There are many ways that pastors and educators show love for their neighbors in the congregation. Much of your work is focused on exactly that. Sometimes, however, we lose awareness of that expression because it is so intertwined with all of our professional life.
What I want to suggest is not a new idea but perhaps you have not thought of it for awhile. Especially in this era of email, facebook, twitter, etc., we may overlook the power of the handwritten note. It is even more powerful if it is entirely unexpected.
Look through your church directory and pick out someone who exercises their gifts quietly either in or outside of the congregation. Take a moment to write them a note both acknowledging the gift and expressing your thanks for what they do.
If there are several people on the staff, why not suggest that all of you do it at least every couple of weeks for a year to see the impact on the congregation. Make sure that you don’t overlap and that all of your thanks isn’t concentrated on a particular set of people. Where appropriate, share any responses that you get with each other.
In loving a neighbor in this way, you are offering the same pleasure that you receive when someone unexpectedly does that for you. In making it a regular practice, my guess is that you will cultivate a practice that will also return to you. I also believe that you will discover personal pleasure in this simple act.
