Overpaid Pastors... an Issue!

One of the blessings of sharing with the world that you're leaving your current job and heading to seminary is that some of your coworkers who you didn't otherwise know very well open up to you. I've been blessed to get to know better some men who either have been or are headed to seminary themselves. It has been a blessing to see God calling many to serve Him. I am reminded that Jesus told the 72, "The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest" (Luke 10:2).

One conversation I didn't expect to have was with a Christian who had recognized a problem in his church: overpaid pastors. From the small conservative congregations I've been a part of this seems like a strange fiction, but he assured me it was true. Where the average person in the pew makes over $300K it can be the tendency for the pastor to begin to look like the layman. My friend was appalled that the administration budget had swelled to $1.3 million. He was ready to accept a practice he'd seen in an Apostolic bretheren congregation, where all members would pay their tithe only once a year (usually coinciding with harvest time).

I think overpaid pastors can be a real issue. Quite often, though, the problem is underpaid pastors. Paul instructs us "Let the elders who rule well be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in preaching and teaching. For the Scripture says, 'You shall not muzzle an ox when it treads out the grain,' and, 'The laborer deserves his wages'" (1 Timothy 5:17-18). Pastors need to be paid. But, they often don't need the temptation to be over paid. I think one way to guard against this is to be part of a larger denomination. When there is visibility there is often accountability. Sometimes God's church in a wealthy area experiences overwhelming physical blessing. Often God's church in a poor area struggles. Being united together can cause the rich to give to the poor. Perhaps the problem of overpaid pastors is rooted in disjoint congregations.