Buying Preaching

Paid to Preach?

Recently, I tried something different in our worship service. Instead of preaching at the end, I did it first, with music, the offering, and Scripture reading afterward. As I stood behind the pulpit,

I could see people getting ready for the offering, until they realized I was starting my message.

Caitlyn, a first grader in the congregation, was perplexed by this change of routine, and whispered frantically to her mom, "Doesn't he know we haven't paid him to talk yet?"

—Gordon Wood, Ellison Bay, Wisconsin, "Kids of the Kingdom," Christian Reader (July/August 2000)

from Preaching Today.com