Pastor Rejects Pay Cut, Deposes Elders

[Jerome]

Should ministers share the pain of the recession?

Palm City Christian Church

the 80-member church “began to struggle financially” this year; at a May 28 meeting attended by [Pastor Anthony] Galbicka, the elders approved several spending cuts, including reducing the pastor’s salary “by a modest percentage.”
Watson said the cut was to be about 15 percent, adding the church paid Galbicka’s housing and car expenses plus $22,000 a year. Details of how to make the cut had not been worked out, he said.
After the meeting, the suit alleges, Galbicka “sought to organize a plan to silence his critics, seize control of the (church and) preserve his income.”

Galbicka called a congregational meeting June 7, where he held a “tainted” election to remove the entire board of elders and have himself elected “with a combined authority of pastor-president-director-elder-deacon.”

 

[Johnv]

Yes, they should share the pain of the recession, but I don't believe a pay cut is the way to do it, especially not for the pastor. A better thing to do would have been to freeze the salary, eliminate another position, and add some of those duties to the pastor. That's what other companies do: they cut positions and divide the leftover workload.

Now, the Pastor's response was equally bad. He had no busnines trying to undermine the governing board.

 

[Revmitchell]

Very sad........

 

[webdog]

How much did the deposed Elders earn? Why is it that only one elder is paid in the first place? I never understood that concept with the local American church.

 

[Johnv]

I'm an elder in my church, and would love to be paid. But hey, ya can't have everything. They've got a congregation of 80, and they can afford to pay elders? We're almost 3 times that size, and all the elders are volunteer.

 

[Jerome]

Andrew Fuller (British Baptist minister, 1754-1815), “On Church Government and Discipline”:

If...a plurality of [elders] be required, why is not a plurality of them supported? The office of elder in those churches which are partial to the system is little more than nominal: for while an elder is employed like other men in the necessary cares of life, he cannot ordinarily fulfil the duties of his office.

 

[webdog]

I'm an elder in my church, and would love to be paid. But hey, ya can't have everything. They've got a congregation of 80, and they can afford to pay elders? We're almost 3 times that size, and all the elders are volunteer.

...which is my point exactly. Our church has 3 elders (we had 4, one just resigned due to time limitations and being unemployed), and only the pastor gets paid. The other elders put in just as much work in governing the Church, lead ministries, and fill in for the pastor when he is not there...yet only the pastor receives any kind of compensation. For the life of me I can't understand why the monies allocated to salary aren't divided up amongst all the elders, and if the pastor needs to get a secular job to support his family, so be it. It seems like pastors are held up higher than the other elders, and I see no scriptural support for that whatsoever. We are even talking of hiring another pastor since the church is growing...yet nobody even considers the other elders on staff. During pastor appreciation month a special offering is collected for the pastor...yet nothing for the elders. I made sure to thank them for their service as well, though.

 

[Ulsterman]

"Let the elders that rule well be counted worthy of double honour, especially they who labour in the word and doctrine." 1Tim 5:17.

 

[webdog]

"Let the elders that rule well be counted worthy of double honour, especially they who labour in the word and doctrine." 1Tim 5:17.

What does that mean exactly? What's double of nothing?

 

[Revmitchell]

What does that mean exactly? What's double of nothing?

Just as I thought

 

[webdog]

Just as I thought

What are you talking about?

 

[Revmitchell]

What are you talking about?

what I am talking about is you do not really know what your talking about. That is not intended to be an insult or a slam just a fact.

 

[OldRegular]

They all could follow the example of the Apostle Paul!

 

[annsni]

Ummm - wow. He was our youth pastor years ago!

From what I've heard today, there was more to the story but I'm still not sure the pastor is looking all that great no matter what.

 

[TomVols]

Webdog, what is the role of the other elders in your church? Have these men articulated a call to FT ministry?

I see no problem with a plurality of elders with some paid and some volunteer. I know of some churches who pay all their elders, but almost all of these elders are vocational ministers in one sense or another.

We've kinda got off topic here, but this is intriguing.

 

[Revmitchell]

Ummm - wow. He was our youth pastor years ago!

From what I've heard today, there was more to the story but I'm still not sure the pastor is looking all that great no matter what.

The story seemed one sided. The whole thing is sad regardless.

 

[Robert Snow]

Regardless of the facts, this gives the unsaved more reason to scoff at Christ and His church. Too bad we in the church today often don't know how to come to a amiable compromise instead of airing our dirty laundry in public!

 

[Revmitchell]

Regardless of the facts, this gives the unsaved more reason to scoff at Christ and His church. Too bad we in the church today often don't know how to come to a amiable compromise instead of airing our dirty laundry in public!

It does and you can be sure that some church member, pastor or otherwise, there was part of seeing that this made the news. Liberals have used the secular news agencies throughout the battles in the convention to do their bidding over the years. Not that this church is in the convention but it is practiced regularly by libbies.

 

[kyredneck]

They all could follow the example of the Apostle Paul!

.......zactly

 

[webdog]

what I am talking about is you do not really know what your talking about. That is not intended to be an insult or a slam just a fact.

You need to do better than "you don't know what you are talking about". That means absolutely nothing, and does nothing for discussion. Be specific for a change...