“Night and day we toiled to earn a living so that our expenses would not be a burden to anyone
there as we preached God’s Good News among you.”
(1 Thes. 2:9, NLT)
Ons het in die vorige Mannas die negende mite in die eietydse kerk ekstensief ondersoek, naamlik: Die dominee of pastoor is die spilpunt van ‘n kerkgemeenskap en sonder hom kan ‘n gemeente kwalik optimaal funksioneer. In die vorige Manna het ons gesien dat binne die hiërargiese Romeinse sisteem het die clergy mettertyd ‘n ministeriële salaris begin ontvang, en dit lei tot die ondersoek na die tiende mite: Geld (veral tiendes) is ‘n baie belangrike aspek van die sukses en bestaan van kerke.
Duisende jare na die vestiging van die Romeinse sisteem om geestelike voorgangers salarisse te betaal, is hierdie onBybelse gebruik steeds ‘n probleem vir eietydse gelowiges. Op die algemene vraagstellingwebwerf About.com vra ene Jim die volgende: “I need your help to understand something that has troubled me for years … why do churches pay preachers to preach or pastor a church? I pray that you can answer the question and tell me what the Holy Word of God says about this.”
Mary Fairchild, die pastoor wat die vraag beantwoord, sê die volgende: “Many Christians are surprised to discover that the Bible plainly teaches congregations to financially support those who care for the spiritual needs of the church body. This includes pastors, teachers and other full-time ministers who are called by God for service. Spiritual leaders can best serve when they are fully dedicated to the work of the Lord—to the study and teaching of God’s Word and ministering to the needs of the body of Christ. If a minister has to work a job to provide for his family, then he will be distracted from ministry and forced to divide his priorities, leaving less time to adequately shepherd his flock.”
Op ‘n ander webwerf wat hom beywer vir die markverwante vergoeding van pastore en dominees, word selfs ‘n suiwer sekulêre maatstaf gebruik vir die bepaling van die salaris van die dominee of pastoor: “Income paid to pastors should be fair and a reasonable indication of the congregations’ evaluation of the pastors’ worth. Yet, it should also take into consideration the responsibilities and workload of the pastor, the pastor’s level of education, the size of the congregation, the economic level of the locale, and the experience of the pastor.”
In die lig van vorige Mannas behoort die leser te besef albei die argument hierbo is vrot van algemene mites oor kerkwees, en geensins Bybels nie, alhoewel dit op die oog af oorsigtelik sin maak. Die konteks waarbinne so ‘n verduideliking val, berus egter op verskeie valse premisse. Laat dit onomwonde duidelik gesê word: Die salaris van die dominee/pastoor is nie ‘n Nuwe-Testamentiese beginsel nie. Trouens, die Woord praat eksplisiet daarteen.
Paulus se pleidooi oor die saak in Hand. 20:33-35 wys uit wat die gesindheid van die ware gestuurde moet wees: “Niemand se silwer of goud of klere het ek begeer nie; maar julle weet self dat hierdie hande voorsien het in die behoeftes van my en die wat by my was. Ek het julle in alles getoon dat ons deur so te arbei die swakkes moet help en die woorde van die Here Jesus moet onthou, dat Hy gesê het: Dit is saliger om te gee as om te ontvang.”
As die kerk as uitgangspunt neem dat daar ‘n vaste kerkgebou moet wees, met noodwendige vaste maandelikse onkostes, sal die vaste vergoeding van die pastoor/dominee (en ‘n klomp ander wat noodwendig deel van hierdie operatiewe masjien moet word), ‘n noodwendige gevolg wees.
Uit ‘n Nuwe-Testamentiese perspektief moet ons ‘n paar dinge aanstip. Die bedienaars van die Woord in die eerste eeu is nooit ‘n salaris betaal nie. Hulle het weliswaar soms geskenke ontvang: kos ontvang, klere, middele of kommoditeite, selfs geld, maar nooit-ooit is daar aan enigeen van hierdie tydperk ‘n vaste salaris betaal nie (Carl B. Hoch, Jnr.: All Things New).
In sy boek, New Testament Commentary: Acts, verduidelik Simon J. Kistemaker die voorbeeld van Paulus as ‘n dienaar in die koninkryk van God wat vir sy eie lewensonderhoud verantwoordelik was: “In his [Paul’s] letters he discloses that he worked night and day with his own hands to support himself, so that no one would ever be able to accuse him of depending on the hearers of the Gospel for his material needs (compare 1 Samuel 12:3). He refused to be a burden to anyone in the churches he established. By performing manual labor, he provided for his financial needs. Paul received gifts from the believers in Philippi, as he himself reveals (Philippians 2:25; 4:16-18), yet he declares that he did not solicit those gifts … The Ephesian elders had observed Paul’s ministry and physical work during his three-year stay. They were able to testify that he had never exploited anyone (2 Corinthians 7:2), but had always set an example of diligence and self-sufficiency, in the good sense of the word. He was a model to the believers and taught the rule: ‘If you will not work, you shall not eat’ (2 Thessalonians 3:10) … It appears that Paul generated sufficient income to support not only himself but even his companions … In every respect, says Paul to the elders of Ephesus, I taught you to work hard and with your earnings to help the weak … He exhorts them to follow his example and to labor hard.”
In sy kommentaar op Hand. 20:33-35, skryf Roland Allen in Missionary Methods: St. Paul’s or Ours? die volgende: “When I wrote this book I had not observed that in addressing the elders of Ephesus, St. Paul definitely directs them to follow his example and to support themselves (Acts 20:34-35). The right to support is always referred to wandering evangelists and prophets, not to settled local clergy (see Matthew 10:10; Luke 10:7; 1 Corinthians 9:1-14) with the doubtful exceptions of Galatians 6:6 and 1 Timothy 5:17-18, and even if those passages do refer to money gifts, they certainly do not contemplate fixed salaries which were an abomination in the eyes of the early Christians.”
Die Skrif wat dikwels voorgehou word om te motiveer dat die dominee of pastoor salaris of byvoordele moet ontvang, is 1 Kor. 9:13–14: “Weet julle nie dat die wat met die heilige dinge werk, uit die heiligdom eet nie; en dat die wat by die altaar besig is, met die altaar deel nie? So het die Here ook vir die wat die evangelie verkondig, bepaal dat hulle van die evangelie moet lewe.” Atkerson & Svendsen, in hul boek: The Practice of the Early Church verduidelik hierdie gedeelte eksegeties en histories suiwer: “1 Corinthians 9 does not refer to pastors, elders, or any other leader normally associated with today’s church. Instead it refers to ‘apostles’ (those who are sent out), roughly equivalent to today’s missionary. We are to financially support ‘those who proclaim the Gospel’ because of the nature of their work. The fundamental difference between the work of an elder (who is not financially supported) and the work of an apostle (who is financially supported) is that the apostle must uproot and travel from location to location. His stay is temporary; consequently, his odds for gaining employment at each location are slim. He would therefore need financial assistance to do the work for which he was sent. The elder, on the other hand, is stationed at one location. His stay is permanent … Even the apostles did not make their living from the church. The passage in question simply means that the need of the apostle for food, shelter, and clothing were to be met by the church (Matthew 10:9-11 was no doubt the pattern that the early church used for apostles). There was no salary involved.”
Die argument is duidelik – dit is ‘n mite dat die dominee/pastoor die ‘sentrum’ is van die ekkleasia en formeel vir sy/haar dienste vergoed moet word.
- Sela: Hoe verstaan ‘n mens dan 1 Tim. 5:17?
- Lees: 2 Sam. 5:11-6:23; 1 Kron. 13-16; Ps. 1, 2, 15, 22-24, 47 & 68
- Memoriseer: 1
- Delf dieper: Lees enige van die boeke hierbo genoem.