A Pastors personal finances and a church's pastor appreciation strategyI want to explore how a pastors personal finances and the financial pressures of living on a pastor's salary affect a church's pastor appreciation strategy. Personal finances are a challenge to most of us. But a pastors personal finances, often more public than personal, are especially challenging, especially when financial pressures, created by a low pastor's salary, gets in the way of a congregation expressing pastor appreciation. Personally, I feel that a pastors personal financial situation is one of the key reasons prompting career change for pastors. Most pastors I know struggle financially, even to the point that the financial pressures of life impact their pastoral effectiveness. The pastors salary may not be a problem for your specific church, a reason for great celebration if true. But is it true? Often even that assumption is the problem for many churches -- the assumption that all is well with the pastor's personal finances, the presumption that the pastor's salary package is adequate. I often suggest to my financially strapped pastor friends that they start their own business, suggesting they explore internet strategies whereby they can profit from their wide knowledge Presuming that the pastor has no financial pressures, and that the pastors salary situation is adequate creates tension between pastor and employing church, which in turn, makes it difficult for pastor appreciation to be expressed or received. "After all, his salary is double what my dad made during the Depression" or some such reason is often given. When I was a pastor of a local parish, I would even been satisfied if my employing congregation would have at least addressed the pastors salary. OK, maybe being satisfied is an overstatement, but at least knowing the pastor's salary situation was been looked at would have helped me in my financial survival. Just as a pastor appreciation champion needs to rise to the occasion if pastor appreciation month is to be observed, there needs to be a pastors salary advocate to address the pastors remuneration. Now remember pastor appreciation is the context of addressing the pastor's personal finances, addressing the financial pressures pastors face, and the analysis of the pastors salary. For the person or persons who take on the task of pastor's salary advocate I will address the pastors pay topic within that context. In addition to information on personal finances there are many helpful financial materials to help your church's pastor appreciation strategy be successful, such as:
Your task, should you accept it as a pastor's salary advocate, is to help your church understand the uniqueness of pastor's personal finances as well as the financial pressures of living on a pastor's salary, within the context of pastor appreciation.
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