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NASB | 1 Timothy 5:17 ¶ The elders who rule well are to be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who work hard at preaching and teaching. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | 1 Timothy 5:17 ¶ The elders who perform their leadership duties well are to be considered worthy of double honor (financial support), especially those who work hard at preaching and teaching [the word of God concerning eternal salvation through Christ]. |
Bible Question:
Is there any scripture that you know of that would determine if a "pastor" of a church should or should not hold down a regular job? or should his being a "pastor" be his full time profession. God bless and thanks :) Dan |
Bible Answer: Dear Strongfellow: lCor,9:9 to 14. This specfically says a Pastor is entitled to receive his income from the Church. Even a Bi-vocational minister needs to be supported. The Elders or Decons, depending on how your church is set up, are responsible for three tables. The Lords Table, the Pastors table, and the Poor's table. All pastors serve full time! Some only get part time pay. This is a very sensitive subject for me. I experienced first hand what it was to have to care for our family on 65.dollars a week in 1986 to 1989. We paid all utilities in a rundown 100 plus year old parsonage. Yes the church incresaed the missiom giving every year, but never an increase for our family. I saw hours upon hours of visitation, sermon preperation, and constant interuption of our time with our family time. As a family our children went with out. As a family we were totally supportive of the ministry. We had no health insurance. Their pastor often beat the ambulance to the ER when some called to tell him someone was hurt. Yes God supplied our needs. The people of the church missed out on a deep blessing. Did it have an effect on our children? Oh yes, and it was almost too high a cost. Consider this, it cost over 100,000. dollars to get his BA, M.Div. and MARS degrees. And the Lord, with ways that seem hard to understand, the debt of student loans were paid in full. But not by the church, or amyone in any church. This nearly cost him his life. Was it worth it? Yes! Is ministry painful, yes! Infact it cost Jesus His life. Are we as Families in ministry going to suffer? We expected it would! And with no supprise it did. So what about pastors income? Having been the person responsible for the budget, let me make a suggestion. A full time pastor should make no less than the avarage income of the people he serves. If you have a parsonage make at nice as the avarage church members home. Be generious, remember, how the childrens dad is paid directly influences how they see God as supplying their needs. Make an effort to show some kind of tangeable reward durring Pastors Appreciation Month! Rember the families birthdays, if with nothing more than a cake, show you care! I would insist that the Pastor take two vacations a year. Remember he to needs to recharge his spiritual life, and be alone with his family. Above all else if you have a problem with the pastor, don't go to his wife, or fellow church members! Go directly to him first! Then go by Matt 18:15 to 20. Never fire a pastor with out him being directly involved. Get a third spiritual party to help work through the problem. If leaving is the only answer, then make your parting as kind as possible. Remember the community you live in is watching you. Also remember, the pastors family needs grace and mercy as well. Ther are no perfect churches, and there is no such thing as a perfect pastor either. In the four churches we served, together as a family, we gave more than we ever received from the church. We recieved from the Lord through other people outside the church more than we evrer gave. Many churches miss a blessing by not ministering to their pastor and his family. I am totally convienced that God will care for the pastors family regardless, even if the church is stingy God wil supply the need, some how . Did our children come out as adults with hurt feelings? YES, our three year old, at the time, I can still remembering her asking, why doesn't my Sunday school teacher love me any more? As an adult she has said how much that hurt her. I would say make any leaving experience for the pastors family a kind one. When a pastor resigns bare in mind most likely he has prayed until his eyes were overflowing, before making the final choice. Pastors are a gift from God, and so are churches. So pray four pastor as much as you expect him to pray for you. agape justmer |