Evening journal., 1919-04-05
PREACHERS AND THEIR PAY.

N ELAWARE preachers are as rule, shamefuly under
- paid for the work they do In that respect however,
our State does not stand alone, by any means.
Taking country a whole, the salary for
preachers twelve leading denominations s77 year.
That's s2i2 day.
The average preacher is married Most Of them arc
raising children, feeding them. clothing them, buying
medicine for them and sending them to school.
The average preacher works days a week.
lie must good clothes; his wife must dress well,
and his children cannot appear In battered and torn
clothes
His congregation insists that the preacher and his
family must not display any sign OF poverty. and the
preacher must n smile-aways. IIo must have a
oheery word for every man. and child ho meets.
lie must not complain,
once in a while preacher quits the pulpit and takes
another job-ono which VIII loavo something in his pay
envelope after taking out tho tolls OF butcher oandlesck
maker and the baker, Thcn his congregation speaks Of
"hls fan from Grace and he Is branded outoast.
preacher ought TO preach. What right has he to
fret about shoes for his children food for his
table and the declining years Of his life2
And, above all. preacher never should mention his
pay envelope FOR his congregation has arrived at the
conclusion that their pastor Will reap his reward in the
hereafter than which no human being could desire
greater reward.
So tho congregation distributes haoes passes TO para
disc and reserved seats In heaven It's pastor Having
thus generous the matter Of spiritual regards tho
members Of the average congregation hand about
two cents day which totals the munincent OF s212
every twenty-fo hours for the preacher.
You know, tho average congregation imagnes its pas
tor never would set 10 heaven unless II permitted
him TO preach 10 It each Sunday. That's the impression
the preacher must receive every time he gets his lean pay
envelope.
So he goes preaching and praying for his
poyers and for everybody else under the We sup
pose there times when preacher gets 20 pray for
himself and preach to himself. Usually, though, the
average preacher has his hands full preaching to and
praying for his congregation.
When he's not preaching and praying lie is visiting
the sick and helpless the aged and the backslder Aside
from these duties he has nothing else beyond attending
to the soclas the half dozen church societies;
the boys girls the sunday schoo the choir; soliciting
money for a new church roof; collecting for home and
foreign missions; burying and marrying us bapzng
us and converting us. in a while the average 81
congregation will permit It's pastor TO take exercise
ing the church lawn sweeping off the sidewalk.
Truly is the "laborer worthy Of his hire The only
trouble The matter is the matter Of the preachers hire
Is that congregation expects the Lord to pay about
eighy-eght per cent of the hire
70 is better TO increase the content Of the preachers
pay envelope than to contribute for homes for aged
pastors and is pleasing to preachers to get
lar sized pay envelopes while they live than bronze tab
let's after they're dead
The Delmarvia Peninsula IS studded with churches the
pay Of the pastors OF which is disgrace to humanity
and aIront TO God.