Our next Pastor is NOT going to get into this with you. He does not want to sound self-serving and he is going to trust God to provide for his needs. I believe it is a mistake many pastors make. We are commanded to teach “the whole counsel of God.” Every subject the Bible addresses should be taught by the pastor, including this one. If he does not, who will? Not many pastors have a guy like me blogging about such things. Hear what Paul says in 1 Cor. 9:7-14
Who at any time serves as a soldier at his own expense? Who plants a vineyard and does not eat the fruit of it? Or who tends a flock and does not use the milk of the flock? I am not speaking these things according to human judgment, am I? Or does not the Law also say these things? For it is written in the Law of Moses, “You shall not muzzle the ox while he is threshing.” God is not concerned about oxen, is He? Or is He speaking altogether for our sake? Yes, for our sake it was written, because the plowman ought to plow in hope, and the thresher to thresh in hope of sharing the crops. If we sowed spiritual things in you, is it too much if we reap material things from you? If others share the right over you, do we not more? Nevertheless, we did not use this right, but we endure all things so that we will cause no hindrance to the gospel of Christ. Do you not know that those who perform sacred services eat the food of the temple, and those who attend regularly to the altar have their share from the altar? So also the Lord directed those who proclaim the gospel to get their living from the gospel.
Paul’s logic is clear. Even though he had made a personal decision not to accept support from the churches in which he ministered, they still had a responsibility to support those who were to have a continuing ministry to them as their pastors.
“But Donn,” you complain, “No one at Calvary thinks we should not pay our pastor. What is your point?”
Stay with me here. I wanted to begin by establishing the basic fact that God requires us to pay our pastor. How much we should pay him is the more controversial question. Did you know the Bible answers that for us as well? No, it does not give us a dollar amount but listen to this:
The elders (pastors) who manage well should be considered worthy of double pay, especially those who are laboring at preaching and teaching. (1 Timothy 5:17)
Paul is prescribing an attitude, not a figure. A mind-set, not a number. When it comes time for us to vote on a budget, and when the various committees meet to decide upon a salary package, how will they approach their decisions? Will it be “How much does our pastor need to get by?” or will it be “How generous can we afford to be?”
Paul urges us to consider our pastor to be worthy of twice the pay. No, we will not be able to afford to pay him double, but we should aspire to do so. Remember, our pastor will probably be one of the best educated people in our church. How many of us have a Master’s Degree in whatever it is we do? He will have paid for his education himself. If the pastor receives a higher income than I do will I be jealous or will I be thankful?
Our new pastor will have many burdens, paying his bills should not be one of them. He should be paid well enough that he can purchase a home in one of the new subdivisions that surround our church. He should be able to purchase a vehicle that is dependable and comfortable. He should be provided life insurance, health insurance, and a generous pension. His wife should be free to work outside the home if she desires, but she should not HAVE to work for the family to survive.
“But Donn,” you say, “we can’t pay him more than we have. All these things will bust our church budget.”
Well, I will admit I am not intimately familiar with our church’s finances. All I am doing is pleading for a biblical mind set as we make these decisions. There are many good and worthy ways a church can spend money. Of course we have to pay the utility bills, purchase insurance, and do maintenance on our buildings. But of all the things in our budget, only one is commanded in the Scriptures—paying the pastor.
Missions, agencies, camps, schools, accelerated mortgage payments, and benevolence are all good and worthy things. But if a church cannot obey Christ in paying their pastor because they are supporting these other things, then ultimately, it is the pastor, not the church that is supporting them. Only one budget item is prescribed in the Word. All others come in second to that priority.