Would Jesus HIRE a Preacher?

The practice of hiring “professionals” to lead our congregations needs to be re-thunk.

Because the focus of Jesus Christ’s disciples coming together in fellowship to worship was never meant to revolve around the continual authority and influence of just one mortal man.

However, if you’ve never seriously contemplated what Christ’s Body, or ἐκκλησία [ê-klā-see’-âh] is actually supposed to look like or how it’s supposed to function, then the question of what the Bible says it’s should be probably never crossed your mind.

But that doesn’t alter the Biblical premise that pastoring is a gift—not an office.

And salaried pastors simply don’t fit into the Biblical model of what Jesus intended for His congregations. The apostle Paul recognized only three distinct offices in Christ’s congregations for men to hold: Elders, Deacons and our only High Priest, Jesus, who presently sits at the right of the Lord God interceding for us 24/7/365. [see also: 1Tim. 3:12-13; 5:17-19; Heb. Chapters 7-10]

So what’s the big deal? Why would the traditional “church” model we see today be a problem?

As a social forum for fellowship and the means to organize and carry out good works in the assembly and community, it wouldn’t seem to be.

But the Biblical model has a stated purpose.

The people of His Body were meant to minister to and build themselves up (Eph. 4:11-16), choosing elders from among themselves to both demonstrate and oversee teaching, encouragement, healing, exhortation and the often arduous one-on-one discipleship making process among themselves. [see also: 1Tim. 3, 2Tim. 2]

And, for the most part, they should have the gift of pastoring [or shepherding] in order to do that effectively.

What we see instead today is more of a spectator event—quite often a literal corporate structure with a spiritual CEO and subordinate officers training the willing participants.

An unfortunate consequence of that model often creates an environment by which the salaried corporate leadership becomes highly susceptible to compromising both the potency and the veracity of God’s word for the sake of pride or the desire to sustain a particular standard of living commensurate with that salary.

1Cor. 9:14 is often cited to justify a salaried pastorship to lead congregations, often mistranslated to read that the Lord directed those who proclaim (or preach) the good news are “to get their living” from the good news.

But the original Greek text does not imply that.

Literally (and in context) it suggests that those who preach the good news are to LIVE by (or by means of) the good news. 

The apostle Paul was instructing the Corinthians themselves to practice what they preach because they were all meant to proclaim it, not designate that responsibility and privilege to anyone who might seem more qualified.

For if I profess Christ, then, by definition, I’m a “professional” disciple.