--Protection from the work of Satan.
---Help him keep a soft heart in the face of abrasive and abusive people.
--His personal spiritual growth.
--A successful ministry – however God defines success in his life.
--Boldness to speak the truth, and grace to speak it with humility.
--That he would persevere through whatever trial he is facing.
--His children – that they will grow up with a positive impression of church ministry
--That he would remain pure, and that his love for his wife would increase daily.
--That you would know how to encourage him today.

Pray for Your P-A-S-T-O-R
Here's another way to pray for your pastor - especially if you have trouble remembering what to pray about. Use the letters of the word, P-A-S-T-O-R to remind you of specific prayer requests. For example:

P - Purity. Pray that your pastor will remain pure in the face of constant pressure in an immoral culture.

A - Adversity. Pray for your pastor that he will be able to confront adversity with faith and endurance.

S - Strength. Most pastors work long hours and at least six days a week. Pray that he will have the strength to continue his ministry.

T - Teaching. Pray for your pastor that his teaching and preaching will be effective, powerful, and clear.

O - Organization. Your pastor has more to do than any one person can handle. Pray for your pastor that he will be able to prioritize correctly.

R - Rest. Your pastor needs rest. Pray that your pastor will sleep well each night and that he will take enough time away from ministry so that he does not get worn out.
How to Pray for Your Pastor - Conclusion
I hope these few ideas help. Use them daily. Share them with others in your church. So that together you will learn how to pray for your pastor.
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Old 04-10-2011, 04:59 PM
budrok budrok is offline
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Re: The importance of Praying for Your Pastor

You may forward this, but please in respect towards integrity please re-post the article in it's entirety, with the bibliography as I would hate to risk copyright infringement.
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Old 10-28-2011, 12:19 PM
Aquila Aquila is offline
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Re: The importance of Praying for Your Pastor

I've read George Barna's books and he points out the same statistics and issues facing the modern "pastor". The issue is... 90% of what pastors do today isn't "biblical". The book titled, Pagan Christianity?, covers the development and current situation facing the office we know traditionally to be the "pastor". Barna also covers how elders are described biblically.

I firmly believe that the current "system", or the way things are done, is killing many men of God and their families emotionally and mentally. There is a better way. But most in the church world today aren't able to understand it. But... it's catching on.

In the mean time...

Let's pray for those pastors!

Last edited by Aquila; 10-28-2011 at 12:21 PM.
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