The Importance Of Encouraging Messages

I was studying in my Bible this morning in the book of I Timothy chapter four, where the Apostle Paul is giving the young pastor some solid direction for successful church ministry.  Among other things, he advises Timothy to give encouraging messages.  (ITimothy 4:13)  When I read this I was drawn back to my first ministry position as a youth minister at First Baptist Church in Santa Rosa, California.  It was a very formidable time for me, and I remember fondly our senior pastor Bob Heydon.  He was a seasoned minister with a growing family and a large thriving church.  I learned many things from him throughout the five years that I served under him, but the greatest lesson of all was his love for the people he served.  In all those years I cannot remember one time where he ever uttered a negative word about anyone.  As the youth minister and a deacon in the church, I had lots of opportunities to see him operate in closed door sessions, discussing church problems and or the personal needs of various members of the congregation, and like I said, it was always done in a loving and encouraging manner. 

This is a way of life that I have tried (not always successfully!) to carry on in my own life throughout the years.  It is too easy to find faults with individuals, especially when they may not think or live their lives like we do.  It is a lot harder to take a stand of love toward the unlovely but the results are so much more rewarding and enduring to both you and the people involved!  I think some of the best advice that I have received over the years, and can pass on to others, is that if you don’t have something good to say about someone, then don’t say anything at all!  What was that old song about silence being golden?

It just so happens that I was talking to a friend last week that attended the old Baptist church when we did.  She mentioned that she had actually had some contact with Pastor Heydon in the weeks before he died a number of years ago.  She said that in his letter to her he explained how he had always preached on the love of God throughout his active ministry, but had not experienced that love in such a deep measure as when he entered into the battle with Parkinson’s Disease.

So once again that special man reminded me of the importance of reaching out to hurting people, even when the situation may not be comfortable to us.  We are God’s hands on this earth.  You may be the only contact with the love of God that someone may have.  Don’t waste those golden opportunities by criticizing or complaining about someone.  Reach out with an encouraging word or action and you might have that same lasting affect that Pastor Bob Heydon had in my life some 35 years ago!  Stay tuned and keep asking yourself…”What am I expecting today?”