80% of pastors are discouraged in their role as pastors.Leadership Magazine (Spring, 2014), published these sobering statistics: Nationally, pastors experience a very high rate of burnout and marital and financial stress. They shoulder many responsibilities, and feel the weight of great burdens. Not all, but many, of the pastors and church staff members that I encounter are overworked, underpaid, and exhausted. My work as Coordinator for Pastoral Ministry has reinforced my perception that pastors and congregations absolutely need Clergy Appreciation Day or Month. It was established with the mission of uplifting and encouraging pastors, missionaries and religious workers. 5:12-13).įocus on the Family named and began emphasizing October as Clergy Appreciation Month in 1994. Hold them in the highest regard in love because of their work" (1 Thess. And, in 1 Thessalonians, he said, "Respect those who work hard among you, who are over you in the Lord and who admonish you. In 1 Timothy, he wrote, "The elders who direct the affairs of the church well are worthy of double honor, especially those whose work is preaching and teaching" (1 Tim. The Apostle Paul may have been the first to express the sense of Clergy Appreciation Day in the church. Well, not the official Thanksgiving, but elements of thanksgiving have found their way into October in many congregations, because the second Sunday in October has been designated as Clergy Appreciation Day, and some congregations observe this spirit of Thanksgiving all month long! Did you know that Thanksgiving sometimes comes in October?
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