|
 A
preacher once worked with a man who repeatedly complained about
how much the church paid the evangelists who came for gospel
meetings. (And it wasn't all that much either!) But the preacher
couldn't argue the case, for he also did some meeting work and
would be suspected of having a personal interest in the outcome
of the discussion. Then, the preacher received a letter
concerning a meeting which read, "— bring a song leader
if you can. We will support him also."
He
hurried to see the complaining brother (a fine singer) and asked
him to he the song leader in the upcoming meeting. The brother
said, "I'd like to go, but if I leave here my income will
cease."
"I
know," said the preacher. "I do not draw support from
the church when I am away."
"But
I have bills —" "I must have a continuing income to
meet them." "Of course you must," said the
preacher. "Perhaps I failed to tell you that the letter
said they would support the song leader also. They make the same
promise to you that they made to me."
The
brother thought that over for a while, then he looked at the
ground and asked,
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"How much will they pay?"
"Oh,
I don't know about that," replied the preacher. "You
know, we can not ask such questions — it would seem so
commercial. We just go, do the best we can in the meeting, and
then take what is given us."
There
was a painful silence — and then the brother, still looking at
the ground, shook his head. "I just can't operate that
way," he said.
The
story should end right there — but it doesn't. The preacher
had not yet learned that it is possible to over-sell a point. He
just had to say, "Well, if you can't, you can't. But I
don't ever want to hear you complain again about the support of
those who can and do operate that way." Many of us show up
better as the defeated or the under-dog, than we do in triumph.
Times
are better now, and brethren are much more considerate of those
whom they support. I didn't drag this story out to complain. I
thought of it as a nostalgic reminder of the day when preachers
fought to save alien sinners, stingy brethren, and also to keep
the wolf away from their door.
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