Best Christmas presents for pastors
by Krish Kandiah
Christmas is such a busy time for church leaders, they work hard all year and while everyone else is having a winter break it's often a pastor's busiest time of the year. Here are some gift ideas for you (your homegroup, your prayer triplet, your youth team, your eldership etc) to give to your local church leader as a way of showing your appreciation for all they do. Some of the presents are more expensive - you might want to organise a collection to buy a joint present - it would be a lot nicer than the pastor getting 30 boxes of chocolates…
1. Laser Pointing Device / Powerpoint Presenter
I know not all pastors are techies but the chances are if you are reading this blog then you are. So what could be nicer than a really good power point presenter so your pastor can move on their own slides in powerpoint. I used to try and contrive all sorts of special nods and winks to help our local church laptop operator – so this device will hopefully allow at least one more person to focus on the preaching. This one has a great range and feels really sturdy – it of course has a built in laser pointing device – encourage your pastor to beware of the temptation of using it to zap sleeping members of the congregation.
2. Trial membership at a Gym
Another gift to be careful of how you explain why you have given it. I was bought trial membership last year and for six weeks I definitely felt more physically fit than I had for a while – and a healthy body definitely helped me to be better not just at my job but at life. The other knock on effects are the chance that your pastor might actually spend some time with non-Christian people, or if it is like my gym atleast be up to date with popular culture and the news – as when I was pumping iron on the weights I was bombarded with either BBC News 24 or MTV. Healthy body, healthy mind as they say…
OK I got hooked on folding bicycles this year. I picked one up at a car boot sale and have been riding around central London almost ever since. You can stick them on a train, in the boot of a car and store them really easily. It has opened up all sorts of great things for me and I think you should consider passing this blessing on to your pastor. Instead of driving to a pastoral visit they could save the environment and get healthy. You are also more likely to be visible in your community – everyone notices someone on a folding bicycle and it’s a lot easier to stop and chat to someone when you are not enclosed in the metal and glass of your automobile. Go on splash out and help your pastor to step out. I am a big fan of the DAHON brand.
Help your pastor step into your world. If you are concerned that the preaching doesn’t have any relevance for your work issues or your life experience, why not buy the pastor a magazine subscription that will help them understand your world a little bit better. Alternatively if your pastor is doing a great job – why not help them to relax a bit by encouraging them in their hobby – magazine subscriptions are a great way to remind your pastor on a monthly basis just how much you appreciate them – personal favourites include:
Sight and Sound – a great film magazine from the British Film Industry
Mac User – OK so you are going to have buy Number 7 for them too…
New Internationalist – always good to get another political perspective…
Sublime (mention that Krish Kandiah sent you when you sign up….) – ethical living magazine – fantastic - ethics and aesthetics - this is a great gift idea.
Or if you are feeling generous a weekly subscription is always nice:The Week- a great UK based summary of the week in politics, culture and sport.
If you are feeling generous but not too creative this is a great gift. Itunes now sell movies, music, tv programmes, games for the ipod. The new nanos are amazing - if you can afford one - it could help your pastor listen to more sermons as there are thousands of great sermon downloads available for free through Itunes. I use it everyday and listen to at least 5 sermons a week. It’s great to feed the feeders.
6. Sermon Spice
A gift voucher for sermon spice could be good. There are some great downloadable short films – I really like: Cross or the Crowd and That’s my King - if they haven’t been overused in your church it could be a nice gift. Be careful how you write the card as you don’t want to be insinuating your pastor’s sermons need spicing up!
7. Coffee Maker - ok so this might be a selfish present. Because if you bought your pastor a real coffee maker you might end up round their house more often. It’d probably liven up the elders meetings that go on till late at night or help prospective pastoral visits to be caffeine sustained. Also the pastor’s spouse may appreciate it - they probably sacrifice as much as the pastor at Christmas to enable the church to be ‘led’ through the season.
8. Books
The Shack – if they haven’t read it yet – this has got to be one of the must read books of the year. Whether you agree with the style / approach or not. Your pastor needs to have read this book
Surprised by HOPE - NT Wright’s masterclass in Eschatology. This book should change the way we think and speak about life after life after death.
Irresistible Revolution / Jesus for President - the next generation’s take on social justice and politics. With an election likely next year these books make helpful reading. They are from a US context but well worth a look.
I became a Christian and All I got was this lousy T-Shirt - a laugh out loud account of a new Christian coming to understand the Christian subculture. If your pastor has a high irreverence awareness factor this might not be the book for them. But it’s a very interesting insight into the kinds of things new converts face. Communicating for a change. An easy read with some great ideas for improving our teaching. Easily read while the rest of the house are sleeping off Christmas dinner.
9. FREEBIES…
Short of cash? here are some things that will cost you pennies.
1. A prayer of thanks - why not write out your prayer in a Christmas card and send it to your pastor
2. Set them up on Facebook - or a “We appreciate Pastor Bob” group
3. Organise a card with a short message from everyone in the church
EAUK.org
