"The greatest challenge in today's church is that some people treat pastor as a profession." About ten years ago, while visiting a church, a staff worker said this to me. At the time, I was somewhat shocked by this statement because I had seen many contrasting situations where some grassroots church pastors had to endure many struggles to pursue full-time ministry. However, in my continued visits to churches across diverse regions, I discovered that in many places—especially in large city churches—this situation indeed exists.
In July 2024, I visited the president of a Christian Council in a prefecture-level city. When discussing the local church situation, he mentioned that the hired-hand mentality among pastors is a widespread issue that the church needs to address today. "Nowadays, there are very few pastors who are truly faithful to the Lord," he said repeatedly during our conversation with a sense of helplessness. "Pastors are always thinking about their own interests and how to get a raise, but the church is actually supported by volunteers."
The salary offered to pastors at the central church where this president (also a pastor) serves is above average in the local society and ranks among the top in the varied prefecture-level cities in the province. According to the president, the pastors at the central church are mainly responsible for Sunday preaching. Because there are relatively many pastors, and each pastor only preaches once every two weeks. They do not lead any other ministries, and their preaching is not of high quality. Because they have a hired-hand mentality, pastors treat preaching as a job and lack concern for the believers. "They don't care whether you come to church or not." The president used this sharp phrase to describe the pastors' attitude toward the congregants. These pastors are also difficult to manage because each one has some supporters behind them, and poor management could lead to church disputes.
The president believes that material comparison is a problem of this era. Pastors focus on their own interests and pursue comfort, luxury cars, and houses, failing to set a good example for the believers. The same thing happens at seminaries, where some theology graduates compare who has the higher salary and who got a car or house provided by the church. Such behavior by pastors becomes a temptation for many believers, who feel that the money they donate is being used by the pastors for their enjoyment. As a result, pastors lose their spiritual authority in the eyes of the believers.
The president has grown somewhat disheartened by these pastors and has shifted his focus to training the church's volunteers. He believes that volunteers serve willingly without a salary, motivated by love for God and souls. Moreover, they have a closer relationship with the believers. For example, reception team members can create a good first impression on people who walk into the church.
In addition to what this president mentioned, other pastors from different regions have also reported similar phenomena. For instance, churches have prepared offices and equipped them with computers for the pastors, but they do not work regular hours and only appear during services. After Sunday services, the pastors immediately leave the church and return to their offices, leaving believers with little opportunity to interact with them. Some ministers clock in and out like a regular job, and if the church assigns work outside of regular hours or if believers contact them outside of work hours, they feel offended. Seminary graduates or pastors strive to get into churches in big cities, with very few willing to serve in grassroots churches with harsh conditions.
The emergence of the hired-hand mentality is mainly because the church has become wealthy enough to be an option for some people to make a living. In some large city churches, pastors disregard their children's actual situation and send them to seminary, hoping they can work in the church in the future and take over their position. An elder pastor who had served the Lord for decades arranged for his son to be ordained as an elder and handed over a church with considerable assets to him before passing away. A head of a city Christian council sent his son, who had no decent job with a homeboy temperament, to a seminary. A theology student at a well-known seminary in the country did not believe that God created the world but believed in extraterrestrials, saying he definitely would not preach that to believers in the future.
Seeing these troubling situations, a pastor serving in a central city church sighed, saying that the rural pastor does not receive salaries but sincerely hopes more people will join the church. This pastor placed his child in a grassroots church to serve. In grassroots churches, some ministers struggle to serve; some can't hold on and have to leave their beloved ministry to work in the secular world.
So how can we address the hired-hand mentality among pastors? One church took a middle-ground approach, offering them a salary of just over two thousand yuan, which is only enough to cover basic living expenses. When they face major illnesses or other situations requiring significant expenses, the church provides assistance.
Each era presents different challenges. An elder pastor who lived through a time of poverty said that poverty was the challenge of his time, while it is even more difficult to maintain a heart faithful to serving the Lord in today's affluent environment. In the current environment, we need more good pastors, as Jesus desires, who lay down their lives for the sheep rather than hired hands who are indifferent to the flock.
(Originally published by the Gospel Times, the article has been edited under permission.)
- Translated by Abigail Wu
“当今教会最大的危险，是有人把宗教当成了职业。”大约十年前，我在走访一间教会时，一位同工跟我说了这句话。当时我对这句话感到有些震惊，因为我看到了不少截然相反的情况，一些基层教会的传道人为了能走上全职服侍的道路需要经历很多的挣扎。而在各地教会的持续走访中，我发现不少地方——尤其是大城市的教会——确实存在这种情况。
2024年7月份，笔者拜访了一个地级市基督教协会的会长。在谈到当地教会的情况时，他提及牧者的雇工心态是当今教会普遍需要面对的问题。“如今，为主忠心的牧者太少了。”谈话的过程中，这位会长几次无奈地说道，“牧师们整天都想着自己的利益，想着怎么涨工资；教会实际上是由义工撑起来的。”
这位会长（牧师）所在的中心堂给牧者的工资待遇放在当地社会上是中等偏上，在所在省的各个地级市中可以排在前列。据这位会长介绍：中心堂的牧师主要是负责主日证道，因为牧者相对较多，每位牧师半月才能轮到讲一次道。牧师们也没带其他事工，讲道水平也不行。因为存有雇工的心态，牧者把讲道当成了工作，缺少对信徒的关心。“你爱来不来。”该会长用了这句扎心的话来形容牧者们对待信徒的态度。这些牧师还不好管理，因为每一位后面都有一些支持他们的人，管理不好就会造成教会纷争。
这位会长认为，攀比物质条件是这个时代的毛病。好的物质条件让牧者注重自己的利益，过于看重自己的享受，追求豪车、房子，没有给信徒做好榜样；这股风气也进入了神学院，一些神学毕业生也在攀比，看谁的待遇高，谁得到了教会给配的车子、房子。牧者的这种做法，成为了许多信徒的试探，他们觉得自己奉献的钱被牧师拿去享受了。因此，牧者在他们的心中失去了属灵的权柄。
对于这些牧师，这位会长有些灰心了，他把工作的重点放在了培养教会的义工们。他认为，义工的侍奉没有工资，他们是出于对神对灵魂的爱，是甘心乐意的侍奉；他们跟信徒的关系更近。比如，对于走进教会里的人来说，接待组的同工给他们留下什么印象是至关重要的。
除了这位会长提到的情况，其他地区的牧者也有谈到类似的现象。比如，教会为牧师预备了办公室、配置了电脑，但是牧师不坐班，只有聚会时才出现；牧师在主日聚会之后立即回到办公室或者离开教堂，信徒难有跟牧师交流的时间；传道人打卡上下班，如果教会在工作时间范围外再安排工作，或者信徒在工作时间外联系他们，他们就觉得受到了冒犯；神学毕业生或者传道人努力往大城市教会里挤，却很少有人愿意到条件艰苦的基层教会服侍……
雇工现象的出现主要是因为教会富裕了，以至于可以成为一些人谋生的一个选项。有的大城市教会的牧者不顾自己子女的实际情况，就让他们去读神学，以期将来可以在教会工作，并且接自己的班。一位服侍主几十年的老牧者，临终前找人把他儿子按立为长老，把拥有不少产业的教会交给了儿子；一位市基督教两会的负责人，把没有正经工作、带有混混气的儿子送进了神学院；一位在国内知名神学院就读的神学生竟然不相信是神创造了这个世界，而是相信外星人，这位神学生说他将来肯定不会跟信徒们那么讲的。
看到这种种令人忧心的情况，一位在中心城市牧会的牧者感叹，还是农村教会的传道人纯粹；他们不拿工资，却从心里期盼着可以有更多的人加入教会。这位牧师把他的孩子放在了基层教会服侍。基层教会中有些传道人在服侍与生计之间挣扎，有的实在撑不住，只好放下心爱的服侍到世上工作。
那到底如何来应对传道人的雇工心态呢？一间教会采取了折中的方式，他们只给传道人两千多元的工资，仅够维持基本的生活。当教会同工遭遇大病等需要很多费用的情况时，教会会给予帮助。
每个时代具有不同的挑战。一位经历过贫困时期的老牧者说，贫困是他那个时代需要面对的挑战，而在当下富裕的环境中保持忠心侍奉主的心是更艰难的。我们期盼在当下的环境中，可以涌现出许多耶稣想要的好牧人，为羊舍命；而不是雇工，对羊群漠不关心。
牧者当警惕雇工心态
"The greatest challenge in today's church is that some people treat pastor as a profession." About ten years ago, while visiting a church, a staff worker said this to me. At the time, I was somewhat shocked by this statement because I had seen many contrasting situations where some grassroots church pastors had to endure many struggles to pursue full-time ministry. However, in my continued visits to churches across diverse regions, I discovered that in many places—especially in large city churches—this situation indeed exists.
In July 2024, I visited the president of a Christian Council in a prefecture-level city. When discussing the local church situation, he mentioned that the hired-hand mentality among pastors is a widespread issue that the church needs to address today. "Nowadays, there are very few pastors who are truly faithful to the Lord," he said repeatedly during our conversation with a sense of helplessness. "Pastors are always thinking about their own interests and how to get a raise, but the church is actually supported by volunteers."
The salary offered to pastors at the central church where this president (also a pastor) serves is above average in the local society and ranks among the top in the varied prefecture-level cities in the province. According to the president, the pastors at the central church are mainly responsible for Sunday preaching. Because there are relatively many pastors, and each pastor only preaches once every two weeks. They do not lead any other ministries, and their preaching is not of high quality. Because they have a hired-hand mentality, pastors treat preaching as a job and lack concern for the believers. "They don't care whether you come to church or not." The president used this sharp phrase to describe the pastors' attitude toward the congregants. These pastors are also difficult to manage because each one has some supporters behind them, and poor management could lead to church disputes.
The president believes that material comparison is a problem of this era. Pastors focus on their own interests and pursue comfort, luxury cars, and houses, failing to set a good example for the believers. The same thing happens at seminaries, where some theology graduates compare who has the higher salary and who got a car or house provided by the church. Such behavior by pastors becomes a temptation for many believers, who feel that the money they donate is being used by the pastors for their enjoyment. As a result, pastors lose their spiritual authority in the eyes of the believers.
The president has grown somewhat disheartened by these pastors and has shifted his focus to training the church's volunteers. He believes that volunteers serve willingly without a salary, motivated by love for God and souls. Moreover, they have a closer relationship with the believers. For example, reception team members can create a good first impression on people who walk into the church.
In addition to what this president mentioned, other pastors from different regions have also reported similar phenomena. For instance, churches have prepared offices and equipped them with computers for the pastors, but they do not work regular hours and only appear during services. After Sunday services, the pastors immediately leave the church and return to their offices, leaving believers with little opportunity to interact with them. Some ministers clock in and out like a regular job, and if the church assigns work outside of regular hours or if believers contact them outside of work hours, they feel offended. Seminary graduates or pastors strive to get into churches in big cities, with very few willing to serve in grassroots churches with harsh conditions.
The emergence of the hired-hand mentality is mainly because the church has become wealthy enough to be an option for some people to make a living. In some large city churches, pastors disregard their children's actual situation and send them to seminary, hoping they can work in the church in the future and take over their position. An elder pastor who had served the Lord for decades arranged for his son to be ordained as an elder and handed over a church with considerable assets to him before passing away. A head of a city Christian council sent his son, who had no decent job with a homeboy temperament, to a seminary. A theology student at a well-known seminary in the country did not believe that God created the world but believed in extraterrestrials, saying he definitely would not preach that to believers in the future.
Seeing these troubling situations, a pastor serving in a central city church sighed, saying that the rural pastor does not receive salaries but sincerely hopes more people will join the church. This pastor placed his child in a grassroots church to serve. In grassroots churches, some ministers struggle to serve; some can't hold on and have to leave their beloved ministry to work in the secular world.
So how can we address the hired-hand mentality among pastors? One church took a middle-ground approach, offering them a salary of just over two thousand yuan, which is only enough to cover basic living expenses. When they face major illnesses or other situations requiring significant expenses, the church provides assistance.
Each era presents different challenges. An elder pastor who lived through a time of poverty said that poverty was the challenge of his time, while it is even more difficult to maintain a heart faithful to serving the Lord in today's affluent environment. In the current environment, we need more good pastors, as Jesus desires, who lay down their lives for the sheep rather than hired hands who are indifferent to the flock.
(Originally published by the Gospel Times, the article has been edited under permission.)
- Translated by Abigail Wu
'Hired-Hand' Mentality Among Pastors Sparks Crisis in Churches
