KATIE POLSKI | CONTRIBUTOR When I was a kid, I told friends that I was a “PK.” An inquisitive friend asked one day, “What does ‘PK’ actually mean?” Another friend answered for me: “It means she’s a potential kid.” No, I was not a budding human. I was a pastor’s kid. And I loved it. I treasure my experience as a pastor’s daughter, and I wouldn’t change it for anything. But while much of my experience with my father leading the church was positive, I do remember days when dad was very worn. I recognize that same worn look on my husband, who also serves as a senior pastor, but what I understand now that I didn’t as a child is that the worn look is not mere physical exhaustion. The familiar weariness comes from a weight filled with other’s burdens and expectations. It’s a weight that almost every pastor carries, and the longer he is in pastoral ministry, the heavier it can become. But I also see the joy that exudes from my husband as he does the work the Lord has called him to. He has the same passion as my father for preaching and shepherding his flock. I asked my husband recently what gives him joy in this calling as pastor. “The people!” he said with a smile. And I think my father, who passed away years ago, would have said the same. With lingering stories passed on through the generations from a grandfather and father in the pastorate, and now experiencing ministry alongside my husband who is the founding pastor of our church, there are some common threads I notice as to what fills the hearts of these dear servants and what lightens the burden they carry. If you are looking for ways to encourage your pastor during pastor appreciation month, here are three practical ideas to consider. Shepherd the People in the Church There is little else that encourages pastors more than knowing that the congregation cares for one another. And Scripture is clear in exhorting us to do just that! We’re called to love one another (a command that occurs more than 16 times in the Bible), to be devoted to one another, to live in harmony, and to honor others above ourselves (Romans 12). When we take these exhortations seriously, a pastor is encouraged because he sees the congregants functioning in the way that God intended. He and the other leaders are called to shepherd the flock, so they must be responsible for knowing their sheep and caring for them in seasons of need. But it lightens the load of the leaders when others in the congregation come alongside and join in on that care. When the church is acting out its calling as the family of Christ, providing for each other, praying for one another other, and being physically present in one another’s lives, you will encourage your pastor...