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Should pastors be paid? Yes

Brian Anderson

When we as believers enter into any discussion about the church, our beginning point must always be the Scriptures (2 Timothy 3:16). In them, we have the mind and will of God revealed to us. I am convinced that the shepherds of our churches have the right to glean a fair wage from their ministry, and that the church is obligated, to the best of its ability, to support those that labour in it.


If we had but a day left to live on earth, what would we do? I’m sure that most of us would draw together our families and closest friends, tell them how much we love them and share that which is most important to us. This is the very thing that the Lord did the night of His betrayal. He had already stripped Himself of His glory and taken the form of a servant (Philippians 2:7). Now that the time had come to lay His life down, He removed His outer garments, took a bowl and towel, and washed the disciples’ feet. This illustration in John 13 of the Lord doing that which is a servant’s duty to do, encapsulates what church life is to be. Serving one another is to be at the centre of the life of the church.

The principle of serving/loving one another is repeated throughout the New Testament (Galatians 5:14; 1 Thessalonians 4:9; Hebrews 13:1; 1 Peter 1:22). In fact, the primary evidence of the gospel being true is that we “love one another” (John 13:34-35). I think that most would agree that serving and loving one another is a primary duty for each of us. When it comes to our leaders, our pastors, how are we to serve, honour and support them?

I believe that Scripture, particularly 1 Corinthians 9: 1-15, is perfectly clear that our servant leaders have the right to draw a living from the gospel. Paul says very strongly that the leaders have a right to eat and drink (9:4). He compares himself with a soldier, who doesn’t fight for free (verse 7); with an ox, that has the right to feed off its work (verse 9); and with a thresher, who is to share in the crops (verse 10). He concludes by drawing on the Old Testament model of the priesthood in verses 13-14: “Don’t you know that those who work in the temple get their food from the temple, and those who serve at the altar share in what is offered on the altar? In the same way, the Lord has commended that those who preach the gospel should receive their living from the gospel.” Although Paul chose not to glean a living from his ministry, he was adamant that those who ministered did have that freedom. It was, and is, the church’s responsibility to respond appropriately.

In today’s environment, it is not easy for smaller congregations to support a pastor, let alone a staff. But a congregation’s size is irrelevant. The heart attitude of the people towards their shepherds is what God is looking for, and when the people’s hearts are in the right place, God can and will do miracles.

It is also quite common to hear of “pastor burnout”. This phenomenon is everywhere. No congregation is totally immune to it. It is a symptom of what I believe to be an overall systemic problem. We have so institutionalized the office of “pastor” that we burn out our leaders because of all the unreasonable expectations that we place on them. We expect them to be available at our every whim day or night, seven days a week. We expect them to be professional counsellors, able to fix all our problems and have all the answers. We expect them to be professional bookkeepers, able to balance the books. We expect them to be professional Sunday school teachers, able to train our children in the ways of the Lord, because we are too lazy to do it ourselves. All this, and we expect them to be happy when we pay them a poverty level wage, as we drive home in our BMWs and Cadillacs. Rather than obeying the commandment in 1 Timothy 5:17 to doubly honour our leaders, we expect them to be our slaves. This is the attitude of a selfish, sinful church. The well-known joke “Lord, You keep ‘em humble, and we’ll keep ‘em poor” is sad, because it reveals a heart attitude that has no place in Christ’s church.

Reflect back for a moment on 1 Corinthians 9:13. In comparing those that shepherd the church with those who performed services in the temple, Paul is saying that to shepherd/pastor the church is a “sacred service”. We can now see why we are to doubly honour those that labour among us. It is because what they do is sacred. As the Levites were set apart to do that which is holy (Numbers 18:6; Leviticus 7:6), those that shepherd the flock of God are equally doing that which is most holy.

In the final analysis, it comes down to attitude. When a man believes that he has been called of God to be a shepherd, he must separate himself to his calling and live the life of a servant. A servant has no rights. He is to serve according to the will of God (1 Peter 5:2) and expect nothing in return except the pleasure of his Master. And he is to trust that his Master will supply all his needs.

On the other hand, when the Lord has placed shepherds among His people to care for and lead them, the people must honour them doubly and care for them. Just as the Lord is the Master of the shepherd, He is also Master of the people – and the Lord’s people are to highly esteem their leaders by blessing and caring for them through that which the Lord has given them.

Brian Anderson is a member of Northview Community Church in Abbotsford, B.C.

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Last modified August 13, 2002.

© 2002 Mennonite Brethren Herald.
Published by the Canadian Conference of MB Churches.
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