Devoted to the Propagation and Defense of New Testament Christianity
VOLUME 18
November 17, 1966
NUMBER 28, PAGE 4-5a

A Scandalous Situation

Editorial

That's exactly what it is --- the situation Brother Thompson describes in his article beginning on the front page of this issue. We want every person who gets hold of this paper to read the article carefully. It is lengthy, of course, four or five times as long as we usually print. But it says some things that have needed saying for a long, long time. And says them well.

Not a week passes, and indeed, hardly a day without our hearing of some earnest band of disciples in desperate search for a preacher to help them in spreading the gospel in their community. Talk about a "Macedonian call!" they are coming from every direction, and in tones that at times border on despair. And these are not cries from ignorant and denominationally minded brethren who want to "turn the work over to a preacher," they are pleas from well informed and consecrated Christians, whose hearts are saddened by the fact that the "fields are white unto the harvest," and the laborers are almost nonexistent! Without even trying we believe we could call off the names of a score of congregations who are right now trying to find a gospel preacher to move into their community and work with them; and by a little effort we could probably double or triple the number.

Why The "Preacher Shortage"?

Many factors have contributed to this fearful shortage of men who are giving their full time to gospel preaching


the general chaos and confusion of the world situation, internal strife within and among the congregations, a suffocating "secularism" which has all but engulfed an entire generation of younger men; we might name a dozen other contributing factors. But there can be no doubt at all in the mind of any thinking person that the terrific financial sacrifices demanded of most (not all) gospel preachers is one of the major causes of the shortage.

And this is a situation that can be remedied!

That is why we are so hopeful that Brother Thompson's article will be widely read and seriously considered. For beyond all question there are many hundreds of capable, well qualified men who have been COMPELLED to "build tents" to meet their honest obligations


and hundreds of thousands of hours which could AND SHOULD be spent in study, and preaching and teaching are spent selling insurance, or "putting mud on chicken wire" (as Brother Thompson says), or in any one of a hundred other professions or jobs! This tremendous potential for good, this enormous reservoir of knowledge and experience and ability, all goes down the drain ---because of short-sighted policies in support of gospel preaching!.

A recent article in "Christianity Today" (September 30, 1966) dealt at length with what the author was pleased to call "The Problem of the Underpaid Pastor. " He reported that the typical Protestant "pastor" in America draws "an estimated cash salary of less than $6,000.00 per year, about as much as a lazy salesman." No other vocation involving the educational level required of a preacher maintains so low a pay scale. We feel certain that Churches of Christ do NOT support gospel preachers any better than (or even as well as) the Protestant preachers support their "pastors." In 1963, according to this article, the typical Protestant preacher subsidized his ministry out of his own salary to the extent of $685.00 car expense. In other words, when these churches employed a preacher they paid him his $6,000.00, and had the tacit understanding that "this $6, 000.00 employs you AND your car." How many salesmen for bakeries, hardware concerns, soap manufacturers, or anybody else are expected to furnish their own car, and pay all car expense, out of $6,000. 00 per year?

What To Do

We would earnestly urge that all congregations in the land take a long and objective look at the support they are giving to gospel preachers. And this is a good time to do it, as the year nears its end and plans are being formulated for 1967. A ten or fifteen dollar a week increase in the preacher's support may make all the difference in the world as to whether or not this good man is able to devote himself wholly to "the ministry of the Lord" or will be compelled to preach on a "part-time" basis while he gets secular employment to feed his family and meet his obligations as a Christian father!

One more suggestion: Pass this paper around among other Christians, and urge them to read Brother Thompson's article. We all have it within our power right here and now to remedy ONE factor in the "preacher shortage" crisis. Let's do something about it.

- F. Y. T.