(Guest Editorial by Brother Ritechus N. Dignation)

I'm fired up! I'm madder than a nest of hornets. I was just talkin' to a preacher brother and he told me about this church where he preached last Sunday. They didn't give him one dime for coming. Didn't no one invite him home for dinner either. He just hung around the church all day by himself waiting for the night service. He was kinda like the demon possessed man of Gadara. He went to the cemetery and wandered among the tombs ‘til church time.

Now I don't know what you think, but that ain't right. Now, this church had a pastor this fellow was fillin' in for (that's pulpit supply for you city folks). That pastor should have made sure things were taken care of for the guest preacher. Even if that church didn't have a pastor, someone should have been responsible for taking care of the man of God and his expenses. After all, he was their invited guest.

There are usually three main problems when it comes to payin' a preacher: (1) Low pay, (2) Late pay, and (3) Lack of pay.

LOW PAY- The apostle Paul said that "the laborer is worthy of his hire" but most folks don't put a high dollar value on ministry work. Now sometimes a small church can't pay enough and the preacher has to work another job. Then, some churches could, but won't pay the man enough, or aren't willing to at least try. But let's get one thing straight. A man may be called of God to preach and pastor, but it's still labor. He should be paid for it. LATE PAY- I ain't never seen the beat for payin' a man late for his work as churches sometimes do preachers, evangelists, special guests, etc. When a man is invited to preach, teach, or perform any kind of ministry work, he ought to be paid then. Don't mail him a check 2 or 3 weeks later. He usually needs the money then, especially since ministry work is usually low pay (see above). The average church member wouldn't wait on their pay check. Shame!

LACK OF PAY- Believe it or not, it happens. ‘Nary a dime given. Land sakes alive, pay the preacher, and don't make jokes about him preachin' for money. If he started preachin' for money, he's a brick shy of a load to begin with. There are easier ways to starve to death.

Brother RND

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