From the Home Place

March 3, 2026

34 degrees at 4 a.m. hoping to reach around 53 this afternoon. It looks like it will be cloudy most of the day, with a possible sprinkle during the day. Thank you, Lord, for sending a measurable amount of rain to our friends to the south of us!

In the book of 1 Timothy, chapters 5&6, the Apostle Paul gives advice to his spiritual son Timothy, and in turn, to us. Within these two chapters Paul teaches us about relationships and ownership. The relationships are supposed to be healthy, unencumbered by sin. We are to respect one another, especially as fellow believers in Christ.

Chapter 6 deals with the relationship between a Christian employer and employee. Because of the commonality of both parties claiming to be Christ-followers, each is to treat the other with respect and honor. Sadly, this is quite often not the case in today’s culture.

Over my years in the pastorate, I have often had a believing employer come to me with the complaint that his fellow believers who work for his company are less than good employees. One man once told me, “Because I am a man who attempts to follow Christian principals, my believing employees feel that our common faith should give them special preference. They want more time off, more benefits and more money than my regular employees.”

Here in 1 Timothy 6, Paul writes that it ought not be this way. In fact, verse 2 makes it clear that as a Christian employee, I should be willing to go the extra mile for my employer. I should work harder, longer and with less complaining than those who work alongside of me as those who do not know Jesus Christ as their Savior, yet.

Let’s be honest, a pastor of a local church is really just an employee of said church. As an employee of fellow believers, the pastor should be the first to serve without grumbling. It would appear that he is willing to help set up tables and chairs, clean the bathroom if needed and even take out the trash after the pot-luck dinner. We pastors are employees.

Yet on the other side of the spectrum is the church that is constantly reminding the pastor that he is little more than an employee. Over my years of serving in the local church, and serving as a representative of our District office, I have often been told, “You need to remember who pay’s your salary,” as a threat. Usually such a threat was to make sure that what this particular person wanted within the local church, was to be carried out according to their wishes, even if it wasn’t completely ethical or even sometimes legal. Such a threat most often had something to do with money.

My point is this, as fellow believers, both employee and employer, we should be different. We should double-down on our great attitudes and actions. As Paul states in the book of Ephesians, there should be common respect, based upon our common belief in Christ, thus removing the “dividing wall.”

May we each treat our pastor with respect and honor. As pastors may we be a great example of such attitudes toward those whom we serve. As such, removing all accusations of employer/employee. At the end of 1 Timothy 6:1 Paul tells us why this is so important, “so that the name of God and our doctrine will not be spoken against.”

Work hard, speak kindly and in all things honor Christ Jesus our Lord.

Serving joyfully with you, Neal