Magyar Egyház, 1981 (60. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
1981-07-01 / 7-8. szám
MAGYAR CGYllAZ 14. oldal A Guide for Lay Leaders Clergy Compensation Planning For 1982 It’s not too soon to begin planning your pastor’s pay for 1982. Well before the end of 1981 your lay committee should have reviewed, discussed and adopted a fair reimbursement and compensation plan for your pastor so that by mid-November your pastor knows exactly what to expect in 1982. Now is the time for the committee which is responsible for recommending such matters to get busy in putting a plan together. As will be described later, you should meet with your pastor on the matter, talk about expectations, review the facts, understand the tax consequences of any decisions, then decide and recommend to your official board. Here, now, in mid-summer, is the time to get the band-wagon rolling for developing a fair and equitable reimbursement, supplemental benefits and housing and salary plan for 1982. Double digit inflation has not gone away. At this writing no one expects it to go away any time soon. As the table shows, the Consumer Price Index went up 12.4% in 1980. It’s expected to hover around 11% in 1981. What it will do in 1982 is anyone’s guess. But on the basis of past history and current fiscal policies and consumer expectations, high inflation will indeed be around for a while. Planning your pastor’s compensation must include consideration of the impact which ever-increasing costs have on that income. It means that the costs for having a pastor are going up, just like the costs of everything else. And if you don’t increase your pastor’s pay by at least the rate of inflation, you may actually be cutting your pastor’s pay. Keep your increase less than the CPI and you may be paying less next year than you are now. That would be disastrous. At current rates you can expect a doubling in the cost of goods and services within seven years or less. Doubling your pastor’s pay in that time may not be possible, but it is a fact you’ll nevertheless need to confront. Many congregations have managed to keep up with that rate very well. Others have not. But the squeeze on program dollars has not, nor will it likely, abate anytime soon. A decline in the CPI rate will be helpful, but still, even at 10% increases, there can be devastating impact on congregational budgets. The dollars available are usually less and less, proportionately. Hard decisions therefore, must be made between programs and pay and benevolence and other expenses. And the temptation is to cut program and benevolence and pay because it is believed mortgage payments, insurance, and utilities cannot be cut. Trimming the budget to meet declining income (on a relative basis) can be traumatic for congregational leaders. When the money base fails to keep up with the needs, something must go. Often what goes is a meaningful salary advance for the pastor. The choice is difficult. Some pastors will just sit back and let the congregation decide all the compensations issues, accepting as God’s will whatever is approved. Don’t let your pastor take that position. You and your pastor will have a far better arrangement and understanding when you’ve talked about money matters together. It’s the only way you can find out about your pastor’s expectations and the only way most clergy would ever find out how their pay package has been developed and why. Maybe you have never seriously considered sitting down with your pastor to talk pay, to learn about the tax benefits clergy can receive if you pay right, to find out how the pension plan works, what the health benefits are, disability provisions, gripes about the parsonage. Many lay leaders and pastors, too, just don’t want to get involved in a face to face conversation on the matter. They would rather leave those decisions to a few trusted bankers, the “money men” in the church. That’s not, I believe, the way things should be done. Millions of people negotiate their pay either themselves or through their representatives. Of course many don’t, too, but most do. For clergy, traditionally it’s been a matter of taking what was paid, no questions asked, and then expected to be grateful for that! For those who didn’t like it, the only recourse was to get out. Many have. Now, here in mid-summer, is an excellent time, however, for your committee any your pastor to do your homework, gather the facts, and begin conversations with each other. Your committee must given serious and thoughtful consideration to what you will pay. Your pastor will review his or her own expectations as to amount and arrangements. Keep in mind that your pastor is a professional person and ought to be paid a professional salary commensurate with education, qualifications and functions. Your pastor has been trained to be a professional preacher, teacher, counselor, evangelist, and administrator and should receive pay that is comparable with what others with similar education, ability and responsibility may receive. Your pastor, with the salary you pay, should be able to provide adequately for his or her family’s economic needs if the job for which your pastor was called and hired is being done adequately. Pastors are not paid because their economic needs are great (even if they are!) but because of the job they are doing. Too often pastors are still underpaid. That small committee is important. Avoid a full blown discussion with the entire congregation. They won’t understand all the detail, and besides the pastor’s pay could end up about where the lowest paid member is. Some people, especially those with lower paying jobs, frequently cannot comprehend higher pay rates. If they can live on their pay they rationalize then surely the pastor can live on the same amount as well. True, your pastor is not in the business of ministry because there’s a lot of money in the job. If that were the goal, some other profession would have been selected. Your pastor wants to serve your congregation. And most pastors are generally satisfied with their compensation. But that is no excuse to pay small. Pay fairly and
