by linda » Tue May 12, 2015 9:36 am
Dr. Bonney--thanks for your thoughtful replies! I think we are in accord on this issue. Our largest church here is the RCC and I doubt they can match your attendance numbers. When you say "big church" here you mean average attendance in the 50-75 range. Smaller ones are 20-35. Many of our pastors do have a Ph.D. or a D.Min.
Most are happy to serve here and understand folks are as generous as can be, but if the choice is put 10% in the plate or feed a baby, well, let's just say our babies tend to be well fed. I was wondering if the teachings of one particular pastor here, who basically said unless you figure out a way to tithe off your SNAP benefits and section 8 housing vouchers God will curse you were how most pastors outside our town see things?
I definitely have lived where the people were mostly upper middle class and expected a well educated clergy who looked, dressed, and lived upper middle class but expected them to do so on poverty wages. Not good at all.
My heart holds a very special place for Methodist circuit riders, lay ministers, etc. My dad was led to Christ by a retired Methodist minister and my childhood church was served by a circuit of 5 far flung preaching points. So was the church we attended when our kids were little. Same circuit, different church. Dedicated pastor worked on the pipeline weekdays, then travelled around 300 miles round trip each Sunday to serve the circuit. On a good month, with generous giving, I doubt he got more than gas money. I sure hope God rewarded him well by blessing his secular job. We weren't greedy or stingy, just not many folks and most of them poor.
Linda