paid clergy // missional living
Thursday, 25th February 2010
Wrestling with a lot and rediscovering my blog at the same time. Here’s a question that I ran across today. Because there are paid/ordained clergy, do you think unintentionally/intentionally people assume there is no need to serve or live missionally? I.e. Why should I, that guy is paid to do it? It intrigued me because I’ve never thought about it…
Here’s the quote from Deep Church where I read this:
What I want to see is everyone using their gifts, ministering to one another. I am not in favor of offices or officers, because they can get in the way of people doing the work of the ministry. If people think someone is being paid or is ordained to be the pastor, then why should they serve? And they won’t.
Thoughts, anyone?
Scott Fillmer
Thursday, 25th February 2010 at 10:22 am
In short, yes…
I have long realized that many people view those who get paid to do the missional work as those who are supposed to DO the missional work. The separation is made even more distinct (or confusing) when you throw in the missional-vacation.
Scott Fillmer´s last blog ..2009 Year End Photo-Video
bslash
Thursday, 25th February 2010 at 10:24 am
I have no idea what that means
J.B.
Thursday, 25th February 2010 at 11:46 am
That is most definitely a reason, but pastors getting paid isnt anything new. It probably is a westernized concept of the church (therefore unintentional). It is HIS job, not mine , as your thought indicated. Pastors and ministries must build a culture that encourages the missional. Most church members think being a christian is just “getting saved” , reading the bible, praying and not doing certain things. They dont understand the call to serve others with love. I think that it starts with the leadership, if the leaders model this by action, the church will follow. (or leave) They must convey to the church that it is OUR job as christians to love others through service with the gospel.
Scott Fillmer
Thursday, 25th February 2010 at 7:39 pm
Missional-vacation should have been mission-vacation… amazing how much difference an “al” can make. In other words, those in the church who take their 2-week vacation for that mission trip and feel they have done their missional work and after that 2-weeks the work is done for that year.
In other words, it is not a specific time frame or point in time, it is a lifestyle.
Scott Fillmer´s last blog ..2009 Year End Photo-Video
lisa
Friday, 26th February 2010 at 4:37 pm
The mission tourism or mission vacation is a systems issue within the church itself. A culture of missions must be cultivated with being faithful locally before we go globally. Therefore, my bias is not to have people serve on international trips until they’ve been active in local missions. Additionally, intentional dialogues about what we experienced in serving and what that means is inperative-even after spomething as simple as a half work day
Mark
Wednesday, 10th March 2010 at 3:09 pm
Would love to hear some comments on the following passage from 1st Corinthians 9. Wondering if I’m missing something here (especially verse 14):
3This is my defense to those who sit in judgment on me. 4Don’t we have the right to food and drink? 5Don’t we have the right to take a believing wife along with us, as do the other apostles and the Lord’s brothers and Cephas? 6Or is it only I and Barnabas who must work for a living?
7Who serves as a soldier at his own expense? Who plants a vineyard and does not eat of its grapes? Who tends a flock and does not drink of the milk? 8Do I say this merely from a human point of view? Doesn’t the Law say the same thing? 9For it is written in the Law of Moses: “Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain.”Is it about oxen that God is concerned? 10Surely he says this for us, doesn’t he? Yes, this was written for us, because when the plowman plows and the thresher threshes, they ought to do so in the hope of sharing in the harvest. 11If we have sown spiritual seed among you, is it too much if we reap a material harvest from you? 12If others have this right of support from you, shouldn’t we have it all the more?
But we did not use this right. On the contrary, we put up with anything rather than hinder the gospel of Christ. 13Don’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? 14In the same way, the Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel should receive their living from the gospel.
It appears that Paul did not use the “right” in order to avoid hindering the gospel; but he certainly did not encourage what he did to be the established practice for the local church should be (i.e., esp. v. 14).
Paul repeats his quote of Deuteronomy 25 when he is mentoring the new young pastor Timothy in 1st Timothy 5:
17The elders who direct the affairs of the church well are worthy of double honor, especially those whose work is preaching and teaching. 18For the Scripture says, “Do not muzzle the ox while it is treading out the grain,”and “The worker deserves his wages.”
Paul is obviously talking about the same thing.
While there are abuses of indulgent pastors on one end and abused pastors by stingy congregations on the other, a balanced approach clearly taught in Scripture to provide necessities to full-time pastors is biblically supported.
I am seriously looking into these very things and would love to hear commentary yea or nay.
Thanks for the post!
bslash
Wednesday, 10th March 2010 at 3:42 pm
Great points Mark. I’m all about being paid. I’ve been in ministry for ten years now and paid by the church for much of it. And I often say, pay the worker his wages, we don’t need to take advantage of people just because they are “good at something.” So I agree with you.
I think it’s biblical. I’m wondering more if people use it as an excuse not to live missionally as opposed to answering the question, “Should we get rid of paid staff?”
Bruce
Wednesday, 19th May 2010 at 9:36 am
In short, yes…
I have long realized that many people view those who get paid to do the missional work as those who are supposed to DO the missional work. The separation is made even more distinct (or confusing) when you throw in the missional-vacation.
Scott Fillmer´s last blog ..2009 Year End Photo-Video