My friend Larry Robinson, host of www.gospelinterviews.com recently posted an article where he asked the question "Should preachers and evangelists charge to preach?" Without making an immediate assessment, I would say it depends.

I am a big fan of the Matrix Trilogy. When the first movie hit the big screen I saw it twice at the theater in addition to buying it on DVD. I repeated the process with the second and third movie, bought the cartoon, picked up a copy of the video game, and I also own the Morpheus and Niobe action figures.

I am ashamed to admit it, but I have probably spent $225.00 on the Matrix franchise. When I was spending the cash I didn’t think twice about it because there was a message in the movie that inspired me to live my life differently. In the same way there are some phenomenal preachers\evangelist who are extremely effective at giving people hope and a new outlook on life. They can make you laugh, cry, jump, shout, and dance within a matter of minutes. Many of them are masters at revealing the biblical secrets of wealth and great blessings in this life AND the life to come.

That being said, if a preacher or evangelist MAKES IT CLEAR that they are in the business of providing inspirational Christian Entertainment, they should charge. If Oprah, Doctor Phil, and Tyra Banks are getting paid to inspire audiences, Christian Entertainers should get paid too! Custom made clothes, luxury cars, and new homes in gated communities all cost a great deal of money. It is only appropriate that they should be able to cover these expenses as well…right?

On the other hand, there is no biblical evidence that Jesus, the apostles, or the prophets preached for profit. Jesus would preach to people who had nothing to give. After preaching, he would feed up to five thousand of them and he would not ask for a cent.

Paul, who authored several of my favorite books, never charged the churches for his letters and he took pride in the fact that he would do manual labor for the privilege of being able to share the gospel with them for free. Paul collected offerings to meet the needs of the people, not to revel in a life of pleasure and overindulgence. In one of his letters he told a preacher named Timothy:

"People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness"

Every preacher and evangelist would do well to follow this admonition.

Yes the workman is worthy of his wage and we all have to make a living. But if someone demands money in exchange for a word from the Lord, they are not preacher or an evangelist. They are a demagogue who lives to uphold the legacy of men like John Tetzel.

I have spent a great deal on Christian resources that have helped me to grow in my walk with God. I have hundreds of Gospel CD’s, and I own almost every DVD that Tyler Perry has released (no Tyler they are not bootleg copies). But I refuse to support individuals who exploit the children of God by preaching for a profit. What about you?



Written by Eric Canaday. This article may be reproduced for non-commercial purposes in any medium without applying for permission. © Laborers In Action, Inc.