Graduation Gifts for the Future Pastor

Your loved one has put in hours studying Greek, Hebrew, and Aramaic and debating the finer points of Scripture. He looks forward to ministering to the needs of his first congregation. Here are some gift suggestions to crown this future pastor's achievement.

Pastoral Gift Idea 1
I asked Pastor James Joseph of Living Waters Fellowship in Two Harbors to think about his own graduation from seminary. What gifts were first on his list?

"Books," he responded without hesitation, then added, "Although some may want to go in together on that kind of gift." A good suggestion since pastoral reference books can range from $25 to $175.

While the newly graduated future pastor will have a well-read Bible and several textbooks from his seminary years, he will appreciate the titles listed at the end of this article. Many of these come from a research study Pastor Joseph edited called "A Pastor's Library". They may be found at Christian bookstores or online at amazon.com, lifewaystores.com, BooksChristian.com, or Christianbook.com, among other places.

Pastoral Gift Idea 2
What about giving a gift subscription to a magazine which can keep the future pastor informed of current events or other aspects of the ministry? Good examples of these are Bibliotheca Sacra ($29 per year) published by Dallas Theological Seminary, Rev! Magazine ($29.95 per year), Leadership Journal ($22 per year) published by Christianity Today, or Ministry Today ($20 per year) published by Strang Communications.

Pastoral Gift Idea 3
The future pastor will have to do many things while tending to the needs of his congregation. In some churches, the pastor is the first to brandish a snow shovel to clear the walk and the first to turn up the heat and ready the meeting hall for the mid-week prayer group. He is the head watchman over the many ways the church congregation reaches out to their community. One man or woman could become exhausted.

Those are the times when Philippians 4:13 is most needed. Gifts engraved with "I can do all things through Him who gives me strength" are gentle reminders of the Lord, who supplies the strength to keep going. Christianbook.com has two desktop gift items with this verse: a pewter easel which displays 30 Scripture cards (from $12 to $14) or a wooden storage box (from $19 to $23). The site also carries etched granite, glass, or bronze plaques with the same inscription for $10 to $20.

Pastoral Gift Idea 4
If you know the graduating future pastor's taste in music, you may consider getting a CD or DVD of praise and worship songs as a present. Ministers often utilize the day before to meditate and pray so that they can write the sermon and decide upon the music for the service. Music, with or without a visual presentation behind it, can assist the future pastor to connect in a closer way with God, refreshing and invigorating him. DVDs and CDs by worship leaders like Ron Kenoly, Don Moen, Paul Baloche, Darlene Zschech, Terry MacAlmon, and Carman can be purchased on a site like worshipmusic.com (which has a search catalog of several worship leaders) or from the worship leaders' own websites.

Pastoral Gift Idea 5
After years of study and sacrifice of time, the graduate going into the ministry might enjoy a weekend away in a quiet retreat with inspiring scenery. Book a weekend in the mountains or at the seashore. Perhaps you could arrange to have a fruit basket or other food waiting for his arrival.

Pastoral Gift Idea 6
The seminary graduate has earned the title of Reverend or Pastor. A number of desk items can be purchased and personalized with her name and new title. One such desk set (around $38) offered by lordsart.com features the Bible verse Mark 9:35. The desk set illustrates Jesus washing the feet of Peter and can be personalized with a name plate. This present reminds the future minister that he is a servant as well as a leader.

Pastoral Gift Idea 7
A personalized business card holder might seem out of place when the pastor is not really "in business" but business cards may still be a handy gift item. In his future ministry, the graduate might find cards with his name, title, telephone number, and his own favorite Bible verse to be useful when helping people in the community. One of those he helps may wish to speak to him further about a problem or about faith in general.

Pastoral Gift Idea 8
A tie or jewelry is still a good gift option for the future minister. Ties of every design of 100 percent silk may be purchased from adifferentdirection.com for around $25. The same site has necklaces and bracelets with crosses and other symbols of the faith for the seminary graduate.

Pastoral Gift Idea 9
Gag presents are not disrespectful when given to a seminary school graduate with a sense of humor. Give a "No Parking-Reserved For Pastor" sign for around $10 from victorystore.com. Include extra cash or a gift certificate to his favorite store.

Incomplete List of Books For the Pastor's Library (includes notes from "A Pastor's Library")
W. Moulton and A. Gedan's A Concordance to the Greek New Testament.
Edwin Hatch and Henry Redpath's A Concordance to the Septuagint and Other Greek Versions of the New Testament.
Unger's Bible Dictionary "quite complete for one volume".
Merrill Tenney's The Zondervan Pictorial Bible Dictionary maps are "superb . . . quite extensive and yet concise".
Merrill Tenney's The Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Bible (5 volumes) "very comprehensive".
Encyclopedia Judaica (16 volumes) all about "Jewish culture, history, society, etc." written by Jews about their own culture.
Walter Bauer's A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament "basic and complete".
Ludwig Koehler and Walter Baumgartner's Lexicon in Veteris Testamenti Libros very good Old Testament lexicon.
A.T. Robertson's Word Pictures in the New Testament "A classic in its field".
Commentaries on either the Old Testament or the New Testament or on individual books of the Bible.

Sources:
http://www.amazon.com/Christianity-Religion-Spirituality-Books/b?ie=UTF8&node=12290
http://www.lifewaystores.com/lwstore/
http://www.bookschristian.com/se/view/books/index.html
http://www.christianbook.com/Christian/Books/product?item_no=300040&netp_id=291118&event=ESRCN&item_code=WW&view=covers
http://www.dts.edu/media/publications/bibliothecasacra/ Bibliotheca Sacra page.
http://www.allyoucanread.com/church-magazines/ Source for magazines.
http://www.worshipmusic.com/dvds.html Source for music.
http://www.lordsart.com/husedeset.html
http://www.adifferentdirection.com/results.asp?Category=Christian+Ties&SubCategory=Adult+Silk+Ties&Search=&Page= Ties and jewelry available here.
http://victorystore00.stores.yahoo.net/chpasi.html Church signs.