How much do you like your preacher?

I read in a church newsletter some suggestions to show thanks to the ministers during Clergy Appreciation Month. October is drawing to an end, but any month is a good time to be grateful to all clergy and others who go out of the way in their service.

• Pray for your pastor every day.
• Send him a greeting card with a personal message inside.
• Give him a hug.
• Stop by the church and wash some windows.
• Take his wife to lunch.
• Make yourself available to teach a Sunday School class or work in the nursery during a service.
• Mow his lawn or shovel his driveway.
• Send a letter to his son or daughter who is away from home.
• Call his wife and ask what kind of pizza they like. Order it, pay for it, and have it sent to your pastor’s home.
• Smile a little during his sermon.
• Call him at an appropriate time and say, “In my bible reading this morning I read that _________. What does that mean?”
• After a sermon, don’t tell him it was a great sermon. Pick out something specific from the sermon and comment directly on that. So many people tell him his sermon was “great” that he realizes their comment is the same as an American asking, “How are you?” We don’t really mean it …
• Support your church financially.
• Get a group of people together to fast and pray for your pastor.
• Let his family use your cottage or timeshare.
• Take him golfing.
• Buy his entire family tickets to a sporting event.
• On Sunday, ask him what you can pray about for him this week. Then next Sunday ask him how things went regarding what you prayed for.
• If time is given during a service or event for public sharing, talk about something positive your pastor did recently that few people know about.
• Defend him against critics.
• Ask someone other than the pastor to pray before the next church meal.
• ”Adopt” one of his children as someone you pray for, encourage, and support.
• Listen openly to his ideas for change.
• Sing your heart out at your church worship service.
• Keep track of his, his wife’s, and his children’s birthdays as well as his wedding anniversary.
• Tell him you appreciate him … and why.
• Write a letter of pastor appreciation to your church’s denominational headquarters.
• Never publicly criticize him. If you have a concern or complaint, speak directly to him about it, or better, forgive him and forget it.

You may notice that many of the things would not cost a dime.