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by David D. Allen, Pastor Calvary Baptist Church Hazel Park, Michigan mands they lay upon him. He must be a master o f ceremonies, public relations officer, real estate agent, insurance man, taxi driver, janitor, efficiency expert, finan cial wizard, hand-holder and baby-kisser. A church can help their pastor by not wasting his time on secondary matters. If he is forced to spend his time on non-essentials or things that someone else could do just as well, he has that much less time for preparation of heart and mind to minister the Word. Few churches give a great deal of thought to the material welfare of their pastor. Rising prices mean nothing as far as paying the preacher. “Let him live by faith and eat less,” seems to be the attitude. The Bible states, “ Even so hath the Lord ordained that they which preach the gos pel should live of the gospel” (I Cor. 9:14). A church should ade quately pay their preacher using whatever methods they feel to be honoring to the Lord. His work d e m a n d s work clothes. Unlike the tradesman, his work clothes are dress clothes, thus more expensive. A suit of clothes costs more than a pair of overalls. The average church com pares the preacher with grocery clerks, office boys and gasoline station attendants instead o f with other preachers. No apology is made for saying, without fear of adequate contradiction, that the average preacher in our country is woefully underpaid. For every
C hristians , for the most part, are more interested in how their pastor can help the church than how their church can help the pastor. A conscientious pastor diligently plans ways and means of being a blessing to his people but rarely do his people plan ways and means of being a blessing to him. An alert church can assist the pastor both spiritually and ma terially. Their spiritual help should be gin by praying daily for the pas tor. It is appalling how few Chris tians remember the minister be fore the Throne o f Grace. They think he does not need the prayers o f his people. If the folk in the pew were as quick to pray for the preacher as they are to criti cize him, there would be new power in the pulpit immediately. Preachers stand in need of the prayers of God’s people more than anyone else in the household of faith. The next thing that will great ly aid him is the regular attend ance at the services. Empty pews eat the heart out of a pastor. Most nominal church members attend church only on Sunday morning. The substantial, reliable, con sistent Christian will always be in his place at the mid-week meet ing to pray and to praise, and thus be a tower o f strength to his pastor. Some churches hinder their pastor by the unreasonable de
large church w ith a well-paid minister, there are scores of smaller churches pastored by men who receive a stingy stipend. The pastor’s family is in the public eye and if his wife or chil dren appear a little shabby, abuse is poured upon the head o f the preacher instead of on those who keep him stripped o f cash. Then there is the pastor’s auto mobile. He must be prepared to dash out any hour of the day or night in response to a telephone call. He makes his calls at the hospitals and homes to help sick, sorrowing, suffering saints. The doctor makes his calls in a new model and gets so much a call; the pastor makes his calls in an antiquated jalopy and often does not even get a “thank you” for his call. Some churches who have either purchased a new car for their pastor or substantially aided him in such a purchase have found it generally paid splendid dividends. Driving hither and thither in pastoral work and often operat ing a free jitney service is a siz able source of expense to a pastor. The pastor’s residence should belong to the church and be kept in just as good condition as the church building. The bills for heat, water, gas, electricity and telephone for the parsonage should be paid for by the church. Churches will invariably find that it pays in the long run to be gen erous with their pastors. Pastors, being human, appreci-
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THE KING'S BUSINESS
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