Over the last year God has been giving me the grace needed to enjoy the people around me a lot more. He's increased my compassion and given me the heart to feel truly grieved that people close to me are not born again.
I still need days alone with my family and some time to myself but not nearly as much as I used to. I actually enjoy the time I spend with various people of varying beliefs, races and ages.
I always thought that I would hate being a pastors wife more than anything because of the amount of people that have an excessive need to be parented by pastors. That may still be true, but I have had a deeper revelation about why a pastor is supposed to be "given to hospitality". Hospitality is a sacrifice. It has definite rewards but it still requires sacrifice, especially for someone like me.
I have also realized that since "pastor" is defined as "friend" in the concordance, and being given to hospitality is a mandatory part of pastoring, being a pastor has nothing to do with title, church or pulpit.
In our previous church the pastor and his wife had no interest in hospitality. On the one occasion that we were invited to their home we did not truly feel welcomed. On the other hand, the assistant pastors did make us feel welcome and relaxed in their home; they were our true pastors.
In this context, I believe that a lot more of us should be pastoring those around us. The man with the title of "pastor" in a church cannot possibly have every member in, every day.
If we invite our neighbors into our homes, listen to them, feed them, tell them of God's love and salvation, we are both ministering and being ministered to; we are experiencing true pastoring.
Don't get me wrong, I am NOT claiming or desiring a title; exactly the opposite. I am attempting to explain how damaging the need for a title and misplaced expectations of the title holder are to God's people and to the lost.
We need to be the hands and feet of Christ each day. Don't desire or pursue a title and DO NOT reverence someone simply because they have one.
Don't preach the love of Christ while closing your doors to your neighbors. Do not call a man "pastor" that thinks his only responsibility is to preach at people.
And, while you're looking to (or for) a pastor that cares for you, be a pastor to those around you.
It may surprise you how much one persons open door can open up hearts as well.
I still hope to live in the country one day but,when I do, I plan to reach out to me neighbors even though I'll need to reach further.
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