21 Things Pastors Did During COVID I Want To Thank Them For

Tomorrow morning I have been asked to speak to a group of local government officials and pastors.  It is a humbling assignment.  When I asked what topic I should discuss was, the response was “leadership and hope.”  So after much prayer and wrestling through a myriad of options, the following is what I will be sharing with them.

I want them to be seen, heard, and valued.  Therefore, I will identify the following 21 Things Pastors Did During COVID I Want To Thank Them For:

1. I want to thank them for all the extra prayers they prayed.
2. I want to thank them for all the extra phone calls they made to church members to see how they were doing.
3. I want to thank them for all the extra planning meetings they had to attend and lead.
4. I want to thank them for all the extra “suggestions” they received on masks, openings and closings, racial items and much, much more.
5. I want to thank them for all the extra compassion and grace they then needed to show.
6. I want to thank them for all the extra Sundays they had to preach.
7. I want to thank them for all the extra days and hours they worked.
8. I want to thank them for all the extra care and concern they showed us when we returned to church.  This showed up in all the sanitary adjustments they needed to make for the bathrooms, children areas, fumigating between services, signage, and seating strategies.
9. I want to thank them for all the extra visits they made to senior adult homes.
10. I want to thank them for all their extra service to the community.
11. I want to thank them for all the extra equipping they did for their staffs.
12. I want to thank them for all the extra love they showed their families and loved ones.  It was their first pandemic too.
13. I want to thank them for all the extra skills they needed to develop such as preaching to and through a camera, technology, preaching funerals and weddings differently, preaching to people in cars, and learning to be homeschool teachers.
14. I want to thank them for their humility and commitment to personal growth.
15. I want to thank them for preaching the Word to us.  We needed a shepherd more than ever!
16. I want to thank them for challenging us.
17. I want to thank them for calling us to commitment despite extraordinarily difficult circumstances.
18. I want to thank them for giving us stability.
19. I want to thank them for giving us next steps in our faith.
20. I want to thank them for giving us hope.
21. Most of all, I want to thank them for their resilience.  I want to thank them for not quitting and continue to keep coming back week after week.  The world is a better place because they show up for work every day.

I hope my message honors them and gives them solid leadership principles.  I hope it does for you as well.

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