One In Jesus

This is a tough one. One great advantage of having a fulltime preacher is that they are fulltime. Of course. But this is also a disadvantage because it gives the members the opportunity to rationalize away the preacher’s demands. After all, the member’s lives are often radically different from the life led by the preacher.

How many members can spend the first two hours of their work day in prayer? Not any. Not all preachers have this privilege, but many do.

Continue reading →

Should the minister be accountable to the elders for how he uses his time? Accountable for results only? Not accountable at all?

Well, let’s start with some principles.

Principle 1: People fill gaps in their knowledge in the most pathological way possible.

Learn this one. It’s important. Humans fill gaps in their knowledge with their fears. When a husband forgets to call his wife when his plane lands, she imagines that he died in a plane crash. When the elders refuse to answer what their position is on issue X, the members imagine that their position is whatever they most fear. If the elders don’t review the youth minister at least annually, he’ll worry whether they are preparing to fire him. If the elders fire the preacher and don’t give a reason, the church will assume it’s for evil, nefarious reasons, even though they can’t imagine why the elders would do such a thing. Continue reading →

As I expected, the readers’ comments on the last post in this series have been insightful, helpful, and utterly inconsistent with each other. The inconsistency is entirely understandable, as I feel a bit conflicted myself. And I admit to a certain prejudice, being a practicing lawyer who has to keep up with his time. I hate it.

Hmm …

The pattern for preachers

Let’s start with the Biblical basis for the ministerial system. Continue reading →

Part 1: The annual review

It’s the new preacher’s first annual review. The elders are trying hard to be wise and godly, but it’s a business-sort of meeting that’s about business sorts of things.

The minister has performed well in his first year on the job. Attendance is up, and the sermons are good. People still occasionally thank the elders for hiring such a good man.

But the economy is in the tank, and contributions aren’t so good. There are programs to fund, repairs to be made, payments due, and something has to give. Meanwhile, the preacher is asking for a raise!

The elders aren’t really sure how to respond. How can they justify giving the man a raise when contributions are down? Continue reading →