Do you think a pastor or preacher should get paid for what they do? Should they have a salary like they are working a regular job? Do you believe they should work a regular job and be a pastor or preacher? what do you think?

Our church is very interested in having a pastor who is completely focused on helping us accomplish the mission we feel God has given us as a Body of Believers. The best way to insure that is to hire him on a full-time basis and pay him so he can support his family. We are an independent non-denominational church, so our governing body is our Board of Elders. the Elders decide the Pastor's salary. He gets paid along the average of what the members of our congregation make. That way he is not over or under paid.

Hell no I do not think they should be paid. They should lay down with the leapars, not rise up with the country club.

It depends what this salary is. As many "super-churches" in the U.S show, the pastor receives in a year more money than most people earn in a lifetime. They drive fancy cars, wear Armani suits and Rolex watches. This is plain wrong.

However, not all churches are like this, and I would be willing to bet most aren't. So - should pastors get paid?????

Let's take a look at the hours required to be a full-time pastor. Firstly, there are the endless meetings. They meet with the church diocese to discuss issues. They meet with thier own church elders/deacons/lay leaders/etc. They are extensively involved with the day-to-day running of the church as they have these meetings. They meet with individual church members for countless reasons (marriage counseling, family crises, for example only). They meet and lead various Bible study groups throughout the week.

They are required to go to a nearby hospital when and if there is a sick patient who requires a pastor's attention (assuming the hospital doesn't have a chaplain, that is, which many do not, at least down here).

They are the ones members of the community meet when they walk into a church and ask to see the minister.

They are on call 24/7 for any who wishes to contact them for any reason.

They have a sermon to prepare every week. They often have other teaching commitments when invited to speak at other churches/church functions.

They are at the centre of any church-event, and in ensuring the smooth running of all this.

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All in all, a pastor/minister is lucky if he gets off with 60 hours of work every week (not including sermon preparation time). It is, for all intents and purposes, a full-time job. So yes, I believe pastors/ministers should get paid as if they were in a full-time job. A reasonable salary is not an unreasonable request. It's when pastors start owning mansions and Ferarris that it becomes unreasonable.

Concerned about the soul....no pay.

If they get paid then they may not in it for the right reasons.

No there should not be paid clergy.
If the members of the church do not want to do humanitarian tasks themselves, then they are not much of a church.
If they have not learned enough in a lifetime of bible classes to teach bible classes themselves, then it only prove that their bible classes were all worthless.
If they do not know how to counsel people on problems of daily life, many some of the time they wasted in bible classes studying the same thing they have studied a thousand times before from the same book, could have been better spent in studying couseling, first aid, and other subjects they could apply to help their fellow man, and not just for those inside the church but for those suffering on the outside of well.

God wanted a nation a priests, meaning each person should carry the weight of helping one another. He did not say that he wanted a nation of employers of clergy.

I would also like to add that seeing one church after another in a town, large to small is a horror to me. Think of all the good that could have been done if all of that time and money had gone into building projects for the community instead of into monuments to SELF, because God does not need a house, only people need houses. Having a school is one thing and grand buildings of self worhship are another.

God said to do for others what you would have others do for you if you were them, not sit in a building with stained glass windows, listening to singing and someone read to you, while you stare at the pretty colors on the wall.

Good point, BA

All Christians are called to be "ministers" - to mister to others. The Bible never gives anyone the title of "Minister". I always cringe when I hear someone say, "thank you Pastor Cam", since it's not a true indication of Chrsitianity.

However, while all Christians are commanded to minister, there is place for "full-time" ministry. It's exactly the same as normal ministry that everyday Christians should do, but because they don't need to go to a job, they can put more time and more energy into works of ministry. These people that can put that time and effort in to full-time minstry, we call "Ministers", as an official title. It doesn't grant them any special powers or priveledges in God's eyes (indeed, they will be judged more harshly because of their responsibilities to the people, according to the Bible)

Regards, PA

i think no-pay and a vow of poverty is in order. and give them $1,000,000 parsoniges to charity . and make them do a few tours in iraq with a m-4 carbine in one hand and a bible in the other.

but forgive my trespass--as i have a built in hatred for any church that loves $$$.

I will tell you why i decided to ask this question. I live in a small town, it is a poor town. When my husband and i first moved here we noticed this huge building that is being built just outside of town. I mean this building reminds you of something taken from rome. Finally i asked my sister what this building was, she told me oh it's going to be a church. Of course since i grow up in this town i knew who was the pastor. About 12 years ago this man was in prison. He is now a pastor of this church. He lives in a huge brand new house. He drives a fancy 40,000 car.

for real....in our town we had a group build a 16,000,000 dollar church complex....I don't believe God wants this kind of stuff....Jesus did not zoom around in a million dollar chariot, He walked most of His ministry. But God did make allowances for His priests. some of the offerings that were commanded was given to the priest for his family to eat and live. i do not think God intended to make anyone excessively rich, but to use it to help others who needed it and not buy expensive cars, planes, fancy homes, 1,000 $ suits, etc...every group needs a reasonable meeting place if they want one, but 15,000,000 out of the above 16,000,000 could have eased a lot of suffering....

randomhit10

Couldn't agree more, R10. Here in the BB, mega-churches abound. In Atlanta, my relatives attend a brand new 40,000,000 church! Yes, 40,000,000! It's disgusting. All that money that could have gone to feed the hungry, homeless etc. Makes me sick quite frankly.

Sean

I believe that clergy should be paid. However, I think that if they allow politicians to speak from the pulpit, and include political agenda statements in the sermon, that the tax exempt status should be rescinded from that particular church file with the IRS. I also think that if televangelists live like kings, with mansion upon mansion, and Bentley's in the garage, etc... they should be taxed as kings! Just like the rest of the non-clergy in the top tax bracket.

Separation of church and State demands just that. And besides preaching politics is a violation of the laws that govern one's retaining the 501c3 tax exempt status. (Hear that PETA!? Sadly, no one at the IRS has noted it. )

yes! paid alot or a little i dont know but i do know every man has to eat.

I certainly agree with IF and PA's sentiment. And others about the mega-churches.

In my hometown, there was a nearby glass and steel, multimillion dollar church with sound equipment that would make rock bands green with envy (These were also infesting nearby Branson). Every Sunday they would ask for money to help the poor and with expenses. And every time I heard that, I felt sick to my stomach.

The church I attended (along with most others in the town) was very small. There was a plaque on the wall that showed tithes from the previous week and the previous week's expenses (electricity, maintenence, etc) and every week the amount of tithes came to half of what the expenses were. The pastor was paid a salary, but it was right at poverty line. Church expenses were paid in tithes and other donations and believe me, they never were able to cover expenses. The pastor and his wife ended up paying expenses out of pocket. Most of the people who attended that church were poor and gave what they could, sometimes more than they could. The church was not able to support itself and yet still helped the poor in town.

The Southern Baptist church right behind us, while not quite the glass and steel giant (yet) had renovations every couple of years. It got bigger and bigger as I grew up. Now it's built to look like (and I'm not kidding) a stereotypical southern plantation manor. The richest people in town attend that church. A friend who attended it bragged about the renovations and how they had so much money and attendance (which wasn't much more than my church, actually) that the pastor started paying the choir. Our church went into an tizzy when an anonymous donor sent over new choir robes, since it was the first new robes since 1964.

So yeah, I'm disgusted at those multi-million dollar churches where pastors get paid more than the average person in America and still ask for money. When they spend so much money on a freaking building that can hold ten times their attendance (great, vaulted ceilings, just what we need), then I want to ask them just what in the sam hell they think they're doing. It's appalling.

I think pastors/preachers should be paid a living wage. I've seen first hand the kind of work that they do (I assisted mine one summer) and I have no problem with them getting paid for that. Especially since being a pastor is usually a full-time job anyway. Getting a job to pay the bills would take time away from the members of the church that need him. It's not like our pastor had a nice car, the latest entertainment equipment, and lived off lobster. He and his wife ate mac & cheese many nights. His wife did work, but in that town the best she could do was minimum wage part time cashier at the local grocery store. She also worked her tail off making repairs to the church.

If pastors, the ones that believe in their work and put in all the effort to be what the congregation needs, are paid a LIVING wage, then I am all for it.

Those jerks who make more money than God can shove it. They need a few lessons in being humble. I have no problem with someone finally making good, but to do it at the expense of people you're supposed to be a spiritual guide to is criminal.

Thank you Ivy for you comments. I'm glad to see I’m not the only one who thinks this way. Here is another one for you guys. There is a church that is around the corner from my house. They shut it down oh I guess maybe 12 years ago. I would think that someone would put a free store or something in it to help the town community out. Times are hard, minimal wage hasn't been raised in nearly 10 years. There is not a whole lot of work around here. Most might say, why don't they leave. Well all I can say is it takes money to leave. I myself would like to encourage people to help. , If you need something like food, clothes, beds, a shoulder to cry on, someone to talk to that won't judge, dishes ect... I feel in my heart that I can't do enough. I want to do more. I'm to the point where I don't want to preach to anyone I just want to help. I just can't stand it when you know that children are involved. Not enough to eat, nothing to sleep on. Actually this inspires me I should find out who owns the building and ask them about doing the free store to help the community.

No, they should be given a home and small allowance for food, preaching is supposed to be a calling, and not done for personal gain.

So instead of being able to save money for a vacation once in a while, saving money to pay for their children's education, paying medical bills, they should just do it all for free? People who actually spend years in school and become qualified as therapists/counselors and work a typical 50-60 hour week should do it all for free.

I guess we should make sure the preachers don't spend their food money on something wild and crazy like clothes or a night at the movies. We should just put them on food stamps to be sure.

It has been my experience, and the experience of those around me, that the majority of preachers (not the millionaires) aren't in it for personal gain beyond the spiritual gain they acquire while helping people.

Monks and nuns are completely different from preachers/pastors. Monks and nuns aren't usually responsible for an entire congregation of people that they have to singlehandedly be counselor, mediator, spiritual advisor, and an open ear to. Monks and nuns have the luxury of taking a vow of silence and living their lives in quiet contemplation and meditation of spiritual matters. They don't have to try and figure out how they're going to keep the church running when the roof leaks, half the choir is out sick, six couples are on the verge of divorce, and some of the youth group was arrested for drugs. There's a reason monks and nuns don't have salaries. There's a reason preachers/pastors do. And trust me, the salaries aren't anywhere close to glamorous.

Next you'll tell me that teachers are in it for the money.

They should be paid. Many of them have attended school for the additional education needed and if God allows it why should they have any less then the congregation?

yeah, seminary isnt cheap, and pastors are paid quite a bit less than others with their level of education.