Here's a little anecdote. I once knew a jail chaplain who was interviewed by a church board for an open pastoral position. (This was years before he became a chaplain.) The conversation eventually came around to how much he expected to be paid. He suggested that each of the board members write down their income on a slip of paper, hand it to the chairman (or treasurer), have him average them out, and that would be a fair wage. He didn't get the job.
I think the chaplain had a good rule of thumb.
If one of the board members had an "outlier" income (whether high or low), the "median" would be a better picture of the middle score, rather than the common "average."
ReplyDeleteWhich is why I said "rule of thumb."
DeleteEven more important: How Much Should a Pastor Spend?
ReplyDeleteI don't see anywhere in the bible where it talks about and promotes a paid clergy system.
ReplyDeleteLet me add that of course, we see in the New Testament a mention elders, deacons etc. but no paid clergy system.
ReplyDelete1. Try 1 Tim 5:18 for size.
Delete2. But even if the Bible was silent on the subject, so what? Either you have a man who devotes full time to pastoral ministry or not. Sermon prep takes time. Counseling takes time. If so, then he needs to be able to support himself and his dependents. If he works part time, then he's not doing either job very well.
Likewise, the value of an educated clergy. Not to mention the cost of commentaries, &c.
Hi Steve, I don't see how 1 Timothy 5:18 supports the clergy system. Yes, it's supporting leadership but not the clergy. The specific verse to which you are referring is being used as an analogy to support the idea that elders are due double honor.
DeleteAs to your second point, well, one wants to participate in the institutional church system, that's fine, but if he or she says that it is the "biblical" way to do church, well, that's not necessarily accurate.
You wouldn't happen to be Mike Gantt, would you?
DeleteMike, the word "honor" is in the context of ecclesiastically-funded financial support of various people. The word is used in v. 3 when discussing that widows in genuine need are to be given financial support. Christ uses the word "honor" to refer to financial support of the parents, and this is often a use of the word in contexts where payment is given out of respect for one's service. Paul uses the passage, "Do not muzzle the ox while he is threshing" both in 1 Tim 5:18 and in 1 Corinthians 9:9-15, which you would do well to read and let Scripture correct you. Hence, the word in financial contexts refers to financial support, and the Scripture here states that these elders are to be given "double honor," which may very well mean that they are to receive twice the amount of financial support as widows, or perhaps, even the average income of the congregation.
ReplyDeleteThe Timothy passage should include 1 Tim 5:17 as well.
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