This is the first of multiple articles that I will post dealing with the church, its pastor, his compensation and the roll that both must fulfill if God is to be honored.. Please understand that what I have written below in no way is a reflection on every church in America. There are many churches here in our great country that are doing the right thing when it comes to their pastor. There are many churches that really want to do right when it comes to their pastor. However, I believe that there are also a great many churches that do not do right by their pastor. What does a church want then they say they want a pastor that is full time, part time or by-vocational? I realize that the following descriptions may seem a little harsh, but, over the years I have come to understand that for the most part, many of the churches here in America want the following:
Full Time:
Availability = 24 hrs a day. In general he will be expected to do most everything around the church, maintain his own spirituality, be available for his family, be on call 24 hrs a day, drop everything at a moments notice to hold someones hand while they sneeze and yet let someone else make all the decisions about how to run the ministry.
Salary = Will offer sufficient funds and benefits for the man and his family to barely survive. As one old preacher put it some years ago, many people think a pastor is supposed to live on fresh air and fried rabbit tracks. The pastor is expected to live by faith while everyone else must take two jobs to get by.
Part Time:
Availability = Just that, part time. They don't really want a pastor. They want a preacher. They want him to do the preaching (maby three services a week, maby not), weddings and funerals. Beyond that, they don't really want his input on much.
Salary= Usually just a portion of what the pastor and his family actually need to live on. The pastor is expected to work a secular job to make up the difference.
Bi-Vocational:
Availability = 24 hrs a day. In general he will be expected to do most everything around the church, maintain his own spirituality, be available for his family, be on call 24 hrs a day, drop everything at a moments notice to hold someones hand while they sneeze and yet let someone else make all the decisions about how to run the ministry.
Salary = Usually just a portion of what the pastor and his family actually need to live on. The pastor is expected to work a secular job to make up the difference.
Don't forget to check back in a few days for the next article in this series.
