Should preachers be paid?

Editor: This question is not to create controversy but to address what quite a number of concerned persons are asking. NO need for anyone to take offence!

The Scriptures indicate the answer to the above question. At 2 Thessalonians 3:8 the respected Christian, apostle Paul, stated that he did not eat bread for nought (nothing). But they laboured night and day that they “might not be chargeable to any of [the Thessalonian Christians].” {{more}}Please see 1 Thessalonians 2:9 also, which evidently shows that apostle Paul did not preach the gospel for money. Therefore, apostle Paul did not charge Christians for preaching to them. No collection was taken up to pay him. Acts 18:3 mentions that the apostle Paul worked at making tents to care for his needs. He never desired to be a burden to fellow Christians. 2 Corinthians 11:9. It is therefore improper for any religious leader to burden the church members to pay out sums of money to care for him or her. If a member decides to give a religious leader a gift or some money of his/her own free will, that is okay. But the religious leader should not expect or demand it. Like the apostle Paul, religious leaders should work to provide for their needs. Getting rich or materially well off from church members while they stay poor is certainly wrong from God’s standpoint. John 2:13-16

Kenneth Kayman