How are we to treat our church leaders? The biblical teaching is clear: we are to honor them.
An example is found in 2 Samuel 1. Saul was deficient as a leader of Israel, yet David showed respect for him and for his position, calling him “the Lord’s anointed” (2 Sam. 1:14-16).
Honor is an internal attitude of respect. It is expressed by appropriate actions; otherwise, it’s only lip service. Children show honor to their parents by obeying them. We honor God by doing the things that please Him. What, then, are some appropriate actions we should take to honor our church leaders?
1. Support them.
“The elders who are good leaders are to be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who work hard at preaching and teaching. For the Scripture says: Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain, and the worker is worthy of his wage” (1 Tim. 5:17-18).
Financial support was at least a part of the “double honor” to which Paul referred.
The Greek word translated “honor” is the same word used in 1 Timothy 5:3, where it refers to material support. Other passages where the word means “pay” include Matthew 27:6 (“silver”); Acts 4:34 (“proceeds”); and 1 Corinthians 6:20 (“price”). We must not miss the fact that the same Greek word translated “honor” also means “worth,” “price,” and “compensation.”
We honor our church leaders who faithfully serve the church by providing proper compensation. Failure to do so implies a lack of honor.
2. Love them.
“Now we ask you, brothers and sisters, to give recognition to those who labor among you and lead you in the Lord and admonish you, and to regard them very highly in love because of their work” (1 Thess. 5:12-13).
The measure of our love for our leaders is Christ’s undeserving love for us (John 13:34). The description of the kind of love our leaders need is 1 Corinthians 13:4-7.
I’ll mention one specific way to love your pastor: protect him. Paul counseled Timothy, “Don’t accept an accusation against an elder unless it is supported by two or three witnesses” (1 Tim. 5:19). Church leaders are easy targets of unrealistic expectations. We honor them and love them by protecting them from false accusations and criticisms.
3. Pray for them.
“Now I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, through our Lord Jesus Christ and through the love of the Spirit, to strive together with me in fervent prayers to God on my behalf” (Rom. 15:30).
Paul not only appealed to the church at Rome to pray for him, he asked them to pray specifically:
- that he would be delivered from the unbelievers in Judea (v. 31);
- that the offering from Gentile believers would be received by the Jerusalem church (v. 31);
- that, God willing, he would be able to come to Rome (v. 32).
Church leaders need specific prayer that goes beyond the generic “bless our pastor.” Here are ten very specific and biblical ways you can pray for your pastor:
- Pray that his first love will be Jesus (John 21:15-17).
- Pray he will keep his marriage and family a priority; they are his first ministry (Eph. 5:25; 1 Tim. 3:4).
- Pray he will have the mindset that true success in ministry is measured by faithfulness to God—nothing more, nothing less (1 Cor. 4:2).
- Pray for his purity so that he will not fall into temptation (Ps. 24:3-4).
- Pray he will continually seek God’s direction for your church (Ex. 33:13-15; Ps. 32:8; James 1:5).
- Pray he will have boldness to speak the truth and grace to speak it with humility (Acts 20:18-21; Eph. 6:19).
- Pray that he will teach sound doctrine (2 Tim. 2:15; Titus 1:9; 2:1).
- Pray he will discern what is most important and be guarded against the tyranny of the urgent (Acts 6:1-4).
- Pray God will protect him from negative criticism, false expectations, and gossip, and that he will have a soft heart in the face of abusive and mean-spirited people (Prov. 26:4).
- Pray he will receive the rest that he needs (Luke 5:15-16).
4. Follow them.
“Obey your leaders and submit to them, since they keep watch over your souls as those who will give an account, so that they can do this with joy and not with grief, for that would be unprofitable for you” (Heb. 13:17).
Scripture teaches the accountability of leaders to lead well. They lead under God’s leadership and are ultimately accountable to Him. Scripture also teaches the responsibility of church members to obey and submit to their leaders. This is not blind obedience. Insofar as leaders teach in accordance with God’s Word, we are to “obey … submit to them.”
How will you honor your church leaders this week?
Mike Livingstone works at Lifeway Christian Resources as content editor for Explore the Bible materials.