By Bishop Michael Rinehart The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America is structured to work well in middle-class communities. A church of 120-150 can sustain the salary of a full-time pastor and pay the expenses of the building. Activities involve trips that can be very expensive. What we don’t do as well is ministry among the poor. Because each congregation must pay it’s own way, communities in poverty struggle. Whereas a middle-class congregation can get by with the offerings of 120-150...

Bi-vocational pastors are no panacea for the church, but they do represent a long-standing tradition in the church dating back to Paul himself, who made tents for a living.