June 28, 2006

All in a Day's Work...

I think the employment package for our church ministers is quite generous, but it appears the opportunity for outside employment is inviting and lucrative. The initial salary package of one minister was increased to allow his wife to stay home with their preschool children rather than working outside the home to supplement their income. Within a matter of months the wife went to work anyway. On more than one occasion we’ve hired ministers with counseling credentials, and they did indeed offer their services to the congregation…for a price. Concurrently the church paid their salary for the ministerial position while ‘clients’ paid them for counseling. Many of our full-time ministers have very creatively increase their income by coaching and refereeing ball games, selling vitamins, substitute teaching, giving lessons in piano, guitar, and voice, and so on. Honestly, I’ve never understood why preachers say they don’t have time to make hospital calls, visit the nursing home or keep office hours, but somehow there’s time to pursue a supplemental income.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Gail;
----What baffles me is how much these preachers stand in the pulpit and exhort us to be like Jesus. Yet when any of us actually takes a "whip" and tries to clear the money changers from the temple, like Jesus, they cry, "Foul!" The holy temple that is His beloved bride should be as clean as we can possibly humble ourselves to make it. But neither bringing greedy avarice to the deeply spiritual obligation of exemplifying and exhorting the life of abiding in His Word, nor complaining from the pulpit whenever the boundary line is pointed out is an act of humility. For those who have eyes to see it only goes to show why His church has been scattered in disunity for twenty centuries, while each separate little piece of it has gloried in its own unity. What a pity! Jesus come soon!

Christian Ear said...

I suppose a game called, ‘Controlling the Whip” comes into play.