Author : Keith Sharp
Both times I have been in Nigeria I was deeply moved by the number of preachers who are being inadequately supported to do their work. While I am aware that, in Nigeria as in America, there are some who do not deserve support and there are a few who financially live above the members of the church where they labor, there are many good men who are barely able to feed their families. What should be done about this?
Often but not always Nigerian preachers appeal to me to get help from America. I know that Nigerians, most of whom live in poverty compared to Americans, view American churches and brethren as having virtually unlimited resources, and it is true that most American Christians and congregations are quite wealthy compared to those in Nigeria. It is also true that those who have abundance should share with those who are destitute (2 Corinthians 8:13-15), but this is a principle that applies to relief of the needy rather than evangelism (2 Corinthians 9:1-2,12).
There are real considerations that make American Christians and congregations think twice before supporting Nigerian preachers. One is difficulty of knowing for certain the needs and faithfulness of the men because of the great distance between us. I will try to be of help in this regard by making semi-annual, month long trips to Nigeria to teach classes for preachers. But another consideration must be handled by Nigerian Christians. You must realize and act upon your own responsibility to contribute to the support of those men who labor with you in preaching the gospel.
There are those who deny that a preacher should receive support from the congregation with which he labors. They cite John 10:12-13 and call preachers who are hired by, paid by, and work for a local church “hirelings.” The “hireling” Jesus condemned “cares nothing for the sheep” (verse 13). There are men to whom preaching is a “profession.” Their primary purpose for preaching is to gain carnal rewards, and they care nothing about the spiritual welfare of those to whom they preach. They are the “hirelings” of John 10:12-13. Then there are men to whom preaching is their “ministry” (2 Timothy 4:1-5), and they will preach whether they are supported by the brethren or have to work with their hands (Acts 20:33-35), and to identify such men of God with the hireling of John ten is slander.
In First Corinthians 9:1-14 the inspired apostle Paul clearly defended the right of a preacher of the gospel to be supported by the church for which he labors. The apostle wrote this in a context in which he was defending his own apostleship and showing why we should be willing to give up our rights for the good of others, but he boldly affirmed the right preachers have to be supported by the churches that hired them.
Paul as an apostle and preacher (2 Timothy 1:11) and Barnabas as a preacher had the rights to have the necessities of life provided, to have a family (“a believing wife”), and to refrain from secular work so as to fully devote themselves to the Lord’s work (1 Corinthians 9:1-6). Any time a congregation employs an evangelist to work with them, they need to understand he has these rights. If he, as Paul and Barnabas, voluntarily chooses to forego these rights, he is being generous to his brethren (1 Corinthians 9:15-18; Acts 18:1-4; 20:33-35; 2 Thessalonians 3:8-9), but congregations have no right to demand this of preachers.
The apostle could have simply asserted this truth by his authority as an apostle (1 Corinthians 9:1-2; 14:37), but he chose rather to give powerful reasons in support of this principle. Anytime a man engages in work, he has the right to be rewarded for his work (1 Corinthians 9:7). The Law taught this principle in the care that it demanded for animals, which was primarily written to teach Israelites how to treat each other (1 Corinthians 9:8-10; Deuteronomy 25:4). Just as Old Testament priests were to live by their work, “the Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel should live from the gospel” (1 Corinthians 9:13- 14; Numbers 18:8-20).
If a congregation asks a preacher to work for them in preaching and teaching the Word of God, that church has assumed the obligation to pay that man a living wage for himself and his family. They have also assumed the obligation to provide him the tools he needs to do the work they expect him to do. These tools include but are not limited to the kind of clothing they want him to wear when preaching and teaching, the Bible and study material he needs to do his work, and the transportation he needs in his work. If he works for the church without these things, he is sacrificing his rights for them, but they have no right to expect this.
Those who love the gospel love those who preach the gospel (Romans 10:15). Dear brethren, if you love the gospel, you will want to sacrificially give to the church to generously support the man of God you have employed to preach the gospel.
Before you rob churches and individuals from far away to pay your preacher (2 Corinthians 11:8), make sure you are sacrificing as you expect him to do so that you might meet your own obligation to support your own preacher. When you have done this, and he still is inadequately supported, then you may in good conscience ask others to help him.
