I started to call this article, “Open Season on Preachers.” Another title I thought of was “Preachers Are Fair Game.” You know already what the general theme of this article will be.<\/p>\n
While it is altogether possible that some of the problems in congregations of the Lord’s people may be properly laid at the feet of the preacher, many times, he simply becomes the “scapegoat” for brethren to vent their own frustrations as to lack of growth and many other problems which may arise. Preachers are never really considered as full-fledged members of a local congregation. They are only “in transit.” Perish the thought that he should be able to stay a lifetime in one community and work among the Lord’s people long enough for him to see his children graduate from the same school system where they began!<\/p>\n
Historically, there have been (and still are) those who resent the preacher’s support. When any problem arises with money or meeting the local church’s budget, guess who is expected to solve the local church’s financial problem? That’s right! If we got rid of the preacher or cut off the support to someone “in the field,” we could meet our financial obligations. Never mind all the many hardships the preacher and his family may suffer in the meantime, moving and readjusting to a new congregation and community. That’s his problem<\/strong>! When people become disgruntled with the preacher, so far as they are concerned, he and his wife and children can starve to death so that we rid ourselves of his presence. Many times, all he is guilty of is teaching what is needed. But the one who needed what was preached refused to accept or correct, so guess who goes? The preacher, that’s who! Then they get in a new man who is unfamiliar with the problems and the membership; thus, the church has apparent peace for a spell until the new man learns the problems and begins preaching what is needed to make corrections (see II Timothy 4:1-2).<\/p>\n By what stretch of the imagination is it proper for Brother John Doe Christian to request the congregation to get rid of the preacher because he is either tired of him or disagrees with the way he presents his lessons or other purely judgemental matters? Then, this one will begin a one-person campaign to stir up others until he insists that the preacher resigns for “the good of the cause” to forestall division. A division that was not threatened until the campaign got underway.<\/p>\n By comparison, what if some member would begin saying to others, “You know, I believe we ought to have a new song leader. Old brother so-and-so does a good job, but we need a change from time to time?” Or, what if John Doe Member should say, “You know Brother So-and-so does a great job as our treasurer, but I think we should ask him to resign and appoint someone else to the job.” How do you think the brethren, who were doing their work satisfactorily, would feel about a brother making such a request? Why, you know, they would be simply crushed emotionally since they have been diligently doing their best and sacrificing much to do a good service to the Lord’s people. Now, if the local church appointed people to the functions mentioned above with the understanding that every so many years, we will be changing and appointing someone else to these functions simply to utilize more of the membership, no one would think anything about it when the normal agreed upon system was acted upon. But if that system also required the member to be uprooted with his family and be forced to move, the system would be quickly scrapped.<\/p>\n But with the preacher, it is different. He is expected to be willing to move, often to another town, and it doesn’t matter if this means selling his house at a loss due to the sudden change. He must be willing to get all business transactions done quickly (often with only two months’ notice) to be able to make a move. (Incidentally, his “company” will not buy his house at market rates to facilitate the move, as some companies do.) Let me tell you this one other thing: it always costs quite a bit more for a preacher to make a move than the new congregation is willing to pay, and it is highly unlikely that the congregation from which he is moving will offer to pay any of the expenses. Is it any wonder that fewer young men aspire to make their life’s work that of “preaching Christ?” It’s a wonder we have as many as we do.<\/p>\n Now, I must say this: for the most part, in some 28 years of gospel preaching, I have been treated well, with few exceptions to that rule. Thus, it can hardly be said that I am bitter or just venting my anger. Not at all. I’m just trying to get John and Jane Doe Christian to consider practicing the “golden rule” where preachers are concerned. Preachers are people, too. Preachers are, generally speaking, dedicated to preaching Christ to the point of being willing to sacrifice whatever for the cause of Christ. Most who preach could make more money if that was the only consideration, doing something other than preaching. If one puts in as many hours of secular work as one does studying and preparing lessons, etc., he would make considerably more money. Even those of us who are not “college-trained.”<\/p>\n When a faithful preacher is asked to move on from some local church, the real reason he is being asked to leave rarely ever comes out. Some substitute reason will be manufactured to hide the real reason! No one will admit that a point made in some sermon hit so hard that he has been chaffing ever since and is thus determined to see that the preacher is asked to leave. Some years ago, when asked to leave a local work “for the good of the cause” (the one and only time this happened to me), I wrote with a broken heart:<\/p>\n by Ken Thomas via Sentry Magazine, Vol. 14, No. 3, September 30, 1988 I started to call this article, “Open Season on Preachers.” Another title I thought of was “Preachers Are Fair Game.” You know already what the general theme of this article will be. While it is altogether possible that some of the problems…<\/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":[27],"tags":[1511],"class_list":["post-84088","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-preachers"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":6706,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/must-a-preacher-move\/","url_meta":{"origin":84088,"position":0},"title":"Must a Preacher Move?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 22, 2005","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Over the years, I have heard various individuals argue against preachers being located in a particular area and working with one congregation. Typically, they will point out that Paul, and those with him, worked with many congregations, moving from city to city. In their view, elders\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2005\/07\/WagonTrain-225x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":36756,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/paying-preachers\/","url_meta":{"origin":84088,"position":1},"title":"Paying Preachers","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 19, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"by Matthew W. Bassford Never does anyone argue harder for something they won't actually take than Paul does in I Corinthians 9:3-14. Through much of his ministry, especially his time with the church in Corinth, Paul refused financial support from the church with which he was working. It may be\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/payment-300x200.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":92221,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/advice-to-younger-preachers-2\/","url_meta":{"origin":84088,"position":2},"title":"Advice to Younger Preachers (McDonald)","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 18, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by Robert L. McDonald via Expository Review, April 1983 When I first began preaching, in the late 40s or early 50s, I looked to older preachers for any help they could give me. I was delighted to hear them reminisce about their many experiences and problems encountered. Over the years,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":83854,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-power-of-preachers\/","url_meta":{"origin":84088,"position":3},"title":"The Power of Preachers","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 30, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by Chadwick Brewer \"For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.\u2026And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":42594,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/preaching-as-an-elderly-man\/","url_meta":{"origin":84088,"position":4},"title":"Preaching as an Elderly Man","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 31, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"by John Humphries The golden years (or sunset years) can be a very challenging time in an elderly preacher's life. With most, their bodies have been weakened by age, so they no longer have the energy to move about as quickly as when they were younger. With some, their mind\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/elderly-man-200x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":15140,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/isnt-the-reason-denominations-want-married-preachers-is-because-they-confuse-the-office-of-an-elder-with-that-of-the-preacher\/","url_meta":{"origin":84088,"position":5},"title":"Isn’t the reason denominations want married preachers is because they confuse the office of an elder with that of the preacher?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 20, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I wanted to make a comment about\u00a0requiring preachers to be married. I have taken note that the denominations do not generally adhere to scriptural church leadership, and instead of a plurality of elders, they have a board of deacons and one 'elder' or 'pastor,' who also serves as the\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":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/84088","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=84088"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/84088\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=84088"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=84088"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=84088"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Now Consider<\/h2>\n
Preachers Are People, Too<\/h2>\nI’m just a man, as you all know.
\nSubject to sorrow to pain and to woe:
\nCut me, I bleed; hurt me, I cry,
\nIf you break my heart, I nearly die.\nYes, I’m subject to soaring to heights of great joy;
\nA strong man at times, yet at others a boy.
\nI want to be loved, be accepted by all,
\nBut must be true to Christ, to compromise is to fall.\nI must make choices, unpopular though they be.
\nI must faithfully serve God if heaven I see.
\nThose strong in the faith respect such a stand;
\nThose weak and possessed would destroy such a man.\nCondemned by their sin, by the preached word of God;
\nThe unrepentant on His servant have trod.
\nThe preacher still loves them and would help if he could,
\nBut they sent him away “for the cause’s good.”\nWhen the truth is made known when the facts have been heard
\nAll the charges they’ve hurled will then be absurd.
\nBut for those who are prejudiced, who for gossip will seek:
\nThey’ll continue their course; they will walk on the meek.\nIf only some way their sin they could see;
\nThey are hurting themselves as they try <\/b>to hurt me.
\nThe judgment is coming; we must face all of life’s deeds;
\nSo we must make things right among you, Christ, and me.\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"