GCI President Update | October 2019
Pastor Appreciation
As President of Grace Communion International, it is my pleasure to provide you with quarterly video updates.
Today I’d like to say a few words about our GCI pastors.
Peter Drucker, Management Guru, makes this bold statement about pastoring:
“Over the years I have made a career out of studying the most challenging management roles out there. After all of that I am now convinced the two most difficult jobs in the world are these; one, to be President of the United States, and two, to be the leader of a church.”
Why would he say such a thing?
Primarily, because these roles do not fit into a Monday-Friday, 40-hour work week. You are on call 24/7; you are expected to be gracious and wise, to politely kiss the babies, shake every hand, and know every name. These are service roles that call for self-sacrifice and Christ-like responses.
In GCI we have 802 pastors; this includes leaders of pastoral teams, Fellowship group facilitators, and almost 10% of our pastors are female pastors.
We also have 22 Pastoral teams made up of 64 pastoral team members.
I am thankful and proud of every single one of you serving in the 78 countries where GCI has churches. On behalf of our denomination, allow me to say a heart-felt thank you for answering the call to pastoral ministry. Your dedication and service is making a difference; and helps make GCI a denomination worth attending and supporting.
October has become known as “Pastor Appreciation Month” in the United States, and I believe it should be a GCI practice in all 78 countries to show appreciation for your pastoral leader. In particular, the second Sunday in October has been the selected time to honor pastors. This year that date is October 13.
Most pastors are not looking for a great deal of attention, nor do they expect the church to make a large financial sacrifice to honor them, but it is more than appropriate to show them appreciation.
As you plan to honor your pastor this October, I recommend that you think carefully about your pastor; What does he or she enjoy?
Whatever you choose, please make your gift fit the personality of your pastor; this will be appreciated more than you know. And remember, a handwritten card of appreciation means the world to a pastor. (I have a handful of cards in my desk drawer that I pull out from time to time just to be encouraged.)
I see our pastors as GCI’s front-line managers. These are the men and women who; week in and week out; keep our churches active and moving forward. They certainly are laborers worthy of our love and appreciation.
You have heard the expression three cheers. Why three? Good for you, hurrah for you, and congratulations to you.
Let me say again how much I appreciate you, love you, and praise God for you. I will end by asking all of you to join me in saying three cheers for our pastors; one for the Father, one for the Son and one for the Holy Spirit!
