As Ash says:
If simply turning up regularly is one marker of belonging—and one that is hugely encouraging to our pastors—a second marker is that we will invest intentionally in building deep relationships with our brothers and sisters in the church.
Do you want to make your pastor’s job easy? Do you want to fuel his joy in ministry? It’s not complicated. Be involved in the life of the church. Be a committed member, not a sporadic attender.
3. Be Honest and Transparent With Your Pastor
Put simply, your pastor can’t effectively shepherd you if he has no idea what’s going on in your life. And the unfortunate reality is that most “catastrophes” in the lives of church members are the result of years of unaddressed problems.
In other words, a guy doesn’t simply wake up one day and randomly decide to have an affair. Rather, he slowly gives into temptation more and more over time, all while never seeking the help and encouragement of his pastor (or anyone else, for that matter).
If you want to make ministry a joy for your pastor, regularly bring him into both the highs and lows of your life. Tell him about your joys and sorrows. Instead of only talking to your pastor when things are blowing up, have an ongoing conversation with him about your life.
Ash helpfully puts it this way:
Openness between church members and honesty between church members and pastors are prerequisites of a healthy church. A church in which there is hiding, secrecy and deception is a terrible parody of what the church of Jesus Christ should be.
Pastors, let me also encourage you to share your struggles with fellow church members. Don’t give them the impression that you’ve got it all together. If you want them to be transparent with you, some transparency on your part is also required.