Thanks for the excellent question. Before we answer that, we do well to ask ourselves, “What is a pastor?” Today most people would say, “A pastor is the leader of a congregation of a church.” What does Scripture say? In Ephesians 4:8 we read that after Jesus Christ “ascended on high….He gave gifts to men.” Then in verse 11 we read, “He gave some to be apostles, some evangelists, and some PASTORS and teachers.” Those who believe the “pastor is the leader of a congregation” also believe he is the EVANGELIST who preaches the gospel to sinners and the TEACHER who expounds the Word of God to his fellow-believers. In other words, they believe he is HIRED by the congregation to fill all the roles of these various gifts. He is expected to do the preaching, the teaching, the marrying of couples, the burying of those who have died, the counseling of those who are suffering, and the restoring of believers who have backslidden. The truth is it would be very rare indeed to see all these gifts in one man. I met a woman once who had moved from one city to another and she told me she was disappointed with her “new pastor.” I asked why and she said, “Because I loved to hear my former pastor preach the gospel so people could be saved but my new pastor is not very passionate when he preaches the gospel and no one is getting saved.” She did go on to say, “But he is quite good at counseling people who are hurting and couples who are getting married, and he’s also very concerned about seeing believers grow spiritually.” I then told her that she, like many other believers, is expecting “their pastor” to be “everything wrapped up in one person.” I went on to say, “It sounds like your former “pastor” was an “evangelist” (one “gifted to preach the gospel”) and that your current “pastor” may indeed have the “gift of a pastor.”

The word “pastor” can be translated “shepherd.” We know that a literal shepherd is one who “shepherds a flock of sheep” which is a very private work. I believe the gift of a pastor is a gift for the WHOLE CHURCH, not just a LOCAL CHURCH, and that it will be, at times, a very private work. A pastor will counsel people privately and seek to restore a backslidden believer privately (see Galatians 6:1-2). This gift is not something that is learned in a seminary or Bible college; it is a gift given to them by the Holy Spirit. The Apostle Paul exhorted some elders at Ephesus with these words, “Take heed to yourselves and to all the FLOCK, among whom the Holy Spirit has made you OVERSEERS, to SHEPHERD THE CHURCH OF GOD which He purchased with His own blood.” In this case these men were “doing the work of an overseer” (1 Timothy 3:1) in the church at Ephesus. The Holy Spirit had made them overseers by giving them the “gift of a shepherd.” Notice, the church at Ephesus had “overseers/shepherds” and if you study the whole New Testament, you will see that there was always a PLURALITY of elders in any local church, not just ONE MAN. Paul told Titus to “establish ELDERS in each city” in Crete and then he listed the qualifications for being an overseer in verses 6-9.

As to your question, you will look in vain throughout the New Testament to see any servant of the Lord (be it an apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor, or teacher) receiving a “stipulated salary.” They lived “by faith” and were supported by other believers as they were led of the Lord to give to them (see 1 Corinthians 9:1-14 and 3 John verses 5-8). If you read on in verses 15-18 you will see that Paul supported himself (see also 1 Thessalonians 2:9 and 2 Thessalonians 3:7-9). In other passages we learn that Paul was a TENTMAKER BY TRADE (see Acts 18:1-3) but he did receive financial support from the believers in the church at Philippi at time (Philippians 4:10-19).  (DO)  (650.1)