Discussion Jumpstarter
Study leader reference - not a definitive answer
Question 6
On “not for money, but eagerly,” the speaker asks, “Without paid elders, what have we traded for it?” and claims churches “suffered terribly…from lack of discipleship”; what tradeoffs have you personally observed between avoiding financial temptation and losing sustained discipleship, and what would early Christians likely have assumed about supporting leaders for the work?
Another way to ask: What tradeoffs have you seen between not paying elders and losing steady discipleship? What do you think early Christians expected about supporting leaders so they could do the work?
Discussion Jumpstarter
Direct Answer
The speaker’s main tradeoff is clear: avoiding the temptation of doing ministry “for money” can still cost the church sustained discipleship when elders must work full-time jobs; the transcript does not directly state what early Christians assumed, beyond urging the church to think humbly about the complexity.
- He quotes the contrast: “not for money, but eagerly,” and admits he personally feels “zero temptation” here, though he has “seen it happen.”
- He raises the key question: “Without paid elders, we have suffered terribly…from lack of discipleship.”
- He explains why: “Because we're working…we don't have full time,” connecting unpaid leadership to limited discipling capacity.
- He warns against being “high-minded” for eliminating one problem while “another one surfaces.”
- He urges humility: “If we're not going to do something, what are we going to trade? We will trade it for something.”