iPhones and pastors: opinions, please!
So my husband is an only child, and his parents are much better off than mine. He can get them to buy him anything, even if it's not his birthday or Christmas. This weekend when we were back in the Midwest for my grandfather's memorial service, he convinced them to buy him an iPhone. I'm kind of upset about it. I have been of the persuasion that ( Read more... )
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1. The use of money matters less than the origin of the money. Gifts are gifts, but if you're misusing the money paid to you by parishioners in trust...
2. The ownership of "ostentatious" items matters less than the attitude behind the ownership. If Snake is using the iPhone because it's trendy and he wants to be hip, that's not great for a pastor's husband. However, if he wants it for its utilitarian purposes and plans to keep it for years... Similarly, you shouldn't purchase a luxury car tricked out to the nines, but having a nice, practical car isn't a bad idea if you can afford it and will keep it for a while.
3. Everything depends on your future congregation. You're not a nun with an oath of poverty. Unless you set yourself up as visibly more wealthy than your future congregation (if you get one), they won't mind you and yours having a few nice things. In fact, most poor congregations take pride in knowing that their pastor doesn't need to lead a life of deprivation to work for them.
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That's what I meant about having the power to stop abuse or continue it. I can make our family better or worse, depending on how I behave. Before, I didn't think I had the power to change anything. Now I realize that I do, and I'm hoping to put a stop to the cycle, once and for all.
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