What’s Missing From All Your Words to the Church
Words form the bulk of a pastor’s life. We read, we outline, we write. We preach, we instruct, we admonish.
We explain biblical texts and describe divine glory. We counsel people in distress and warn the hard-hearted to repent. We apply the Scriptures to everyday life Paand exhort people to obey.
Yet for many of us, one crucial form of communication is missing.
It’s not a new social media app or an amazing video editing tool.
It’s not new at all. You’ll find it exemplified and commanded all through the Bible.
And you don’t need to stop saying what you’re saying. Keep teaching, keep admonishing, keep exhorting.
There’s just something you need to add.
In a word, what we’re missing is encouragement.
And I mean that quite narrowly.
Our people need us to inspire confidence in them.
This came to mind the other day while I was talking to one of my children.
She was memorizing something for school, had a lot to do but not a lot of time.
And she was starting to get stressed.
It was one of those moments when it seemed she was about to break.
Now the tool I usually go to when helping kids with homework is instruction. “Have you tried this approach?” “Here’s how I commit a text to memory.” “Give this trick a shot.”
But in that moment I realized that she didn’t need another thing to do.
She needed confidence.
She needed to believe she could do it.
And so I set down the tool of instruction and reached into my toolbox.
I looked into her eyes.
And I told her I believed in her.
I laid off the pressure, and I didn’t give her a new technique.
I actually said she needed a break. That she had time. That it was going to be all right.
And you know what? It was. She got it memorized in time for school.
What she needed from me wasn’t a lesson, a tip, or a warning. She needed me to express my confidence in her.
She needed me to put courage into her when she didn’t have courage herself.
She needed me to believe in her when she didn’t believe in herself.
Friends, that’s what many of your people need to hear from you.
We pastors can get so lost in our vision of what we want the church to become that we fail to encourage people for where they are. We long for the “not yet” and dismiss the “already” as not good enough.
And when we forget to encourage our congregations, when we fail to inspire confidence in them, when we fail to express our belief in them, we run the risk of burning people out.
Again, I’m not necessarily saying you need to stop what you’re doing.
I’m suggesting you make it a point to add encouragement to your toolbox.
Here are four ways to do it.
1. Add encouragement to your application
This might be the easiest place to start. It certainly addresses the most people at once.
When you write your sermon application, do you tend to tell people how to do this Word, to spell out what obedience looks like, to show how they can grow?
That’s fine.
Now add encouragement.
Not like, “I encourage you to do this.”
Inspire their confidence by identifying how they have already grown.
Point out evidences of God’s grace in the church. Show them how the Spirit has already been transforming them.
And tell them you believe that they will continue to grow up into Christ.
Look back at how Paul celebrates the Corinthian church at the beginning of his first letter.
Celebrates! The Corinthians!!
If he can call out good things in a church like that, surely so can we.
2. Celebrate individual growth
In addition to broad congregational encouragement, be on the lookout for individuals who need to hear an inspiring word.
You can start by praying through your list of lay leaders and key volunteers.
Where do you see growth? In what ways have they improved? How is Christ’s glory evident in them and their work?
And if you see something, say something.
Give them a call simply to thank them and to celebrate their growth.
Drop a card in the mail to tell them you notice and appreciate all they do.
If appropriate, go to your church’s social media feed and call them out for the great work they’re doing.
You know what any of these would do for you. Give that joy to someone in your church.
3. Schedule times to party
It’s easy to get focused on the next big thing. Christmas passes and it’s time to plan for Easter. Easter ends and it’s time to plan for VBS. Summer is over and it’s time to plan for Christmas.
But when do we celebrate a job well done?
Obviously this is super difficult in the middle of a pandemic—though it is possible. I experienced a great staff Christmas party conducted entirely over Zoom.
Nevertheless, as you plan for your return to a full schedule, it’ll be easy to get back on the activity treadmill.
Now is a great time to think strategically about how you will celebrate all your team does.
Strike parties at the end of those big events.
Surprise gifts sent to their homes.
Volunteers-only events, with a catered meal and a hired cleaning crew.
Get creative. And if this isn’t your wheelhouse, ask yourself whose party you would want to go to. Then ask them to spearhead this effort.
4. Pray with people
As pastors our perspective of someone’s growth can be quite limited. We don’t always see where they’ve been and how they’re growing.
So spend some time praying with people.
Listen to what they’re praying for. Discern where it is they want to grow. Identify the longings of their heart for divine guidance and healing.
As you pray with people over time and you mark their progress, offer prayers of thanksgiving for the fruit of the Spirit you’ve seen along the way.
When people hear us praying like this for them, they know our commendation is sincere. It heightens their sense that God is present and active in their lives, and that their earthly shepherds see the fruit of his grace at work.
This kind of encouragement in prayer can inspire great confidence.
What hinders you most from inspiring this kind of confidence?
What specific ideas for encouraging your flock came to your mind as you read this post?
Drop your thoughts in the comments below and share them with other pastors like you.