All I want for Christmas for you

I was going to leave the blog until 2014, but it occurred to me that there are a few things worth reflecting on as we leave Christmas behind this year.

I had a great Christmas and got some nice presents.

In fact, some of the most generous gifts we received as a family came from people in our church family. We were genuinely touched by them and the love and care of people in our church.

However, it got me thinking...

While the gifts were lovely, there were other things I desired much more for some members of our church family. Things that didn't cost them a dollar, but would change the face of our church and their lives. So it struck me, maybe the most helpful thing to was write a list.

As I thought about it, I realized they're things that would be universal for most pastors and church leaders.

All of the pastors I met have this in common; they desire the health and growth of their church and each member of that church family.

So what does your pastor want for you this Christmas?

1. He wants you.
In other words, he wants you to be part of the church family. Every week. I tell people in my church this, "if you're sick or away on holidays, then of course you can't come." Otherwise, what my heart desires more than anything that they could come and join in every Sunday morning. Just seeing them come through the door is a huge encouragement to me and everyone else at church. When you don't come, your pastor and your church really misses you.

2. He wants you to really know Jesus' love.
Or to put it another way, he wants you to understand just how much Jesus has done for you. This happens a few ways; prayer, personal bible reading and relationships with other Christians help. However, regular solid bible teaching each week is the key. This will help you to be able to cope with the dramas of life and be able to trust God in them. This will grow you in your relationship with God too. His love will change you and improve you in ways you can't imagine.

3. He wants you to share Jesus' love with others.
It's hard to sum all this up in a sentence, but Jesus famously said, "love your neighbor as yourself". In your church family it will mean you want to serve other people. You'll willingly volunteer in a variety of ways to help both at church and in the community, because you want to love and care for people. You'll offer to pray for people. It will also mean that you bring your friends and family to hear about Jesus' love and His offer of life forever.

2014 is coming up any day now. I'm not a man for resolutions, but I can tell you this...

If you committed to these three things, it would be better than any present you could buy your pastor.

I've been immensely blessed by some people like this.

I pray it's got you thinking...