pastor's salary and my tithe

[Lovely Lane]

When I was a young pastor, an older man in my church, a leader of the loud opinionated sort told me approvingly that he knew I'd be a good pastor because I drove a modest automobile.

He drove a Cadillac.

what do you drive now, a Volt?

 

[Almighty's humble servant]

what do you drive now, a Volt?

Off subject, but I'll take a guess and see if sister Anne will elaborate.

My guess is a 2005 Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo or a similar model SUV.

Am I close sister?

 

[Lovely Lane]

Off subject, but I'll take a guess and see if sister Anne will elaborate.

My guess is a 2005 Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo or a similar model SUV.

Am I close sister?

Could be, I drive a 2002 Ford p/u, it isn't easy on the gas but I use it for what it is for. Plus, my dogs like sticking their heads out the window and look down. Not often they can look down on another dog. (A pair of Jacks)

 

[Almighty's humble servant]

Could be, I drive a 2002 Ford p/u, it isn't easy on the gas but I use it for what it is for. Plus, my dogs like sticking their heads out the window and look down. Not often they can look down on another dog. (A pair of Jacks)

LOLOL......I love dogs. Especially Jack Russels.

Im still driving a 97 Jeep....260K and still running strong.

 

[KimberlyAA]

And it is a good thing to receive wealth from God and the good health to enjoy it. To enjoy your work and accept your lot in life—this is indeed a gift from God. (Ecclesiastes 5:19)

Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need. (Matthew 6:33)

Not that I was ever in need, for I have learned how to be content with whatever I have.I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little. (Philippians 4:11-12)

Don’t love money; be satisfied with what you have. For God has said,
“I will never fail you. I will never abandon you.” (Hebrews 13:5)

Trust in your money and down you go! But the godly flourish like leaves in spring. (Proverbs 11:28)

 

[revanneosl]

I now drive a 2008 Mercury Milan.

In between the Ford Festiva that my Cadillac-driving parishioner so admired and the Milan, I drove a Ford Aerostar Minivan (the better to take the Youth Group and the Church Ladies to various events, my dear).

I had to dump my beloved minivan when I moved to the big city though. Not enough room to park it.

My point (if anybody cares) was that parishioners' attitudes toward their pastors are much like the attitudes of parents in affluent white suburban school districts: they want their servants (in this case pastors and school teachers) to be well-paid. Just not quite as well-paid as they, themselves are.

 

[CGL1023]

Hi everyone- hoping this falls under theology. I am seeking answers to a current topic I am studying. I believe that pastors should be taken very good care of and that they deserve to be comfortable and well paid. However, I just found out my pastor lives in a $1,700,000 house, etc, etc and I look at needs in our church and ministries within it and wonder if this is godly. Part of me says, "look at Solomon" and part of me is disappointed. Any guidance on scriptures to support this extravagance? I work really hard for my money and I want to know my tithe and offerings are truly going to God's work. Thanks.

A majority of modern day preachers are simply playing the money game, a well-established set of principles used to separate the individual from their money.

God declares in Malachi to bring the tithes into the storehouse... I am taught that God's storehouse is a body of believers that are practicing Mark 16:17,18; that is, people are being healed and people are being delivered from demonic oppression on an ongoing basis. Further, they receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit, the basis for being born again (John 3:3-7).

Where God is moving, you expect results like this and you should not expect anything less. The fact that there are few results like I have described shows the majority of churches aligned with those mentioned in the first paragraph. God will not honor a tithe that is given to a powerless church because a powerless church is not the Church of Jesus Christ. In this situation, God would have no reason to 'rebuke the devourer' on your behalf, though you had tithed.

Pray to be led to a church where God is moving in power.

 

[Grace51]

I'm not against women having positions in ministry in all cases, but women as pastor/leaders tend to be domineering over their husbands. This is how you know that it is unscriptural, any time a woman takes spiritual leadership over her husband, the design God intended for marriage is corrupted.

Sadly many men abdicate this leadership, leaving a void that the women of todays culture often gladly fill. And perhaps that is better than no leadership at all, women are picking up the slack for the men.

But the fact remains that Paul relies on God's design at creation and of the original sin and curse of sin for his reason to reject female leadership. It is not a cultural thing, that is a cheap answer. The Law of Moses and the culture of the Hebrew nation did not develop until long long long after the garden of Eden. Whenever women justify their leadership position as the call of God it should always be viewed in light of the LACK of male leadership. It is not about culture it is about the fundamentals of human nature as God intended.

(you are right that this is off topic, but all topics do stray after a few pages -- and I did not raise the issue..... a troll did it!)

i know this is a bit off the topic.

but i agree, i think some female pastors can behave in a rather shrewish manner, which is totally inappropriate.

i once knew this female pastor who seem to be incredibly proud of the fact that she was a complete shrew towards her husband. i was rather disgusted that she did not seem to take her behaviors seriously.

as for the OP question.

i think the book of Job answers the question nicely.

Job was a really wealthy man, but it did not impact the kind of Christian he was, and we know this because God put his faith through the test, and he passed with flying colors.

i mean as long as the pastor bought the house with his own money, i do not think he should be condemned for it.

i do not understand why so many Christians want to put restrictions on their pastors in such a manner?

 

[Archivist]

but i agree, i think some female pastors can behave in a rather shrewish manner, which is totally inappropriate.

Not my experience. We love of current (female) pastor. I'm sure that there are some female pastors who can "behave in a rather shrewish manner." I'm sure that there also some male pastors who are abusive control freaks. People are people.

Job was a really wealthy man, but it did not impact the kind of Christian he was, and we know this because God put his faith through the test, and he passed with flying colors.

Sorry but Job was Old Testament--he was not a Christian.

i mean as long as the pastor bought the house with his own money, i do not think he should be condemned for it.

The OP didn't report on how the pastor obtain the house. Perhaps he (or she) was independently wealthy. However, if he was taking church money to purchase a home worth almost $2 million, money that could have easily been used for other purposes, then as a church member I would also be questioning my giving.

i do not understand why so many Christians want to put restrictions on their pastors in such a manner?

It is a question of the best use of church resources.

 

[bbbbbbb]

I now drive a 2008 Mercury Milan.

In between the Ford Festiva that my Cadillac-driving parishioner so admired and the Milan, I drove a Ford Aerostar Minivan (the better to take the Youth Group and the Church Ladies to various events, my dear).

I had to dump my beloved minivan when I moved to the big city though. Not enough room to park it.

My point (if anybody cares) was that parishioners' attitudes toward their pastors are much like the attitudes of parents in affluent white suburban school districts: they want their servants (in this case pastors and school teachers) to be well-paid. Just not quite as well-paid as they, themselves are.

Bingo! I think your point is right on the money!

This is a principle that doesn't apply merely to pastors. It is a deeply-rooted social sin - envy. I remember when I was younger, having completed university. I landed my first job and, in time, purchased a house. It was not nearly as nice as the fairly modest home I grew up in. i later moved to another city and bought a similar house. Much later in life i moved again and found an excellent house in the new city which was markedly superior to my parents' home. My mother severely scolded me for owning it, even though it was well within my means. She was offended that I had surpassed her in my success in life. She failed to understand that it was not a competition because we both had different sets of problems to overcome. In my own opinion she was more successful than I can ever hope to be.

 

[Grace51]

Not my experience. We love of current (female) pastor. I'm sure that there are some female pastors who can "behave in a rather shrewish manner." I'm sure that there also some male pastors who are abusive control freaks. People are people.

and my point was not about female can not be pastors. it is more about pastors who do not live according to word of God, or worse still, remain unrepentant and does it openly, have no business being a pastor, men or women.



Sorry but Job was Old Testament--he was not a Christian.

OK, if you want to get technical about it. But he was a follower of God, and Jesus is part of the trinity, is He not?

anyway, the point is he was a follower of God, hence his example is still applicable to today.



The OP didn't report on how the pastor obtain the house. Perhaps he (or she) was independently wealthy. However, if he was taking church money to purchase a home worth almost $2 million, money that could have easily been used for other purposes, then as a church member I would also be questioning my giving.

OK you have a good point here. but you know, some pastors are quite shrewd investors you know?




It is a question of the best use of church resources.

agreed. However, i was responding to some of the posts i have read, which seem to condemn a pastor drive a nice car?????

 

[meischa12]

As the OP has never reposted we can't really know much about his pastor, he said his pastor lives in a $1,700,,000 house. Maybe he looked on Zillow. Maybe he listened to gossip.

One pastor I know lives in an over $1mil house, he inherited it, it is a smallish house, but he lives in an expensive city.
Another pastor I know recently paid about $1.5mil for his house, he also bought the house jointly with parents for a good reason. Someone not knowing all the information, but knowing of the purchase price may question his values.
I live in an expensive area in Southern California, owning a $1-2mil house is not extravagant. Of course one can find lower priced houses, but just knowing a value/price doesn't tell the whole story.

 

[Lovely Lane]

How 'bout all ministers live in the members homes with a meager monthly stipend. This will filter out the chaff from the wheat. Members and ministers would be tested in their faith. Isn't that how it use to be done?

 

[ptomwebster]

How 'bout all ministers live in the members homes with a meager monthly stipend. This will filter out the chaff from the wheat. Members and ministers would be tested in their faith. Isn't that how it use to be done?

That's fine if you want a single pastor without an education.

 

[meischa12]

That's fine if you want a single pastor without an education.

I was wondering about that idea, is he bringing his wife and five kids, maybe an inlaw?

No thanks for any of us. Do the pastor rotate every month??

 

[Lovely Lane]

Congregants use to vie for the privilege to care for the minister; meals, housing, clothing, etc.. Times have changed, maybe for the better. Many prefer to only see the minister once a week at a distance.

 

[ptomwebster]

Congregants use to vie for the privilege to care for the minister; meals, housing, clothing, etc.. Times have changed, maybe for the better. Many prefer to only see the minister once a week at a distance.

How many have you had as guest in your home, LL. I expect you provide free meals, housing, clothing, etc. to them all the time since it's such a privilege.

 

[iluvatar5150]

Even in an expensive area, I'm not sure that a $1,700,000 home would qualify as a "modest" house.

Depends. In Boston, that'll get you an 1800 sq ft condo, which is about as much house as you'd get for $300k in the suburbs.

-Dan.

 

[Grace51]

Congregants use to vie for the privilege to care for the minister; meals, housing, clothing, etc.. Times have changed, maybe for the better. Many prefer to only see the minister once a week at a distance.

well depends on the minister, i have meet ministers that are just so vile ( i am not exagerating here), that all i can do is trying to pray to God for forgiveness, as for vie to care for them? well, all i can is they are doing just fine on their own.

 

[Lovely Lane]

How many have you had as guest in your home, LL. I expect you provide free meals, housing, clothing, etc. to them all the time since it's such a privilege.

,Nope, they have their own homes and salary. Guess you don't either, for whatever reason.