Historic Examination - Debt

Question: Are you in debt so as to embarrass you in your work?

Answer: No

   This question bothers me every time it is asked during annual conference for several reasons. First, it is usually asked with a wink and a nod from the bishop - essentially acknowledging that the conference knows that many of us are carrying an embarrassing amount of debt. There are also giggles from some of those answering the historic questions - showing that they know they can't answer this question truthfully, and then everyone together says "No" - meaning that some are lying.

  Debt is the dirty little secret of many pastors today. Even with wonderful tuition matching programs for seminaries - seminary is expensive. Personally, I was blessed to have all of my tuition and fees covered for seminary, but I still had to pay for housing in NJ - which was expensive. On top of that pastors sometimes live beyond their means - because we don't make very much - which leads to credit card debt, car debt, mortgages on houses we don't live in, etc. We have debt.

  Now, debt is a normal part of life, perhaps not good but normal. So this question is essentially asking if you are in so much debt that it plagues you - and that amount is different for each of us. Are you in so much debt that you can't tithe? Are you in so much debt that you are living paycheck to paycheck? Are you in so much debt that you can't give to your church's capital campaign? That is an extremely personal question. But you have to take time to examine your finances and figure out if you are drowning instead of just writing all debt off as normal.

   Flip side for congregations - pay your pastors fairly. I have heard absolutely awful things from congregations concerning pastors salaries. First off, in my particular tradition, in order to be ordained, you need 4 years of undergrad and a minimum of a 3 year Masters of Divinity Degree (which is a cross between a masters degree and a professional degree), as well as a minimum of 2 years of supervised ministry in order to be ordained and in full connection. That's a lot of education. Further, some pastors are provided with a parsonage, however, in some cases these are not the homes that we would choose. Rather, they are provided because we are itinerant and move when the bishop says move, which does not leave time for house hunting. Between my first and second appointment I had 3 weeks notice - without a parsonage I would not have been able to move and start that appointment well. Lastly, while pastors are certainly not in ministry for the money, they do need to be able to live. While some congregations look at the cost of the total package - including healthcare and pension - and try to adjust the wage in order to bring the total down - this is not how it is done. Most jobs in the "real world" include healthcare and some sort of pension and the wage is not adjusted down because of these numbers. Please think about paying your pastors family and not arguing about how high you believe his or her wage is - it is very uncomfortable, and do not try go get the most out of your pastor for the least amount of money.

  Check back on #healthypastor Mondays in August, for a further post about finances.