Honouring the Leaders in the Church

(1 Timothy 5:17-18 – Honouring the Leaders in the Church)

It is a strange process when you begin to understand the structure of the church. And when you do understand it, you begin to understand why it is a worthy thing to be honouring the leaders in the church.

There are many ways of honouring the leaders in the church. The most obvious is through payment for services rendered. But sadly some of the modern church leaders have taken that to the extremes and have used the opportunity of payment for services rendered as a means to acquire wealth.

There is a right in this scripture to be paid for services rendered, but not a right for greed and excess. And one of the challenges those who seek wealth from the gospel fail to understand is what their role as a leader truly entails.

Why should we be honouring leaders in the Church?

The role of a leader in the church is not the same as a leader in the world.

In the worlds of business or politics, the leader holds the top position in the organisation or geopolitical region. They climb up to this position and those beneath them are subservient until another comes along and takes over the reins of leadership.

But in the church it is different. The true leaders in the church should emulate the role that Jesus played when He was on the earth.

Jesus, before He came to earth was the Word. As it says in John chapter 1,

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God; 3 all things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made. (John 1:1-3)

And also;

14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth; we have beheld his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father. (John 1:14)

The Word became the man we know as Jesus. Prior to His appearance, He held the power of God and the universe. He was the Creator of all we see, as the scripture above tells us, “all things were made through him.”

But He emptied Himself of all of that power and glory to take on the form of a man. And in the form of a man, He taught us what we need to do to be saved, and He died so that we could be saved from sin to live into eternity.

The Servant Leader

Jesus came to the earth to serve as He said in this scripture;

43 But it shall not be so among you; but whoever would be great among you must be your servant, 44 and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all. 45 For the Son of man also came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Mark 10:43-45)

Jesus was truly the ultimate example of a “Servant-Leader.” He came to lead people to salvation and life, but He did it not through might and power, but through serving others.

In doing this He provided an example for all of us and especially those who were to be leaders in the Church.

True leaders in the church do not “rise” in the organisation to be served by others. Instead, they descend in the the organisation of the church to serve the congregations and to help them to find their way.

True church leaders will give up much in the pursuit of service as they work for the Lord and the people He brings to them.

Honouring the leaders in the Church

This brings me back to the subject of this article, which is honouring the leaders in the church. The scriptures under review today say this;

17 Let the elders who rule well be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in preaching and teaching; 18 for the scripture says, “You shall not muzzle an ox when it is treading out the grain,” and, “The laborer deserves his wages.” (1 Timothy 5:17-18)

When we understand that the role of a true leader in the church is service and to serve, aid, help, lift, teach, encourage, and strengthen the people of God, then it becomes evident why the Lord would give them honour.

And because the leaders are working in the service of the Lord, He has made this allowance that they be paid for the work they do. They deserve to be paid as labourers in the Lord’s field, which is His church and His people. Even more than that, they deserve to be honoured for the work that they do in the Lord’s service because it is not an easy task.

But given the amassing of wealth by some leaders in the modern church, the question arises, “How much should they be paid?”

Honouring the leaders in the church with income

The scripture above says;

“You shall not muzzle an ox when it is treading out the grain,” and, “The laborer deserves his wages.”

This gives us an indication of the amount that a leader in the church could or should expect.

When an ox was treading out the grain it was permitted to eat some of the grain. Basically, since it was doing the work, the ox was permitted to share in the crop.

How much grain would the ox eat? It would probably eat it’s fill and then eat no more. It would not gorge itself just because there was more grain available, but would stop when it was satisfied. There may have been hundreds of bushels of grain being crushed, but the ox would maybe eat only a basket of the grain and no more.

Likewise, the labourer would be paid a fixed wage for the services rendered. He would not be paid more than what the going rate was for a labourer, and typically the rate would be negotiated between the labourer and the employer before work commenced. The rate would be dependant upon the job.

The labourer would not expect to receive the level of income that the employer received. The employer was possible a wealthy merchant or wealthy landowner, but the labourer was merely a hired hand.

In both of these situations, neither the ox or the landowner would have expected more than was permitted for a job well done. If they did expect more than they would not be employed again. If through greed the ox ate half the crop, the farmer would likely sell the ox or use it for something else and keep it well away from his grain. And similarly, if the labourer demanded more than was appropriate for the job to be done, the employer would not hire him and seek someone more reasonable.

So should it be in the church. When honouring leaders in the church with income, the payment should match the value of the work and the effort applied to the role.

Prosperity gospel

Which brings me back to honouring the leaders in the church with income beyond what is deemed appropriate.

There are too many preachers today who have been poisoned by the teachings of the “Prosperity Gospel.” They claim that the wealth of a person is indicative of their favour with God. They propose the need for giving to the church excessive amounts of money so that they will get an abundance poured back upon them. They quote scriptures like Malachi 3:8-10 to justify tithing and that by tithing you will be abundantly blessed.

But they use these scriptures wrongly to justify their own ends and to line their own pockets with wealth. They appeal to the greed within people rather than teaching the truth of godliness. Also they focus on the things of this world as measures of godliness rather than the things of God. They fail to understand that money is not of God but is an invention of man, and the love of money is what corrupts people.

I could go on and on about this false teaching of prosperity gospel. Those who preach it do not do so out of love for God or to serve His people as a true leader should do. Instead they preach it for their own wealth and personal gain. The Lord will judge them accordingly.

Truly honouring the leaders in the church

But this does not mean the leaders in the church are not entitled to be recompensed for their work. That rightful claim has been incorporated into the Bible in both the Old and New Testaments. Paul writes about it in the following scriptures;

3 This is my defense to those who would examine me. 4 Do we not have the right to our food and drink? 5 Do we not have the right to be accompanied by a wife, as the other apostles and the brothers of the Lord and Cephas? 6 Or is it only Barnabas and I who have no right to refrain from working for a living? 7 Who serves as a soldier at his own expense? Who plants a vineyard without eating any of its fruit? Who tends a flock without getting some of the milk? 8 Do I say this on human authority? Does not the law say the same? 9 For it is written in the law of Moses, “You shall not muzzle an ox when it is treading out the grain.” Is it for oxen that God is concerned? 10 Does he not speak entirely for our sake? It was written for our sake, because the plowman should plow in hope and the thresher thresh in hope of a share in the crop. 11 If we have sown spiritual good among you, is it too much if we reap your material benefits? (1 Corinthians 9:3-11)

There is a rightful claim that those who work in the preaching and teaching of the gospel should be able to receive their income from that work.

But it is a wage or an income. It is not a wealth creation scheme.

But if you continue reading in 1 Corinthians 9, you will see that Paul and Barnabas did not receive or expect an income from the work that they did. Instead they continued to work for their own living rather than put a burden upon the church.

And there are many today who hold the same point of view. They do not or will not accept payment for the services rendered on behalf of the Lord.

I am of this same opinion simply because the things the Lord has given to me I received free of charge, and so I will give those things back to anyone who cares to listen also without cost. It’s not that I don’t have the right to receive payment for this world that I do, but I choose to provide it freely rather than put an obstacle in the way of anyone who is seeking to find the truth.

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