By REV. DR. JOHN HATCHER
Religion Columnist

The educated elite has fits when a bachelor's degree graduate drives around in a Rolls Royce — especially if he is a preacher.

Why, everybody knows preachers should be kept poor, or at least at the same financial status as the middle class folks in their church.

As a rule, churches do not want their preacher/pastor/minister to drive around in a car that is as nice as that of the richest member. Nor, as a rule, do churches want their leaders to live in houses as nice as the richest member's home.

More often than not, however, the pastor has achieved more education than 99 percent of his members. A pastor with a bachelor's, master's and doctor's degree has more years in educational pursuit than an average medical doctor. A person can have his medical doctor's degree in eight or nine years. A person can have his doctor of theology or doctor of ministry degree in no less than 10 years.

Yet, nobody has any unkind thoughts or writes newspaper stories filled with innuendo about medical doctors who own their own planes in addition to mountain cabins, luxury homes and houses at the beach — plus owning the very buildings which house their practices. Why, physicians should be rich!

Also, it's okay for deacons in the church to accumulate great sums of money and possessions, but let the preacher strut a little financially, and that's heresy and unacceptable.

I remember once when I moved to Raleigh, N.C. to accept a pastorate. I drove from California in our used Cadillac. It didn't take the power brokers in the church very long to let me know it was entirely unacceptable for me to drive a luxury car (even though American made). So, I traded in the Cadillac for two Isuzus. I have regretted it since.

Churches which are capable should bless their pastors with the ability to live a life-style appropriate to its well-heeled members. This should be the great joy of the congregations. Congregations should take great pride in lifting their pastors' financial circumstances rather than taking pride in keeping them poor.

Lately, I have been driving around in a late model BMW. People who know me ask, “What are you doing driving a BMW?” Then, I go into the apologetic mode: “Oh, it's not mine. It belongs to my sister. She's letting me drive it while she's in Milwaukee for a month.” Upon hearing my explanation, my questioning acquaintance gives a sigh of relief thinking to himself, “Whew, I couldn't stand it if my friend, my pastor, my fellow minister drove around in that expensive of a car.”

Of course, you may have caught my reason for this column: Atlanta's greatest supplier of fish wrapping paper, The Atlanta Journal Constitution, did its very best at inciting the metro population to jealousy and envy. The AJC focused on the very successful Creflo Dollar of World Changers Ministries. The reason for World Changers' success is due to its obedience to operate under the Biblical principle called “sowing and reaping.”

Every farmer knows this principle. World Changers has been faithful to give generously to world missions and other ministries. Consequently, their pastor and ministry are blessed.

The AJC showed a photograph of Creflo's Atlanta home, better described, as a church pastorium, for the church owns it. It's worth a million dollars. So what? The president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Ky. lives in a similar house worth close to a million. The pastor of the First Baptist Church of West Palm Beach lives in a house across the inter-coastal from Donald Trump's Palm Beach mansion. Its worth probably exceeds a million.

The newspaper article said many folks revere Rev. Dollar. For one, I am happy to revere Creflo Dollar. After all, is not that what the title “Reverend” is all about. Some churches just call their pastor “Reverend.” Some churches, like World Changers, believe and act like their pastor is somebody special. Praise God and hallelujah!

The Rev. Dr. John Hatcher is pastor of River's Edge Community Church in Fayetteville.

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