Sowing and Reaping

"Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they?" Matt 6 : 26

I was reading NCC devotion this morning, yes again.  Today's topic was on Matthew 6 : 26.  In its devotion, it emphasised that we do not need to go through the sowing and reaping process to enjoy good life for we are not of this world system(sowing, reaping, gathering).  And it also said that God can give us good life straight away.

I would like to perhaps add more perspectives to this verse, here are some versions of the commentaries

People's New Testament

"6:26 Behold the fowls of the air. God feeds the birds without their sowing or reaping, but they do the work for which they were created, and God takes care of them. So, too, he will take care of us--not in idleness or improvidence--but if we do the work for which God created us."

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

"Not about the comforts of this life; but leave it to God to make it bitter or sweet as he pleases. Food and raiment God has promised, therefore we may expect them.........we may leave it to God to provide for us food and raiment.....improve this as an encouragement to trust in God."

It's kind of like the boy who offered his fishes and loafs in John 6:5-15.  We freely offer what we have (or what we can do), and leave God to turn it into something far greater than we we expect or can do.  Do what we can and leave the rest (result) to God.

We need to trust God and stop worrying about our lives.  We can trust HIM for He cares for us.

Quote from http://www.newcreation.org.sg/resources/dailydevotion/dailydevo.asp

In this devotion, Pastor Joseph Prince uses the story of Martha and Mary...it is quite a good writing.  And I was blessed by the devotion.

However, the sentences "She saw that He was someone she needed to draw from. And by doing that, she made Him feel like God " &  She made Jesus feel a sense of His divine glory. She allowed Jesus to be the giver, to be God".  I wonder does what we do make God feel like he is God?  In other words, what Mary had done, did not made Jesus feels like God?

 We all received the unmerited Grace from God, despite what we do rite?  : o)

Don't Judge !!!!

Something interesting.....

http://sg.video.yahoo.com/watch/4863134/12964979

Benchmarking Salary for Pastor

After I had published the earlier post regarding Pastor Prince’s pay, someone asked me how much should a pastor salary be (excluding love offering or any others income) and how should it be pegged (benchmark)?

To be frank I have no answer…what is enough or correct? In the first place, I do not think it is appropriate to use the size of monetary reward to measure the worthiness of any Christian workers. Like we cannot say the pastor driving BMW is more anointed and God loves him more than the one who drives KIA or vice versa.

So what is enough? Is driving a KIA less "enough" than driving BMW? If I could afford a BMW, than what is wrong with driving one..... On the other hand, if driving a KIA means I can contribute more for my son expenses or lighten my family financial burdens than why insist on a BMW. I do not need a BMW to show that God loves me more, or I have arrived. KIA is already a great blessing, for many people are without car.

I think I am not in favors of the Board of NCC to give such big salaries (closed to 1 million, maybe more) when the church is in loan for its upcoming building project. The One-North project is already costing more than initial estimation, and the church needs to raise more....so should these salaries or bonuses be more restrained. But there again, with a $55 millions ++ income (95% from tithes and offering), what is 1 million.

The core business of the church, however, is not to generate profit, but to preach the good news of our Lord, Christ Jesus. In the same way, a preacher does not preach for money; he preaches because God has called him to do so, to declare the Grace. If there is profit, more should be channeled to outreaches, the poor, widows, orphans and blessing the congregation, like “lighten” their building project funding.

What is appropriate than? Here’s an article I read…maybe readers can decide yourselves. Are these Christian workers paid enough to live comfortably? You decide.
"The Trinity Christian Centre, which holds services in Adam Road and Paya Lebar, paid two directors below $150,000 each in 2007.

They are its Senior Pastor Dominic Yeo and resident apostle Dr Naomi Dowdy. The church employs 112 staff and had an income of $17.4 million in 2007.

Singapore Campus Crusade for Christ paid its three top executives - Reverend Chan Chong Hiok, Dr Ho Chiao Ek and Reverend Lam Kok Hiang - below $100,000 each in its last financial year. The group, which provides Christian counselling, training and Christian publications, collected $11 million in ‘local donations’ then.

It pegs its basic salaries to social workers’ pay, which is between $2,000 and $2,700 for a fresh graduate, as stated on the National Council of Social Service’s website.

Mr Leslie Chiang, its director for corporate communications and IT, said: ‘We use this benchmark as the nature of our work is very similar to what an average social worker is doing - serving the needs of a community.

’"http://thechurchofjesuschrist.wordpress.com/2009/03/31/income-fit-for-a-king-joseph-prince-and-the-pastors-pay/

What should be his reward ?

Here's a news I read over the internet...wonder how we measure pastors KPI and reward.....hahahaha....

http://sg.news.yahoo.com/afp/20090330/tbs-singapore-religion-society-finance-b-0b9af05.html

SINGAPORE (AFP) - - A Singapore-based church paid one of its leaders more than 500,000 dollars (329,000 US) in its last financial year, a report said Monday.

The New Creation Church, which raised 19 million Singapore dollars in just one day in February for the construction of its new premises, paid one employee between 500,001 and 550,000 dollars in the financial year ended March 31, 2008, the Straits Times said.
It said the church did not confirm if the money was paid to its leader, Senior Pastor Joseph Prince.

But New Creation's honorary secretary, Deacon Matthew Kang, was quoted by the newspaper as saying it was the church's policy to "recognise and reward key contributors... and Senior Pastor Prince is the main pillar of our church's growth and revenue."

Kang also described Prince as "the key man responsible for bringing in about 95 percent of our church's income," and added "he has enriched the church and not the other way around."
Two other employees of the church were paid between 150,001 and 200,000 dollars, but no names were given, the report said.

One of Singapore's fastest growing churches, New Creation had an income of 55.4 million dollars and net assets of 143.36 million dollars in its last financial year, according to its website.

Singapore is a predominantly ethnic Chinese society with deep Buddhist and Taoist traditions, but Christians here are known as devout and relatively affluent.