Money Matters
“So the Israelites allotted to the Levites these towns and their pasturelands, as the LORD had commanded through Moses.
From the tribes of Judah and Simeon they allotted the following towns by name (these towns were assigned to the descendants of Aaron who were from the Kohathite clans of the Levites, because the first lot fell to them):”
Today’s Text: Joshua 21:8-26 (Living Life Daily Devotional)
As mentioned in yesterday’s blog, the Levites did not get an inheritance of land like the other tribes of Israel. Instead, they received the tithes of the people (Numbers 18:23-24), from which they were to offer tithes themselves (Numbers 18:26). And although they were not given an inheritance of land to call their own, they were given cities to live in, and some of those cities were designated as “sanctuary cities,” as mentioned in another blog.
As a minister, it is a bit awkward to talk about God’s provision for the Levites, and in particular, the descendants of Aaron. It is more appropriate for lay elders to discuss matters of compensation for ministers, but at some point, that conversation has to start from the pastor if no one else brings it up. It is an important and practical matter that the Bible talks about, and so should we.
And this topic is not exclusive to the Old Testament. The apostle Paul wrote to his disciple (a pastor),
The elders who direct the affairs of the church well are worthy of double honor, especially those whose work is preaching and teaching.
— 1 Timothy 5:17
The “elders” refer to vocational ministers, and “honor” is referring to compensation.
The Levites, apart from the descendants of Aaron, were responsible for the ministry of the temple. They maintained the temple itself, along with all the furnishings and utensils and tools. They also were responsible for guarding the temple. Those Levites would be like the deacons of Baptist churches today.
The descendants of Aaron were the priests. They were responsible for interceding for Israel through the animal sacrifices made each day, morning and evening, as well as at all the festivals.
Both the Levites and the priests had some responsibility for teaching the word of God to the people.
Basically, the word of God tells us that ministers should be compensated so that they can live. However, I have seen many instances where that is not the case. I personally know of lead pastors who have to work a full-time secular jobs in order to live, because the church does not really pay them. Most of the time, the reason that pastors do not get paid is because the members of the church do not give. That’s not right.
Other situations arise, however, where full-time ministers do get paid, but not a fair salary for the work that they do. And that situation is particularly prevalent in ethnic churches, especially for non-senior pastors.
The cultural expectation seems to be that if God has really called some person into ministry, he will be willing to accept poverty as the cost of becoming a pastor. Of course, most associate pastors and their families will do whatever it takes to survive. The wife or the children will work—but of course, that is very common for immigrant families anyway.
The cultural expectation is also that an associate pastor will develop skills and then one day become a senior pastor himself at some other church.
For immigrant communities, all of that makes sense, culturally, except when it comes to EM pastors—unless the EM congregation also expects the EM pastor to leave one day to become a senior pastor of a church plant or a purely next-generation church.
Alternatively, there may be an expectation for the EM congregation to break off from the mother church to become an independent, next-generation church. And we see that happen over and over and over and over again. Very few succeed. Extremely few.
No one goes into ministry for the money. At least, most people don’t. But no person going into EM ministry wants to live in poverty for the rest of their ministry career, especially as EM pastors get married and have children. However, that is exactly what is to be expected as a career EM pastor in an immigrant church.
And that is why it is practically impossible to hold onto EM pastors. I’ve heard a statistic that an EM pastor lasts about 18 months in any given church. That sounds about right. Those EM congregations will not grow in the long run. They may be OK for a season. They may even thrive for a season. But unless the leadership of a church changes its thinking about EM ministries and EM pastors, the EM will die sooner or later. They always do.
For many, many years now (30?), immigrant faith communities (and Korean churches, in particular) have been trying to understand the problem of why EM congregations do not grow. But no one ever talks about the simple, practical, common-sense issues.
The word of God is the source of all wisdom and blessing. If we would just follow it, this world (and the church, for sure) would be so much better off.
Father, No matter what may come, You are in control, and You have guaranteed the victory in Christ Jesus. That is the truth I hold on to. Forgive my attitude if it discourages anyone. I pray that it would not. I pray that it would excite a change of thinking. If I am wrong in these matters, let my reflections fall flat to the ground. But I know, Lord, that Your word is the source of all wisdom and blessing. Give me Your wisdom so that I may bless and be blessed. For Your glory. For our joy. In Jesus’s name. Amen.
