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Fed By The Spirit

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(22) ... Paid Clergy

One of the very negative aspects of Paid Clergy is that in reality their paycheck actually becomes their Task-Master, because their paycheck now puts them under certain obligations which are demanded of them by the Institutional Church System.

One good example of many which could be given, is this: In most cases a Pastor is expected to bring forth a sermon on Sunday mornings, a sermon on Sunday evenings, and a sermon on Wednesday evenings, etc.

Oftentimes a Pastor will state that he is bringing forth a message which the Lord has given him when in reality he has often had to beat his brains out trying to figure out what his next sermon is going to be about. He may very well use a number of different avenues in order to come up with his next sermon.

In reality, Paid Clergy become servants to their paychecks rather than servants to Christ. This is certainly not experiencing the FREEDOM in Christ that the Bible teaches, but rather experiencing the BONDAGE of their paycheck Task-Master.

Another very negative aspect of Paid Clergy is that because of their salary, they are given a great deal of Authority and Power in the Church.

The New Testament Church is to function under the Authority and Power of Christ, "not" under the Authority and Power which is given to someone just because they receive a salary for their position in the Church.

There is no place in the Scriptures that teaches that this is the way that the New Testament Church is to function. In fact, the Apostle Paul states in 1st Corinthians 9:18 – "When I preach the Gospel, I present the Gospel of Christ without charge, that I abuse not my authority in the Gospel."  

Also, the Apostle Paul states in 1st Thessalonians 2:9 - "We worked night and day in order not to be a burden to any of you while we preached the Gospel of God to you." (i.e. - not to be a financial burden)

 

 

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