Should Christian clergy be paid for their ministry?

Question

Jesus wasn't paid for teaching. Joseph had trained him as a carpenter. It is by his carpentry and other labor he earned what was necessary for his needs, travel and preaching. He never charged anyone for healing or teaching. By his example, I believe clergy should seek necessary income from secular sources. Preaching was never intended to make ministers wealthy by what God intended to be free to everyone.

I once attended a Baptist (American Convention)) Church in 1963. The Pastor was furnished vehicles, a house on 15 acres with horses, pool. House was 14 bedrooms. Real nice place. And his income at the time was $160,000 a year and 3 children all had fully paid scholarships. The Pastor moved on to better positions as President of the American Baptist Convention, then Head of the World Council of Churches.

I led people in with my question. Not that I am personally against clergy being paid. I am against them getting wealthy at it. By belief is that they be paid and maintain a lifestyle commesurate with the average of their congregation. Beyond that I think they project a very poor image to their congregation, denomination and Religion. And too lavish a lifestyle they make it well known their god is Money.

Answer 1

I think you've stated two different issues. Should a minister be paid and should a minister become wealthy. I feel ministers should be compensated for their work, but not to the degree of becoming one of the rich and famous.

Answer 2

wow what a good question,,,I see your point totally but unfortunately it's not a black and white line there's a whole lot of Grey area there,,,we all know there are good and bad people everywhere and that doesn't exclude the church,,,i think of course they should be paid,, i think it looks better for them to live a little more modest,,i cant personally complain because my church has helped me out a lot with rent, food etc,,, and even though it is a calling it is also a career or job if you will, and a lot depends on the size of the church and yeah what the pastor does on the side does he complete that list of the funerals, marriages, counseling etc,,, we could even do a 180 and talk the same way about the politicians what's up with john Edwards 1,200.00 dollar a month hair cut he's a man he doesn't even have the much hair what the hell can you do to a mans hair for that much money (i don't understand) yeah but think about it, there's something disturbing knowing are pastors are making more money then the president of the united states,,,there both suppose to be doing Gods work right?

Answer 3

I know this is hard to believe, because what the world sees of Christianity is a lot of the mega-churches and the wealth that they have in their mega-cities, but my 2 pastors both work full-time for less than what they could, and each of their wives work the jobs that pay most of the bills. Neither of them could live off of what our small church is able to pay them. I see these 2 men minister to their church members as well as to non-church members every week. They spend more time doing the work they are called to OUT of their offices than they do in their offices, and I believe it's supposed to be that way.

Being a pastor isn't about sitting in an office all week long, writing a sermon, it's about meeting the needs of a congregation and leading a congregation who reaches out to meet the needs of the surrounding community. That's what my pastors do, and they put more than 40 hours into their jobs weekly. In my opinion, they should be paid.

However, if they were putting 5 hours into Sunday's sermon on Saturday afternoon and calling it a week, I would take issue with them being paid.

Answer 4

Ministers certainly should never become wealthy, although it is possible for a ministry or church to be "wealthy" as long as that "wealth" is used to help others and allow more worship.

However, in today's society, it simply isn't possible to have a full-time job and perform all of the responsibilities of a minister. Most ministers I know (that is, real ministers at real churches, not tele-evangelists) work 50-80 hours per work--preparing church services, ministering to the poor, providing counseling, visiting the elderly and other shut-ins, leading Bibles studies, etc. If they had to pull a full time job as well, then they would be unable to perform necessary tasks. Furthermore, there is no Biblical evidence that Jesus was supported by his carpentry, and there is evidence that his followers provided food through donations.

Answer 5

No. But entrepreneurial clergy start their own ministries and see it as a new business venture in the name of God.

There's a church down the street from here called Great Commission. And I see the reverend driving up in a new Mercedes-Benz. No, not the $30,000 one but the $70,000+ ones. Oh the irony! LOL

Should you be paid for preaching? It should be voluntary, just as Jesus did. But today, to maintain the building they must take up a little bit of money. I mean, an electric company would love to give away electricity, and the city, free water. I mean, who's going to pay for that? I can understand that but not the being paid a salary to preach? I mean, where would you get the money to be paid from? The donations? Shameful! The city? A federal grant? Should you be forced to pay if you want to hear the word of God? Jesus didn't seem to think so.

Answer 6

Paul said, "So also the Lord directed those who proclaim the gospel to get their living from the gospel" (1 Corinthians 9:14).

I think it's a good idea to have paid clergy. Clergy ought to be experts on the Bible, history, theology, current events, etc. They need to be experts so they can be leaders. We need to have "go to" people in the church. If they have to get their living like the rest of us, then they won't have any more time than the rest of us to become experts, and to stay current. They should be paid so they'll have more time than the rest of us and can teach us and lead us.

Answer 7

The Bible teaches that pastors should be paid a fair wage but I totally disagree with a minister becoming wealthy from a career as a pastor. The pastor should be setting the example of living a reasonable life, and giving obediently, and sacrificially.

Answer 8

Being a Pastor, Rabbi, Minister, or any other title of the same likeness; it is not a job, but rather a calling and a dedication to the teaching of God's word. There is plenty of Scripture, providing you believe in Scripture, to support that God intended for those that teach his word diligently and correctly to have their needs met through that ministry. But therein lies the difference of what this whole question is actually about. There is a difference between the needs of a man, and the wants of a man. God intended for those needs to be met, but for them to take in and above in access of what would be considered as actual needs is in fact considered greed, and therefore would be considered one of the 7 deadly sins.

Answer 9

The Bible says that they should be paid. Jesus came to save the world- that was His purpose- and what is wrong with being paid a fair wage for preaching the gospel? The gospel is free, the gospel is the good news that Christ came to pay the price that we could never pay- but that does not mean a pastor should not get payed.

Answer 10

to those of you who think that preachers, pastors, ministers or any other title that you want to put on them, only work on Sundays you are sadly mistaken..Not only do they "preach on Sunday" but they do weddings, funerals, make hospital trips and are on call in my church 24/ 7 to over 200 people who can call at any time to talk and seek guidance. not to mention that they also have to do a lot of studying and praying to be sure that they bring the right message to the people of God. So it is a full time job so why shouldn't they be paid?

Answer 11

The Levites were not given any land to own in the Promised Land because as the priests, they were to be paid and supported by the Hebrews. A portion of the Hebrew offerings were to take care of the Levite priests.

People supported the disciples as they did their ministries after Jesus ascended. They were given food, shelter, clothes, whatever they needed.

If a priest/pastor is to go out and "get a real job" then he is neglecting his sheep (congregation) and cannot successfully do his calling, which is to be a pastor/priest.