Ed and Patsy now live in Athens, Alabama and are members at the Pepper Road church. As administrator of this blog, he enjoys sharing thoughts about spiritual maters. Not only his thoughts but good articles from other authors. He is also thankful to have been able to preach the unsearchable riches of Christ for over sixty years.
I was blessed with being able to solely “live of the gospel” (cf. 1 Cor. 9:14) for my 50+ years of working with local churches. For all of those years we were able to live on the support provided by the local church where we labored and what I received from gospel meetings. A few months, at one congregation, we received support from other congregations, but the local church was within a few month’s able to take up all of my support. For another 18-month period, I did secular work to supplement my income. In the years after reaching 65, we have lived on Social Security benefits and support from the church. All of this has been a great advantage to me in my being able to devote most of my time to study and preaching/teaching the word without the burden of “working for a living.”
Do I think this is the only way to go. No! Some of the most effective local preachers that I know are among those making their living by secular occupations. In fact, if it had not been for such preachers, the church as we know it today would not be. I have read from those who have researched “the restoration movement” that as a result of the split that resulted in “churches of Christ” and the “Christian Church” there were only a handful of churches that were able to fully support a preacher. The vast majority of the preaching was done by men who farmed, did other manual labor, or worked at some kind of professional job during the week and preached on Sundays. As the Cause spread more churches in time were able to support full-time men. I feel that my being able to enjoy the support that I have is a result of their sacrifices.
I am eternally grateful. As I view trends today, with a significant number of local church members being “tossed to and fro by every wind of doctrine,” I fear that more and more preachers with solid Bible-based convictions will be forced to seek secular employment to feed themselves and their families. Of course, they will not “quit preaching,” but they will preach when and where they have the opportunity. Most of the preachers who are spreading hair brain doctrines, will be safe in their support because the people love to have it so. (See Jer. 5:31).
If you think I am dealing in hypothetics, then think again. I know churches and preachers right here in the state of Alabama who are being greatly affected by such.I firmly believe that we may have the beginning of a period much like the time I described above about the split that came over the societies and instruments of music. Men are going to have to be willing to preach the truth in season, out of season, paid or unpaid and make their living in other ways so that “the truth of the gospel might continue with you” (Cf. Gal. 2:5) in order to establish and rebuild congregations firmly rooted in “what saith the Scriptures.”
At this point, I do not believe that the majority of congregations are bothered by these things. There are still many who are supporting (financially and morally) preachers who are doing a commendable job of preaching “the whole council of God.” But, given the trend of the last few years, I believe that it in time these things will affect more and more of them as well. We are truly in “perilous times” as far as sound doctrine is concerned.
May we all plant our feet on the solid foundation of Bible truth and proclaim it for the house tops whether or not it is well received – whether or not supported by those that hear us. This is our only hope of passing Bible-based congregations on to the next generation.
I know that the kingdom of God or the universal church of Christ can not be destroyed (Dan. 2:44), but local churches can.