Advancing Christian Faith and Values,
Defending Religious Liberty for All,
Supporting Civility and the Common Good
through Preaching, Teaching, Writing, Activism and Reasoned Conversations

www.donaldshoemakerministries.com

Jamal Khashoggi’s Last Words to the World

“Arabs living in these countries* are either uninformed or misinformed. They are unable to adequately address, much less publicly discuss, matters that affect the region and their day-to-day lives. A state-run narrative dominates the public psyche, and while many do not believe it, a large majority of the population falls victim to this false narrative. Sadly, this situation is unlikely to change.”
– Jamal Khashoggi (last opinion column for The Washington Post, published October 17, 2018)
* All Arab countries other than Tunisia, Jordan, Morocco and Kuwait

Bible Insight – Thanksgiving for Government

“I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people— for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.” – 1 Timothy 2:1-4 NIV

It may seem difficult if not silly to give thanks for “all those in authority.” We may feel their office is illegitimate, or their rule is corrupt. Well, join the real world. History and the contemporary world are full of bad examples.

Yet, biblical people of God managed to “work within the system” in spite of corruption, selfishness, greed and quest for power. Daniel served in the royal court of Babylon and also in the Persian government. Joseph served the Egyptian ruler. Nehemiah was a key official under the Persian king.

The Apostle Paul had every right to have a love/hate relationship with the Roman government of his day. It protected his citizenship rights. But it also could be cruel and arbitrary with justice. Soon it would persecute the early Christians who refused to accept the theocratic demands of Rome.

Yet, Paul (and Peter) saw the Roman government as God’s instrument to secure justice and punish evil, be it ever so imperfect while it did so.

If Paul could call Christians to “prayer, intercession and giving of thanks” for rulers in the Roman system, how much easier is the obligation on us to offer petitions and thanksgiving to God for our American system—flawed to be sure, but immensely freer and more responsive than Rome would ever be.

So as we enter this very meaningful Thanksgiving Season, let’s be realistically thankful and prayerful for our president and governor, our elected legislatures, our appointed judges. If all we do is acquiesce or complain while failing to pray and give thanks, we share blame when the state goes astray.

Pastoral Arrogance and Pride

“Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought.” – Romans 12:3 (NIV)

We pastors can be an arrogant sort! After all, we are “the Lord’s anointed” and have been trained in superior knowledge—knowledge the laypeople will get through us. We are exceptionally spiritual and we stand tall in strength and faith. (None of this should be taken seriously, but often is.)

I’ve expressed my opinion that pastors should worship with the congregation during services and mix with the people before and after worship. Pastors must pace themselves, yes (I did this speaking in three Sunday morning services for 15 years), but must not be reclusive.

Apparently a fad has been around called “armor-bearing” (like David was Saul’s armor bearer—1 Samuel 16:21). I’m not surprised. It’s a pious form of pastoral hubris. Please read these words by J. Lee Grady:
My friend Charles wanted a mentor. He was eager to learn the ropes of ministry, so he asked an older pastor for training. The pastor agreed—but Charles soon realized the man wanted a valet, not an apprentice. Charles became the man’s “armor bearer.”

The man never took Charles on hospital visits, involved him in ministry assignments or prayed with him. Instead, Charles was expected to carry the guy’s briefcase, fetch coffee and take suits to the cleaners—with no salary offered. In this case, “armor bearer” was a hyper-spiritualized term for “slave.”

The bizarre armor-bearer trend became popular in churches more than 20 years ago, but unfortunately, it’s still practiced in some circles. It appeals to insecure leaders who need an entourage to make them feel important.

Some pastors have even assigned trainees to serve as bodyguards—complete with dark glasses. They are instructed to keep people away from the pastor so he doesn’t have to talk to anyone after a church service (because the poor preacher might be “drained of his anointing” if he fraternizes with common folks).

Excuse me while I barf. I’m not sure what is more nauseating: That some ministers think they are discipling young leaders by exploiting them, or that church members tolerate such pompous behavior from a so-called man of God. And we wonder why many young people have stopped going to church?

—J. Lee Grady, “The Most Ridiculous Charismatic Doctrine We Ever Created,”
Fire in My Bones, August 8, 2018

First Amendment Vigilance –

“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof, or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”
– 1st Amendment

Disclosure: I am of libertarian sentiment. I am a passionate advocate of
1st Amendment rights, especially free speech and free exercise of religion.

The Origin of “The Wall of Separation”

I’m currently taking an on-line course from Princeton University called “Civil Liberties.”
One lesson discussed extensively the metaphorical “Wall of Separation” between Church and State. A law journal article by Professor Stephen L. Carter of Yale Law School traces the background and meaning of this metaphor. What we learn is very different from how many see the metaphor as keeping religion from influencing the state. Read for yourself…

The separationist metaphor was popularized in the New World by Roger Williams, the Baptist preacher (among other things) who founded Rhode Island, fIrst as a refuge for those seeking religious freedom from Puritan Massachusetts, although it later became the site of religious discriminations of its own.

Williams coined the metaphor of the garden and the wilderness to describe the relationship between the church and the society it inhabited. For Williams, the garden was the place of God’s people, the community of people of faith, who gathered together to determine what the Lord required of them, nurturing and building their religious understanding in relative tranquility. Outside the garden was the unevangelized world, what Williams called the wilderness. And between the two, separating the wilderness from the garden, was a high hedge wall, constructed to protect the people of the garden in their work of religious nurture.

The hedge wall existed to keep the wilderness out, not to keep the people of the garden hemmed in. It was the vital work of the garden, not the less vital work of the wilderness, that the wall was built to protect…

…let it suffice to say that the Supreme Court was wrong, and has been consistently wrong, in attributing American authorship of the idea of a wall of separation to Thomas Jefferson rather than to Williams.

But even if Roger Williams, the seventeenth century Baptist, believed that the wall of separation existed to protect the church from the state rather than the other way around, is it not possible that the Enlightened eighteenth century gentlemen who drafted the Constitution were worried more about the influence the church might gain over the state?
Well, no.

Later in the essay Carter explains the Christian understanding of obedience to the state—when it is proper and when it is not. His brief words are strongly in accord with Dr. Martin Luther King’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail.”

The Christian tradition, even though it counsels obedience to properly constituted state authorities, nevertheless places obedience to God above obedience to the will of the state. Yet the tradition teaches that the authority of the state to rule is given by God.

The two propositions do not erupt in paradox because they are mediated by a corollary: if the state consistently commands what God forbids, or forbids what God commands, then perhaps it is not, after all, constituted by God, and therefore is not the state and need not be obeyed.

Excerpts from “Reflections on the Separation of Church and State” by Stephen L. Carter, 44 Arizona Law Review 293 (2002). Professor Carter is the William Nelson Cromwell Professor at Law at Yale Law School.

Important books by Dr. Carter:
The Culture of Disbelief: How American Law and Politics Trivialize Religious Devotion
God’s Name In Vain: The Wrongs And Rights Of Religion In Politics
The Dissent of the Governed

A Victory for Religious Freedom and Free Speech

Atlanta’s Fire Chief Kelvin Cochran was fired in 2015 for writing a book on issues faced by Christian men, including sexual issues. The book was based on Bible lessons he taught to men’s groups at the Baptist church where he is a member.

Last December a federal district court struck down Atlanta’s policy requiring government employees to get permission before publishing anything – which is the policy the city used to justify firing Chief Cochran.

Rather than see the case appealed, the City Council of Atlanta agreed to pay Chief Cochran $1.2 million. It was a partial win for Cochran—the court supported some arguments against Cochran. See my larger discussion of this case on my Website (March, 2015 Newsletter). For an excellent reading of the legal issues, go to www.firelawblog.com/2017/12/22.

Freedom of speech, freedom to publish, and freedom to believe as you choose and then to exercise those beliefs—all are foundational to our constitutional democracy. Without them, liberty is lost.

Don’s Upcoming Ministries

December 2 – The First Sunday of Advent
Speak in morning worship services (8:00, 9:30, 11:00) at Grace Community Church of Seal Beach on John the Baptist, forerunner of Jesus.

February 28, 2019 – Speak on “Evangelicalism” as part of the “Religion 101” series sponsored by the South Coast Interfaith Council (7:00 p.m. at the LDS Institute of Religion, 6360 E. State University Drive in Long Beach).

My Website: www.donaldshoemakerministries.com

Contact me at: donaldshoemakerministries@verizon.net

APPENDIX: A Word to Pastors and Church Leaders…

“Financial Pointers Pertaining to Pastors”

I was recently asked by an executive of a financial institution that serves Christian ministries to write on the personal financial needs of pastors.
Here is most of what I wrote, with edits:

I begin with two old stories:

1. A candidate for the state legislature in Indiana was surprised to learn from me that pastors paid income taxes.
2. A store clerk (in the early 1970’s) saw “Rev.” on my check and was hesitant to take it. “You’re a reverend so you don’t work.”

Here are several important “pastor and finances” points.

Pastors need to know about income tax law. Too many just talk to each other about it. Even an accountant who doesn’t work with pastors’ taxes probably doesn’t know what pertains to clergy.

Pastors need to know about Social Security exemption rules. Many think (in some cases after being instructed wrongly if not deceptively) that they can sign a simple form [#4361] and then opt out of paying Social Security (Self-Employment) Taxes. Truth is, they can’t in good conscience sign this form unless they are opposed to government programs like Social Security as a conviction of their faith. In addition, the pastor requesting exemption must notify his denomination’s ordaining council of his request and convictions. Very few can do these. A pastor who opts out is either (1) lying, or (2) carelessly disregarding the rules, or (3) following bad advice without investigating things further.

Some pastors don’t think they have to pay Social Security Tax (Self-Employment Tax) on their parsonage allowance. They do.

An important resource on these first points, if not others: Stewardship Services Foundation.

Pastors need to stop “living by faith” (unlike other believers) and start thinking of their retirement needs at an early age (this includes Social Security, but also retirement plans especially suited to clergy). They should ask their churches to support the program they have (such as a matching 5%/5% matching plan). Few boards will oppose this; few will know about it if they are not told. Boards that oppose this don’t deserve a good pastor in the first place. My denomination has its own plan (see brackets below) and my church started participating in it from the get-go.

[My relatively small denomination once had a miserable retirement plan for pastors that made no monetary sense. The program was going broke. In 1985 a study committee was appointed to research and recommend a new program and report back in one year. We launched a modern plan that now has 377 participants and almost $18M in investments. In the process of serving on the study committee, I analyzed financial data from the pastors. Dividing them into three groups—early, mid, late career—I found that most of the late-career pastors were in the Social Security system but most of the early-career pastors had opted out. Worse, they hadn’t started any program to replace Social Security!]

Pastors need to be sure their boards understand what makes a pastor’s pay package a fair one. Who else is better situated to tell them than the senior pastor (unless the church has a business administrator)? For example, boards need to know that 16.3% of a pastor’s salary will be used to pay Self-Employment (Social Security) Tax. If the pastor were an employee, the church would have to pay half of this. But a pastor is considered “self-employed” for Social Security Tax purposes, so must pay the entire amount. A fair church will at the very least want to reimburse 1/2 of the Self-Employment Tax.

At least the Board ought to know (even if it’s not appropriate to tell this to wedding couples or families of the deceased) how honoraria for weddings and funerals/memorials work. Let’s say a pastor receives $300. If he drives 30 miles to provide his services, that’s about $16 (double if he is at a wedding rehearsal). Self-Employment Tax will be about $48. State and federal income tax might come to about $70. That leaves a net income of about $166. In other words, a pastor may end up with just about half, more or less, of the original honorarium. If the church sets the rate for wedding honoraria, these factors should be taken into account as well as the approximate number of hours needed to provide pastoral services for such events.
Young pastors are usually very idealistic when they enter ministry (many churches will soon cure them of this). Almost every pastor I know has a spirit of servanthood. As a result, some churches will take advantage of them and still more churches simply will not establish fair compensation plans and stick with them. Senior pastors need to realize they should advocate for their staff, and if they don’t look out for their own situation the rest of the staff will get even less. One way to look out for oneself and one’s staff is to insist that all staff take and carefully guard a weekly Sabbath—a day completely free of church responsibilities when one can do as he/she wants without needing to justify anything. This day must be respected by other ministry staff and office/administration.

Pastors should respectfully decline, in most cases, to live in church-owned housing, especially if the parsonage is next to the church. There are exceptions (if you know a ministry will be short-term, or if you own a home elsewhere, or if the parsonage overlooks the ocean or some other scenic view [!]—the decision depends on many factors). But if the pastor can’t soon start building equity, he may never be able to enter the housing market or have equity at the end of his career.

Pastors must avoid excessive debt (credit balances too high, etc.) and the church board is right to monitor this as a biblical qualification for the job (and perhaps realize it needs to pay the pastor more). Boards should offer, or even order, financial counseling when needed.

Pastors must be sure their churches provide for reimbursement of expenses (NOT an expense allowance or an auto allowance) so their professional expenses are properly provided. As employees of the church, pastors cannot use “Schedule C” for deducting job-related expenses. Another reason for a reimbursement procedure is that church leaders need to be aware of what it actually costs to fulfill the ministries of the church and make sure the pastors aren’t paying some of these costs out of their own pockets.

I hope all this helps. If I receive any other thoughts worth sharing, I’ll pass them on.

Don Shoemaker
Pastor Emeritus
Grace Community Church of Seal Beach, California