"And Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers. And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. And they straightway left their nets, and followed him. And going on from thence, he saw other two brethren, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in a ship with Zebedee their father, mending their nets; and he called them. And they immediately left the ship and their father, and followed him."
Matthew 4:18-22

When Jesus calls us to follow Him, we go on a honeymoon with Him.  We are so excited that the King of Kings would allow us the privilege to serve Him.  I remember when Jesus called me on October 4, 1998 to be a missionary, I was in awe that Jesus would Love me enough to allow me to serve Him.

Joyce Landorf says on one of her teaching tapes, "Men and women are leaving full time ministry in droves because we have not encouraged them.  We have impressed them with our Spirituality, and just knocked a hole in their relationship with God."

I have heard and read many testimonies of a pastor starting a church and he was so happy that he was following the call of Jesus.  Then, people started telling him everything that he was doing wrong, and how he should run things.  He lost his enthusiasm and doubted his calling.

People who discourage pastors not only hurt the pastors and their churches, they also break the Heart of Jesus.  I don’t want to be in their place when they stand before God and He asks them why they were cruel to their pastor.

Please don’t discourage your pastor. Pray for your pastor and family, encourage them, invite them over for a meal, take them out to eat, and never, never say critical things about your pastor in front of your children. If you criticize your pastor and your church, then your children will also be critical.  What kind of example are you setting for your children?

October 8, 2005