Because He Divides His Time Between Various Churches In His District, The Pastor Spends Very Little Time At The Church. Should He Receive From The Tithe, Considering That The Local Work Is Performed By Volunteer Members?
The Levites and even the priests from Aaron’s family dedicated
much less time to the Tabernacle or Temple than a pastor dedicates
to the church today, and that did not take away their right to the tithe.
If it’s based on the time dedicated to the service of the church, the
pastor’s dedication is much greater than the leaders in Bible times.
On the other hand, in most cases the pastor ministers to several
churches but does not receive a salary from each one of them;
he receives one salary to take care of all. As for the working time
of the Levites, even when they were still a small tribe, they totaled
thousands of members (Num. 4:47-49; 1 Chron. 23:1-4) who lived in
their “cities of refuge” (Num. 35) and only went to work in the service
of the temple following a schedule system which did not include
working every day or every week. Not all of them had priestly duties.
Thousands served as judges, administrators, and other officials.
Some would serve for their entire lives as gatekeepers, wood
providers, musicians, keepers of part of the sanctuary, etc. (See 1
Chron. 23:4 to chapter 25). They worked for 25 years but received
wages from the tithe all their lives, before and after they reached
50 years of age, when they became counselors of the younger
generation (Num. 8:24, 25). In fact, their pay was based not on what
they did in the temple but on their total and exclusive dedication as
ministers for life. They would teach, administer, and represent their
God before the people—they were doctrine-keepers. This is the type
of ministry God expects as described in the Bible and in the Spirit
of Prophecy. Despite its imperfections, Adventist ministry follows
the biblical example. This type of work cannot be evaluated with the
criteria used to measure other common duties.