church – Page 3

I’m adding my own voice to the Church Lady series today—not because I think I’m a “powerhouse woman” by any means, but because I love the church and wanted to share my heart for the church with you, my readers! The other women who I have interviewed so far have inspired and challenged me, and I am grateful for each one of them. I hope my thoughts can add even just a little more fuel to the fire of our passion for Jesus and His church!

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1. Tell us a little bit about the church that you’re a part of.

My husband is the College Pastor at Antioch Community Church in Wheaton, a non-denominational church in the Chicago suburbs. Our local church is part of a larger church-planting organization (Antioch International Movement of Churches) that has multiple churches in the US and overseas!

2. What does it look like, in your life, to be an active part of your church?

Even before Michael stepped in to full-time ministry, we were always actively involved in church. Now that he’s a pastor, it is just a little more “official.” I help him lead the college ministry by discipling female leaders, hosting and helping lead small groups, and generally just being available for whatever our church needs, whether that is showing up for a meeting, helping with a retreat, or bringing food to an event!

3. How are your unique gifts and abilities strengthened by being part of a local church?

The church is amazing because it’s the place where a bunch of amateurs get to do meaningful, life-changing work. I say that with deep joy and love—I’m thankful that God uses amateurs! My gifts of developing and discipling other women flourish in the church even though I don’t have any formal training in that area. But God has taught me through his word and through his presence and through his people how to love and lead others in the church.

I went to school for many years in order to get the academic degrees that I have—degrees that give me the credentials I need to teach at the college level and have access to impacting the lives of my students every week. But I don’t have to hold a degree to impact others at church. My life and the fruit of my life are the things that matter within the walls of the church—and I can impact others without having any fancy letters behind my name. We all can. That’s a huge relief—and a high calling.

4. How has being part of a church challenged and changed you?

I am an achiever, and I like being able to move from one task to another with purpose and clarity. Church doesn’t work that way, because people don’t work that way. People—who the church is made up of—need love, cultivation, guidance, accountability…the list goes on. I need all of those things; you need all of those things. But we don’t move from one plane of growth to another seamlessly. “Through many trials, thorns, and snares I have already come…” Church is the place where we help one another through those trials and where we help one another continue to say yes to Jesus. It’s difficult at times. Very difficult. People don’t always respond well to pain or to challenge—I sure don’t 100 percent of the time! But as I continue to learn to love God’s people, I continue to learn more about the boundless love of Christ. And that is what has both challenged and changed me. God’s love is changing his people, and it’s changing me as I learn to love them.

5. Why do you value church? What do you love about church?

I value Church because Jesus values Church—if His bride was worth his life then it can certainly be worth mine. My time, my energy, my heart, my tears, my life—it all belongs to Christ. If he spent all he had for the people of God, I want to give my life doing the same.

I love church. I really do. I love the Church with a capital “C”—the church universal that Jesus died for, filled with every tribe and nation and people and tongue. And I love our particular church that meets in a gym every Sunday and has so many new babies in the congregation that our nursery is overrun. I’ve written about it before, but I care about the church, and I believe that every person who follows Jesus is called to love and serve a local church body.

With my favorite pastor and our baby girl

One of the many things I have realized, since becoming a pastor’s wife, is that most pastors live in the simultaneous reality of 1.) loving what they do and 2.) being tired. Sometimes, they are just kind of tired. But other times, they are very, very tired. Getting to pastor the people of God is an incredible gift, but it is also a job that doesn’t have very clear start and end times. Ministering is messy; people don’t have important questions and life crises only between the hours of 8 am and 6 pm. Work and ministry and life bleed into one another. And yes, sometimes pastors need better boundaries. But sometimes life and ministry are one and the same thing—and that’s ok. But it can also be tiring.

I don’t know who your pastor is (unless you go to my church, and then I do! ::hi!::), and I don’t know what kind of season your pastor is in. But I can guarantee that every pastor appreciates encouragement. Your pastor probably loves pastoring, but is probably kind of tired on some level, too—as most of us are. Here are some simple ways to encourage the pastors in your life:

1. Say thank you. Say thank you on Sunday. Send a quick note of thanks to their office. Write an email thanking him or her for a something specific. This will go so, so much farther than you think.

2. Drop coffee–or food–off at the office. Find out when the weekly staff meeting is and drop by with donuts or coffee. You just made the staff’s entire week. They will know they are loved and thought of other than just on Sundays.

3. Invite the pastor’s family over for dinner. They may not be able to come, but either way they will feel loved. And, if they can come, great! Get to know each other a bit better.

4. Speak well of them behind their backs. There’s a lot of pastor-bashing out there, and every pastor knows it. Having someone who will say something nice about you to others–that’s a true gift.

5. Give your pastor a break. Was the sermon *not the best* this week? Did he seem a little grumpy after service? Extend grace. You never know what was going on behind the scenes. We all have rough days–or weeks–at work. It’s just that, as a pastor, lots of people expect you to be really good at what you do all the time. It’s not possible. Acknowledging that your pastor is a broken human gives him the space he needs to extend grace to himself, too.

So You Say You’re a Church Lady: My Response

Why Your Pastor Needs a High Five and a Cup of Coffee

Look Around

Past Posts