According to the Bible, how should Christian clergy be compensated for their services?

Question

In Mark 6, we read, in part:

Then Jesus went around teaching from village to village. 7 Calling the Twelve to him, he began to send them out two by two and gave them authority over impure spirits.

8 These were his instructions: “Take nothing for the journey except a staff—no bread, no bag, no money in your belts. 9 Wear sandals but not an extra shirt.

This scripture seems to suggest that clergy should accept nothing for temporal compensation in exchange for their service to God & Jesus. Or, perhaps the clergy should be content to make nothing more than a paltry sum meant only to cover their living expenses.

Or is my conclusion incorrect?

Answer 1

Israel had a tribe dedicated to serving God in the temple. The Levites were not allocated any land, so they were supported by the other tribes. As commented by Anne below, "They received their living from income given to the temple, and in accordance with O.T. laws about priests. Also, a group of women ministered to the material needs of Christ and the disciples - Luke 8:1-3." There is therefore a biblical precedent for supporting those who are appointed to serve God and His people.

With regard to Christianity, at the outset there was no “organised religion”, just the disciples of Jesus who left everything behind to follow Jesus. They were all equal, and they shared everything they had. It’s worth remembering that “God so loved the world he failed to send a committee,” let alone bishops or priests.

The disciples spread the good news of the gospel by walking from village to village. Where they were welcomed, they accepted hospitality from the villagers who put them up and fed them. The disciples would stay there for some days, preparing the way for Jesus, and so the message spread, slowly.

After the death and resurrection of our Lord and Saviour, and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the disciples in that upper room in Jerusalem at Pentecost, Christianity exploded into the civilised world. Things changed. House churches were formed. Peter, Paul and all the other disciples travelled extensively. They received hospitality from like-minded believers. Paul is a good example of a disciple who refused to be a financial burden on those early Christians. He joyfully “lowered himself” to spread the gospel “free of charge”.

Unlike so many, we do not peddle the word of God for profit (2 Corinthians 2:17)

Those first century disciples earned their keep, whenever possible. Paul, a tentmaker by trade, met fellow tentmakers Priscilla and Aquila, and

because he was a tentmaker as they were, he stayed and worked with them. Every Sabbath he reasoned in the synagogue, trying to persuade Jews and Greeks (Acts 18:3–4).

Here we have the first-century example of disciples who selflessly gave up any creature-comforts they may have previously enjoyed in order to obey the commission to spread the gospel throughout the inhabited world. Be assured, since then there have been many disciples who have followed that example, enduring hardship and relying on the hospitality of others.

Don’t forget, though, that Jesus said the workman is worthy of his wages. Also, instead of travelling the globe on foot, or on the back of a mule or a camel, things have moved along. However, the principle, given by Jesus that we are to rely on God for our needs, still applies:

Freely you have received, freely give (Matthew 10:8)

That does not mean to say someone who devotes their entire life to serving Christ and taking care of the flock must become homeless and beg for food. The example among the first Christians was one of helping each other and sending financial support, where necessary, to their brothers and sisters in Christ who were suffering. Take, as an example, the Jewish Christians in Jerusalem. Fellow believers contributed financially to help them as they struggled because of persecution. As the church grew, a pattern developed:

All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as they had need (Acts 2:45).

How about today? The same principles apply. Christians support one another, and that includes financial assistance to those who have abandoned careers in order to devote themselves full-time to looking after the flock and spreading the good news of the kingdom to others.

If a Christian community wants the benefit of a full-time teacher and preacher, then they should be prepared to provide financial support in order to make that possible. A stipend is what such ministers can expect – just enough to keep a roof over their heads and to feed their families.

I do not speak of religions that put their bishops in palaces and bedeck them with gold cloth and jewels, and that includes the Churches of England and of Scotland. I speak of modest congregations of believers who are not subjected to the governance and structures of religions that promote obscene wealth and elevate men to positions of power and authority over millions of people.

Answer 2

Let the elders that rule well be counted worthy of double honour, especially they who labour in the word and doctrine. For the scripture saith, Thou shalt not muzzle the ox that treadeth out the corn. And, The labourer is worthy of his reward. - 1 Timothy 5:17-18

The phrase "double honor" has a heavy economic connotation, especially given it's placement with the ox and the laboroer in this passage. Just as a cruel husbandman curtails the nourishment of the ox as it grinds, and just as the self-seeking employer begrudges the laborer's wage, so the church who so undervalues the careful ministry of the Word of truth and the real labor that goes into it's diligent study and clear proclamation.

Double is meaning, literally, twice as much and honor is as follows:

Our noun τιμη (time), being such a pivotal word, is ubiquitous in the New Testament. It's often translated with "honor" but that may be a bit unfortunate as in our modern world this word mostly describes an incurred value and the compliance therewith, while our noun τιμη (time) represents an intrinsic value and the recognition thereof. Translators of the Bible (particularly Roman ones) were quite hung up on shows of reverence and honor, but sentiments like that rarely crossed the minds of the authors of the New Testament, especially in the sense that honor and being honored would be things to pursue. Instead the authors stressed a pursuit of practical value and usefulness, not of applause and medals.

Of course there are many ministers who, seeking after filthy lucre, dishonor themselves and wickedly fleece the flock but the passage in 1 Timothy depends somewhat upon a spirit of discernment amongst the congregation and, I would say, a level of economic control exhibited by the local body of believers that is absent and perhaps not even possible within religions with "centralized government" and financial superstructures.

The Scripture nowhere commands vows of poverty for ministers but rather diligence unto the Lord and contentment with whatever means He provides. The famously misused phrase "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me" is given in the midst of a passage dealing with contentment and trust in the Lord's provision regardless of immediate economic circumstance:

But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly, that now at the last your care of me hath flourished again; wherein ye were also careful, but ye lacked opportunity. Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.  Notwithstanding ye have well done, that ye did communicate with my affliction. - Philippians 4:10-14

Is there one among you who labors thus, not for their gain but for yours? Give them twice as much.

Answer 3

According to the Bible, how should Christian clergy be compensated for their services?

Most Christians would believe so.

13 Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality. - Romans 12:13

Although Early Christian communities supported their clergy, St. Paul helped support himself in the mission field. By making tents.

Tentmaking, in general, refers to the activities of any Christian who, while dedicating herself or himself to the ministry of the Gospel, receives little or no pay for Church work, but performs other ("tentmaking") jobs to provide support. Specifically, tentmaking can also refer to a method of international Christian evangelism in which missionaries support themselves by working full-time in the marketplace with their skills and education, instead of receiving financial support from a Church. The term comes from the fact that the apostle Paul supported himself by making tents while living and preaching in Corinth (Acts 18:3)

Unlike Peter and other apostles in the early Christian Church, who devoted themselves entirely to their religious ministry and lived off the money donated by Church members (see Acts 4:34-37), Paul frequently performed outside work, not desiring to be a financial burden to the young Churches he founded. In Thessaloniki, Paul states that he and his companions "worked night and day, laboring and toiling so that we would not be a burden to any of you" (2 Thessalonians 3:8). Paul's purpose in working was to set an example for the Christians, desiring that they did not become idle in their expectation of the return of Christ, but that they would work to support themselves. He also hoped that his refusal to accept financial support would build his credibility among non-Christians, thus giving him the chance to win over more of them (See 1 Corinthians 9, particularly verse 12). For additional glimpses into the Apostle Paul's tentmaking ministry see Acts 18:1-3; 20:33-35; Philippians 4:14-16.

Financial support is not the only essence of tentmaking. Instead, the vocational identity coupled with excellence of work and lifestyle influences colleagues to follow Jesus Christ.