Should the pastor of any be any richer than the poorest member of that church???

Question

I believe I have seen some huge misappropriations of church funds. I am aware of the concept of being financially blessed when you are a follower of God, but when does it stop? I am not on a trolling expedition so please don't take it that way.

Answer 1

Patrick, although there are a few abusers, the overwhelming majority of pastors make less than the average income of their parishioners. You can make money off of religious endeavors, but the average pastor is not making enough money for all of the time they put into their job. No full-time pastor I know works forty hours a week or less, so I don't even know if it would be fair to compare bottom line incomes given the horrendous amount of hours the average pastor puts in every week.

Answer 2

If the pastor gets their income for working outside of the church then it doesn't matter. If salaried from the church fund then a good guideline would be around the mid income of the combined congregation. Or better yet on a scale that is in line for say a counselor or teacher with the same amount of education. Or hour worked=fair hourly wage. Or use the service then receive a bill. Yes there are some horrendous abuses of the mega church pastors and it gives Christ a bad name because people judge our Lord on what people do and say. Thank god not all are that way as I know many pastors who do earn a living outside the church and give their time and money to ministry. Personally if there was not a need (people depending on pastor for all their spiritual needs) then there wouldn't be the industry. For some pastors it is a hard job in that you have to address what you have been preaching and they didn't get it in the first place. Oh well I don't think things are going to change until we return to the home church.

Answer 3

I stumbled onto this quite by accident. Go into TV evangelists and print out a list. Olsten to roberts.
Then go to Forbes 400 richest men in America. They are all there. The TV Evangelists are multimillionairs. Who own fleets of jets and cars. Huge mansions. The bakers who were some of the least paid made millions. Have an A/C dog house and gold faucets. Their lavish life style is so extravagant as to be unbelievable.
Kings didn't live as good. Reminds me of the Pharasees of Jesus day the Rich money lovers.
But they say they do good. They have colleges and hospitals but the catch is they are not free. In fact it costs more to go there because you can say a prayer in school. And it is all tax free.
The government allows this because they help the government by preaching the young men into war. Not one to date has condemed the war and the destruction of life from the Iraqies to the young men in the military.
So they help each other, in fact the United Councel of Churches in America contributed millions to the Bush campaign.
All under the allution that they would stop abortion. They have to be against something we can all agree on.
But more abortions were preformed under this administration than any previous administration. And they had full power to do anything they wanted. They robbed from the poor to give to the rich and the churches supported that.
Religious organizations is big business. Preachers are well paid.
Do you believe the Catholic Church is broke?

Answer 4

Don't know where the idea that followers of God will be financially blessed. came from. Read the Bible and you will see that being $$ blessed is not necessarily true. We are blessed by Gods grace, forgiveness, eternal life. As for the salary of a pastor. The pastors that I know have a medium income. Not the worst, not the best. They don't drive ultra expensive cars, live in mansions, go on exotic vacations. And, most of them work well over 40 hrs. a week.

Answer 5

Yes, I don't believe a church should make a Pastor RICH, but I think if a pastor is doing what God has called him to do, and he is taking care of his people, serving the Lord and the community, that he SHOULD be taken care of adequately, and I think that means providing a time of paid vacation to rest up and refresh once a year as well just like with any other job.

Answer 6

Pastor's are paid a salary, just like the janitor, just like the secretary in the office. It's a job, they are hired by the board of deacons to perform a service.

As with any job, the more that is required, the more salary is offered. It has nothing to do with who is rich or poor in a church, but with an agreed upon salary.

If you have seen misappropriations of church funds, I heartily suggest you go to the next budget meeting and present your claims.

Answer 7

I don't see why not. A pastor's personal affairs need to be godly, and in order, as long as he is doing his part, that is what is required of him. There is no reason for just he, all by himself, to support the poor in the church.

The church, as a group, which includes the paster, should make sure that the poorer members have what they need. That is all which is required, if they can do it. Some churches are poor themselves. Some poor people are that way because they are spending it on drugs or other horrible things. The church is not required to make them rich, only required to make sure that they have what they need.

This might include things like helping them get a job, or education, or getting to them the basic necessities of life and so on. It especially includes getting to them faith, hope and love. The church needs to try to be as Jesus to its members. In some cases, that could mean giving most of what we have away to others.

Jesus said things like "He that hath two coats, let him impart to him that hath none". We should give of our excess to those who have little or nothing. The church is not required to give anything to those who are not members. To those people (who are not church members), things are given out of charity, that is how and why charities are formed.

Answer 8

Maybe, but that's not the way it works out.

The PASTOR doesn't OWN a home, unless he buys one with his salary. It is PROVIDED by the congregation.

The PASTOR does make enought to send his kids to college.

What's wrong with that. A person should earn enough and most Pastors have a PH D if not just an MS and experience.

Doesn't that warranty at least 65K a year.

Answer 9

once you're a Pastor pricey, you have lots of expenditures : swimming pool chemical factors, gasoline for the SUV, good Hugo Boss fits. undergo in ideas additionally that spreading the Gospel the trendy way calls for meth crystals and male hookers à l. a. Ted Haggard, those do no longer come much less costly. in case you throw in some criminal expenditures easy the single the Boston Diocese had to return up with then we are speaking hundreds of thousands..... God strikes in mysterious procedures pricey......(deep voice, eyes rolling)

Answer 10

I think it depends upon the circumstance. At our little church, our priest doesn't make a lot. I think he's worth a lot more than we pay him, but it's all we can afford. I know you're driving at the big, mega-churches. I see nothing wrong with a minister living comfortably, but they shouldn't just spend money willy-nilly. Also, too, priests and ministers do a lot more than you may realize, so most of them deserve the salary they get. I think it just depends upon the man or woman as to whether or not they live in luxury.