Well, we are going to vote tomorrow. There has 64 electorates and 56 list seats… and there are many candidates.
Now, many have a romantic idea of leadership. That one will command and people will serve you. This must never be the case in the Church. We are not here to be like the secular leaders.
25But Jesus called them to him and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones are tyrants over them. 26It will not be so among you; but whoever wishes to be great among you must be your servant, 27and whoever wishes to be first among you must be your slave; 28just as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many.”
The pyramid of power and riches should be reversed. The lay people have the wealth and power. Well, they are the people who make the food, the shoes, run the medical clinics and build houses. The leaders can and should be supported by the lay people — but they should be not more well off, but less well off. A pastor is not a Lord of the Church.
Now many miss this. They see the pomp and position, and think there is power hidden there. There is no power but in service, no mana (influence, clout, dignitas) unless you give it away. Those who cling to power will lose it, while those who are prepared to walk away have the freedom to serve.
I think here we can learn from the time of Jesus and the rabbinical code. In that system, all young men were expected to learn a practical trade, so that they could support a family. The priesthood was for the sons of Aaron. Scholars supported themselves. In a similar manner, most priests in the Catholic church are on very small salaries — they do not have a family to support (due to the rules of celibacy) and in the reformed tradition the pastor has a salary around the average of the congregants.
If a pastor is becoming wealthy from preaching, there is something wrong. Leaders should, in Christs kingdom, like Christ, serve.