This past weekend the Greater Bethel Church was blessed to have as her guest Rev. Ray Owens pastor of the wonderful Macedonia Church family South Bend, Indiana. Rev. Owens has been our guest preacher for 8 years now…while as assistant at the Greater Mount Olive Baptist Church and now as pastor-teacher of his own church. We have a unique relationship while I’m a few years older, our lives parallel. I first notice Ray as a young kid growing up at the Mount…he just had this air about him. He started out directing the youth choir, later answered his call to the ministry, started preaching youth annual days around town and enrolled in school at Oklahoma Baptist University. All of which I has done several years earlier. Ray is an outstanding preacher he stirred our hearts as he taught on “Real Worship” from John 12: 1-3 (ESV). God is going to do an amazing thing in South Bend through the preaching ministry of Rev. Owens.
Sunday was the annual Pastor’s Appreciation Ministry Day. This day was simply the old-school “Pastor’s Aid Day.” The Pastor’s Aid Ministry had been in African American Baptist Churches for a long time. What the ministry does exactly is up to each local church. Here’s at Bethel there are many who simply have the gift and passion for caring, supporting and praying for their pastor. This particular ministry has continue to evolve the old-school Pastor’s Aid would maintain the pastor’s robes, handkerchiefs, suites and other miscellaneous things. Now it has moved into a holistic approach the ministry now seeks to support its pastor spiritually, physically, financially, and congregationally needs.
For many you hear that age old cliché “it doesn’t take all that,” sad but true. The support of the pastor is vital to the health of the church. The President of the United States has his aids, staff, counsel, secret service, advisors and his presidential cabinet (just to name a few) in order to assure his success and the success of the country. Many pastor simply go to battle week in and week out, they are beaten, bruised and drained from the lack of support. Giving so much but receiving so little. Thus creating a spiritually, emotionally, physically bankrupted preacher that finally leads to an ineffective leader that leads an ineffective church.
An effective powerful church only happens when people and pastor, pew and pulpit are joined together in spiritual partnership. Churches are good at holding the pastor responsible and accountable to his end of the partnership. It’s time now that the church holds itself to the same. If a church wants a caring, loving, supportive, innovative, and cutting-edge pastor then the church has to be caring, loving supportive, innovative, and cutting-edge. Churches have been consuming pastors, leaders and ministry head for years because they have consumed much and contributed little [if any], have required much and given little. The spiritual covenant should be that we [church/pastor] commit to always sow more than we reap.
Please remember the Greater Bethel Church in your prayers today that the Lord will continue to do in us and bring through us that which will bring Glory and Honor to Him!
Sunday was the annual Pastor’s Appreciation Ministry Day. This day was simply the old-school “Pastor’s Aid Day.” The Pastor’s Aid Ministry had been in African American Baptist Churches for a long time. What the ministry does exactly is up to each local church. Here’s at Bethel there are many who simply have the gift and passion for caring, supporting and praying for their pastor. This particular ministry has continue to evolve the old-school Pastor’s Aid would maintain the pastor’s robes, handkerchiefs, suites and other miscellaneous things. Now it has moved into a holistic approach the ministry now seeks to support its pastor spiritually, physically, financially, and congregationally needs.
For many you hear that age old cliché “it doesn’t take all that,” sad but true. The support of the pastor is vital to the health of the church. The President of the United States has his aids, staff, counsel, secret service, advisors and his presidential cabinet (just to name a few) in order to assure his success and the success of the country. Many pastor simply go to battle week in and week out, they are beaten, bruised and drained from the lack of support. Giving so much but receiving so little. Thus creating a spiritually, emotionally, physically bankrupted preacher that finally leads to an ineffective leader that leads an ineffective church.
An effective powerful church only happens when people and pastor, pew and pulpit are joined together in spiritual partnership. Churches are good at holding the pastor responsible and accountable to his end of the partnership. It’s time now that the church holds itself to the same. If a church wants a caring, loving, supportive, innovative, and cutting-edge pastor then the church has to be caring, loving supportive, innovative, and cutting-edge. Churches have been consuming pastors, leaders and ministry head for years because they have consumed much and contributed little [if any], have required much and given little. The spiritual covenant should be that we [church/pastor] commit to always sow more than we reap.
Please remember the Greater Bethel Church in your prayers today that the Lord will continue to do in us and bring through us that which will bring Glory and Honor to Him!
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