{"id":431,"date":"2010-04-22T07:00:15","date_gmt":"2010-04-22T07:00:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sharefaithblog.wpengine.com\/?p=431"},"modified":"2021-02-26T17:03:48","modified_gmt":"2021-02-26T22:03:48","slug":"millionaires-shepherds-pastors-modern-church","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sharefaith.com\/blog\/2010\/04\/millionaires-shepherds-pastors-modern-church\/","title":{"rendered":"Millionaires or Shepherds – Pastors of the Modern Church"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

I know that the stock market is down and the economy is supposedly in the dumps, but there is one group of people that isn\u2019t doing all that bad–a few pastors. One Atlanta area pastor owns not one, but two private jets which he uses for shuttling to and from Atlanta and New York City. He owns two homes. One is a 3 million dollar mansion, and the other is a 2.4 million dollar condo. The Rolls Royce (or two) that he drives are apparently \u201cgifts\u201d from his church. One well-known pastor was accepting a modest $200,000 salary, and has landed book deals around $13 million. His church operates on a $70 million budget. Another pastor earns a million-plus salary, and resides in a $2.6 million mansion. The list could go on and on.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

There are two main responses when people are confronted by the facts of megarich megapastors of megachurches. One response is:\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s fine. They earned it.\u201d Another response is, \u201cA pastor should never earn that much.\u201d What\u2019s the right response? Whether from jealousy, spite, or devout motives, there is something a bit uncomfortable about a pastor with a whole lot of money. Why?<\/p>\n

Getting to the Heart of It<\/strong><\/p>\n

If you\u2019re part of response number one, objections are flooding to your mind. But hear me out. It\u2019s not necessarily the money that\u2019s the problem. It\u2019s deeper. It\u2019s the message. Most of the pastors who manage to rake in a vast income preach a style of message known as \u201cthe Prosperity Gospel.\u201d Perhaps a better term for this message is the \u201cProsperity Heresy.\u201d No, it is not the true gospel of salvation by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. It\u2019s mixed and mashed with materialism and heresy, leading to a skewed understanding of the Bible and of grace. That\u2019s heresy. And that\u2019s at the root of many of today\u2019s prosperity preacher\u2019s wealth.<\/p>\n

Here is a three-minute video clip from a sermon that John Piper preached, in which he passionately responds to the Prosperity Heresy:
\n<\/object><\/p>\n

C\u2019mon Now. It\u2019s not that bad!<\/strong><\/p>\n

No, money is not bad. But what does the Bible say about having wealth plus pastors? Interestingly enough, it says quite a bit. The books of first and second Timothy were written to a young pastor. Here is the advice from the apostle Paul to his prot\u00e9g\u00e9 Timothy:<\/p>\n

1 Timothy 6:5\u00a0and constant friction among people who are depraved in mind and deprived of the truth, imagining that godliness is a means of gain. 6\u00a0Now there is great gain in godliness with contentment, 7\u00a0for we brought nothing into the world, and\u00a0we cannot take anything out of the world. 8\u00a0But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content. 9\u00a0But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. 10\u00a0For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs. 11\u00a0But as for you, O man of God, flee these things. Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness.<\/em><\/p>\n

The Bible is pretty clear on riches<\/a>. Are they evil? Nope? Are they dangerous? Oh yeah. Should the pastor want material riches? Only if he wants to be plunged into temptations, snares, dangerous desires, ruin, and destruction (9). And if he wants to mess with the root of all kinds of evil and wander away from the faith (v. 10). The pastor is to \u201cflee these things\u201d (11), and \u201cpursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness\u201d (11). Paul doesn\u2019t place a dollar amount on the pastor\u2019s salary, but he is very clear about the dangers.<\/p>\n

Millionaire Shepherds<\/strong><\/p>\n

Scripture\u2019s favorite metaphor for the pastor is \u201cshepherd.\u201d Just the analogy has a lesson for us. Are shepherds wealthy people? Yes and no. Yes, they are \u2018wealthy\u2019 in terms of their sheep. But very few first-century shepherds had great monetary wealth. A pastor is a shepherd\u2014a man who is more devoted to his sheep than to the salary he draws.<\/p>\n

The World Is Watching<\/strong><\/p>\n

Perhaps pastors should be more conscientious about how the world views their massive paychecks and multi-million dollar mansions. Is this something by which the world can say, \u201cI think that pastor is living how Jesus would live\u201d? Does the world see a preacher driving a Bentley and think, \u201cSo that\u2019s how the Bible commands us to spend our money, live our lives, and spread God\u2019s Kingdom. Ah.\u201d?<\/p>\n

By way of personal testimony, I attend a church with an average attendance around 700 people. We are located a relatively affluent city. Regular attendees include millionaires and successful businesspersons. The pastor, if he wanted to, could command a larger salary. One man, an unbeliever, became interested in church and the gospel. He was skeptical of pastors, however. So, he looked up the pastor\u2019s information, found his address, and drove to the location. He was surprised when he saw that the pastor of this thriving church lived in a small, modest home in an area that was not at all affluent or wealthy. A few weeks later, the man accepted Jesus as his personal savior. The Holy Spirit used the financial decisions of the pastor to lead this man to Christ.<\/p>\n

If you are a pastor who loves new stuff, big bank accounts, and really nice cars, please be careful. The pastor of the modern church is not called to be a millionaire. He is called to be a shepherd.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I know that the stock market is down and the economy is supposedly in the dumps, but there is one group of people that isn\u2019t doing all that bad–a few pastors. One Atlanta area pastor owns not one, but two private jets which he uses for shuttling to and from Atlanta and New York City. 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One Atlanta area pastor owns not one, but two private jets which he uses for shuttling to and from Atlanta and New York City. 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