This particular post may seem a little self serving…but so be it…this needs to be said (AND…I don’t mind asking people to pray for me!) :-)
This past Thursday (Thanksgiving) I was enjoying some great food and watching a football game when all of a sudden I began receiving text messages about something happening to Matt Chandler, the pastor of The Village Church in Texas. Long story short…Matt passed out, hit his head…was rushed to the hospital and after some tests was diagnosed with a mass on his frontal lobe that will be looked at this week. Matt is a young leader (33 or 34 I believe) whom God’s hand is all over. His preaching/teaching is amazing…and God has used him to grow the Village Church from about 100 or so people to over 7,000 in just a few years. (He is an incredibly gifted preacher/leader!)
Hearing about what happened to him shook me up…BIG TIME. I had VERY few words for the rest of the day as I began to think about the stress and pressure that is on pastors that simply is not understood by many.
My prayer is that things like this will cause the church to rally behind their pastor…and pray for him with more passion and intentionality than ever before. Here are several areas where you can be praying for your pastor…
#1 - His Walk With God - Pray that his relationship with Jesus isn’t one out of obligation…but of OBSESSION for HIM!!! It is VERY tempting for a pastor to read the Bible for sermon prep and NOT to know Jesus. Pray that His relationship with Jesus will be FRESH and that he will be filled with vision and passion like never before.
#2 - His Integrity - It takes YEARS to establish integrity…and it can be destroyed in seconds. Pray for your pastor to keep his eyes on Jesus and OFF of anything that might lead him astray!!!
#3 - His Marriage - Pray that your pastor just doesn’t preach about a healthy marriage…but LIVES it out. I promise you the enemy comes STRONG after his marriage…and his kids!!! Lift up his wife and children by name as well!!!
#4 - His Sanity - He deals with critics, he deals with unrealistic expectations, he deals with accusations, he deals with pressure that is intense. Pray that he will keep his sanity. I recently heard of a survey that said only 10% of the men entering the ministry actually retire…the others either get disqualified OR drop out! That is a 90% failure rate!!! THE STAKES ARE HIGH!!!
#5 - His Health - I was in a meeting of pastors a few years ago…everyone of us were leading large churches…everyone of us were under 35…and over HALF of the men in the room (remember, we were under 35) had been hospitalized in the past two years because of serious medical problems (most likely brought on by stress and anxiety!) Good health is so vital for ministry…and I can promise you that physical, emotional and spiritual health do not just “happen!” Do not assume that just because your pastor is young that he is healthy…lift him up.
Whoever your pastor is…seriously…I would ask that you lift him up. No matter who you are…no matter who your pastor is. I don’t care if you are reading this site and hate me…don’t hate your pastor. Cover him…and pray that Jesus will speak to him and through him in ways that he has never experienced.
Rick Warren once said that he believes pastors are the most underrated changes agents in the world…and I believe that!!! SO…let’s lift him up before God…and pray that Jesus will have HIS way in his life!
AND…keep praying for Matt!!! He is in God’s hands…God has a plan for him…and I know God will receive ultimate glory out of all of this!!!