Part 1: Introduction | Part 2: Accessing the Enablement | Part 3: The Offices | Part 4: The Qualities
In chapter 5 Paul applies what he’s taught so far by laying out a couple of case studies; and here, as I’ve noted, we need to apply some discernment as to how much of his instruction should be considered as authoritative over all Christians, or intended specifically for pastors. We’ll try to do that sensibly as we proceed.
Paul’s first case study is widows in the church (1Ti 5.1-16). He begins (1Ti 5.1-2) by noting that every church body includes different “demographics,” if you will; at a minimum, a healthy church will have both males and females, and both older and younger. These groups have different needs, which we should recognize as we serve one another. The pastor, as overseer, will need to adapt church structure and ministries to maximize the benefit to all, but we as regular ol’ members should be thinking in that way as well, watching for and discerning even individual needs and seeking to serve in appropriate ways.
Paul chooses to focus here specifically on widows. You’ll recall that the first deacons (if that’s what they were) were appointed for the specific purpose of seeing to it that the widows were fed (Ac 6.1-7). In different cultures the needs of widows will vary. Some years ago I was an elder in a church that begn a focused ministry to widows. Our first step was to interview each of them and ask them frankly what their needs were. We were surprised to find that there were very few financial needs; in most cases their husbands had appropriate life insurance. Their greatest need, in most cases, was for a sense of belonging: opportunities for fellowship, inclusion in broader church activities, a general sensitivity to their new station in life. One widow suggested we have them take care of new moms: relationship, advice, even helping clean their houses and prepare meals. That worked well.
Now, if there are widows who do have financial difficulty, we need to serve them. Perhaps that’s by giving them financial assistance; or perhaps it’s by meeting with extended family and challenging them to fulfill their responsibility to their loved one (1Ti 5.8)–even if they’re not part of the church. I had to do that once; and while it was initially awkward, they did step up.
I suppose that these cultural differences might call for sensibly adapting Paul’s specific instructions to Timothy to ensure that we’re taking care of legitimate present-day needs and not merely first-century ones. As always, it comes down to attentiveness, love, and good sense.
Paul then turns to the issue of caring for elders. Again, Timothy, as an apostolic legate, is in a different position from us; but in practice the specifics are not that different–especially for baptists. :-) As an overseer, Timothy was responsible for seeing that the pastors under his care were appropriately cared for financially, as well as in other ways.
What about us? Well, if you’re baptist, your church governance puts you in charge; you hire and fire pastors as a congregation, and you participate in salary decisions through the budgeting process. And if you’re not baptist, you are certainly free to speak up if you see financial abuse going on.
So Paul says the elders who “rule well be counted worthy of double honor” (1Ti 5.17). The word translated “honor” in the KJV is financial; literally it means “pay ’em twice as much.” Certainly it means at least that pastors should be paid appropriately, based on their overall responsibilities and performance. In the US it’s common to pay pastors of large churches more than pastors of small ones, under the assumption that they have more work to do; I see no conflict with Paul’s teaching here.
Of course, pastors have needs beyond the financial ones. How often do you ask your pastor, in private, how he’s doing–if there’s anything you can do to help carry his burdens? Years ago I asked my pastor at the time how he was doing, and he said, “Oh, you know, the typical things–life and death, heaven and hell …” That spoke to me of the weighty load he was carrying, and it prompted me to pray for him more earnestly. And to tell him so.
There’s an ongoing theme here, is there? We serve by persistence in the non-glamorous things: paying attention, watching intentionally, asking questions, discerning needs, and acting lovingly in the ways we can. And, I would suggest, acting to encourage others to serve in the ways we can’t.
Photo by Mélyna Côté on Unsplash
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