No paycheck?
September 13, 2007 | T. Suzanne Eller
Quote: Zane and Marsha work at their local church but not for it. They’re not on the payroll. They hold jobs in real estate and civil government, yet hours of each week — and sometimes large chunks at a time — are devoted to serving God without any expectation of monetary remuneration.
I met with our pastor and his wife the other night, along with a few other friends just to hang out and eat Mexican food and dream about the possibilities for our church and community. I noticed how tired they both looked. Yet they shared their goals and dreams with enthusiasm.
That next morning my pastor’s wife called to check in with me about an upcoming women’s event (I’ll be the speaker). It occurred to me that she was up late the night before, and now in the early morning hours was working again.
“It’s their job.”
“I’m not skilled. I think someone else should do that.”
These are responses we might hear about a pastor or a staff member. And yet are we placing too heavy a weight by placing the entire burden of impacting our communities on the shoulders of one man or woman, or one staff, or even one church? Is that even Biblical?
What might happen within a community if believers all worked together, each in their individual passions and giftedness, and took a portion of the load off of a staff or a pastor and his family, and shared that burden as a team.
Today I read an excellent article on this very topic called “No Paycheck?”, written by David Barshinger for Boundless Webzine. I hope you check it out. I want to hear what you have to say.
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You bet Pastors should not do it alone. We are all called to the Great Commission. We are all called to Bless, Pray, Fellowship, Minister, Proclaim…That is how lives and nations are changed. If you leave it to just the Pastors they will burn out and quick!
I have been reading so much about Market (Harvest) Evangelism lately, watching dvds and last night went to a mini conference in our community. Pastors and Marketplace workers coming together to change a community, town, state, nation. We are incorporating this into our community – aka The Black Hills. My hubby will be going to an international conference in Argentina. Luke 10:5-9. http://www.harvestevan.org/
Enough of my rambling. Thanks for stopping by. Today I am at Faith Lifts, devotions.
God Bless You!
September 19th, 2007 at 8:38 am