By Greg Whittaker

For most of my life, I did not give much thought to supporting preachers. I grew up in a small congregation in Colorado. We had no preacher in the area; did not have the wherewithal to host any regular meetings; and we had few visitors. As I got older, the preachers I knew rarely complained and I had never heard a single sermon on the subject. So, I hardly gave it more than a passing thought.

But it hit home with me about twenty years ago as my family and I were planning to leave New York and move back to Kansas City. We were the Westchester County Church of Christ, so when we left, the congregation ceased to exist. Consequently, we were faced with the issue of what to do with our treasury. Upon consulting with a number of people, I decided the best thing to do was distribute it to preachers who were in need. I assumed I’d find a few families in some need, but as I began to investigate the matter, what I found was more than concerning.

Fast forward to the recent past when I decided to follow up to see if the situation had changed. With the support of Mike Criswell, I developed a survey and sent it to about 120 of our preachers across the country. Forty-five responded, which is more than enough to draw some significant statistical conclusions.

But we discuss the results, however, let’s examine a few Scriptures to better understand what God expects of His children regarding our support of preachers and their families.

In the New Testament, we have contrasting examples of preacher support by the congregations at Corinth and Philippi. In 1 Corinthians 9:15, Paul clearly states that he received no support whatsoever from the church there in the over one and half years that he was in Corinth. Moreover, the brethren were not only content with doing nothing and allowing Paul to support himself, they used his sacrifice as an excuse to demean him and even question his apostleship. In 2 Corinthians 11:7-8 Paul writes, “Did I commit sin in humbling myself that you might be exalted, because I preached the gospel of God to you free of charge? I robbed other churches, taking wages from them to minister to you.”

Compare that to the attitude expressed by the church at Philippi. Paul writes in Philippians 4:14-16, “Nevertheless you have done well that you shared in my distress. Now you Philippians know also that in the beginning of the gospel, when I departed from Macedonia, no church shared with me concerning giving and receiving but you only. For even in Thessalonica you sent aid once and again for my necessities.” They did not even wait for him to ask; rather they took responsibility and sought opportunities to help Paul. They supported him even though he was not with them and even though he supported himself when he could.

Today, the spirits of both Corinth and Philippi are alive and well. I have heard, and heard of, comments such as:

“Preachers shouldn’t preach for money.”

“He’s single so he doesn’t need as much as someone who is married.”

“How much do you need to get by?” Which is really saying, “What is the absolute least we can pay you?”

“A lack of money keeps preachers humble.”

“Wow, I didn’t know a preacher could afford a car like that.”

“He lives in a better house than I do, so why should I be supporting him?”

“A preacher should expect to sacrifice.”

In contrast, consider those that exhibit the Philippian attitude.

“He may not be doing so well, so let’s give him something extra for this meeting.”

“Did you notice the tires on his car? Let’s give him money for a new set.”

“Let’s send the expense money before he and his family come out for the meeting so they are not out-of-pocket.”

“Let’s make sure he doesn’t have to worry about taking care of his family financially, and allow him to focus on spreading the Gospel.”

The Scriptures tell us that supporting preachers and their families is an obligation.

For it is written in the Law of Moses, You shall not muzzle an ox while it treads out the grain. Is it oxen God is concerned about? Or does He say it altogether for our sakes? For our sakes, no doubt, this is written, that he who plows should plow in hope, and he who threshed in hope should be partaker of his hope. If we have sown spiritual things for you, is it a great thing if we reap your material things? If others are partakers of this right over you, are we not even more? Nevertheless we have not used this right, but endure all things lest we hinder the gospel of Christ. Do you not know that those who minister the holy things eat of the things of the temple, and those who serve at the altar partake of the offerings of the altar? Even so the Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel should live from the gospel. (1 Cor. 9:9-14)

Let him who is taught the word share in all good things with him who teaches. (Gal. 6:6)

These and many other scriptures make it clear that the worker (the preacher) is worthy of his wages, and he has a right to be supported by the Church. We all too often consider such support as an option—a liberty we can choose to participate in or not. We often make preachers beg when, according to 1 Corinthians 9:12, qualified preachers have the right to demand support by the church.

Supporting preachers is not just an obligation, it is also a privilege.

How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach, except they be sent? As it is written, how beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, [emphasis mine—gw] and bring glad tidings of good things! (Rom. 10:14-15)

By sending preachers into the world—by supporting them and their families—we are all a part of something beautiful; something good and holy.

And preachers have a part to play as well. Those doing the receiving must be content with their support. The Apostle Paul writes in Philippians 4:10-13,

But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at last your care for me has flourished again; though you surely did care, but you lacked opportunity. Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content. I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

And therein lies much of the problem. The Scriptures make two things very clear. First, it is our responsibility as Church members to ensure the needs of our preachers and their families are taken care of. And taken care of in the same way in which we have an obligation to take care of our own families. Second, preachers (and the rest of us for that matter) must be content in whatever material state they find themselves. And it seems to me that preachers often do a better job of being content than we do of seeing to their needs.

Consider the following survey results as of April 2019:

• There are around 120 full and part-time preachers in our brotherhood
• 75% are full time
• Of the part-time preachers, almost half would go full-time if they had sufficient financial support
• 77% of U.S. workers receive health care through their employers; by comparison only 20% of our preachers receive health insurance as a part of their compensation
• 70% of U.S. workers receive contributions to their retirement plans from their employers, while only 14% of our preachers receive such contributions
• Median household income in the U.S. is $62,000 per year
• About 70% of our preachers are supported at levels below $62,000
• While over 75% of our preachers believe their personal support is sufficient and fair, only 1 in 3 believe overall preacher support is sufficient

And what do our preachers believe is the source of this insufficient support?

• Almost 90% believe congregations lack a true understanding of the financial needs of a preacher and his family
• And nearly 2 out of 3 believe congregations think they and their families should live frugally

Brother and sisters, we cannot use the contentment of our preachers as an excuse for us to forego our responsibilities to them and their families.

Assuming we accept our responsibility to support the spreading of the gospel by supporting preachers and their families, how much support is enough? Let’s begin by looking at how God commanded the Jews to care for the priests and their families under the Old Testament.

Numbers 18:9-21 brings it all together, telling us that every offering made by the people to the Lord, including every burnt offering, every grain offering, every sin offering, the heave offerings and the wave offerings, the first fruits of the best oil, the best wine and grain, and the first ripe fruits were a “perpetual allotment” for the priests. As a matter of fact, “Every devoted thing in Israel” became the property of the priests. All the firstborn was also the property of the priests, whether man or beast. The firstborn of clean animals were sacrificed to the Lord and the meat was for the priests to eat. The firstborn of man and unclean animals were redeemed by the priests for five shekels of silver a piece.

So let’s consider the economics of this for a moment. In Numbers 3:48, we are told that there were 22,000 male Levites. The adult males of this number were the priests. According to J. D. Michaelis, at this time there were also about 600,000 Israelites who tithed. Assuming that all of the male Levites were adults, which they were not, that meant that for every priest, there were over twenty-seven Israelites tithing. Since it would take only nine tithers to provide a priest with an average standard of living, twenty-seven tithing Israelites would have given priests a standard of living three times that of the average Israelite. And this does not even include the sin, guilt, and other offerings described in Numbers 18.

Given that the Old Testament is for our instruction and we are not bound by it, we are not required today to provide a standard of living for our preachers three times that of the average church member. However, it is certainly something to consider. But the standard within the church today seems to be we should pay preachers a salary that is at or somewhat below the salary of the average congregation member. Scripturally, I believe there is no basis for this standard, but rather it panders to the baser elements of our psyche. Preachers generally choose to be content and do not want to cause any problems, jealousy or envy within the Church. And instead of addressing the real problem (our own attitudes and sometimes our own selfishness) we choose to treat preaching the gospel as a less than average vocation.

But this attitude is not supported by the facts. According to Salary.com, the average preacher’s salary in the U.S. is $95,000 per year. And when benefits are included, their average total compensation is $104,000. According to my survey, the average salary for a Church of Christ preacher is about $53,000 per year. And when benefits and income from meetings are included, their average total compensation is under $58,000. In other words, our preachers make about 56% of what other preachers make in this country. Moreover, they make about 15% less than the average American worker.

Here is the hard truth. The denominational world recognizes that preaching is a profession, while we choose to view preaching as a “below-average” job.

The shame is, while we expect and even demand that preachers be special in most every way, we refuse to compensate them accordingly. First Timothy 5:18 says, “The laborer is worthy of his wages.” The preacher is worthy, but we are often unwilling to recognize and reward his efforts accordingly.

So, what should we do to support our preachers and their families in a scriptural manner? According to Matthew 10:10, 1 Corinthians 9, Galatians 6:6, 1 Timothy 5:18 and many, many more Scriptures, a qualified preacher is worthy of his wages and has a right to demand support from the church. But the specifics of how to achieve this are left to God’s believing children. Here is what I believe is in harmony with the Scriptures and in the spirit of Christ who is our example.

1. Provide support and benefits to preachers and their families commensurate with total compensation for other “professionals” in the local area.
2. Make open-ended commitments to preachers like our employers typically make with us. No more “one-year and then we will see” situations.
3. If the financial situation of your congregation changes such that you are no longer able to meet your financial obligations, it is your congregation’s responsibility (not the preacher’s) to secure alternative funding.

Brothers and sisters, we can no longer treat support for the spreading of the gospel as a liberty. Instead, it is our solemn obligation. I fear we have often failed to keep our end of the bargain. But because most preachers have done their part, we rarely hear about it and, therefore, we have no one to rebuke us for our failures.

Instead, let us give as we have been prospered, let us seek out opportunities to liberally support those faithful preachers who are “worthy of their wages”, and let us then abound in the joy of giving and doing the will of God.