We had such a great day celebrating hundreds of single parents & loving on their kids! The fun continues tomorrow as Pastor @ikereighard continues our series “Do You Hear What I Hear?”. Join us in person 9:30am | 11am or OnLine at https://t.co/quWsdEKAsM #MerryChristmas pic.twitter.com/9GN3fSUiG4
— Piedmont Church (@PiedmontChurch) December 7, 2019
I recently read an article about a Gallup survey concerning pastors and their current level of trust in society. Quite frankly, I find these type of articles using pastors as piñatas as lazy work and personally insulting. Accepting the call of a pastor is the most honorable occupation I think a person could ever have. Click An Open Letter To All Pastors And Church Staff for the reasons why.
I was reminded of this truth today at my home church, Piedmont Church in Marietta, GA. It is an honor to call Ike Reighard my pastor. He is a dear personal friend and has impacted my life like few others. Ike has taught me how to be a better friend, husband, father, philanthropist, thinker, learner, leader, and Christian.
The following are 10 Signs Of A Pastor You Can Admire I gleaned from Ike at this morning’s service alone:
- A pastor you can admire takes the business of the church seriously. Ike began his time in the service by giving the results of the annual audit of the church’s finances. Just to let you know, it was a great report.
- A pastor you can admire honors the past and remind us of those who came before us. Ike gave us an opportunity to express our generosity by purchasing candles as a remembrance of deceased loved ones to be put out in our Christmas Eve services.
- A pastor you can admire utilizes the Bible as their basis for all decision-making. Nothing changes a human life like the word of God. A pastor you can admire knows this.
- A pastor you can admire loves his family. Somewhere in every message Ike will tell a story about his family. His love and affection for his wife, two daughters, and granddaughter is obvious.
- A pastor you can admire has high integrity. Ike recounted a story of when he was riding in the car with a then 4-year-old daughter Abigail. She said, “Daddy, did that happen or was that preaching?” Of course, everyone laughed. The good news is when Ike speaks you can be assured it actually happened.
- A pastor you can admire focuses on the poor and under-resourced. As you can see from the tweet above, Piedmont Church hosted over 300 single moms and children this past Saturday. It was a chance to show God’s love to this part of our community by loving and honoring them while providing Christmas gifts for the children,
- A pastor you can admire calls for a decision. Ike made an interesting observation about the Christmas story. He noted King Herod and the Magi were in the same chapter of the Bible (Matthew 2) but they did not have the same heart. The application was clear – are you denying Jesus or following Him?
- A pastor you can admire honors volunteers. At the end of the service Ike and our worship pastor Matt VanZant honored the church’s lighting director Andre. As a high capacity volunteer, Andre has been providing an optimum environment for our spiritual growth since 2011.
- A pastor you can admire points to a brighter tomorrow. Honoring Andre is timely as this year’s Christmas Offering will help update our lighting system. By improving our facilities, Ike is both literally and figuratively taking us to a brighter tomorrow.
- A pastor you can admire sees not only what we currently are but what we could be through the power of Jesus Christ. Ike is the eternal optimist, the man who brightens every room he walks in, and someone who sees the absolute best in everyone he meets.
What are some things you admire about your pastor?
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