My Father, My Preacher

By Emerson Kennedy

Have you ever wondered how much preachers actually do? Some people think ministers preach on Sunday mornings””and that”s all.

Had my father not been a preacher, I might have been inclined to agree. However, as a preacher”s kid my entire life, I can say without any hesitation there is a lot more to a preacher”s service than what happens on Sunday mornings.

I grew up in a small church of about 100 in western Maryland. And, like all churches, our congregation came with its own set of problems. I want to take you behind the scenes of a pastor”s life. What goes into having to shepherd more than 100 people every single week?

As a teenage PK (who couldn”t drive himself to church), I knew I would be getting up at the crack of dawn every Sunday so I could go with my parents. I also knew I wouldn”t be leaving until everyone else had left the building. And in the buildup to Sunday, on either Thursday or Friday, my family would be tasked with making and folding the church bulletins.

Folding bulletins was the bane of my existence. I can remember countless times as a teen complaining to my father, “Please, don”t make me do these again!” And despite my pleas to end this “cruel and unusual punishment” and “make the misery stop,” we nonetheless would perform our duty week in and week out.

By the time we finished folding the bulletins, I knew the order of the Sunday service, I generally knew the prayer list like the back of my hand, I knew the number of people we had the previous week, and I knew the amount of the offering we had received.

Finally, after listening to my weekly bulletin protests for months, my father responded by saying, “Son, I do this for two reasons: one, because Jesus died for me, and two, because somebody has to do it.”

Now, as a senior in college, when I think about how often my dad would fold the bulletins, fill Communion trays, sweep and clean the church building, shovel snow from the church parking lot (by hand), mow the church”s grass, make late-night hospital visits, plan for elders” meetings, make church renovation plans and/or consider new building purchases, drive the church trailer, coach the church basketball team, organize church picnics, have his head shaved for Vacation Bible School, teach a Sunday school class, lead counseling sessions, perform weddings and funerals, meet with people to hear their questions about God and faith (“Why is there evil in the world?” “What was this Jesus guy all about?”), I stand in mouth-gaping wonder at the work he does.

Then I think about when he would lead small groups . . . and put hour upon hour of research into his sermon, and then practice it endlessly so he wouldn”t mess up . . .
and arrive at the church hours before the service just to make sure everything was right . . . and lead the youth group . . . and take people out to lunch . . . and help deal with people”s burdens, pains, sorrows, sadness, and anxiety . . . and much, much more . . . and all the while still manage to invest in me and my brother and my mother. I cannot help but stand awestruck at how much time and dedication my preacher puts into the work he does.

I was talking to a preacher once about what goes into the role of being a pastor of a big church. I asked him, “What are some of the nuances of being the senior minister of such a large place?”

He responded, “Well, one of the things you deal with is you not only have the people in your congregation to look over, but all their family members and everyone they are in connection with that become people you take care of.”

It”s a good thing to have the opportunity to reach out to so many people, but it takes a lot of physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual energy to care for the needs of many people on a regular basis. Pastors all around the world pour every ounce of their being into their church (both the people and the building), and they do it because they love Jesus and the people they shepherd. My pastor does this. Your pastor does this.

And now that I know how much my father actually does, I realize I took him for granted. I realize that not only does he do the big things to make Sunday run, but the little things as well. This is why he and people just like him deserve appreciation. This is why you and I should take a step back and thank God for sending leaders like ours for their hard work, dedication, humility, and surrender to the calling of being a minister. Because for them, every day is Sunday.

Emerson Kennedy, a student at Cincinnati (Ohio) Christian University, served as an intern with Mount Gilead Church in Mooresville, Indiana. His father, Gary Kennedy, ministers with New Venture Christian Church, Cumberland, Maryland.