5 minutes a day 5 days a week - a year of Bible Wisdom

Who fires a preacher?  The men's meeting or the congregation?

Sincerely,
Finger On The Button

Dear Finger On The Button,

Preachers serve at the pleasure of the congregation.  A preacher is supported when a congregation believes he is doing work worthy of his hire (1 Tim 5:18).  If a congregation no longer believes that he is worthy of his hire – they cease supporting him and no longer give him the privilege of using their pulpit.  This may be because he is no longer a good fit for the group, or it might be because he no longer is teaching the truth.  In either case, the congregation makes that decision.

Now the problem is a congregation is made up of a group of people, and that group of people has to make decisions through some leadership structure.  In a perfect scenario, the church leadership is a group of qualified elders (men who meet the standards of 1 Tim 3:1-7 and Tit 1:5-9).  If a congregation has elders, those men would make the decision to support (or cease supporting) a preacher.  If a congregation doesn’t have elders, they must make decisions as a unit – this often involves a men’s business meeting.  If the men’s meeting is making decisions for the congregation, the choice to no longer support a preacher would fit under their purview.

5 minutes a day 5 days a week - a year of Bible Wisdom

I have studied in school about elderly people getting a “do not resuscitate” order for when they are past their limit and do not want to be kept alive by a machine.  I can fully see why someone would have one of these, seeing as how modern medicine values length of life and not so much quality.  I have even considered getting one of these when I get into the later years of life.  But I'm not sure if this would be considered scripturally sound.  I understand that God will take us when our time comes, and that it is all in His hands.  Yet, at what point is enough enough?  When I can no longer feed myself, so a feeding tube is inserted?  Or when I’m being kept alive by life support, but I have little to no brain function and can’t do anything but lie there waiting?  I would love to know where you stand on this.

Sincerely,
Preparing For My Funeral

Dear Preparing For My Funeral,

The act of purposefully taking your own life is definitely wrong, but refusing to prolong a terminal illness is a much murkier area.  There is no doubt that suicide is sinful (read “Victim Was The Assailant” for further details), but when someone doesn’t accept surgery, chemotherapy, life-support, etc. – that isn’t suicide.  ‘Do not resuscitate’ orders, living wills, and other such decisions are a matter of wisdom and conscience.

God very clearly teaches that we should be people who value life.  It isn’t our right to presumptuously choose the moment of our death (Eccl 8:8).  Just because we are suffering isn’t necessarily a reason to stop fighting for life.  Suffering can be a very important part of our life here (Eccl 7:14).  The general rule should be to seek to preserve life – even our consciences tell us this.  It is called the “survival instinct”.

On the other hand, there comes a point when continuing to poke, prod, and prolong the life of a body that is obviously dying can offend our conscience as well.  This is where wisdom comes in.  God tells us to ask Him for wisdom (Jas 1:5) and to make conscientious decisions (1 Tim 3:9).  There is no magic answer to your question – only principles to follow in a very difficult time.

5 minutes a day 5 days a week - a year of Bible Wisdom