Pray More Than Criticize

I recently wrote about Bishop Robert Schnase’s book, The Balancing Act (Bishop Schnase is author of Five Practices of Fruitful Congregations).

I enjoyed the short book, which works well as a 30-day devotional, and plan to highlight a few sections on the blog over the next few/several days.

Early on in the book, Bishop Schnase relates an observation that a woman once shared with him. Schnase writes:

She said that she did not think that anyone should ever be allowed to complain about a pastor unless that person was also in constant prayer for the pastor. We should all desire our pastors to succeed, to fulfill their mission, to be strong and whole and healthy, and so we should pray for them, their families, their work, and their ministry. Imagine if every time we felt annoyed, disocuraged, or disappointed by a pastor, we prayed for them with even greater eagerness and sincerity. Imagine if we felt as much or more an obligation to pray for a pastor as we feel to criticize or correct a pastor. (22)

Of course, as a pastor, I love this statement. Nevertheless, it’s an important piece of advice for the sake of God’s mission and ministry in the world!

For more on praying for pastors, see Praying for Pastors and Praying for Pastors 2.0, which I’ve written in the past. Along these lines, you might also be interested in 13 Things Anyone Can Do To Support Their Pastor, which was posted today by Brian Dodd.

Bishop Schnase concludes this particular chapter with a challenge:

Pray for your pastor. Pray for your church. Pray for the community that your church and pastor has been called to transform. Pray for the world God has entrusted us to serve. (23)

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