After much study of scripture, prayer, discussions with some of my friends, and reading good books, I have come to the conclusion that I can no longer in good conscience remain a salaried pastor. I cannot find it anywhere in the bible, so I’m not going to do it.
Last Wednesday evening I informed the sweet people of Chevis Oaks Baptist Church that I will be resigning as pastor.
I'm impressed, I really am. I've friends who have given their 101% to serve wholeheartedly in mentoring the music ministry while holding on to their full time jobs to pay the bills. Others have given up their holidays to help out youth ministry, or taken huge pay cuts in well paying jobs to serve in church.
Contrary to thought (and bad publicity), pastors don't always make obscene sums of money. And pastoring isn't always an easy job. It can be discouraging and pressurizing,
It's difficult enough to take on the role as a full-time pastor in a church (salaried or not), and another completely different story to step back into reality with no job waiting for you, plus a family of 5 to support. That, my friends, is pure faith.
I've posted quite a bit today. Thanks to these posts, I've questioned myself, been encouraged, and inspired. What a great journey!
Chris,
ReplyDeleteI am also very inspired by this action taken by Eric. In "real life" he is so humble that he probably has no idea how far and wide this story will spread. I am glad that you posted this, so that more people can see it! It makes me wonder why I didn't post it. Maybe today, better late than never, right?
Bethany
@Jessica
ReplyDeleteYes - Definitely better late than never! :D
I guess that's why actions are so scary - They work in a ripple effect, and spread to people all around you (some of whom you might not even know). And negative actions always seem to make a much larger ripple than positive ones.....