The Gospel is Free: Ministry Cost
In this 30‑minute presentation Tim Pratt Jr., a senior agile delivery manager and associate pastor, explains why the gospel itself is free while the work of local ministry carries real financial and temporal costs. He begins by sharing his dual career in technology and ministry, then outlines how churches budget—personnel (33‑45% of expenses), facilities, and office costs—and why many congregations struggle to meet those needs. Pratt identifies three primary reasons people give little: financial bondage (debt and living paycheck‑to‑paycheck), lack of budgeting or intentional giving, and heart issues stemming from past manipulation by “bad‑apple” pastors. He argues that most pastors are bi‑vocational, balancing a secular job with ministry duties, which explains why salaries are modest compared to megachurch leaders. Using biblical references (e.g., Matthew 6:21, 1 Corinthians 6:1‑2, 1 Timothy 5:17‑18) he urges listeners to examine their treasure, pray, and give cheerfully according to heart. He also calls for discernment of church leadership character, transparency in budgeting, and personal stewardship (automating tithes, budgeting). Throughout, he emphasizes that manipulation has tainted perceptions of ministry, but the Holy Spirit can restore trust when believers study Scripture and support faithful leaders.
Chapters
Presentation mode. I think we're good to go. Yeah. Okay, cool. So yeah, my name is Tim Pratt Jr. here. Just real quick again, primarily the two roles that I focus on in a work-related situation is I'm a Senior Agile Delivery Manager where I spend most of my time just overseeing projects or programs or whatever you want to say. Just end to end within the technology space. Uh, I love it, man. I try— I get to exercise a lot of my gifts that God has given me, talents and things like that. Um, so, and that, that role has actually opened the door to do consulting and coaching, uh, as well as podcasting, and in addition to ministry as well. Uh, then like some other thing, primary thing that I focus on from a work standpoint, uh, is a minister of the gospel. And right now I'm considered, uh, associate pastor where I do a lot of teaching and preaching. But like I said, also I have a faith podcast called Student of Life, uh, that you can check out. Um, but that brings me to this. So God has blessed me, um, in my field, in, in the technology space, uh, where it has been very rewarding, uh, you know, from a providing standpoint. God is the source, uh, but it has been, you know, he's been faithful, uh, that has, like I say, created opportunities from a financial perspective as well as, you know, just just meeting people and on and on and on. But also too, I've been called— I believe that I've been called by God to preach and teach the gospel. And not just that, but just serve, most importantly. I'm passionate about it. I love it. You know, if God sees fit one day where it's full-time vocational, hey, awesome. But I also think, you know, he's called me to the marketplace, and I've been able, like I said, to, you know, um, have a milestone in my career pretty early as a senior Agile Delivery Manager, or the equivalent of a Senior Technical Project Manager. A lot of titles being changed in that industry, but that's, that's not about that. I did want to just share that, like I said, just to give you some context into what I do, but most importantly, just trying to show that God has blessed me to be in some, some pretty awesome roles from, from my perspective. That being said, you see the title here, The Gospel is Free., ministry cost. And I'ma, through the power of God, try to really keep this contextual. Uh, but as I always say when I teach and preach the gospel, you know, I ask that you get in your word and don't try to just understand from a logical standpoint, but allow the Holy Spirit to inspire you. Uh, you cannot understand God's word apart from his spirit, and that's where a lot of people go wrong. A lot of people are mad. I think I've seen the status say a lot of people are, are mad at a Bible that they never read or take the time to really become intimate with. But then, you know, I'll take it a step further and say that we get accustomed to so much information, or we have been, um, what's the word I'm looking for, we have been spoon-fed a false gospel, a manipulated gospel. And then when it comes time to when we hear the true word of God that confronts a way that we might have been corrupt, it's hard to change that thinking because, like I said, we've been so fixated and tied to just the wrong way, and we never really took time to study and seek out the scriptures ourselves. And we think just because of one or two or three pastors, because they manipulated the text or didn't teach it rightly— and some probably, you know, were teaching the best they could, but some manipulated. And, uh, that's, you know, you have bad apples everywhere. But we're going to get into that. But I will say this, and you might hear this again, but just because you have bad apples in the pastoral team, I want to say, if you are someone that has high level of integrity You know, you have— you worked in your career. I'm pretty sure you had bad apples, people that you say, 'Now, I would never do my job like that.' But did that lead you to step away from your whole profession just because you came across a few bad apples? So my thing is, why throw the gospel away if you've experienced bad apples or pastors that manipulated? So if you didn't walk away from your profession, why do you throw the whole gospel away because someone manipulated the text. So we'll get into that, uh, later. But the gospel is free, ministry costs. Um, now I will say this, the reason why I'm doing this video primarily focusing on leadership, because I, I think we have to address things head-on. Um, the ministry, the local churches— and when I say churches, I'm more so talking about local church context here, churches that operate, you know, in a local context, and do ministry, do the work of the ministry. I know we are the church, the universal church, but I'm talking about local church when I use the term church here. Um, a lot of things have changed drastically. Um, you know, many churches have, you know, with COVID have closed doors, that local building. Some have merged to become stronger, uh, because a lot of people just aren't giving. You know, you have information out here that's calling pastors pimps. Pulpit pimps. You have a teaching out there, spirituality and things like that, to say the Bible is flawed, it's a white man religion, uh, and a lot of hatred, man. And it— I have studied this stuff fairly deeply, uh, and it's really just— it's wrong. I mean, you know, the Bible doesn't— it's not a white man religion. I'm not going to get into it, that's not the video for this, and I'm not an expert in it by any means. There's plenty of people out there that can, you know, like Eric Mason, Dr. Eric Mason, and so on, uh, that can really challenge your thought process if you listen to it with open mind. But what I want to focus on is the gospel is free but ministry costs. And the reason why is because, uh, I was hurt, uh, with some comments, you know, when I was just saying things about, you know, pointing to leaders and honoring leaders. Um, some people really took that as a manipulation tactic. Um, and it wasn't like, you know, I just— it hurt me because I'm like, man, my character, the leaders that I have asked people to pour into and support, uh, not just, you know, my pastors or my covering, my pastor, my covering, uh, or, or not just pastors I'm close to, but anytime, at any time I'm permitted to go speak and I truly believe that that local body has a, a true man of God or a true woman of God come alongside him if he's married, um, pour into them and honor them like they are worthy if they are truly laboring and, you know, pushing that ministry forward. Uh, but I understand I had to take a step back and understand that people have been traumatized, people have been hurt, and like I said, it's been so much erroneous teaching and manipulation out there that cause anytime money is talked about in the church people think that, hey, you know, well, it's just a pastor wanting my money. And a lot do, some do, but like I say, just because it's a few bad apples relative to the whole— I know that a lot of pastors out here, man, truthfully, it's not about the money. Because if it was, a prime example, like, I had a— I mean, I, I have aspirations, of course, to one day, you know, just really preach God's word, but I'm just going to be very, very intimate with you, uh, but considering what I— where I work and, you know, my, my salary and things like that, you know, I told God, man, it would truly have to be you. And then seeing how people feel like pastors, all they want is their money, it's hurtful. So I'm like, why would I walk away from, you know, just a great, amazing career in my eyes? And I believe God called me to, to go do something Uh, and just, I'm doing it from my heart, probably taking less money, you know, because we can't get caught up in the limelight of, you know, the status— not status, but we can't get caught up in the exceptions. You know, everybody's not going to be a Michael Todd or Bishop T.D. Jakes or Greg Croeschel, uh, or, uh, what's the— Steven Furtick or Torrey Roberts, like preaching at that level. Of course, there's many, many more, uh, Joel Osteen and so on. Um, you know, those are exceptions. Yes, there's a lot of them, but relatively to a lot of the churches out there you have a lot of, you know, uh, bi-vocational preachers of the gospel, uh, and then you have some that are full-time, but they don't make nearly as much as those, you know, mainstream pastors or megachurch pastors do. And I'm not going to get all into that, but what I'm saying is that we have to look at things from a realistic standpoint. The average pastor out here is probably bi-vocational, meaning that they are shepherding a smaller ministry, relatively speaking, uh, and working to supplement their income because that ministry can't sow into them like a lot of ministries that we see, or a lot of ministries that people blast on social media saying all they want is their money. So that brings me to this. So I kind of gave you a high-level summary, but now I'm gonna walk you through it through these slides. So just, just like I said, bear with me. Here. Um, so the gospel— Jesus, yes, he preached the gospel for free. He gave his life. Uh, we can read this in the, in the gospels, you know, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Uh, but I want to get into ministry, ministry, the, the element of just ministry. Um, so according to AG Financial Solutions here— let me slow down because I think I'm talking fast— uh, but according to AG Financial Solutions, here are the three crucial benchmarks for local church budget. Personnel, 33 to 45%. Now, of course, you know, like I said, most churches, they're going to have their pastor and other people on salary or payroll. So musicians and percussionists and probably, uh, the cleaning staff, um, and, and so on. Then they're probably gonna like give, you know, if that, if that person's not receiving something every Sunday, you know, maybe some of the praise team members, or they're giving out you know, uh, media, stipends, youth ministry, and things like that, uh, giving something according— like, that is really a lot of the ministry budget because these people probably are like leading ministry. Like, they're, they're, they're using so much of their time in addition to what they probably do on top of that to help move the ministry forward and work, of course, with all a lot of volunteers. And again, I'm not going to keep giving this disclaimer. I know it's been a lot of manipulation out there, but I just want to Aside from that, let's just stay with the purity of the gospel. I didn't have building and facilities, um, so the upkeep of the ministry, the upkeep of the building. Like, I'm pretty sure if you live in a home, whether, uh, if you rent, there's maintenance, there's an upkeep that has to go on to, to maintain that building. And then office expenses, like, you know, the computer, uh, probably things that roll up into paper Um, uh, Lord help me, internet, all that type of stuff that may be related to office expenses. But some other things that, you know, just real quick, other things that would drive these numbers down, or up I should have said, is outreach, uh, supporting members. You know, when things go on in the church, uh, if a minute, if, if members have been faithful, that church might, you know, help that person and use some of those proceeds that they're getting to help support that member through hardship. Funerals, uh, like I said, again, outreach in the community, doing things, um, in the community that you love. And these are things that you have access to. Go talk and ask, hey, what are we doing? I want to know what I'm connected to. Now, if you see the pastor pulling up in exotic cars and living in exotic house and the ministry is not absolutely doing anything, no community outreach, I think that should be a red flag. But if you see that local church trying like really trying and working what they have, and you know the pastor is rolling their sleeves up and getting just as active, and you know the character and the heart. I believe, you know, if they're preaching sound doctrine, true sound doctrine, and you believe there's a man of God, woman of God, and you know, in leadership and things like that, then you should, um, support that ministry, I believe. But like I say, you pray, uh, because like I say, it costs— it costs people time, it costs money, and so on. But these are just some indicators to say, man, look, Nothing is free here. I mean, you know, and that's what the next slide— um, yeah, no, sorry. Okay, but nothing is free. And I'm not sure what happened to my other slide, but most of this is driven off the donations of people, the donations of local members, uh, the giving and tithing from members. Like, most of the time it's 10%, but You know, recent research shows that most people are giving like 2.5% of their income. They're not giving that benchmark of 10%. I'm not going to get into should you tithe 10% or not, but what I'm saying is it's very low. But things are continuing to go up, going up in, in the local church. So ministry costs, the work of ministry costs, and the heavy reliance is on donations. Or, you know, the faithful givers and tithers. And, you know, if you look at the 80/20 rule, most things say that 80% is carried out by 20%. And unfortunately, it's true in the church. 80% of the finances usually come from 20% of the people. But more recently, they said now that number has dropped down like 12% because you have all this New Age teaching and saying that, like, again, you know, the pastor is just about money and all of that nature. Uh, and that's why I want to— I want to turn you— and I should have put these on here, but hey, you, you go search these out for yourself. Uh, so again, have people manipulated? Yes. I absolutely apologize, and I hate that. I really, really do. And you know, I can't change anything. Like I said, the trauma, the hurt that you might have experienced through people that have manipulated the gospel. Uh, but I can pray that God touch your heart and you just start searching your Bible yourself and really examining and looking and studying, studying people that's in that local ministry and saying, God, okay, I believe that this church is carrying out your thing. So I believe that when I sow into this ministry, I'm sowing on good ground. Um, and I just believe that the power of the Holy Spirit, man, he can change your heart if you connected with that ministry. So again, you know, I might preach a series on this, uh, if my pastor allows me, through the power of God. But when we turn our attention to Matthew 6:21, it says, for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. I should have put these on here, but I didn't. But Matthew 6:21, I'm gonna read it again. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. In other words, when it comes to our things, um, how do we spend our money? Like, like, truthfully, how do, how do we spend our money, um, when it comes to the context of this verse? Uh, but even in our family life, like, if I say I love my family, but I'm always working, like, that's really where my, my treasure is. And so that's where my heart is going to be. Like, my treasure is really in my work. Where's my treasure? Really, my family. Now, I'm not talking about minimum sacrifice if I have to go travel here and there, but I'm talking about if I'm just always gone, never have my kids, I'm never with my wife, my treasure is not really in my family, meaning that my heart is not really there. So, and it's in the same context with giving. If I say that I, I really believe in God's principles and I really believe in the Bible, then my treasure— if I'm sowing, if I'm— if you see, I'll say, hey man, I'm, I'm sowing into this ministry because I believe in it. You've heard me say, if I say I have faith in something, then I should be faithful to it. So my treasure— so I'm saying that I believe in this ministry, so I'm going to put my money where my mouth is. I'm going to sow not just my money but my time as well. And that's where my heart is, because my heart is this ministry, this local ministry, carrying out and doing the things I believe God has called this ministry to do. And I want to be a part of it. I want to help carry that burden where it's just not on those faithful few. So, so how do you spend your money? How do you sow your money? How do you give? Uh, 1 Corinthians 6:1-2: Now concerning the collection for saints, as I have directed the churches of Galatia— so, uh, I might have butchered that— so, so you are also So our CR to do on the first day of every week, each of you is to put something aside and store it up as he may prosper, uh, Gilead, I'm sorry, and so that there will be no collecting when I come. In other words, just counting the costs and being proper stewards over it. Uh, budget or automate so that you can set aside a part of your income. So again, you know Did I budget my money properly? Did I, um, automate it, you know, where it just automatically comes out? And consistency compounds. So when we're consistently doing this, it helps with these numbers, it helps carry out these things, import into these things, so that particular ministry can continue to carry out the work. Because if it starts to be a deficiency, then that ministry has to scale back and it can't do things that it wants to do. In other words, it's a revenue problem. Because giving goes down. And a lot of times when giving goes down, people have the same expectations with that local church, but it's like burning on, you know, burning a candle from both ends. Like, it's unreal and it's unrealistic. Just imagine in your personal finances if your revenue went down. Say for instance you was making $100,000 a year, but then you get laid off, you go pick up a job that's $40,000 a year. You're going to make a lot of adjustments. You're probably not going to be eating out as much. You're probably not going to be going out, going as many trips and things of that nature. But if somebody puts you under the same pressure and say, well, why are you not doing all this? You need to do it. You were doing it once before. You would give them context and say, I don't— I just took a $60,000 pay cut. So, so why do we do that to ministries when the revenue the cash flow goes down. Yeah, it's a problem, but it's a problem because, you know, for whatever reasons people aren't giving. Now I think it's twofold. You know, the church should be a safe place. Uh, I do believe teaching and things like that should be on debt and budgeting. You know, when people retire, like all of these things, uh, people are no longer working the job and moving retirement, that income might change. And so it, you know, the church All these things might have to just, you know, change. And that's why I say it should be dialogue and communication, um, and just things of that nature. But at the end of the day, ministry costs, and we as leaders need to be aware of this. Um, so let's see, going on, 3 reasons why people don't give. Well, we know in the Bible it talks about, you know, if we sow, uh, sparingly, we'll reap sparingly. Matter of fact, whoever sows generously will reap generously. Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctant or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. Like, so again, giving according to— giving according to what you decided in your heart. And I believe one of the main reasons, you know, people don't give is financial budget, financial bondage. Uh, if I'm in financial bondage, meaning like deep in debt, I'm living paycheck to paycheck, or truthfully I'm not even paycheck to paycheck, like I'm literally, if I get paid on a 2-week, I'm broke at 7, so I'm now in the negative. So it's like, that is financial bondage. So yes, I, you know, you get into like some of the Dave Ramsey teachings here Um, personally, I would recommend if a person was in financial bondage, uh, I would pray and so really study the scriptures. Uh, but I believe that you should take care of home first. That's, that's me. I still feel like there should be some level of giving, but you know, maybe you might have to come off the 10% because I've heard things like, I can't afford not to do this and not do that. God knows the heart, but I don't— I believe that, you know, if you were that deep, say this is like— I'm gonna just keep it simple— $1,000 a month, 10% would be $100. But if you were living from paycheck to paycheck, maybe your giving might be, hey, talk to that finance committee and say, hey, you know, I'm not saying you got to go ABC, but just say there's reasons why you won't see the $100 anymore. We're going to give $25 every 2 weeks or whatever. Uh, you won't see the $100 every 2 weeks. I'm just using $1,000. I'm pretty sure a lot of people make more or whatever, um, than man, or less, whatever. But what I'm just saying is just an example, person, uh, perspective. Okay, have that conversation with your pastor, have that conversation, uh, with your finance committee and things like that, because the whole thing should be coming out of financial bondage, uh, so that you can give more. You know, give— like, you might say, man, I really, really want to just give more to the ministry that I'm connected with, but I'm struggling. I, I believe one should take care of home first. I believe that that's order, uh, but a lot of people, you know, they used as manipulation. And a lot of people do have it to give, and they're not in financial budget, and they move into this second one. They just don't budget for it. They don't care. It kind of goes back to it, like, uh, it's a heart issue. It's not a money issue, it's a heart issue. And more people, believe it or not, live in the, the second and third one, for real. Like, they live in this second or third one, uh, but they don't budget for it, so they don't account for it. They don't set money aside. They don't automate things. It's just like, okay, hey, you know, I make $100 $10,000. Uh, I believe in the ministry, but here's $10 when they probably can give more. But again, it's a heart issue. It, it, it's, it's whatever they're looking at. Like, either it's like, man, I don't believe that I should be giving to this church. I don't— that's too much money. Or like I said, again, the pastor wants their money, the pastor wants my money, so I'm not giving it. It's a heart issue. It's not a money issue. It is a heart issue. And again, some pastors have manipulated, some pastors have used the word of God to do just crazy things with people's money. But as I said earlier, that's not the case with a lot of pastors. And I have said with so many pastors, I have had the opportunity to work my job, um, man, be with my family, my wife, my kids, you know, do things with them. And for a month straight, feel the need and the pull to do sermon preparation, call and check on members while my pastor, uh, and, and the lady of the ministry was away. When I tell you, it, it, it felt— and we're going to get into a little slide to kind of show that— but it, it was crazy. I was like, oh my God, like this I wouldn't wish this on my, my worst enemy because it's like you're working your typical 9 to 5 or 8 to 5, and then it's like once you get off that, you still have ministry obligations to do. And you know, it wouldn't be wise for me to carry those ministry obligations out through my 9 to 5 or 8 to 5 or whatever. Uh, you know, some of us have the luxury, we have that flexibility, but just imagine someone that can't. Like they actually, when they're on their job, they're on their job. And then it's like, boom, okay, I have this list to do. I have to go to the hospital, I have to go to the nursing home, I have to just go do these things. I have to prepare, I have to counsel with people, I have to counsel with a broken marriage, I have to counsel with a kid that's been touched. And they think about the mental battle that that pastor has to go through. I mean, some, it's some crazy stuff. Or I mean, someone just lost a kid, someone just lost a mother or father, someone just lost a spouse. I mean, these are things that, that pastors have to go through. And you know, it's, it's sad that, uh, like I say, a few bad apples mess up the whole bunch. But again, I want to ask you the question: if you've worked in a profession and you have seen people that you would consider a bad apple, why didn't you stop away? Why didn't you say, you know what, I've seen too much of this from these people, I don't want to work anymore? No, you know, now let's just— the whole thing is corrupt, and you know, that's a whole different story, then I get it, you know. But that's not the case with the gospel. That's just a few bad apples relatively, man. When I travel, my wife and I have had the luxury of traveling in a few parts of the world. I've had the opportunity, you know, before I met my wife, to travel, um, a lot, and I'm so small Like, when I go to places, I'm like, man, I realize I'm 3,000 miles away from home. I'm like, wow, like, I am— like, my little home and my little bubble, my world is so small relative to this world and what people are doing out there. And that's true with the gospel, man. But, you know, social media has made it where, like, things are magnified. What we focus on, we magnify. Like Michael Todd was saying that, like, at that time, I think when the negative stuff happened with the spit, you know, the sermon example and him wearing clothes, but no one— no news, nothing out there when the church gave away $8 million. The church gave away $8 million. I mean, like, paying off debt, paying off mortgages, paying off cars, uh, giving people back, uh, restitution and things like that, and nobody said a word. But as soon as something negative come up, it's all over social media, because what we focus on, we magnify. And unfortunately, that's where a lot of people— a lot of people's minds are made up that, no, they are corrupt, they just want my money, so that's all I'ma see and that's all I'm gonna believe. And it's unfortunate, but only the Holy Spirit can help those people come alive. Only the Holy Spirit can help those people come alive because their minds are made up and that's what they see. Uh, but a lot of people fall in those two categories. But that first one, financial bondage, uh, it's something that, you know, like I said again, we have to help people get their income up, get some of that debt down, uh, get all of it down, to be honest. But just come out of that financial bondage so they can be in a position to give the way they want to give, uh, give according to their heart. Uh, but this, of course, there's many other reasons, but I would say these are probably the top three.. But a lot of people, uh, I don't want to put a percentage on it, but a lot of people live in those first two. And that's why giving is down— excuse me— in the church. So pastors and pay, or should a pastor be on a salary? Um, I put a little note here: does the pastor want your money? Again, some do. There are bad apples everywhere. I know I sound like a broken record, uh, but did that make you one because you worked with bad apples? Did that make you one? But I, I think that's a really, really good question. Maybe the Holy Spirit just keep letting me to say it a lot to just get you to maybe just reframe some things. Uh, but here we go again. Um, so 1 Timothy, you know, talks about double honor and, uh, do not muzzle out an ox. So if an ox is working the ground, you know, should you just keep working that ox without giving him food or grain or whatever? No. You, you should, you should give. Um, same thing in the Bible when the Lord had commanded those who preach the gospel, uh, they should receive a, a living from it. And you know, a lot of us point to Paul when he was a tent maker and things like that, but there was time Paul made exceptions, and then there were— it wasn't the rule, it was an exception. But then there's times that Paul did take So we have to rightly divide the word of God and know what was going on contextual. For example, there are times when I say, hey, I'mma sow the love seed back into the ministry, or I'mma redirect it here. I don't want it. Then there's times I take it, but that's ultimately my call and me believe that I'm listening to God. Okay, yeah, I'll take this one out. No, you know, hey, this time it's fine. Like, it's a hard thing. I can't tell you every single time when I'm gonna do it, but it's a heart posture thing for me. But when it comes down to it, you know, should a pastor receive pay according to the scriptures? I believe that they should, and this is why. Let's look at this one and spend some time here. Um, so I put some things up with typically what a pastor is doing. I know I hit on this: sermon preparation, teaching, counseling, hospital, nursing home, jail administration work, and etc. Now, oh, I put double note there. My apologies. But a note, let me fix that right now. Let me just fix it because I don't like that. Okay, my apologies about that. So note, including the room they need to carry out other responsibilities. So looking at this little pie chart over here, very simple. Uh, let's just say this is 24— well, it is 24 hours in a day, but let's just say the typical pastor spends 8 hours sleeping. So that's about 33% of their day gone. I know you might not be able to see this down here, but let's say if it's the other 8 hours is just working. Now let's say working a traditional job— this pastor is bi-vocational— so it's another 33% gone. So now that's 66% out of that pastor day that's gone between just sleeping and working? A savings pastor has family, their children has games, and you might say, well, I didn't tell them to sign up for it, they were called. You're right, you didn't tell them to sign up for it, but God did. So God called them to it, uh, and I just feel like that's a very, you know, really inconsiderate or arrogant thing to say, you know, because you have people say, well, I, I work too, I mean, I have to make sacrifices too. And that could be true, and people do work double jobs, uh, but God called them to this. And you know, if God truly did, he called them. And so, uh, but this is again where it goes back— you have to pray and read your word and pay attention and observe and discern things by the Spirit and the character of that person to know, okay man, I believe that this is a true person of God that's teaching and preaching the gospel, man. They care about my family, they're always there. They care about my soul, they've been watching over my soul, uh, man, they are really helping me and my family. And I see them doing this with so many others and working through other leaders and deacons and things like that throughout the church. Um, man, it would be real nice if we could sow enough and bring this person, or, you know, hey, they might come off a full-time, they only work part-time, or they're self-employed, but just imagine if 16 hours are just gone from bi-vocational. Or on the other hand, if you say, okay, let's just say that you take this 8 hours of sleeping, and then the pastor was full-time, he's not working a second job, he is like that, that 8 hours is coming and spent doing these things every single day on top of preaching and teaching the gospel and Bible study. So it still makes sense. But if, like I said, if you put the 8 hours of working and like bi-vocational and you put it into that, I mean, really it's crammed. I mean, it is a lot on that pastor. And then you might say, well, I still see 8 hours of time, and then you have, you know, question mark, question mark. I was going to say free time, but like, let's just say for instance in this percentage thing 8 hours sleeping, the 8 hours working. So the other 8 hours can be for ministry. Okay, again, where's the time for family? Where's the time for just like that pastor just self-care? Where's the time for like these sermon preparation and teaching and counseling, hospital administration, things like that? That's not including just spending time and just, uh, meditating on the scriptures and that pastor growing. This is just all ministry-related stuff, and that, that's what happens. But this is when it turns into just sermon preparation, and it's like, well, I'm not even spending time which is really allowing the word of God to work on me and mature and grow in the faith. I'm just trying to pump out sermons. So something is always going to sacrifice, man, when that pastor is just bombarded with feeling like it's just not enough in a time and a day. So this is why I feel, and when I'm around true men and women of God, why I believe that we should sow into them, why I believe we should send them places. This is why I say those things. I don't— not statements of like, well, you know, um, like, well, you know, maybe if they don't have enough money, or I, I shouldn't have to do this for them, I shouldn't have to get my money to help them do this. Why not? Why wouldn't you want to see someone that cares about your soul, uh, go on a trip, man, and spend time with their wife or their family, or go to a conference to learn and be downloaded into where they can come back, man, and, and bring it back to the ministry. All to— through the power of God, if you feed on it and really apply it, it'll help your life. I mean, I'm just asking that we listen with an open mind because the demands of ministry, man, can be challenging. And I can tell you again, when, when I was just stepping in and helping out to allow my pastor to go away on vocation— oh, I mean, I'm sorry, a sabbatical. And keep in mind, my wife was like, uh, working on some military stuff at the time. So I had my 3 kids and I worked a very demanding job. And it was just like, I was just like, man, God, why would you call somebody to this? And like, just if I can just share my heart with you, it was very, very challenging, uh, and it really made me have a repented heart because A lot of times, like sometimes you just have to experience and step into those people's shoes. Now, I'm not saying that it was just harder than what I do in my day to day, but in addition to that, it was. And then at times it did feel because it's like, it just felt like spiritual warfare. Like I said, we have Delce and you're carrying, you know, helping carry the weight of people, man, and what they experience when you're sitting there and you're counseling and hearing these stories. It can get very, very difficult. But a lot of times it's overlooked. And truthfully, pastors do things and they're not compensated for it, not properly, because of the attitudes and the hearts of people, uh, or they have come through manipulation. So yeah, like I say, some pastors do want your money, but a lot of these pastors, man, they are doing this off of pure calling. And you know, I'll leave you and close you— close with this. I was talking to a friend in South Carolina that I met And, you know, he was just saying— let me stop sharing here— um, he was just saying, man, like, you know, one day, um, man, I pray that I've made enough and invested enough where I don't even have to take a salary from the, from the local church. I just wanted to be 100% of the money that's given. I just wanted to circulate through the ministry and help people, man, because I just don't want to be labeled as that. And, you know, that's all I share. But I will say this part in addition to that. But talking to that person, I was like, man, it's really sad because I started to feel the same way. And I was just like, man, it sucks that, you know, we— and I'm talking like all inclusive, which is people that do this, that we have to carry that or want to walk away because of the trauma and the manipulators out there that have made it hard for true men and women of God to carry ministry forward. Um, so like I said, I just wanted to present this, um, and, and really share this with, you know, I do these videos on demand for specific leadership groups, uh, but, you know, uh, anybody can use it. Uh, but I just want to challenge you to pray and just read the Bible and rightly divide it, uh, not filtering it through manipulation or a lens or erroneous teaching, but filtering it through the power of the Holy Spirit and what you have seen, and prayerfully that the character, uh, of that, that pastor or those leaders, you know, are they teaching? Are they real? I didn't say perfect, but are they real? Are they progressing through the power of God? And why not, why not sow into that? That person or that pastor. So that's really all I have. Uh, like I said, you know, this might turn into a mini series where I teach on it way more in depth, uh, with some, you know, contextual things like that. I'll, you know, advertise it. I might get it with my podcast. But I did want to jump on here and just, you know, like I say, share a few things that I believe, um, you know, you to look at or just challenge yourself to dig deeper in the word of God on where you really stand and ask yourself, you know, is this really a money issue or is this a heart issue? Has my heart been hardened and distorted and distracted, or is my heart conducive for God's word, uh, man, to, to really carry out the responsibility that I have with sowing into a ministry so that it may help collectively come together and reach and win souls for Christ?
