04.06.19 The 15th Key for Adding Value to Your Church
15. Honour God's Ministers
Let me share one experience where we honoured God’s ministers and the blessings that followed. It all started after the owner of the airline where I was working decided that I should be employed by a European-based firm then be seconded to the airline instead. However, because of the change in contract terms which meant that I was no longer directly employed by the airline, my official car was abruptly withdrawn, a thing which propelled a set of ministers, a young couple, to offer their car for us to use fully as they resorted to public transport despite the fact that they had babies. And truth be told, their sacrifice came as a great relief as we would have been completely stuck. A few months thereafter, we desired to buy a plot of land but every property that we found was way-above our budget. It was in that state that I woke up one morning to remind God about the land we desired to have, but was surprised when He said that we should use some of the money that we had saved for the land to buy new tyres for the car. Without our knowledge, God led the brother (who had offered his car to us to use) to a certain shop to select tyres of his choice by faith. So, he picked a flyer that was advertising several tyres, circled the particular brand he wanted, took the flyer back to his wife and told her to thank God for those tyres by faith. That same morning, my husband and our driver went to the very same shop, (not knowing that the brother had been there earlier), and bought the exact brand of tyres that the brother had selected. After changing the tyres, our driver took the old tyres to the brother’s office and much to their amazement, not only had God given them tyres shortly after their visit to the shop, but they were exactly the very same brand that the brother had selected a few hours before. But the miracle was not yet over. The following morning, a real estate agent found a very affordable plot of land for us in a highly prime area, and a few weeks later I received a 13th cheque from my new employer. So, we were able to pay for the land without any financial distress. My sister, though the ministers were not from our church, but God respected the seed that we had sowed and multiplied it within the ‘twinkling of an eye’.
When it comes to Lydia, and as already mentioned in many places, she honoured Paul by accommodating and supporting the Man of God and his team of ministers.
A value-adding church member honours her leaders.
Church leaders have been given a highly loaded six-fold assignment as outlined in Ephesians 4:11-16 which reads (NKJV): 11And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, 12for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for theedifying of the body of Christ, 13till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; 14that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, 15but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ— 16from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.
Therefore, honouring your church leaders adds value by encouraging them to perform and fulfill their God-given tasks. Firstly, the bible admonishes us to support them financially as in 1 Timothy 5:17 which says (HCSB): The elders who are good leaders should be considered worthy of an ample honorarium, especially those who work hard at preaching and teaching… An honorarium is a payment that is given as a gesture of thank you, appreciation and good will. This should not sound strange considering that God expects leaders to earn their living from the gospel (1 Corinthians 9:14). See what Galatians 6:6 says (AMP): 6The one who is taught the word [of God] is to share all good things with his teacher [contributing to his spiritual and material support]…
Honour your pastors by making them feel loved. Appreciate them (pastors) as instructed in 1 Thessalonians 5:12 which says (AMP): 12Now we ask you, brothers and sisters, to appreciate those who diligently work among you [recognize, acknowledge, and respect your leaders], who are in charge over you in the Lord and who give you instruction, 13and [we ask that you appreciate them and] hold them in the highest esteemin love because of their work [on your behalf]. Live in peace with one another. Be prepared to defend them from those who accuse them wrongly.
Have you ever come across members who are disobedient to church leaders with some even backbiting, discrediting and mudslinging Men and Women of God? As already mentioned, the end result is disintegration of churches while other members exit. My sister, I am not saying that you should follow blindly but even if your pastor is preaching fallacies, be very careful before becoming the agent that drives members away from your church. Avoid participating in church divisions. Should you feel that God is sending you to attend another fellowship, let the pastor know rather than leaving a bad record or fueling contentions. If you must go, leave peacefully instead of burning bridges since you never know what tomorrow holds.