Elders/Pastors and Financial Benefits – Conclusion
Last week, I published the first five posts in this series on the connection between elders/pastors and financial benefits. After introducing the series, in the next four posts, I analyzed the only three passages in Scripture that mention elders/pastors and finances in the same contexts: Acts 20:33-35, 1 Timothy 5:17-18, and 1 Peter 5:2.
In those passages, I concluded that Luke recorded Paul referred to his own example and told the elders from Ephesus to work with their hands (separate from their work shepherding and helping others) so that they could support themselves and others. (Acts 20:33-35) While it’s impossible to tell whether or not “double honor” refers to some kind of financial benefit, Paul tells Timothy that the “double honor” should be given to those elders who are already leading well and working hard in the word and teaching. “Double honor” is not given so that so someone would serve as an elder. (1 Timothy 5:17-18) Finally, Peter said that elders should not serve for the purpose of financial gain, but should do so freely. (1 Peter 5:2)
So, in the only passages of Scripture in which elders/pastors and financial benefits are mentioned in the same context, there is no indication that churches should pay salaries to people so that they will be their elders/pastors. In fact, these passages teach the opposite: elders/pastors serve others without regard to any type of financial benefit and work (independent of the “work” shepherding others) to support themselves.
Now, as I said in the introduction, I said that Scripture does not support the idea of paying a salary to someone to be an elder/pastor. The passages that I analyzed above form part of the reason that I believe that. However, these passages are not the only reasons that I believe Scripture does not teach that people should be paid salaries so that they will be elders/pastors. There are other passages that inform my understanding on that topic as well.
For example (but again, not extensively), Galatians 6:6 is one of the passages that most clearly indicates that some type of financial gift could be given from one Christian to another based on someone’s service. Here is that passage:
Let the one who is taught the word share all good things with the one who teaches. (Galatians 6:6 ESV)
Now, the phrase “all good things,” may not refer to some type of financial benefit, but it could refer to that. However, the problem is that “all good things” is to be shared with “the one who teaches.” This does not refer exclusively to elders/pastors but to anyone who teaches someone else. There is nothing in the passage or context that reduces the phrase “the one who teaches” to only certain people teaching in certain contexts. Instead, in this passage, Paul is talking to “the one who is taught” and instructing that person about their response to someone (anyone) who teaches them.
Many times, other passages are brought into this discussion, passages such as 1 Corinthians 9 or Matthew 10. However, these passages specifically refer to apostles or others who are traveling away from home (see 3 John for another example of these itinerant servants). The authors of Scripture clearly indicate that we should care for those who are traveling away from home – which means they are also traveling away from their places of business and source of income. (Of course, some itinerant servants – perhaps many – can support themselves while they travel, and so they should.) Elders do not travel away from their home, so the connection is not valid.
The same could be said for arguments that reach back to the Levites or priests in the Old Testament. The Levites were not allowed to own land which meant that they could not use their land to support themselves. Again, this is not the case today for elders. Also, the New Testament authors never connect elders/pastors with Levites or priests. Instead, all believers are said to be priests now.
Finally, the argument is made that it is beneficial for the church if elders/pastors can spend more of their time studying, preparing lessons/sermons, discipling people, administrating the church programs, etc. These are not scriptural arguments, and these are not responsibilities placed on the shoulders of elders/pastors. It is much more beneficial for the church for elders/pastors to “work with their hands” to support themselves and, at the same time, serve others in the ways that God has gifted them. Why is this beneficial? Because this is what every other believer does, and according to Paul the church grows when all believers work together, not when the elders/pastors have more time to do the work.
Yes, it would be a huge change to elders/pastors and to churches if churches did not pay salaries to people in order for them to be their elders/pastors. In the short term, it would be difficult for all involved, and if anyone decides to move in this direction, it should be carried out carefully. However, in the long run, it would be better for both the churches and the elders/pastors.
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Elders/Pastors and Financial Benefits Series
Scripture… As We Live It #198
This is the 198th passage in “Scripture… As We Live It.”
The saying is trustworthy: If anyone aspires to the office of overseer be a vocational pastor, he desires a noble task job. (1 Timothy 3:1 re-mix)
(Please read the first post for an explanation of this series.)
Would you be interested in writing a guest post for my blog?
Since I started this blog almost six years ago, I have posted several “guest blogger” posts. Usually, these posts came to me originally as emails from people who were asking me questions or telling me their stories. I would ask them if I could publish the emails as guest posts, and they usually agreed. Of course, if they didn’t agree, then I wouldn’t publish the emails/posts.
Last year, I began to ask people to write guest posts for my blog. I was extremely happy with the posts that people sent me. They were from different people in different contexts with different backgrounds. And, each guest blogger wrote from different perspectives. While I did not agree with everything that was written, I certainly learned from each one.
I would like to continue publishing guest posts. Several people are writing guest posts for me now. But, I would like to make a wider appeal.
Would you be interested in writing a guest post for my blog?
I only have a couple of requests: 1) The post should be related to the church. 2) The post should be less than 1000 words, or it should be divided into multiple posts.
If you would like to write a blog post post for my blog, leave a comment and/or send me an email at aknox[at]sebts[dot]edu.
Also, if you’ve written a guest post for me before, I’d love to hear about the experience, both working with me and interacting with my blog readers. Again, you can leave a comment and/or send me an email.
Replay: We will talk face to face
Five years ago, I wrote a post called “We will talk face to face.” Today, long distance communication is almost expected: phone, email, video chat, text, etc. When the New Testament was written, long distance communication was also prevalent, typically in the form of letters. In fact, most, if not all, of the New Testament was originally long distance communications. However, as I examined in this post, the authors understood that face-to-face communication was still very important. It’s just as important today.
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We will talk face to face
I was reading 3 John again a few nights ago. I stopped at the end when I read these sentences:
I had much to write to you, but I would rather not write with pen and ink. I hope to see you soon, and we will talk face to face. (3 John 1:13-14 ESV)
John loves the people that he’s writing. In fact, he loves them so much that he prefers to see them “face to face” instead of simply writing to them. Now, John is known as “the beloved disciple”, but he says some things in this short letter that are not very pleasant to say. For instance, he calls out Diotrophes for loving to be in a preeminent position and for not taking care of brothers and sisters who are traveling through his area. Do you think John would even prefer to talk about this face to face?
You see, I love to encourage people face to face. I love to thank people and praise them face to face. But, I don’t like to admonish or chastise people face to face. I don’t like confrontation, but sometimes confrontation is necessary, and it seems best to confront someone face to face.
A few days ago, as I was preparing this post, my friend Lew (at “The Pursuit“) told me of an encounter that he had this week. Last Sunday, Lew was concerned that one brother had hurt another. Instead of sending an email or making a phone call, Lew made arrangements to meet with this brother face to face. When Lew told me about this, he did not know that I was working on this post. His example was a great encouragement and challenge to me.
True community requires that we willingly speak with love to people within the community – both pleasant things and unpleasant things. If we are brothers and sisters – part of the same family – then shouldn’t we want to speak face to face with them, even things that may not be pleasant?
Here’s the thing… I know what I need to do, but I honestly can’t say that I will talk with someone face to face about unpleasant things. I know that is what I need to do – that is what I want to do. But will I be obedient to what the Spirit calls me to do?
So, what am I going to do the next time that I need to confront someone? What am I going to do the next time that I think someone may have hurt another brother or sister? What am I going to do the next time I say something that someone may not want to hear?
I wish I could say that I will be like John (and Paul – 1 Cor 11:34), and look forward to speaking with that brother or sister face to face. On my own, I will probably not do it. Thank God, I am not own my own. I pray that God will make me into the person that He wants me to be, even in this area.
Elders/Pastors and Financial Benefits in 1 Peter 5:2
In many sectors of the church, elders/pastors and financial benefits seem to go hand-in-hand. In fact, until a few years ago, I had never heard of a church that did not fall into one of the following categories: 1) already employed one or more people as elders/pastors, 2) actively looking for one or more people to employ as elders/pastors, or 3) could not afford to hire someone as elder/pastor but was working toward that goal.
In this series, I am examining three passages (in four posts) in which elders/pastors and financial benefits are explicitly connected. Those three passages are Acts 20:33-35, 1 Timothy 5:17-18, and 1 Peter 5:2. I think it is important to analyze each passage to determine what it can or cannot mean before synthesizing the information together to help us understand what Scripture says about the connection between elders/pastors and financial benefits.
In this post, I’m going to examine what Peter wrote to elders in 1 Peter 5:2 regarding elders/pastors and financial benefits. (By the way, of these three passages, 1 Timothy 5:17-18 is not written to elders. Only Acts 20:33-35 and 1 Peter 5:1-4 are written directly to elders.)
Here is the passage that Peter wrote directly to elders:
So I exhort the elders among you, as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed: shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly; not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock. And when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory. (1 Peter 5:1-4 ESV)
Peter uses three pair of contrasting descriptors to explain how he expects elders to shepherd by exercising oversight: 1) not under compulsion but willingly, 2) not for shameful gain but eagerly, and 3) not domineering but being examples. The pair of descriptors that may indicate some type of financial benefits for elders is the second pair: not for shameful gain but eagerly.
These two descriptors are composed of adjectives. The first has the following range of meanings: “eagerness for gain,” “greedily,” “fond of sordid gain,” etc. The primary idea is a desire for money. The second adjective as the following range of meanings: “willingly,” “eagerly,” “freely.”
If we recognize that Peter was using these descriptors to contrast one another, we see that he is pitting the idea of shepherding others with a purpose of financial gain versus shepherding others willingly or freely. Unfortunately, interpreters often focus on the “sordid gain” (or “filthy lucre”) range of meanings of the first adjective and miss the second contrasting adjective. Peter is not telling them to seek “good” financial gain instead of “bad” financial gain. He’s telling them to serve other free of charge.
Of course, once again, this does not mean that NO financial benefits may come their way. Instead, Peter is saying that they should not serve so that they can earn financial benefits. So, for Peter, the elders should shepherd others even if they receive no money or other financial benefits in return.
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Elders/Pastors and Financial Benefits Series
Elders/Pastors and Financial Benefits in 1 Timothy 5:18
In many sectors of the church, elders/pastors and financial benefits seem to go hand-in-hand. In fact, until a few years ago, I had never heard of a church that did not fall into one of the following categories: 1) already employed one or more people as elders/pastors, 2) actively looking for one or more people to employ as elders/pastors, or 3) could not afford to hire someone as elder/pastor but was working toward that goal.
In this series, I am examining three passages (in four posts) in which elders/pastors and financial benefits are explicitly connected. Those three passages are Acts 20:33-35, 1 Timothy 5:17-18, and 1 Peter 5:2. I think it is important to analyze each passage to determine what it can or cannot mean before synthesizing the information together to help us understand what Scripture says about the connection between elders/pastors and financial benefits.
In this post, I’m going to examine what Paul wrote to Timothy in 1 Timothy 5:18 regarding elders/pastors and financial benefits. (Yesterday’s post examined the preceding related verse 1 Timothy 5:17.)
Here is the verse under consideration along with the preceding verse:
Let the elders who rule well be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in preaching and teaching. For the Scripture says, “You shall not muzzle an ox when it treads out the grain,” and, “The laborer deserves his wages.” (1 Timothy 5:17-18 ESV)
In my previous post concerning 1 Timothy 5:17, I concluded the following:
The people are only to consider elders worthy of double honor if they are already leading well and working hard in the word and teaching. There is no indication here that the people should provide “double honor” SO THAT elders lead well and work hard. So, the “double honor” in this passage is not similar to the modern concept of the salary. If anything, it is closer to the modern concept of the honorarium or “love offering.”
However, it is often brought out – correctly, I might say – that Paul uses the term “wages” in 1 Timothy 5:18, a term which probably does refer to something similar to the modern cay concept of salary. Does Paul’s use of the term “wages” indicate that Paul sees “double honor” as “salary”?
The argument is that Paul is equating “elders” with “laborers”, and he is also equating “double honor” with “wages/salary.” Thus, according to this interpretation, elders are laborers and should be paid their wages just as other laborers.
However, there is a problem with this interpretation. Mainly, it does not work with the first part of the verse. In order for this interpretation to work consistently, then Paul must also be equating “elders” with “ox,” and he must also be equating “double honor” with “grain.” However, no one argues that elders are oxen who should be given grain. Instead, it is recognized that this is a metaphor.
The metaphorical connection between “elders”/”double honor” and “oxen”/”grain” helps us understand how to interpret the connection between “elders”/”double honor” and “laborers”/”wages.” The connection is the concept of something being deserved.
Elders (who lead well) deserve double honor in the same way that oxen deserve to eat grain while threshing and in the same way that laborers deserve the wages they were promised. Thus, elders are not laborers just as elders are not oxen. And, double honor is not wages just as double honor is not grain. The metaphor is used to demonstrate that one things deserves something else.
So, 1 Timothy 5:18 does not connect “double honor” with wages. Again, “double honor” could indicate some type of financial benefit, but it is impossible to tell in that context (since the term is used in different ways in the same context – see my previous post on 1 Timothy 5:17). The use of the term “wages” in 1 Timothy 5:18 does not affect the meaning of the phrase “double honor.”
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Elders/Pastors and Financial Benefits Series
Wait… God can use kids, too?
I recently ran across a blog written by someone named “Little Miss Blogger.” The blog is called “Shawnee Home Church,” and the “Our Story” and “About Home Church” tabs offer some great information about this group of believers.
For this post, I want to point you to an article on that blog called “When Kids Do House Church…” To be honest, I get very tired of hearing things like “Kids are the future of the church.” Kids (who are in Christ) are ALREADY part of the church, whether we recognize it or not.
But, the post above does not make that kind of statement. Instead, the author makes a great statement about kids as part of God’s family and how God can use them as part of the church:
Kids have assigned gifts and a calling from the day they’re born. Why is it they don’t realize it until they’re in the throws of adolescence or when they’re in their 20’s or 30’s? Because they don’t have a VOICE in their church or parents who know how to look for those gifts in their kids.
All too often we can end up silencing our kids just because they’re kids. It’s really important, no matter what setting your services are in, to give them a chance to be used by God. Over the years I’ve seen Nate go up to total strangers and strike up a conversation, not bat an eye while telling some one they’re wrong (not kidding!) and find his way into just about every home on the block.
He’s an evangelist and a prophet. NOW, right now, that gift is affecting another child down the street and he’s learning he has a ministry NOW!
hmmm… I wonder how much different our churches and children would be if they were taught that God wants to use them NOW, and they were actually given the opportunity for God to work through them NOW while the church gathered together. (And, I’m not talking about handing out bulletins or taking up the offering.)
Elders/Pastors and Financial Benefits in 1 Timothy 5:17
In many sectors of the church, elders/pastors and financial benefits seem to go hand-in-hand. In fact, until a few years ago, I had never heard of a church that did not fall into one of the following categories: 1) already employed one or more people as elders/pastors, 2) actively looking for one or more people to employ as elders/pastors, or 3) could not afford to hire someone as elder/pastor but was working toward that goal.
In this series, I am examining three passages (in four posts) in which elders/pastors and financial benefits are explicitly connected. Those three passages are Acts 20:33-35, 1 Timothy 5:17-18, and 1 Peter 5:2. I think it is important to analyze each passage to determine what it can or cannot mean before synthesizing the information together to help us understand what Scripture says about the connection between elders/pastors and financial benefits.
In this post, I’m going to examine what Paul wrote to Timothy in 1 Timothy 5:17 regarding elders/pastors and financial benefits. (Tomorrow’s post will examine the following related verse 1 Timothy 5:18.)
This passage is in the middle of a section regarding relationships between different followers of Jesus Christ, similar to – but a little different than – the common household relationships that Paul normally uses. The section begins in 1 Timothy 5:1 and ends in 1 Timothy 6:2 (although the 1 Timothy 6:3 continues by callings these “teachings that accord with godliness”).
Here is the specific passage in view:
Let the elders who rule well be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in preaching and teaching. (1 Timothy 5:17 ESV)
1 Timothy 5:17 is not directed to elders. Instead, it is directed to those who are not elders. Those who are not elders are instructed to “consider [certain elders] worthy of double honor.” Which elders are to be considered worthy of “double honor”? Well, the primary designation is those “who lead well.” (“Rule” or “lead/guide” are possible translations. “Lead/guide” is probably a better translation than “rule” given Jesus’ statement about “ruling” in the Gospels.)
The following designation of “especially those who are working hard in the word (probably “gospel”) and teaching.” These are not separate groups of elders (i.e. “leading” and “teaching). Instead, it is more like that some who are leading are also proclaiming the gospel and teaching.
The question of financial benefits lies in our interpretation of the noun phrase “double honor.” Does “double honor” indicate some kind of financial benefit? To begin our analysis, we must recognize that the word for “honor” in this passage CAN indicate the assumption of some kind of financial benefit (as seen in the verb form in 1 Timothy 5:3). On the other hand, the term for “honor” can also be used in a way that CANNOT indicate the assumption of some kind of finances (as seen in 1 Timothy 6:1). Thus, in the same context, we find “honor” used in a way that could include some type of financial benefit and in a way that could not be financial. So, context is not a big help in this situation. So, the best we can say at this point is the “double honor” may indicate that people should consider elders who lead well to be worthy of respect and honor that could include some type of financial benefit.
However, notice that the “leading” and “working hard” on the part of the elders occur BEFORE they are considered worthy of double honor. The people are only to consider elders worthy of double honor if they are already leading well and working hard in the word and teaching. There is no indication here that the people should provide “double honor” SO THAT elders lead well and work hard. So, the “double honor” in this passage is not similar to the modern concept of the salary. If anything, it is closer to the modern concept of the honorarium or “love offering.”
In tomorrow post, I will examine the next verse – 1 Timothy 5:18 – to see if it indicates some additional type of financial benefit for people who are elders.
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Elders/Pastors and Financial Benefits Series
That man is your pastor?
(Please don’t get tripped by the title of this post. This post is not about the use of titles like “pastor.” I don’t like titles either, but many among the church use them. And, in the post below, one of the people uses that title…)
Joe (JR) at “More than Cake” wrote an excellent post recently called “Paparazzi Pastors Leading a Celebrity Church.”
In his post, Joe tells the story of a man he met while manning a booth at a conference:
Tim turned to me, a captive audience at the booth, and proclaimed, “That man is my pastor.”
Tim’s “pastor” leads a popular church in Seattle and since I had recently moved from that area, I was interested to know if we had some friends in common, so I asked, “Oh, so you are from Seattle? What brings you to LA?”
Tim’s answer surprised me, “No,” he said, “I live here in LA.”
Now I was intrigued. How could Pastor X, be Tim’s pastor if he lived 1,200 miles away? So I asked, “Did you recently move here from Seattle?”
“No.” Tim replied, “my church meets in my house and we watch Pastor X’s sermon every week on DVD.”
Make sure you read the rest of Joe’s post. He makes some good observations about Tim and his relationship (or lack thereof) with “Pastor X.” He uses this story as a jumping off point to talk about “celebrity pastors.”
But, in reality, for many among the church in the West, the “pastor” is just as much of a stranger and just as much “out of reach” as a person speaking on a DVD.
If you do not know someone – or are not growing to know someone – and if you never see them in a context other than speaking in front of a group of people, then that person is not shepherding (pastoring) you, regardless of what title the person may take for himself or be given by others.
Elders/Pastors and Financial Benefits in Acts 20:33-35
In many sectors of the church, elders/pastors and financial benefits seem to go hand-in-hand. In fact, until a few years ago, I had never heard of a church that did not fall into one of the following categories: 1) already employed one or more people as elders/pastors, 2) actively looking for one or more people to employ as elders/pastors, or 3) could not afford to hire someone as elder/pastor but was working toward that goal.
In this series, I am examining three passages (in four posts) in which elders/pastors and financial benefits are explicitly connected. Those three passages are Acts 20:33-35, 1 Timothy 5:17-18, and 1 Peter 5:2. I think it is important to analyze each passage to determine what it can or cannot mean before synthesizing the information together to help us understand what Scripture says about the connection between elders/pastors and financial benefits.
In this post, I’m going to examine what Luke writes in Acts 20:33-35 regarding elders/pastors and financial benefits.
At this point in the Book of Acts, Paul is making his way back to Jerusalem. He arrived at Miletus, a port city near Ephesus. But, he did not have time to travel to Ephesus, so he sent a message to the elders from that city and asked them to meet him in Miletus. (Acts 20:15-17) He reminded them how he had lived among them while he was in the city of Ephesus. (Acts 20:18-27; see also Acts 19)
Next, Paul exhorted them in a way that is often understood as being normative for all elders of all times in all places:
Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood. (Acts 20:28 ESV)
Paul warned them that dangers would arise from false teachers who would come in among the church. (Acts 20:29-32) This, then, leads to the passage of interest for this post:
I coveted no one’s silver or gold or apparel. You yourselves know that these hands ministered to my necessities and to those who were with me. In all things I have shown you that by working hard in this way we must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” (Acts 20:33-35 ESV)
At the beginning of this section, Paul clearly spells out that he is talking about working in a such a way as to provide for himself (and others). Obviously, he also expects the elders to do the work of shepherding and overseeing, since he commanded this kind of work earlier in Acts 20:28. So, here, Paul is talking about another kind of work, the kind of work that Paul calls “working with your hands” in other places (connected with the terms “these hands” in this passage).
This passage also includes the second command in Paul’s exhortation to the elders from Ephesus: “…by working hard in this way we must help…” or “it is necessary to help the weak by working hard in this manner.” “In this way/manner” points back to Paul’s own example of working with his hands to support himself and others. Paul commanded (it is necessary) the elders to work in the same way that he hand worked so that they could support themselves, their families, and others who are in need/weak. (Paul often combines the concepts of spiritual weakness with physical need, as it probably the case here.)
It is perhaps most interesting to me that it is in this context that Paul quotes Jesus (and Luke records it) as saying, “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” Paul is using that quotation to reinforce to the elders that they should work so that they can give to others (i.e., be a blessing to others).
According to Luke, Paul expected the elders to both work among the people by shepherding and overseeing, and he also expected them to work with their hands to support themselves and others. In this passage, there is no other indication of financial benefit from being an elder other than what the elder earns by working himself. This does not mean that other kinds of financial benefits were not available. Instead, it means that Paul expected them to work even if other financial benefits were present.
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