by Joel Dunlap
Shortly you will celebrate a day of thanksgiving. What are you thankful for? You may think of the family blessings that God has given you—a spouse, children, grandchildren, parents, siblings. You may think of material prosperity the Lord has blessed you with, and even in a lean economic year we still live with our basic needs provided. You may think of the freedom and peace you live with, even in the concerns of our day.
On a more important level, you may join with the psalmist in thanking God for Who He is and what He has done. David preached at his own soul to bless the Lord with all that was within in him, and to not forget all God’s benefits (Psalm 103:1, 2).
As Thanksgiving approaches, I’m thinking of how a pastor might cultivate thankfulness in his own heart for God’s goodness, and how he might teach his congregation thankfulness as they grow together in Christ. I recently picked the brain of my pastoral mentor, Rich Van Heukelum, on this subject. I trust that his responses will better equip us all.
Joel Dunlap: With your role as pastor in view, what Scriptures best teach you thankfulness?
Rich Van Heukelum: Two individuals who model thankfulness are David and Paul. David writes, “Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For his mercy endures forever” (1 Chronicles 16:34). He also teaches me to “enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise” and to “be thankful to Him, and bless His name,” again because of the Lord’s goodness, mercy, and truth (Psalm 100:4, 5). Paul instructs, “In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God” (1 Thessalonians 5:18).
JD: What items do you give your congregation thanks for?
RVH: Again, I love the expressions of thanks from Paul to his people. I seek to model them:
- Romans 1:8—“your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world”
- 1 Corinthians 1:4—“the grace of God that was given to you”
- Ephesians 1:16—“your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints”
- Philippians 1:5—“your fellowship in the gospel”
- 1 Thessalonians 1:3—“your work of faith, labor of love, and patience of hope”
- 1 Thessalonians 1:3—“your faith grows exceedingly, and the love of every one of you all abounds toward each other”
- Philemon 5—“your love and faith which you have toward the Lord Jesus and toward all the saints”
Nothing can give a pastor greater joy than to see genuine faith and love toward God and His Son, Jesus, and toward one another.
JD: What things tempt your soul to neglect being thankful for your congregation? How do you counteract those?
RVH: Two items most often cause me to neglect being thankful. First, I can get so busy doing ministry that I forget to take time to count my blessings. Second, I can focus too easily on the flaws of others rather than their strengths and areas of growth in Christ.
To counter these, I need two things. First, I need to take time in prayer to focus on individuals. Second, I need to spend time with the people. Generally these turn my heart toward thankfulness.
JD: How does a pastor instill a thankful spirit in his congregation?
RVH: Primarily by example and encouragement. This is true in all relationships and surely true for a pastor and his people. If the congregation consistently hears the pastor say, “The Lord is good” and “I thank the Lord for . . .” it builds thankful hearts. If a pastor is always encouraging rather than criticizing and condemning, the people develop thankfulness.
JD: Who has been the best mentor to you in thankfulness?
RVH:Wendell Kempton helped me in three great ways. He was a living example of thanking God publicly for His goodness. He taught me how to see God’s goodness in whatever was happening. He also personally challenged me to express publicly my thanks to God for His goodness.
JD: What does being a husband, father, and grandfather teach you about thankfulness?
RVH: (1) “Apples don’t fall far from the tree.” (2) “Looking ears are always listening.” (3) “I have a little shadow that is following me.”
These three axioms remind me that what I do impacts my wife, children, and grandchildren. If I want them to be thankful, I need to be thankful.
Also, because of a special love for my wife, children, and grandchildren, it is natural to be thankful for them for who they are in spite of their flaws. I need to have that same relation to my congregation so that it is natural for me to be thankful for them for who they are and in spite of their flaws.
Joel Dunlap develops content for Word for the World, a preaching and teaching ministry that equips followers of Christ through radio, web, and Bible institute courses. In addition, he is pursuing his MDiv and serving at Walnut Ridge Baptist Church, Waterloo, Iowa.
Rich Van Heukelum is pastor of Shawnee Baptist Church, Shamong, N.J. His preaching and teaching are featured in the various enterprises of Word for the World. His book, The Philosophy of a Father: Proverbs for the Life of a Man of God is due out in December.
