I am a member of a large, conservative church of Christ. The one thing that bothers me is that we have a lady, who I love dearly, who has been the “church secretary” for many years and is being paid a salary. I can’t find where this is scriptural. The other congregations in our city have members who voluntarily put out the bulletin and the like, and I feel this is good. I just think how this much money could help support spreading the gospel. And yes, I would volunteer my time to help. Can you give me biblical authority for this?<\/p>\n\t
“For it is written in the law of Moses, “You shall not muzzle an ox while it treads out the grain.” Is it oxen God is concerned about? Or does He say it altogether for our sakes? For our sakes, no doubt, this is written, that he who plows should plow in hope, and he who threshes in hope should be partaker of his hope<\/em>” (I Corinthians 9:9-10).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
A principle God has long taught is that a person who provides a service should be compensated for his work. “Woe to him who builds his house by unrighteousness and his chambers by injustice, who uses his neighbor’s service without wages and gives him nothing for his work<\/em>” (Jeremiah 22:13).<\/p>\n
Churches were told to provide for worthy widows. “Honor widows who are really widows. … Do not let a widow under sixty years old be taken into the number, …<\/em>” (I Timothy 5:1, 9). It is perfectly acceptable to compensate such women in exchange for services done for the church. I’ve known of several cases where a woman would not accept a free handout but was willing to earn her keep.<\/p>\n
I don’t know the woman’s situation or the reasoning behind the decision to employ her as a secretary for the church, but there can be acceptable reasons to pay someone for their services. There are congregations that pay for lawn care and the cleaning of the building. Most use volunteers to accomplish those tasks, but there are situations where paying someone makes more sense and if that pay can benefit a member of the congregation, then it makes even better sense.<\/p>\n\t
Response:<\/h2>\n
Thank you for your response. This gives me a much clearer understanding, and I no longer have an uneasy feeling about it.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Question: I am a member of a large, conservative church of Christ. The one thing that bothers me is that we have a lady, who I love dearly, who has been the “church secretary” for many years and is being paid a salary. I can’t find where this is scriptural. The other congregations in our…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[20],"tags":[154,105],"class_list":["post-42120","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-answer","tag-church-funds","tag-employment"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":78477,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-it-right-to-be-paid-to-clean-a-church-building\/","url_meta":{"origin":42120,"position":0},"title":"Is it right to be paid to clean a church building?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 15, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hello! I have a question regarding the church treasury and its use. I've been going to an institutional church of Christ with my family, as I don't have a driver's license to attend the non-institutional church the next town over. I clean for the church. Is it proper for\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":25397,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/should-churches-support-retired-preachers\/","url_meta":{"origin":42120,"position":1},"title":"Should churches support retired preachers?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 4, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I was reading some articles on your church web site,\u00a0one concerning paying preachers, written by Terry Benton. I was trying to find New Testament scripture for continuing to pay a retired preacher, I guess like retirement for years of service. I am wanting the Bible to be my guide,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":8817,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-it-wrong-to-pay-a-preacher\/","url_meta":{"origin":42120,"position":2},"title":"Is it wrong to pay a preacher?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 25, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Is it a sin to pay a preacher? Personally I don't think it is, but some of our brethren in the church think it is. Can you give me some scripture for this, either not to pay or pay the preacher? Answer: \"My defense to those who examine me\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":54429,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/can-a-woman-serve-as-a-churchs-secretary-or-treasurer\/","url_meta":{"origin":42120,"position":3},"title":"Can a woman serve as a church’s secretary or treasurer?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 18, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Is it right to make a Christian sister the church secretary? Can a sister also act as the treasurer? Answer: First off, you will not find a position of secretary or treasurer mentioned in the New Testament. The closest you will get to a treasurer is that Judas used\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1433,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/should-a-preacher-be-paid-to-hold-a-gospel-meeting\/","url_meta":{"origin":42120,"position":4},"title":"Should a preacher be paid to hold a gospel meeting?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 11, 2004","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: One brother raised an objection that he believed that a preacher shouldn't be paid anything for holding a gospel meeting! The reason being that it would be paying to hear the gospel preached. What do you think? Answers: \"My defense to those who examine me is this: Do we\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":8435,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-a-preacher-an-employee-of-the-church\/","url_meta":{"origin":42120,"position":5},"title":"Is a preacher an employee of the church?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 12, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Your web page is one of the very best. It demonstrates a superior grasp on 21st-century problems facing brethren today. It also displays wisdom in addressing the matters. Your Answers: Preacher\u00a0is on target. 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