A GIFT OF CHICKEN
When I was young and listening to the old men talk about ministry, I was
always struck by how idyllic their lives had been.
The old clergy claimed that in the years before the big war they enjoyed
encouragement and support from their people, a well kept parsonage, a new
car every three years, lots of time for contemplation, respect from the
community and a gift of chicken at least once a month.
Of course, that's all gone now. For instance, there was a time when the
parson could walk into any store in town and automatically get a
clergy discount of ten per cent. Not anymore. Clergy discounts got dumped
sometime in the late 1950s and have been lost forever.
But most clergy would say the new way is better. For instance, if the
community automatically gives respect to every preacher who walks into town,
sooner or later they will be giving respect to an intellectual bum. And what
do we really think of a man who can't buy his own house and keep it in good
repair? Why should members of the congregation be summoned when there is a
leaking faucet or a sticky door knob?
And this business of not having time for contemplation and meditation - show
me the preacher who does not have time to think through a Bible passage for
the Sunday sermon and I will show you a man who does not think.
Further, if the holy family has to depend on a gift of chicken every month,
then we have a preacher who is not being paid a living wage. Or we have a
holy family incapable of finding its way to the grocery store on a still and sunny day.
In my second year of ministry I was troubled about my salary - $6,000 plus
medical insurance. I mentioned it one day to a wealthy man in the community who
was my friend. He was surprised I made so little.
Like a nervous little boy I said, "What can I do?"
He said, "I would leave the job. That salary is an insult. Get out and get a
decent paying job."
Within a few months I was on my way to a new job with a greatly improved
salary and many avenues into a bright future.
I know a clergy fellow who took a church in the suburbs and was not able to
make the salary stretch over his obligation. He took a morning paper route
and faithfully delivered the papers every day. But one morning he thought
about his life, from that moment until the end. And he decided a paper route
was not the answer. Rather, he thought it better to concentrate on making
his congregation grow.
Twenty years later, he is a financially comfortable man, and his congregation
numbers in the thousands. You can't beat success when it comes to making
money.
The problem is, too many pastors expect the big salary even in the face of
failure. And some congregations will tolerate failure just to keep things
safe and unchanging. Those churches will limp along until no preacher will
serve them because of a low salary and an absence of encouraging prospects.
I don't know what the answers are but I can be certain we haven't
discovered the secret. There is a huge flock of disdained preachers and a good number who have left their posts discouraged, beaten down and sucked dry of vision.
Clark D. Morphew
Posted For 6-26-02
