Full Time Ministry

[Twisted]

I would love to have a list of the free housing...

We always have an open bed here in the ward.

And if you ask nice, Nurse Ratched will give you the private room.

All at no charge.  Jell-O and prune-laden meals included.

 

[subllibrm]

We are all called to service, but few are called to "leadership."  Leadership in the ministry does carry it's own set of burdens and blessings.  This is especially true in "Full Time" Christian service.  The expectations placed upon FT pastors and missionaries are enormous.  In IFB circles, the "earthly reward" is hardly commiserate with the "labor."  The constant judging of the leader and his family is probably the greatest cause of stress and misery.  Every service, they are put on trial and one "slip up" can lose them an influential member.  Even worse for FT assistants.  The "Man of God" micromanages every aspect of their lives and pays them very low wages.  Without the comfort of the Holy Ghost and a full reliance on divine grace, many of them burn out and become casualties.  Or, they become pastors and joyfully wield the authority against others.  They were beaten with whips, they will beat their assistants with scorpions.

Let's not forget the blessings... most pastors that I know of take off Mondays - most of the church members don't get ANY day off.  They "work" their secular job Mon-Fri, do church visitation/soul-winning/bus work on Sat, and work their own "ministry" on Sunday (playing the piano, teaching SS, other items).  So, they get NO days off at all, while the pastor gets off one day, and, usually, he can set his own hours and times.

In addition, many hotels or vacation spots have free housing (or deep discounts for ministers).

They don't have discounts for red-headed, Texan-speaking middle-aged guys, so I have to pay full price.

I would love to have a list of the free housing or deep discounts...I had no idea they were available. Except for my AAA discount, I pay full price.

Shoot me a PM and I will set  you up in beautiful Northern Michigan!

 

[HeDied4U]

We are all called to service, but few are called to "leadership."  Leadership in the ministry does carry it's own set of burdens and blessings.  This is especially true in "Full Time" Christian service.  The expectations placed upon FT pastors and missionaries are enormous.  In IFB circles, the "earthly reward" is hardly commiserate with the "labor."  The constant judging of the leader and his family is probably the greatest cause of stress and misery.  Every service, they are put on trial and one "slip up" can lose them an influential member.  Even worse for FT assistants.  The "Man of God" micromanages every aspect of their lives and pays them very low wages.  Without the comfort of the Holy Ghost and a full reliance on divine grace, many of them burn out and become casualties.  Or, they become pastors and joyfully wield the authority against others.  They were beaten with whips, they will beat their assistants with scorpions.

Let's not forget the blessings... most pastors that I know of take off Mondays - most of the church members don't get ANY day off.  They "work" their secular job Mon-Fri, do church visitation/soul-winning/bus work on Sat, and work their own "ministry" on Sunday (playing the piano, teaching SS, other items).  So, they get NO days off at all, while the pastor gets off one day, and, usually, he can set his own hours and times.

In addition, many hotels or vacation spots have free housing (or deep discounts for ministers).

They don't have discounts for red-headed, Texan-speaking middle-aged guys, so I have to pay full price.

I've been in the hospitality industry for over 20 years, and this is the first time I've ever heard of pastors getting free or deeply discounted stays. Guess I've been working at the wrong hotels and resorts.

 

[subllibrm]

"Expected" meaning "should come as no surprise"? Sure, Jesus, Paul, and James said as much.

"Expected" meaning "mandatory"? No. We're not Roman Catholic. Our clergy don't take vows of poverty. There's plenty in the Bible about the right use of money, including warnings about trusting too much in wealth or desiring to acquire much of it. But nothing that disallows a minister of the Gospel from living comfortably, if that is what God has willed for him.

Expected as in an all encompassing answer to anything that goes wrong.

We live on site with the ministry that we are involved with. The staff house we live in has some maintenance issues. In conversation regarding an ongoing problem the response was "welcome to the mission field". I do not see the correlation. People live in houses all over the place that need to be repaired from time to time. Why would the buildings used for ministry be any more or less susceptible to the vagaries of life and existence? The underlying thought seems to be that God wants us to suffer.

I understand the idea that we see our circumstances through eyes of faith and that we should ask in any given situation "Lord what are you trying to teach me?" At the same time I don't see how this would be any different for Bob the accountant or Fred the factory worker, faithful Christians both. But I have never heard people like them say "well, that's what you can expect in the laity".

 

[Frag]

Doeg thread....

 

[Walt]

We are all called to service, but few are called to "leadership."  Leadership in the ministry does carry it's own set of burdens and blessings.  This is especially true in "Full Time" Christian service.  The expectations placed upon FT pastors and missionaries are enormous.  In IFB circles, the "earthly reward" is hardly commiserate with the "labor."  The constant judging of the leader and his family is probably the greatest cause of stress and misery.  Every service, they are put on trial and one "slip up" can lose them an influential member.  Even worse for FT assistants.  The "Man of God" micromanages every aspect of their lives and pays them very low wages.  Without the comfort of the Holy Ghost and a full reliance on divine grace, many of them burn out and become casualties.  Or, they become pastors and joyfully wield the authority against others.  They were beaten with whips, they will beat their assistants with scorpions.

Let's not forget the blessings... most pastors that I know of take off Mondays - most of the church members don't get ANY day off.  They "work" their secular job Mon-Fri, do church visitation/soul-winning/bus work on Sat, and work their own "ministry" on Sunday (playing the piano, teaching SS, other items).  So, they get NO days off at all, while the pastor gets off one day, and, usually, he can set his own hours and times.

In addition, many hotels or vacation spots have free housing (or deep discounts for ministers).

They don't have discounts for red-headed, Texan-speaking middle-aged guys, so I have to pay full price.

I've been in the hospitality industry for over 20 years, and this is the first time I've ever heard of pastors getting free or deeply discounted stays. Guess I've been working at the wrong hotels and resorts.

Just passing along what I've been told; a friend who is as assistant to the pastor has a hotel that reserves a free room for pastors and their families.  They have used it a few times.

I know another pastor who routinely stays at places where he gets discounts because he is a pastor.

I know another pastoral assistant who was given a free cruise because he was a "reverend" -- so, they are out there.  This third one took a little negotiating, I was told.

 

[Bob H]

Is "suffering" to be expected by those who are in full time Christian ministry?

*I am working through the thought process that results in the clergy/laity divide.

"suffering"?.....A futher explanation and/or definition of terms could be helpful.