It's budget time in many churches and the largest component of most church budgets is staff pay. The economy is humming along. Unemployment is very low. Many economic measures are up and consumers have confidence sufficient to be making major purchases of vehicles and the like. The LifeWay/Guidestone 2018 Compensation Study has been released and the overall average pay package for full-time senior pastors is $77,979 and the average for full-time clergy staff is $74,393. The full-time senior pastor of that average church with attendance between 100 and 150 in weekly worship is a bit lower at … [Read more...] about Probably not a good idea for the pastor to turn down a pay raise
IMB missions strategy and why I’m not much interested in boutique missions
I had a conversation this week with an individual who enthusiastically promoted their personal mission organization. Although I wasn't much interested, I listened politely but moved on to other subjects as soon as possible. Curious, I did some checking and found that there was indeed such an organization that recently registered as a corporation in my state but with no financial statements on file. Impressive. Whatever happened to the simple fact that believers were always on mission everywhere and that groups of believers, churches, gathered together to do God's work? What would a church … [Read more...] about IMB missions strategy and why I’m not much interested in boutique missions
When should the pastor retire?
I'm several years on the downhill side of retirement from being the pastor (OK, the 'senior,' 'lead,' 'head,' or 'big dawg,' pastor) of a Southern Baptist Church. I've thought about retirement in a concrete way for about 15 years now, starting about a decade before I pulled the trigger, resigned my church, and retired. My state convention (and probably all the others) has retirement planning seminars starting at age 50. I attended several. Hey, they were free and I learned a lot. These are some of the best things my state convention does. Since I am reading that the average age of … [Read more...] about When should the pastor retire?
How to track clergy sex abusers
One of the chief complaints about Southern Baptists and clergy sex abuse is that clergy against whom there are accusations of abuse are able to relocate without consequence where they may repeat the abuse in a different church. Clearly, this is a problem. Is there a solution? The Greenville (SC) News has a very helpful story on the prominent case in that state which involved a top South Carolina Baptist Convention leader: How to track sex allegations in churches? A survivor says schools have the answer. Oddly, the article's online headline leaves out the word "may" ("A survivor says … [Read more...] about How to track clergy sex abusers
2018 Average senior pastor compensation: $77,979.
That is from the LifeWay/GuideStone 2018 SBC Compensation Study. The $77,979 figure is for senior pastors only and the amount includes salary + housing allowance + FRV of parsonage + Social Security equivalent + utilities paid on church owned housing + insurance benefits + retirement contribution. There were 3,536 SBC churches that participated in the survey. The link allows you to check results by position, church size, church budget, state, etc. The initial news release noted that compensation hasn't kept up with inflation but the average is about $2,500 more than the same category … [Read more...] about 2018 Average senior pastor compensation: $77,979.
Saved by God’s grace but sacked by the church
On two consecutive days this week I learned of the termination of church staff members. These were in unrelated situations having in common only that a church staff member went to church on Sunday and Monday with a job and left without one. The firings were unexpected, sudden, and final. Such things always trouble me and since I knew both individuals, I was saddened by the situations. Most of us can be forgiven if we entered the Christian ministry with a view of the road ahead that was excessively idealistic and that lacked a sufficient measure of sober realism. Serving Southern Baptist … [Read more...] about Saved by God’s grace but sacked by the church
NAMB goes high profile on evangelism
Baptist Press reported: Johnny Hunt to lead NAMB evangelism leadership group The group Hunt will be leading will be focused on championing the cause of evangelism among Southern Baptist churches and pastors. It will also equip pastors with tools and leadership skills that will allow them to lead their churches to become more evangelistically active. NAMB critics should be satisfied with this, since they have found NAMB's lack of an evangelism staff to be a profitable route to gripe about the SBC's declining baptism numbers. Predictably, no evidence links the two unless you are a big fallacy … [Read more...] about NAMB goes high profile on evangelism
I like the tone J. D. Greear sets with servanthood
You read the Baptist Press article, Greear to state execs: 'How may I serve you?', a piece that was carried in a number of the state papers. Some state execs and editors wrote separate, positive articles. I like the tone that Greear sets here with his offer to be a servant. Some years ago, our longtime DOM retired. He was recycled to our association for his last few years. A very good man but bereft of energy and any new ideas. His replacement was one of the leading pastors in the association for whom the position was a terminal career opportunity. But one thing he did early on gained my … [Read more...] about I like the tone J. D. Greear sets with servanthood
Do churches need the government to protect them from fraud?
There are around 400,000 churches in the United States and very few of these file any kind of tax return but there are some who think it would be beneficial to congregations if they were brought under the protective wing of the Internal Revenue Service. While I've known a couple of IRS folks over the years and they have been quite helpful, professional, and agreeable, I'm not inclined to think that the IRS could help churches. But consider why some would think the government could help churches: Growing Fraud Sucks Billions From Churches Annually; This IRS Fix Could Help, Expert … [Read more...] about Do churches need the government to protect them from fraud?
Particle physics meets the SBC and other noteworthy items
Clever Voices commenter Karen asks, Does your church culture allow gracious truth-telling and facing real issues & problems? Or are sin issues deemed personal and private, so everyone goes about like free electrons minding their own business rather than as integral, interdependent parts of a living body? Free electrons? You bet there are scads of such in our churches. Some pastors are "free electrons" or if you prefer baseball, "free agents" who move to the highest bidder. Other pastors are free electrons in that you never know exactly where they are - maybe the hospital, nursing home, … [Read more...] about Particle physics meets the SBC and other noteworthy items