Vital Churches: Elder Responsibility for Their Pastors and Congregational Planning

"If we pay the minister that much, it won't be a calling any more.
It will be a profession."
That comment, which I heard during a discussion on the minister's salary in a congregational meeting, encapsulates the attitudes of many Christians, namely that professional standards ought not to apply in the church. The comment expresses more than the infamous prayer: "Lord, you keep him humble and we'll keep him poor." It reflects the attitude that what applies as good practice in the "real" or nat...