Faithfully Providing

“Let the one who is taught the word share all good things with the one who teaches.”

‭‭Galatians‬ ‭6:6‬ ‭ESV‬‬

As I graduated seminary, and as I was ordained, I was called to serve as Assistant Pastor of a church in San Diego. In the Lutheran body of which I was then a part, my call had to be reviewed and agreed upon by the presiding pastor of our body. And, when he saw my call, he called the church and told them that they were offering me too much money. He told them that there were pastors who had been serving in ministry for twenty years who weren’t making as much as I was being offered.

I don’t want you to get a wrong impression. The first thing, which the presiding pastor failed to consider, is that the cost of living in San Diego was very different than it was in a small midwestern town. The salary and benefits they offered me were not lavish, but fair. They would take care of my needs and allow me to live comfortably as a single man, starting out in his first church, in Southern California.

As I was being called to a congregation more than ten years later, and by this time I was married with four children and another on the way, I was offered a small, run-down parsonage and an extremely small salary. It was so small, in fact, that there was no way I could support my family. No benefits were to be provided. And they were upset when I turned down the call. 

The mindset that I’m describing was once prevalent. Pastors were not well paid. They were, more or less, expected to be poor. 

When I was starting out in ministry, pastors were not always provided with health insurance. They were not always provided with a retirement plan. They were oftentimes given a parsonage in which they would live, and a small salary. And they were simply expected to trust God.

Please don’t misunderstand me. Pastors should absolutely trust God. But this shouldn’t be an excuse for a congregation’s failure to care for their pastor. It’s safe to say that no one, in a congregation like this, would accept a job under these circumstances.

In the verse above, Paul makes a very simple statement. He says that the one who is taught is to share all good things with the one who teaches. In other words, those who are taught are to bless and care for the one who teaches them.

Members of the congregation, then, are called to bless and to provide for their pastor(s). They are to recognize his work, they are to recognize his service among them, and care for him. They are not to be stingy or miserly in their provision.

I believe that things have improved over the years. Churches are doing a much better job at providing for those who serve them. My current congregation treats me very well and has been very generous with my family. But, as believers, this is something we must take to heart. We must faithfully care for those who teach us. We must faithfully provide for those who minister among us.