Pastors - Employees or Business Owners?

In the traditional model of denominational Christianity, following in the footsteps of the universal Catholic church that preceded it, the leaders/teachers/pastors in the body of Christ are supported in their work by receiving compensation as employees of their organizations. This is based on the pattern of Jesus sending out the seventy disciples to share the good news:

Now after these things, the Lord also appointed seventy others, and sent them two by two ahead of him into every city and place, where he was about to come. Then he said to them, "The harvest is indeed plentiful, but the laborers are few. Pray therefore to the Lord of the harvest, that he may send out laborers into his harvest. Go your ways. Behold, I send you out as lambs among wolves. Carry no purse, nor wallet, nor sandals. Greet no one on the way. Into whatever house you enter, first say, 'Peace be to this house." If a son of peace is there, your peace will rest on him; but if not, it will return to you. Remain in that same house, eating and drinking the things they give, for the laborer is worthy of his wages. Don"t go from house to house. Into whatever city you enter, and they receive you, eat the things that are set before you. Heal the sick who are therein, and tell them, "The Kingdom of God has come near to you." But into whatever city you enter, and they don"t receive you, go out into its streets and say, "Even the dust from your city that clings to us, we wipe off against you. Nevertheless know this, that the Kingdom of God has come near to you." I tell you, it will be more tolerable in that day for Sodom than for that city." - Luke 10

Certainly this describes the life of a preacher and healer. But is this describing employment? or was Jesus' business model actually based on creating independent business owners? In this story, as it is retold in Luke, Jesus says that whatever donations people give the disciples for their work is theirs to keep. Far from being controlled like an employee by the desires of those they serve, Jesus says that if the people they come to serve reject them and their teaching, the disciples shouldn't spend time trying to serve them better ... no, they should stop serving them and seek a more receptive audience because it is assumed that the disciples know the good news and were called by Jesus to share it.

In the free church model that Jesus established, the leadership momentum is on the side of the leader, not the congregations they serve. Leaders are called to share the gospel where it is received, and to reach out into new markets where it has not yet been heard. But we are never called to serve the will of the people we serve. We are called to lead them and to serve them by showing them the will of God. As Christian leaders, we are called to be independent business owners, living off the profits of our work, thriving when we succeed and failing when we are not meeting the actual needs of those we reach. We should not settle for the wages provided by the established subordination to boards, denominations, and institutions that contracts of employment offer. Rather, we should share the gospel of Jesus Christ and accept the free will offerings of gratitude that people give us in return as the profits of our work, staying free to give peace or wipe off the dust of the places we teach as we serve the living body of Christ wherever the gospel is received.