The Path to Church Growth: Empower the Laity
For centuries the Church has allowed the clergy to direct mission. It worked for a while, especially when church professionals were willing to labor in the field for little compensation and the people they served were uneducated. The rewards in those days were in the commitment to the Lord and His service. Tax law even recognized the sacrifices of clergy and created special rules to lessen their tax burden.
That level of commitment is rare today. Church professionals have negotiated salaries that might still be low compared to the corporate world but which are far better. They still have tax advantages.
The current state of decline in the Church has been influenced by this shift. Congregations must work harder and members must sacrifice more for less leadership. The laity have become valued for what they can contribute.
There are solutions but they require de-emphasizing the reliance on professional leadership. Empower the laity. They, for the most part, are still willing to labor without monetary rewards. They may even be eager to make a difference. In this day and age, they are educated and have leadership skills which they use in the secular world.
There is one hitch that will keep this from happening. Empowering the laity means less power for clergy.
Ministry was never supposed to be about power. It was supposed to be about service.
The biggest advantage to empowering the laity may force a return to that thinking.
I absolutely agree that we need to empower the laity. That is how the church is supposed to function and your point is well made. On a side note, as a small church pastor of over 20 years I can tell you that the tax burden is more difficult on a pastor, not easier. You are considered an employee for income tax purposes but self employed for social security purposes creating more forms to fill out. As a self employed person, you are required to pay all of your social security and at a higher rate. Then you are expected to claim everything that might be considered income. If someone hands a layman $20 and says “this is just because I love you and I know you’re having a tough time” then that person has no obligation to record it. If the same person hands the money to his pastor and says the same thing, the IRS considers that to be taxable income that must be reported. Didn’t mean to go on and on but thought you ought to know.
Terry Reed
Small Church Tools
I grew up in a preacher’s house with lots of uncles also pastors of several denominations. Also I am self-employed. I know both sides of the fence, even that precarious position of the uncompensated but hard-working preacher’s wife (endangered species that it may be)! These issues have been debated heatedly over many a Sunday dinner. Self-employment status can be an advantage as expenses can also be subtracted from income. It is murky water and difficult for lay people to understand, and I think it influences giving. It’s tough to explain to lay people new to church life. Also, as a member of a very small church, I know the laity work as hard as the pastor with no financial benefit. Nevertheless, I am by no means anti-pastor. I’m just looking for understanding of the position of all the folks working in the vineyard and trying to find ways to keep churches open and accessible to small communities. Thanks for the comments!
You’re more than welcome. And again I agree totally with you on the tremendous need to empower the laity–the ministry belongs to the people.