The Dorean Principle in Five Minutes - the joy of giving ministry freely
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 9 ก.พ. 2025
- What things are too sacred to be sold? Should Christian ministers ever charge money for things like worship music, preaching, teaching, or counseling? What does the Bible say about selling spiritual ministry?
This video explores the biblical teaching called the "Dorean Principle," which says that accepting support for Christian ministry as anything other than an act of colabor compromises its sincerity. In other words, ministry should be supported but never sold.
We look at key passages like Matthew 10 where Jesus tells his disciples "Freely you have received, freely give," as well as examine Paul's writings on how gospel ministers have a right to be supported, but not through a reciprocal, pay-for-service transaction.
Just as Old Testament priests were provided for through free-will offerings, rather than charging for their work, those who preach and teach God's Word today should avoid the model of selling/commercializing spiritual things.
Although there might be gray areas around what specifically constitutes "ministry," there are clear applications, like rejecting any payment for preaching a sermon, celebrating communion, or praying for others.
Ultimately, the goal is for the church to better reflect the abundantly generous heart of our Creator by abandoning any sale of spiritual things, and instead relying on the free support of colaboring believers.
Read or listen to a free copy of "The Dorean Principle" at thedoreanprinc...
Learn more at sellingJesus.org
INSPIRED
Mensagem muito necessária para nós, brasileiros, que copiamos muito dos EUA, inclusive a mentalidade de copyright 😢
I really do appreciate the video. Really agree with this. I do have a question about a couple Christian authors that I know who take no profit from their books but their books are published and distributed at cost. Do you guys have resources thinking through issues like this?
It's a good question, and a significant concern there is copyright, as the contents of those books cannot be freely shared with others without paying for another copy. This article explains why copyright is a big issue and not just cost: sellingjesus.org/articles/copyright-jesus-command-to-freely-give
Charging for the printing and distribution of books at cost price is not charging for ministry but passing on the costs of printing and shipping. However the book should be free from copyright and be able to be shared digitally, or translated by whomever wants to.
In cases of evangelism or financial hardship, colabourers may want to fund the printing and distribution of resources so that even hard copies are given for free.
Are you against running ads?
Yes, we've written an article why here: sellingjesus.org/articles/ads
What is "Ministry"???
"The ambiguities don't mean that the principle is invalid." The ambiguities must be clarified. You have presented this principle in relation to biblically-ordained and biblically-defined ministries such as the Apostolic ministry (1 Cor. 9); evangelism (3 Jn. vv. 5-8); the singing of songs and hymns; seminary education for pastors; the leadership, priests, and prophets of Israel in the Old Covenant (Mic. 3:11), etc.
Certainly, this principle applies to these things, and reform is needed in the church today. However, there are other ways of benefiting the body of Christ that are not biblically-ordained or biblically-defined ministries - matters of Christian liberty and creativity - that we don't have the warrant to apply this principle to.
For example, how would Christian lawyers provide for their families if they solely aim to help churches and Christians with legal issues? Their law firms would go bankrupt if they applied this principle. Or I guess they could just aim to serve everyone BUT the church and Christians so that what they are doing is no longer "ministry," and they can continue providing for their families.
The solution would be to have a biblically-strict definition of "ministry." Not all things that are done BY Christians FOR the benefit of Christians, the church, and unbelievers should be called "ministry."
Right, the ambiguities must be clarified; it's just hard to do in 5 minutes! Check out chapter 11 of The Dorean Principle where I try to make some of those lines clearer.
We've since published a deep dive on this topic. Hope it's helpful: th-cam.com/video/cDrUk7-qGhI/w-d-xo.html
Should seminary be free?
Yes it should be funded like churches are, we discuss it here: sellingjesus.org/learn/profiles#tom-the-seminary-president
do you think this is one of the reason why, the Church in the west are on a decline?
Yes, it certainly has to be part of the problem.
These people are clearly false teachers since the video is over five minutes.
We'll tell our script writer 😂
@@SellingJesus 😄 I mean, also brother Andrew could have talked faster 🤷🏼♂️