What People Need to Hear from Their Pastor

Dear Church Congregation:

Every pastor was once a layman, and as such should understand the things that people need to be assured of before climbing aboard this Godventure we call “the local church.”Having experienced untold joys and heartache from the church throughout our lives, we understand the wonderings and ponderings that accompany being a part of a new church plant. There are many blanks yet to be filled in when it comes to the future of this humble endeavor God has entrusted to all of our care.

We don’t have all of the answers up front, but we do have some promises we’d like to make to you as we forge ahead together toward all that God has in store for us and for this community. Please tuck this in your hearts with the assurance that we mean every one of these words.Print it out if need be, post it on our church walls, wave it in our faces and press it in the palms of our hands should we ever forget….

1.    We love you. When I called my mother last fall to ask for any advice she may have as a former pastor’s wife, her only words were, “Just love those people. Love them well.” I took it to heart, and intend to keep it there. We can say with confidence that we love all of you because of the way Christ loves us. If He can bear with our many scruples, surely we can bear with yours, knowing that we are no different, no better.

2.      We may fail to always show you that unconditional love. That is pretty much a guarantee. We don’t want to, don’t mean to and certainly don’t plan to. But in the event we should fall short of loving you as Christ loves the church…

3.       … We want you to let us know. Please come to us and tell us where we have failed you. We can’t change unless we know where we need to change. But along with that request, we need to promise another thing….

4.       …We will be approachable, by God’s grace. We will not chastise you for pointing out where we have failed. The road of instruction from you to us is a level road; it is not an uphill climb. If you should ever be in dread of approaching us, it is to our shame. 

5.      We will serve you. We are not here to benefit from you. Our desire is to help you become all God has called you to be for His glory—not for our gain.

6.      We will be faithful to you. We will walk in integrity and truth before you. We will not, by God’s grace, hide anything from you that would disqualify us from serving you. Of course these things are easy to say; if you ever at any point should see a red flag concerning anything we say or do, please bring it out into the light as quickly as possible. Hold us accountable to these words.

7.     We will listen to you. We may not agree with what you have to say (as you will not always agree with us), but we will hear you out with our mouths shut, and take your words to God for consideration. You are our teachers as much as we are yours.

8.     We will cover and protect you. Your struggles are safewith us. We want you to feel free to share openly and confidently without the fear of judgment or exposure.We know you will do the same for us when we share our struggles with you.

9.     We will continually, by God’s grace, point you to Christ and not to ourselves or another human. If you see us getting off-center or self-centered, we humbly beg you to tell us.

10.   “We are in this together.” That is our church motto. We mean it. Please promise to never let us forget.

In grateful service,
Dave and Faith