Apostle Femi Lazarus: The Ethics of Charging for Spiritual Services, Balancing Faith and Finances
Editor's note: In this piece, Dr. Benard Andrew, Theologian/Counsellor, explores the ethics of pastors and gospel artists charging for ministry. He argues that while covering logistics is fair, setting a fixed fee for spiritual service contradicts biblical principles.
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Whether pastors or gospel artists should charge a fee for their services or not has already been overflogged by other erudite Christian writers. Hence, my contribution will be to reiterate what most of them have said.
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I see nothing wrong with pastors receiving financial or other material gifts (not necessarily collecting or demanding a fee) for their services. The Bible clarifies this (Luke 10:5-7, 1 Timothy 5:17-18). Since the establishment of organized religion, priests and officials have always been catered to by adherents of their faith.
In ancient times, they brought the produce of their field and livestock to God’s temple; from what was brought to the temple, a part was kept for the temple workers while the others were burned up as a sacrifice to God.
In modern times, the adherents of the faith come together and decide what they think is good enough to give to the priest that will meet his and his family’s needs. Nowhere is a Priest empowered to decide or dictate what he gets. He is a servant of God and the people. It is important to mention that priests are likely to neglect the faithful who do not see the need to take care of them. This is common knowledge across all religious groups that connect to the divine through the medium of a priest. Paul said in 1 Corinthians 9:11,
“If we sowed spiritual blessings among you, is it too much to reap material things from you?”
The attitude of placing a fixed price tag for spiritual services rendered to the Church or any other temple is an abuse of the divine call to service. Nowhere in the New Testament did Jesus and his disciples demand a fixed amount for ministering to people. The people gave of their own volition.
I have heard many of my colleagues say they resorted to charging a fee because they have been taken for granted in the past. They will spend their time and money to honor invitations, only to be sent away without even a transport fare, which is very bad. However, this should not make us go to the other extreme of charging exorbitant fees just to come and be a blessing to people.
If you are invited to preach and you are unsure of the person inviting you, let them know the cost of your logistics, transportation, and accommodation. If they can afford it, fine. If not, then you do not go. However, demanding a certain amount as a fee or honorarium after the money is spent on logistics is not scriptural.
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On the point of Apostle Femi Lazarus’ mentorship fee and his criticism of gospel artists charging a fee, I will say this: He should openly define what he is doing. Is it a private business or a spiritual service? It is worth noting that he is a minister that I know; he has done his very best to handle this matter by killing the controversy, by acknowledging that just as the pastors want to be protected from Gospel minister/artist outrageous charges, ministers too should be well taken care of.
Today, many celebrity pastors have subtly introduced their businesses into the Church. By that, I mean profit-oriented businesses that keep most or all of the profit to themselves and do not give it to the Church. They do this to defraud the state by evading taxes.
There is absolutely nothing wrong if a pastor chooses to own a business. He should register it with the government and pay taxes like any other good citizen. However, if you do anything in the name of God and the Church, you are expected to be transparent and accountable.
Also, if you have no problem with charging a fee for your school of ministry or mentorship academy, I do not see why you should have any issue with a Christian gospel artist who charges a fee for coming to perform; the massive elephant in the room should be moderation, and that money should not come first.
My unequivocal position is that if you choose to render a service in the name of God as his priest, whether as a music minister or as a preacher, it is unscriptural for you to place a price tag on that service. You can insist on your logistics because you have to be able to get there in one piece to be a blessing, but you cannot demand a fee for going to be a blessing to God’s people. If you believe that he called you to do what you are doing, trust him to touch your hosts’ hearts and be a blessing to you. It is worth noting that no one can pay any minister for the services rendered to God; this service is measured in eternity. God is a rewarder, a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him (Hebrew 11:6).
Dr. Benard Andrew, Theologian/Counsellor
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Legit.ng.
Dr. Benard Andrew is a trained Bible theologian, counsellor, and CEO of the Andrew Benard Foundation. With a passion for counselling, business, and philanthropy, he is driven by a desire to make each day meaningful—for himself and everyone he encounters.
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