Every day is not a Friday, but today is a Friday. And yesterday we talked about podcast preachers and how prominent preachers affect our evaluation of pastors in our local churches. One way to appreciate your local church pastor is simply to let him know that you appreciate him. And Pastor John, when you were a pastor, what things most encouraged you?

When you think back on the pictures drawn by kids in the church or the phone calls from folks thanking you or encouraging notes that you got in the mail, what as a pastor, what things most encouraged you? To go to the hospital and find a young couple holding a dead baby and trusting God.

I don't want to minimize, Tony, the preciousness of notes and phone calls. Every one of us needs that kind of affirmation. Sam Crabtree, my precious partner for goodness, 20 years or so, wrote a book. I'm glad he wrote the book on affirmation. And Sam's good at it, and I needed it from him because he makes the case.

There's a God-centered way of recognizing the grace of God in people's lives and pointing it out to God's glory and also for their encouragement. I want to believe that God is using me in the ministry. Often the devil whispers, "You're wasting your time," or, "You're just a vain prig anyway, and all you want is the approval of men." And I need sober statements from people about blessings that have come to their lives through what I've written or what I've said or what I did.

But I'm just saying yes to that. Yes, amen. Do that for your pastor. Do it more than you think he needs it. He probably doesn't get too much of that. But what will make a pastor most deeply thrilled is when he sees the truth of a life of faith that he's been teaching for years actually lived out.

When he sees his people doing the hard thing. When I look at a group of people on Tuesday night going to Nicollet Avenue and bearing witness to Jesus boldly in evangelism, I say, "Yes, Lord, yes!" The spillover is happening. It's happening. People are testifying to the truth of what they've come to love at Bethlehem, and they're going out and they're saying it.

So seeing the actual lived outness of that. And to go back where I started, to watch people suffer well. I mean, a huge part of my ministry is to take the teachings of 1 Peter where he says, "Brothers, do not think that something unusual is happening to you when you endure fiery trial." And I think most Americans do feel like something unusual is happening to us if we walk through fire.

And I've devoted a lot of my ministry to try to help people say, "It's not unusual. It's coming. It will be your father's love, not your father's opposition when it comes. Trust him, even if you can't explain the details of it." And when I watch people respond that way to suffering, I feel like I have not wasted my life.

So, yes, write the notes, make the phone calls, point out evidences of grace in your pastor's life. And the usefulness that God has made him to you. And then devote most of your energies to becoming the kind of person that he's been preaching for you to be. Wonderful. Thank you, Pastor John.

We will be back on Monday with a new episode. And Selection Sunday is this weekend. Some of you know what I'm talking about. I can hear the madness creeping its way into March now. Pastor John, on Tuesday, we will talk about basketball and March madness. And trust me, you will not want to miss this epic episode, which also happens to be episode number 300 in the Ask Pastor John podcast series.

Epic, I think, is the word. Until then, I'm your host, Tony Reinke. We'll see you on Monday.