Truth Magazine

By Norman P. Smith

The Scriptures provide ample evidence that paying those who devote their lives to the proclamation of the gospel is authorized in the New Testament (Lk. 10:7; 1 Cor. 9:9,14; 2 Cor. 11:8; Phil. 4:16; 1 Tim. 5:18). The subject of pay for preachers is one that I’m convinced does not receive the consideration it deserves by most elderships and churches. I have never been a “full time” preacher, but having served as an elder in a fairly large congregation and having worked and worshiped in congregations that didn’t have elders, I know that in any meeting of the elders or men of the congregation when the idea of giving the preacher a raise is brought up, some individual will invariably say, “He is making more than I am already,” as if that should have any bearing on the matter! Generally speaking, a preacher’s salary comes at the mercy of the brethren. In considering pay for preachers I am afraid many brethren fail to understand the difference in the way preachers are paid and the way those of us who work in secular businesses are paid. Those who work in secular endeavors have many “perks” or advantages that preachers do not enjoy!

Self-Employment

For income tax purposes most preachers are considered to be self-employed. This means they are required to pay approximately fifteen percent of their pay into the Social Security System in order to enjoy the benefits thereof in old age. Those employed in secular endeavors pay in about half that much with the “company” paying in that much or more for them. A few churches may pay this for the preacher, but not many do.

Life and Health Insurance

Most companies offer free or low-cost life and health insurance to their employees. Preachers have no such benefits. If the preacher wants life insurance for himself and health insurance for himself and his family he must pay for it from his salary. When he buys this he doesn’t get the advantage of low-cost group plans offered by other employers. Rather, he must pay the extremely high premiums of individual plans. The premiums for a small life insurance policy on the preacher and minimum health coverage for him and his family may well run into the neighborhood of $5,000 per year. Check it out?

Home Ownership

Some churches own a “preacher’s home” that the preacher and his family are required to live in whether that is their preference or not. Thus, a preacher is furnished a “home” and doesn’t need as much salary. In this way the preacher(s) actually pay for the “preacher’s home” but never builds up an equity in a home for himself (as the rest of us do). Also, he does not have the privilege of taking the real estate taxes and mortgage interest payments off his income tax. Over a period of several years this can amount to a tidy sum!

Overtime, Vacation Pay and Longevity

Workers in the secular field, paid on an hourly basis, receive time and one half pay for any time worked over eight hours per day. Although I am not aware of any preacher who is required to punch a time clock, most preachers work much more than eight hours per day. Most companies give their employees paid holidays and paid vacations each year. If the local church allows the preacher a couple of weeks vacation, he usually has meetings scheduled for those weeks instead of being able to take his family on an extended trip. Also, preachers do not build up the advantages of longevity with reference to job security and job retention.

Entertainment

I have never been able to understand why, but in most churches where I have worked and worshiped, the preacher and his wife seem to be expected to do more entertaining in the home than other members of the church. This, too, may be a drain on the preacher’s finances. I’m not advocating an “entertainment allowance” for preachers, but I suggest this should be taken into consideration when determining how much we will pay the preacher.

Libraries and Study Aids

As a general rule, most preachers maintain a much larger library than most other members of the church. They must constantly buy study helps, such as commentaries, for their work. If you have purchased a new Bible or commentary or other study aid recently, you know how expensive they have become. Some churches maintain a good library for the use of the preacher and other members, but these are few and far between.

Other Factors

There are many other factors that should be figured in when we are determining what we should pay the preacher. Moving expenses, replacement of furniture and appliances damaged in a move, college tuition for the kids, extra clothing and cleaning bills (remember, the preacher and his family must look “presentable”), extra gasoline and car expenses (because he is expected to do more “visiting” since he has so much more time than the rest of us), and I am sure you can add to this list.

Some Other Considerations

Preachers do not have opportunities for promotion to higher paying positions as we do, unless some other church offers them a few bucks more than they are getting to come work with them. Perhaps that is why many preachers move every two or three years. Inflation rises, living costs go up, but too many brethren fail to see that need to give the preacher a raise. Maybe there would not be so much moving about if we, at least, allowed their salaries to keep up with inflation. It is no wonder that many preachers are tempted to go into a “sideline” business in order to supplement the meager salary some brethren want to pay. I know of some good men who have quit full-time preaching to take a secular job in order to provide a decent living for their families. They grow weary of having to “beg” for enough pay just to keep their heads above water!

I know two very capable, effective preachers, who have been preaching the gospel for more than 30 years each and have upheld the truth in debates with denominationalists as well as our institutional brethren. Over the years they have preached for large as well as small congregations and have preached uncountable meetings. One told me he has never received as much as $400 per week salary and the other said he has not had a raise in pay since 1980! Brethren, this is not as it should be! The cost of food, gasoline and everything else has gone up for the preacher as it has for the rest of us. And, I am confident that most of us have had several increases in pay over the past several years. Even those retired on Social Security receive regular cost of living increases!

I have not written this as a blanket condemnation of all churches. Some congregations pay their preacher well, a few pay more than the man is worth, but many pay far too little. There is no work more important than the preaching of the gospel. Therefore, when considering pay for the preaching, let us not be concerned that on the surface it looks like “He’s already making more than I am,” but let us consider all things involved. The laborer is worthy of his hire (Lk. 10:7).

Guardian of Truth XXXVI: 10, pp. 300-301
May 21, 1992

By Frank Jarnerson

Contrary to the thinking of many today, there can be no true liberty without law. Lawlessness would result in anarchy, not freedom.

In sports events, there must be laws (rules) in order for anyone to have the freedom to participate in the game. Though true sportsmanship will not try to take advantage of the rules, that does not mean that no rules are necessary. In civil government, there must be laws so that those who want to do right will know what is expected of them, and those who violate those rules will be punished. Without laws there would be no security. It is not possible to even conceive of living in a country without laws, yet there are some brethren who so dislike the word “law” that they have convinced themselves that we are free from God’s rules.

James said, “But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does” (Jas. 1:25). It is called “the law of Christ” (Gal. 6:2), “the law of faith” (Rom. 3:27), “the implanted word” (Jas. 1:21), or “the faith” (Gal. 3:23). The New Law is a “law of liberty,” not because we are free from law, but because obedience to it truly liberates us from sins, in contrast to the temporary forgiveness under the Old Laws (Heb. 10:4). It gives us “freedom from law” in the sense that perfectly keeping law is not the means of justification. The law of Christ provides genuine forgiveness through the blood by which it was dedicated (Matt. 26:28). The rejection of the law would be a rejection of the blood of Christ.

What did Paul mean when he said, “for you are not under law but under grace” (Rom. 6:14)? First notice that if this teaches that we have no law, it would negate the need for grace, for “where there is no law, there is no transgression” (Rom 4:15). Second, notice that the fourth chapter teaches we are free from “works” (in the sense of perfect works), but this does not mean that we do not have works to do. There is a difference between earning our salvation by meritorious works, and striving to obey Christ while depending upon his grace for our failures. Chapters five and six talk about freedom from sin, but that does not mean that we never commit sin. There is a difference between committing sin and living a life of sin. Likewise, being “free from law” does not mean that we have no law, but that our justification is not on the basis of law-keeping. The law through which we are justified provides for failure, but that does not justify failure to respect the law! When John said, “For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ” (Jn. 1:17), he did not mean that there was no “grace and truth” under the Old Law, nor that there is no “law” under the grace and truth. The “truth” is the law, or rule of right and wrong.

We may not understand why God gave some of the rules, but love for Him will result in sincere effort to obey in all things, realizing that our justification is through His grace, and not through our perfection in law-keeping. Our efforts to obey should be from a heart of love, but those who do not strive to obey do not love him. God did not say “love is the only law a Christian has.” He said, “By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and keep His commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome” (1 Jn 5:2,3) The one who despises law despises the law-giver.

Guardian of Truth XXXVI: 10, p. 294
May 21, 1992

By Steve Wolfgang

Footnote: Tom Alexander, “And this is a church of Christ,” Image 8, No. I (January/February 1992): 20-21,31.

Despite the “revelations” which emerged at the Nashville Meeting in December 1988 regarding the extent to which increasingly liberal brethren have strayed from New Testament practices, there seem to be some who cannot admit how far “we are drifting,” as J.D. Tant was known to say.

The following sections from an article in Image magazine should remove all doubt about the present or future course of such brethren and the churches which tolerate and encourage them. Consider the author’s description of three young preachers among “mainline Churches of Christ.”

 They are all in their thirties.

 They were all raised in very conservative and very active church of Christ families.

 They are all graduates of Christian universities that are operated by members of the churches of Christ.

 Their fathers are either elders or full-time ministers, faithfully serving in churches of Christ today.

But as you might have ascertained, these three men are obviously much more progressive than their forbearers, both in their attitudes and their demonstration of what it means for them to be followers of Jesus in the church of Christ of today – especially when you consider the kind of religious climate they grew up in.

And if I had to describe them theologically, in terms and practices we all could relate to (although these are just the tip of the iceberg), I would have you note some common beliefs they each hold strongly to, after much study and prayer:

1. All three ministers advocate and are aggressively implementing a much more active and visible role for women in their congregations by: increasing their teaching role beyond that of children, including them in leadership roles such as deaconnesses or servant-leaders in various ministries, permitting them to pray and start songs in mixed groups, and as a church, listening while a woman shares her faith with the church family.

And let me re-emphasize – they didn’t just start doing this on a whim or because it’s trendy – no way! As a church, they have spent months and months studying the enhancement of women’s roles in their congregation, and they are still studying today.

2. They are each aggressively pursuing Christian fellowship with others who are outside the traditional boundaries of the brotherhood of Churches of Christ, who they believe and perceive have also yielded their lives in submission to the lordship of Jesus Christ; and they are treating them as brothers and sisters in the Lord.

3. They each believe strongly, strongly that baptism is fundamentally part of the plan of God, and they preach it as such; but they refuse to tell God he cannot work in the lives of people before they are baptized.

And their plea is this: “The churches of Christ are not the only ones who follow Christ in this world; but we sure want to be some of the ones and to do everything we can to reach people who don’t know the Lord with the gospel.”

4. These three ministers, again whom many of you know and appreciate, believe instrumental music to be a nonissue; and though none of the three are actively pressing for it in their Sunday assemblies, they have not found those classic passages in Ephesians and Colossians to be prohibitive of such, and so they have no scriptural problem with it, nor is it a conscience barrier for them.

Now here, some of you may be saying “Uh-ho.” But please hear me out.

One of these three was the final choice of the selection committee to be the youth minister for one of the largest churches of Christ in the country, yet when he went through one final interview with the elders, he was asked by one particular elder if he thought instrumental music was wrong. He said that where he currently was, they did not use it. (They were well-known for having a tremendously enthusiastic singing church.)

But again, he was asked, “Do you think it’s wrong?”

This time he replied, “By ‘wrong,’ do you mean that a baptized believer will go to hell forever because he used an instrument in his devotion to God?” And that same elder stood up from his chair and said, “That’s exactly what I mearil” And this minister, who was incredibly devoted to Jesus, could not swallow his integrity, even for such a tremendous opportunity, and he replied, “No, I do not.” Needless to say, he didn’t get the job.

And I’m just amazed and shocked that that was the bottom line.

Now, why am I sharing with you these few observations that I have seen in the lives and ministries of these three young, dynamic preachers of churches of Christ, from three very different parts of the country?

Because change is taking place all around us, and more is coming!

Guardian of Truth XXXVI: 10, p. 298
May 21, 1992

By Louis J. Sharp

It has been said, “Great minds run in the same channel.” We make no claim for “greatness” – but ” kindred minds,” quite often do arrive at the same place. Because we are “like-minded,” this happened with me and a life-long friend.

Last Mother’s Day, I wrote a short article entitled “Childhood Memories of Mother” for our local bulletin. Brother Mike Willis, editor of Guardian of Truth, evidently thought it deserving of wider circulation and ran it in his paper. My friend, Robert L. (Bob) Craig read it, and wrote the following letter, which I print with his permission.

“Dear Louis, I just finished reading your article on your mother, and since I knew her pretty well, I just wanted to say that your article does her justice. I was in one of her classes just as I was in sister Brewer’s (my grandmother, US) and another of your aunt’s whose name I do not recall at this time (Ruth Dowdey, US). And since my mother died when I was only ten, you might say that 1, too, learned some of what I know at the feet or knee of your mother and your kins people. I wrote a little poem this past Mother’s Day that I thought you might appreciate and am sending you a copy.”

Last May, both Bob and I were recalling precious memories of our mothers. I am so thankful I did not lose my mother at ten years as he did, but I am gratified that my mother was able to touch the lives of a number of others whom she taught. Bob’s letter is a great tribute to her memory. Following is his accolade to his own mother, who was taken in his childhood.

Honoring Mother

I heard a man on TV say,

“A broken heart will go away.”

Time will heal

A million things,

But a broken heart

Will still remain.

She was little and pretty,

And very bold.

And I was a lad

Just ten years old.

She doctored my cuts,

Kissed away my tears,

Tended my bruises

And healed my fears.

She slept one night,

And her soul He did take.

A little heart broke,

‘Cause she didn’t awake.

I’m weary and tired,

And my hair has turned gray,

But time has not healed

The heart broken that day.

Night after night

As I pillow by head,

I think of my mama

And honor the dead.

Truly a beautiful tribute to his mother by brother Craig.

Guardian of Truth XXXVI: 10, p. 295
May 21, 1992