NEWS EVENTS IN THE CENTRAL LAKES CONFERENCE Fall 2008

Central Lakes Annual Church Conferences 2008
October 3-4 (Friday-Saturday), EMW, Higher Ground Retreat Center, Harrison, IN.
October 12-15 Revival Parkersburg First EMC, WV
October 18 (Saturday) Tilton, Deep River, Iowa, 5pm
October 19 (Sunday) Westfield EMC, 10:30am
October 19 (Sunday) Oskaloosa, Iowa, 6pm
October 21 (Tuesday) Flora, Illinois, 7:00pm
October 26 (Sunday) Fairmount, Illinois, 10:30 am
October 26 (Sunday) Oakwood, Illinois, 6 pm
October 31-Nov 2 (Friday – Sunday) EMM Retreat, Ridge Crest, NC.
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November 5 (Wednesday) Columbus, IN. 7 pm
November 9 (Sunday) Southland EMC, Lexington, KY. 10 am
November 9 (Sunday) American Avenue, Lexington, KY. 11:15 am�
November 12 (Wednesday) Shelbyville, IN. 7pm
November 16 (Sunday) Covington, KY. 10:45 am
November 16 (Sunday) Richmond, IN. 6:00pm
November 19 (Wednesday) Connersville, IN. 7 pm
November 23 -29 Thanksgiving Week
November 30 (Sunday) Cornerstone EMC, New Albany, IN. 10:30 am
December 2 (Tuesday) Portland, IN. 6 pm.

December 3 (Wednesday) Martinsville, IN. 7 pm �
December 7 (Sunday) Sullivan, IN. 10:30 am
December 10 (Wednesday) Kites Run, WV 7 pm
December14 (Sunday) Little Hocking, OH. 10:30 am
December 14 (Sunday) Parkersburg, WV. 6:00 pm

Your Annual Local Church Conference forms can be downloaded from the EMC Downloads labled ‘Central Lakes’.

Dates to Remember

October 3-4, (Friday-Saturday), Evangelical Methodist Women Retreat, Higher Ground Retreat Center

October 12-15 District Superintendent Preaching Revival– Parkersburg First EMC, WV

October 31-32 (Friday, Saturday, and Sunday) EMM, Ridgecrest Conference Center Retreat, Black Mountain, NC

Superintendent Conner from the Mid States Conference shared this document with the superintendents. I encourage you to share this with your local boards and finance committees. It is an article from Crown Financial Ministries’ library

Location: Church Finances

A Pastor’s Salary

by Crown Financial Ministries

“Let the church keep the pastor poor and God can keep him humble.” How often has this statement been the point around which congregations rally when the issue of paying the pastor has been addressed?

Even though congregations may not have said it verbally, over the years more times than not a congregation’s actions have spoken volumes in support of this statement.

The apostle Paul wrote to Timothy, “The elders who rule well are to be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who work hard at preaching and teaching. For the Scripture says, ‘You shall not muzzle the ox while he is threshing,’ and ‘The laborer is worthy of his wages’” (1 Timothy 5:17-18).

Today’s pastors’ salaries…

Today few pastors receive an unreasonably high salary. A reasonable income is based on what would ordinarily be paid for like services by a similar organization under similar circumstances. Most ministers serving in pulpits today are highly trained and well educated. In obedience to God, congregations should pay them what they are worth.

A recent study conducted by The National Association of Church Business Administration points out that the average American pastor with a congregation of 300 people earns a salary of less than $28,000 and that one out of five pastors has to moonlight for supplemental income. The study also indicated that only 5 percent of American pastors earn more than $50,000 a year, and 14 percent earn less than $25,000.

A responsibility of the church…

The Word of God is specific when it says that laborers are worthy of their hire. This means that churches should give the maximum amount of support to their pastors, without jeopardizing the overall financial stability of the church. Pastoral compensation is a two-edged sword: pastors should be paid what they are worth, but the ministers should be worth what they are paid.

Income paid to pastors should be fair and a reasonable indication of the congregations’ evaluation of the pastors’ worth. Yet, it should also relate to the responsibilities, the size of the congregation, the economic level of the locale, and the experience of the pastor.

A good rule of thumb to determine how much salary pastors should receive is either to pay them the same salary as the average wage of the church ruling board, the average estimated wage of the families in the congregation, or base the salary on a proposed budget presented by the pastor to the appropriate financial authorities for their consideration.

An annual review of a pastor’s pay is vital, and the pastor should know exactly what to expect from the congregation during the coming year. However, if a church does not increase the pastor’s pay each year by at least the cost of living; it has in effect reduced the salary.

Moreover, just as the members of a congregation expect their employers to provide them with a cost-of-living pay increase each year, a pastor should expect the same.

Outside employment…

In some situations, pastors are forced to seek outside employment in order to supplement low salaries, especially in smaller churches. Many churches justify encouraging their pastor to seek outside employment by calling attention to Paul’s outside occupation. The fact is, too much emphasis is placed on Paul’s life, in which he was both a missionary and a tentmaker. Paul was primarily a missionary and was supported as a missionary; tent making did not support him.

Today many congregations expect pastors to be tentmakers because they do not want to support them in a manner pleasing to God. Paul said, “So also the Lord directed those who proclaim the gospel to get their living from the gospel” (1 Corinthians 9:14). If pastors feel committed to earn their living outside the church, so they will not have to take money from church members, that commitment must be from God. As such, pastors should be given the freedom to pursue second jobs without fear of stigma.

However, if pastors are working because their churches will not support them, that is wrong, because it is a lack of commitment on the part of God’s people and a lack of faith on the part of the pastors (see Philippians 4:19). Before allowing their pastors to take outside jobs, the church board must honestly determine if they have the resources to assume their full and adequate support. If pastors are torn between the loyalty of a job in which they earn a living to provide for their families (1 Timothy 5:8) and the call of ministering to people, they will have divided minds and the overall stability of their churches very well could suffer.

Conclusion…

Inadequate income does produce negative consequences. Pastors who are concerned about providing the basic needs of their own families may not have the emotional energy to concentrate on the needs of their churches. Financial burdens may contribute to a lack of enthusiasm, a low self-esteem, and a negative attitude toward the ministry. Ultimately, that will harm the congregation. “Appreciate those who diligently labor among you, and have charge over you in the Lord” (1 Thessalonians 5:12).

Total pastoral compensation

by Crown Financial Ministries

Many congregations today make a big mistake in committing funds to buildings and programs that should go to pastoral leadership. God does not cause growth through bigger buildings or more programs but rather through highly motivated individuals who are loved and appreciated by their people. Faithfulness to God’s Word and the effective labors of His servants are the keys to church growth.

Compensation package…

In creating a pastoral compensation package, church leaders should make every attempt to stretch the dollars as far as they will go. Pastoral compensation should be divided into four parts: salary, housing, expense reimbursements, and fringe benefits.

Salary—this is gross income, not necessarily taxable income. From this gross income, housing allowance and voluntary tax-sheltered annuity (TSA) or 401(k) and 403(b) contributions many times can be excluded because they generally are not considered taxable income. If churches pay a portion of the pastors’ Social Security and Medicaid obligations, pastors must report this as part of their gross salary.

Housing—a portion of pastoral salary should be designated as housing allowance. This amount should not exceed the actual amount spent on housing. This amount can generally be excluded from the gross salary.

Expense reimbursements—An adequate expense reimbursement plan should be the first compensation element to consider. This could include a car allowance, professional dues, and traveling expenses.

Fringe benefits—A portion of pastoral compensation can be legally sheltered as tax-free fringe benefits, such as church-provided health insurance, medical reimbursement plan, sick pay, group-term life insurance, and a church or denominational pension plan. The church also should provide vacation time and a convention or seminar allowance. Other fringe benefits should be optional at the discretion of the church board and/or the congregation.

Reporting salary

In reporting to the congregation, many churches include the pastor’s expense reimbursements and fringe benefits with gross pay and report the total on one line of the church financial report labeled “pastor’s salary.”

This is very unfair to the pastor and is inaccurate. Professional expense allowances and reimbursements and fringe benefits should be stated on a non-salary line and not shown as ministerial salary.

Housing for pastors…

Because pastors can take advantage of the double deduction on housing, which allows nontaxed housing allowance and deduction of interest payments on the mortgage loan, they should seriously consider buying their homes, if they can afford it. The housing allowance for the pastor’s family budget should be about 32 percent of Net Spendable Income (the remaining income after tithes and taxes have been paid from the gross) and no more than 45 percent—without any other debts. Pastors who own their own homes are generally better off at retirement age than pastors who live in free housing.

Unfortunately, many Christians feel that pastors should not purchase their own homes. This reflects a serious lack of confidence in spiritual leadership. However, as long as pastors have the right priorities and balance in their lives, they should be encouraged by the church to purchase their own homes.

Conclusion…

The Bible exhorts us to “Appreciate those who diligently labor among you, and have charge over you…that you esteem them very highly in love because of their work” (1 Thessalonians 5:12-13).

If you have questions about the EMC please contact us. The General Superintendent, Dr. Ed Williamson, 317-780-8017, generalsuperintendent@emchurch.org or the District Superintendent, Rev. Jeff Williamson, 317.502.2389, central.lakesds@gmail.com. We will be happy to talk with you about what the church believes and how you can be a part.

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHTS

“You have nothing to do but to save souls. Therefore spend and be spent in this work. And go always, not only to those that want you, but to those that want you most. Observe: It is not your business to preach so many times, and to take care of this or that society; but to save as many souls as you can; to bring as many sinners as you possibly can to repentance, and with all your pwoer to build them up in that holiness without which they cannot see the Lord.”
- John Wesley

“True spiritual leadership is authoritative, but not authoritarian. Authoritative becasue it commands the sanction of scripture and secures the cooperation of the Holy Spirit, but not authoritarian in the sense of excercising an undue influence on the decisions adn life-style of other believers. The leader must be careful not to usurp the responsibilites that are rightly theirs, to be excercised under the Lordship of Christ.”

- Spiritual Leadership, J. Oswald Sanders