More than a year ago, after studying theology in Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan, Brother L, born in 1995, began to work as a full-time pastor for a church in East China. Recently, Brother L talked with the Christian Times, an online Chinese Christian newspaper, about the persistent problem of salary and treatment of pastors.
This past year’s full-time serving experience taught him much. “Last year I sold citrus. Why did I do that? It’s simple because I had to. In many overseas places, the treatment of the pastor is good - not only for the pastor himself but also for the needs of the family, that is, you work for the church and the church in return can do this for you, including children’s education. However, many of the treatments are not available in China,” he stated.
As Brother L said the salary of pastors is becoming an increasingly serious problem encountered by the Chinese church in today’s society. He does not think that all this is caused by the wrong attitude of pastors themselves. There may be some “greedy” pastors for money and material, but the main reason is the development of the times and society as well as the long-standing misconception of the Chinese church on pastors’ pay. So far, many pastors and believers still hold that pastors ought to support themselves and their families, and that pastors will go bad if they consider money or pay.
Perhaps in Chinese mainland churches, there are various historical and practical reasons why pastors do not consider money. However, on the other hand, we also need to note that the times and society are developing and changing rapidly, and today has become completely different from times in the past. For instance, many old people do not understand why young people nowadays do not want to have children. They do not think raising a kid a big deal - nothing more than “adding an extra bowl and an extra pair of chopsticks” (a Chinese idiom meaning increasing the number of people in a family as one more person needs one more portion of food to feed, translator’s note). It is as if when children grow up they only need food. Only young people themselves know what a huge undertaking it is to have and raise children.
Nowadays, the living needs of pastors are far from simple matters like eating. Apart from the most basic issues like food and clothing, other realistic and common needs are travelling, medical treatment, marriage, raising children, children’s education, social security, parents’ pension, etc., not to mention housing because, whether buying or renting a house, it will greatly empty people’s wallets.
Brother L, born after 1995, is very young and unmarried. He is in the process of getting married. He naturally knows the needs of the young, but his answer was completely beyond my expectations.
When asked about the solution to the salary and treatment of pastors, he said, “I would like to be a stepping stone. The church should not raise the pay for me, but for the next generation of pastors. In my opinion, the reason why it is difficult to solve is that, and it is exactly this point, one doesn’t apply for the rise of pay for oneself but for others. I don’t think it possible to speak directly to the deacons or church committees to give me a higher salary, but there is one thing we can do, and that is, let the church improve it for the younger generation. I know that many pastors in the church are in their 40s or 50s being twice my age, but many of them are unwilling. Many of them will think, ‘Why? Why not increase my pay but theirs?’ With all due respect, in my opinion, this is no embodiment of a correct pastor’s mentality. They don’t have the heart to cultivate others, sacrifice themselves for others, or rather they’re envious of others. ‘If pay was to be increased, mine should be’. Do you think it might change if the pastors have this idea?”
He continued, “Obviously not. Therefore, it is only necessary to change this concept, abandon this concept - do not increase mine but that of the next generation. Not too high, of course, but not too low neither. If it’s too high, people’s mentality may change. Anyway, it’s hard to find a job now especially this year. If it’s too high, many who don’t really want to serve will come in. However, the problem now is that the monthly salaries of pastors are generally too low with 1,000 yuan or even only 500 yuan.” Pastors are not superhuman or immortals, they are human beings with basic living needs.
At the end of the talk, the young millennial preacher said, “We need to let our brothers and sisters know that pastors ought to live by faith, but meanwhile pastors need to live too, and there is no contradiction between faith and salaries.”
- Translated by Charlie Li
L弟兄是95后，一年多以前，在港澳台读完了神学的他开始在华东某地一教会作全职传道人。近日，就一些话题L弟兄和基督时报同工交流，其中就谈到了传道人薪资待遇这个老大难问题。
这一年多的全职服事经历，让L弟兄感慨良多。“去年一段时间我卖红美人水果，为什么要这样做呢？很简单，因为没有办法。在海外很多地方传道人的待遇是很好的，不光是传道人自己，而且甚至还可以很好的照顾到传道人家庭的需要，就是你为教会所用，教会可以代替你做这份孝心，包括孩子读书啊这些都会考虑到，但是这些在国内很多都是没有的。”
正如L弟兄所言，传道人的薪资待遇正在当今的社会成为教会遇到的越来越大的问题。L弟兄并不认为这所有的一切都是传道人自身态度不端正造成的，可能有个别传道人对于金钱和物质的有一些“贪婪”，但是主要原因还是时代和社会的发展，以及中国教会长期以来对于给传道人发放薪资的错误认识。至今还有许多牧者和信徒认为传道人就应该自己养活自己和家人，认为传道人拿钱的话就会变质。
或许在中国大陆教会，传道人不拿钱有着种种历史和现实原因。但是另外一方面，我们也需要注意到，时代和社会也在迅速的发展变化，如今的时代已经与当初的时代变得截然不同。比如现在很多老人很不理解现在的年轻人为什么不愿意生孩子，他们觉得生孩子不是什么大事情，不过是”多一副筷子添一只碗罢了”，仿佛孩子只需要有食物就能够长大成人一样。只有年轻人自己才知道，生孩子、养孩子是一项多么庞大的工程。
如今，传道人的生活需求远不是吃饱饭这么简单。除了最基本的衣食之外，出行、就医、结婚、养孩子、孩子教育、就医、社保、父母养老等都是非常现实且共性的需求，还没有说房子，无论是买房还是租房都会极大地掏空人们的钱包。
L弟兄是95后，非常年轻，还没有结婚，目前正在迈向婚姻的过程当中，自然深知年轻人的需要，但是他给出的答案却完全超乎了笔者的预料。
当被问到对于传道人薪资待遇的解决方案的时候，L弟兄说：“我愿意成为垫脚石，教会不要给我提高，给下一代提高就可以。之所以解决起来很难，在我看来其实就是难在这一点——自己不拿，让别人拿。 我觉得直接对执事会或堂委会说，给我提高薪资待遇，这是不太可能的，但是有一点我们可以做，那就是让教会给年轻一代提高。(==此句当summary） 我知道的，教会里面很多都四五十岁的牧者，比我年龄大一倍的人，但是他们很多人都不愿意，很多人都觉得‘为什么？为什么我不提高，却给他们提高？’恕我直言，在我看来，这就是没有牧者心的体现，没有那种很想要培养人的心、为别人牺牲自己的心，甚至嫉妒别人，‘要提高也应该是我提高’。如果牧者们都带着这样的想法的话，你说可能改变吗？显然不可能。所以只有改变这样的观念，放下这样的观念，不要给我提高，让下一代能够提高就可以了。当然不能提的太高，但是也不能太低。太高了人们的心态可能就改变了，反正现在工作也难找，尤其今年开始，找工作都不太容易，如果提的太高的话很多不是真心想要服事的人也会进来。但现在的问题是传道人的薪资待遇普遍都是比较低的，1000块的甚至500块的都多得很。“
传道人不是超人，传道人也不是神仙，传道人也是人，是人就有基本的生活需要。在交流的最后，L弟兄说：“需要让弟兄姐妹们知道，作为传道人当然需要有信心，但是同时，传道人也需要生活，信心和工价是不冲突的。”
对话| 一95后牧者对传道人薪资待遇问题的呼声：我们有信心但也需要生活
More than a year ago, after studying theology in Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan, Brother L, born in 1995, began to work as a full-time pastor for a church in East China. Recently, Brother L talked with the Christian Times, an online Chinese Christian newspaper, about the persistent problem of salary and treatment of pastors.
This past year’s full-time serving experience taught him much. “Last year I sold citrus. Why did I do that? It’s simple because I had to. In many overseas places, the treatment of the pastor is good - not only for the pastor himself but also for the needs of the family, that is, you work for the church and the church in return can do this for you, including children’s education. However, many of the treatments are not available in China,” he stated.
As Brother L said the salary of pastors is becoming an increasingly serious problem encountered by the Chinese church in today’s society. He does not think that all this is caused by the wrong attitude of pastors themselves. There may be some “greedy” pastors for money and material, but the main reason is the development of the times and society as well as the long-standing misconception of the Chinese church on pastors’ pay. So far, many pastors and believers still hold that pastors ought to support themselves and their families, and that pastors will go bad if they consider money or pay.
Perhaps in Chinese mainland churches, there are various historical and practical reasons why pastors do not consider money. However, on the other hand, we also need to note that the times and society are developing and changing rapidly, and today has become completely different from times in the past. For instance, many old people do not understand why young people nowadays do not want to have children. They do not think raising a kid a big deal - nothing more than “adding an extra bowl and an extra pair of chopsticks” (a Chinese idiom meaning increasing the number of people in a family as one more person needs one more portion of food to feed, translator’s note). It is as if when children grow up they only need food. Only young people themselves know what a huge undertaking it is to have and raise children.
Nowadays, the living needs of pastors are far from simple matters like eating. Apart from the most basic issues like food and clothing, other realistic and common needs are travelling, medical treatment, marriage, raising children, children’s education, social security, parents’ pension, etc., not to mention housing because, whether buying or renting a house, it will greatly empty people’s wallets.
Brother L, born after 1995, is very young and unmarried. He is in the process of getting married. He naturally knows the needs of the young, but his answer was completely beyond my expectations.
When asked about the solution to the salary and treatment of pastors, he said, “I would like to be a stepping stone. The church should not raise the pay for me, but for the next generation of pastors. In my opinion, the reason why it is difficult to solve is that, and it is exactly this point, one doesn’t apply for the rise of pay for oneself but for others. I don’t think it possible to speak directly to the deacons or church committees to give me a higher salary, but there is one thing we can do, and that is, let the church improve it for the younger generation. I know that many pastors in the church are in their 40s or 50s being twice my age, but many of them are unwilling. Many of them will think, ‘Why? Why not increase my pay but theirs?’ With all due respect, in my opinion, this is no embodiment of a correct pastor’s mentality. They don’t have the heart to cultivate others, sacrifice themselves for others, or rather they’re envious of others. ‘If pay was to be increased, mine should be’. Do you think it might change if the pastors have this idea?”
He continued, “Obviously not. Therefore, it is only necessary to change this concept, abandon this concept - do not increase mine but that of the next generation. Not too high, of course, but not too low neither. If it’s too high, people’s mentality may change. Anyway, it’s hard to find a job now especially this year. If it’s too high, many who don’t really want to serve will come in. However, the problem now is that the monthly salaries of pastors are generally too low with 1,000 yuan or even only 500 yuan.” Pastors are not superhuman or immortals, they are human beings with basic living needs.
At the end of the talk, the young millennial preacher said, “We need to let our brothers and sisters know that pastors ought to live by faith, but meanwhile pastors need to live too, and there is no contradiction between faith and salaries.”
- Translated by Charlie Li
Voice of Millennial Pastor: 'We Live by Faith But We Need Money to Live Too'
