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By Neal Griffin
Every Church of Christ that I know of hires pulpiteers for its own use. By this I mean to keep locally, to preach two sermons each Sunday, to teach a Sunday and Wednesday Bible class, to preside at Church of Christ weddings and funerals, and to visit members when they are sick. And, most importantly, they are expected to carry the party banner. If the hiring Church of Christ is of the "one cup" persuasion, it is the "one cup" banner. If the hiring church is a "sound-conservative" church of Christ, it is the "sound-conservative" banner. If the hiring church is an "instrument church", then it is the "instrument" banner. I realize that there are those who deny that their preachers are under any such creedal restrictions. But without arguing the point I would make the general observation that there is absolutely no cross hiring over these party lines. The hiring process insures that the hiring church will be kept pure from such. The aspiring pulpit minister is examined carefully on these party positions. His background is researched and his references are checked, and then comes the most important part--the "try-out" sermon. This is very important because it determines whether or not the aspirant will "fit in". It is acknowledged that the job being applied for is commonly referred to, in preaching circles, as "the work". And it is further acknowledged that this trying out process, among preachers, is often referred to as "parading their floats". Information is often sought from other preachers who are knowledgeable about the whims of the members of the hiring church. Do they like loud ties? Do they like "thou" and "thee"? A quite voice? Foot stomping? Back slapping? Hugging? One never knows when this information will be helpful in landing "the work". Sometimes several preachers are put on display before one is selected. One is not chosen because one of his pearls lacks luster. Another is not selected because his pearls are not lined up just so. But finally the elders decide that a consensus has been reached, and the name of the parade winner is announced. The new pulpit minister soon arrives and a smooth transition from one pulpit minister to another is accomplished. The parade winner, in many cases, moves into the church manse and settles in to draw his wages in the form of checks drawn on the Church of Christ bank account. The amazing thing about this entire process is that it is defended as being according to the pattern. One does not need a degree in Theology to see that this misses the mark. Nowhere in scripture can we read where ministers of the Word were required to hawk their wares like street vendors. And name-changing does not alter the facts. Calling pulpit ministers "evangelists", referring to hiring as "selecting a helper", and calling the job "the work" cannot justify this unscriptural practice. When a preacher spends his time preaching from the pulpit to the same group week after week, he is a pulpit minister. Whatever we call him, he is a hired, pulpit minister. It doesn't matter whether we call it "taking support", or "being hired". The fact that he gets his pay in the form of checks drawn on the Church of Christ bank account belies the suggestion that he is not a paid employee of the payor.
The denominational world has it dandy, glorified, locally situated, pulpit ministers. Tribute is paid to them each time they ascend to the pulpit. We are no different. We have our paid pulpit ministers, and on a grander scale than most of us are willing to admit. The question for us seems not to be, "Is the practice scriptural?", but rather, "Does the practice please us?" The plea, "Give us a king so that we can be like the nations round about us", sounds similar to, "Give us a pulpit minister so that we can be like the denominations round about us". The truth of the matter is that the Gospel was spread to the known world after Pentecost without a single, locally situated, paid, pulpit minister. Every born again believer is a minister of the Word. Please think on these things.
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