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Five Most Common Ways Churches Determine Pastors’ Salaries

There has been considerable interest on my previous posts dealing with pastors’ salaries. One of the most common questions that I am asked is: “How do churches determine the salary of a pastor?”

In this article, I offer the five most common ways churches establish the pay level of a pastor. I am offering these five approaches from an informational perspective rather than evaluating them. Also, many churches use some combination of these factors.

The pastor’s salary at the previous church. By far, more churches use the pastor’s previous salary as benchmark to establish the new salary. For example, if a pastor has an income of $50,000 at his current church, his prospective church may offer him $55,000, or a 10% increase.
The previous pastor’s salary. The second most common benchmark to determine a pastor’s salary is the previous pastor’s salary. Allow me to make an editorial comment here. If you are a pastor who has been declining raises for a few years, you could be hurting your church and the next pastor. There could very well be a big gap between your current salary and the compensation needed for the next pastor.
Experience. Simply stated, most pastors’ salaries increase with increasing years of ministry experience.
Education. I have observed this factor decrease in importance over the past 15 years. I don’t see nearly as many churches requiring a doctor’s degree as they did in the past. And I am seeing fewer churches require a seminary master’s degree, though that degree is still important for many churches.
Demographics of church. The specific demographics to which I refer are family income levels. I know one church that used the estimated median family income of its congregation as the base to determine the pastor’s salary. They would then adjust by other factors such as experience and education.

These factors all have their strengths and their weaknesses. I have noted in previous posts some resources that could help your church to offer your pastor a fair salary.

I would love to hear from you about these five most common approaches. I would also appreciate input about other ways your church determines the pastor’s salary. Finally, it would be great to get input regarding other church staff positions. Thanks for your feedback. I look forward to hearing from you.

How are salaries determined for ministry leaders in your church?

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The Stand and Greet Time – Rainer on Leadership #083

Podcast Episode #083

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This week’s podcast covers the biggest post we’ve ever had at ThomRainer.com. It was on how churches drive away guests, and more than 750,000 of you have viewed the post. In this podcast, we dive deeper into the reasons these items drive away guests and further evaluate the stand and greet time.

Also mentioned in the post is a new resource that releases Monday, December 8, on the keys to retaining guests more effectively. You can sign up to find out more about that here.

Some highlights from this week’s episode include:

I’m consistently amazed at the lack of signage in churches. It’s like they expect people who’ve never been to their facility will know exactly where to go.
It’s worse to have a bad church website than to not have one.
Church facility issues may seem petty to some, but in the end, they can turn people away from hearing the gospel.
There is a sense that the stand and greet time is a contrived exercise.
Every pastor tells me they are the friendliest church in town.
Church members should be thinking about others, especially guests.

Top Ten Ways Churches Drive Away First-time Guests

Having a stand up and greet one another time in the worship service.
Unfriendly church members.
Unsafe and unclean children’s area.
No place to get information.
Bad church website.
Poor signage.
Insider church language.
Boring or bad service.
Members telling guests that they were in their seat or pew.
Dirty facilities.

Seven Reasons People Dislike the Stand and Greet Time


Many guests are introverts.
Some guests perceive that the members are not sincere during the time of greeting.
Many guests don’t like the lack of hygiene that takes place during this time.
Many times the members only greet other members.
Both members and guests at some churches perceive the entire exercise is awkward.
In some churches, the people in the congregation are told to say something silly to one another.
Not only do some guests dread the stand and greet time, so do some members.


Episode Sponsor
This podcast was brought to you by Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary’s Doctor of Ministry program. If you want more out of your ministry, want to study with a world-class faculty and need to stay where you currently serve, the DMin at Southeastern is the answer for you. Visit SEBTS.EDU/DMIN for more information.
Feedback

If you have a question you would like answered on the show, fill out the form on the podcast page here at ThomRainer.com. If we use your question, you’ll receive a free copy of Autopsy of a Deceased Church.

Resources

Top Ten Ways Churches Drive Away First-time Guests
Seven Reasons People Dislike the Stand and Greet Time
15 Church Facility Issues

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Notable Voices: December 4, 2014

8 Practices that Effective Ministry Leaders Follow — Art Rainer

Art views Drucker’s famous article “What Makes an Effective Executive” through a ministerial lens.

 

10 Lords A Leaping… And Other Seasonal Church Outreach Ideas — Caroline Carthey and Kelly Finegan

I’ve discussed the dangers of an inwardly focused church at length here at the blog. Christmastime is one of the easiest times of the year to combat that inward focus. People are much more open to outwardly focused events and ideas at this time of the year. Here are 10 quick ideas that can help move your church toward an outward focus.

 

4 Steps to Building a Leadership Pipeline — Will Mancini

Developing leaders is critical for the success of any organization. Internally developed leaders know the DNA of an organization and help make it better when the development is done correctly. Will outlines a simple plan for moving leaders through an internal leadership pipeline.

 

Three Benefits of Leading in an Established Church — Grant Diamond

Grant serves an established church on the west side of Chicago and recently interacted with one of my posts on why Millennials tend to avoid pastoring in established churches. Here are three benefits he’s seen as the pastor of an established church.

 

A Constant Struggle in a Growing Church — Eric Geiger

As a church grows, expectations of the pastor and staff change. Eric shares three ways pastors and staff much adapt as a church grows.

 

Podcasts Rise In Popularity — Jon Kalish

Podcasts have exploded over the past 18 months. What was once a niche market, podcasting has now become a mainstream entertainment and information gateway. I’m encouraged by this trend and will be increasing my podcast schedule to twice weekly in 2015 to cover practical ministry topics. If you’re not a subscriber yet, don’t miss my podcast Rainer on Leadership which currently releases every Friday morning.

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Five Conditions That Lead to Negative Departures of Pastors

I have written rather extensively on this blog regarding the short tenure of pastors in churches. Of course, many pastors leave churches for very positive reasons. They sense a call to another ministry opportunity. Or they retire from a church with a new phase of ministry in mind.

But too many departures of pastors are negative. Sometimes the pastor is fired. On other occasions, the pastor leaves under adverse conditions.

Oftentimes, we look at the immediate precipitating factor of the departure and conclude that to be the reason for the exit. But, in reality, there are certain conditions in the church that increase the likelihood of a departure well before it takes place. Here are five of those conditions:

False promises made prior to the pastor’s arrival. Depending on the polity of a church, those promises are made by an individual or a group. Some pastors, for example, are selected by a pastor search committee. Members of that committee may make comments like, “We are ready to change to reach people for Christ.” Then the pastor finds out the church is really not ready for change.
Lack of clear expectations established. It is astounding to speak with a pastor and leaders of the church and to hear the perceived expectations of the pastor. Those perceptions are often miles apart! I recommend that every prospective pastor ask this question before accepting a call to a church: “What frustrated you the most about your previous pastor?” This one simple question will provide a lot of insights regarding expectations.
Lack of accountability of the pastor. Every person in an organization needs some level of real accountability. Sometimes churches have accountability on paper for pastors, but it does not result in real accountability. No leader in any organization should be left alone. It is a formula for failure, if not disaster.
No advocacy group for a pastor. Too many churches have no group that is specifically supportive and prayerful for the pastor. In fact, a deacon or elder body often can be an adversarial group rather than an advocacy group. By the way, the best advocacy groups can also be an accountability group. They support and love the pastor, but they are willing to push back if necessary.
Lack of full disclosure by the church. I recently spoke with members of a pastor search committee. They shared with me that a power group existed in the church that made life miserable for the previous two pastors. Should they disclose that issue, they asked, to prospective pastors? Absolutely! It is deceptive not to disclose major issues in the church, whether they are positive or negative.

When a pastor leaves a church, whether through firing or voluntary departure for negative reasons, it is rarely a single immediate factor that led to the exit. There are typically negative conditions that created the environment for the departure.

What has been your experience regarding negative pastoral departures? What do you think of these five conditions?

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Nine Ways to Pray for Church Leaders

By Chuck Lawless

In the late 1850s, a global spiritual awakening began when one man in New York City established a noonday prayer meeting and called the city to prayer. Indeed, most awakenings have begun with a few praying people who invite others to join them.

With that historical backdrop in mind, I wonder what might happen if congregations begin to pray the following prayers for church leaders. Would you pray these prayers for church leaders today, and then invite others in your congregation to join you?

1. Pray they will keep their eyes on God.

King Jehoshaphat faced three combined enemy armies, and he did not know what to do – except to lock his eyes on God. That’s the answer any time we have no clue about next steps.

“For we are powerless before this vast number that comes to fight against us. We do not know what to do, but we look to You.” (2 Chron. 20:12, HCSB)

2. Pray they will not take a step apart from God’s leading.

Moses prayed this prayer when God would send only an angel to lead His people after their fiasco with the golden calf. He would rather the people not start the journey if God Himself were not leading them.

“If Your presence does not go,” Moses responded to Him, “don’t make us go up from here.” (Exod. 33:15)

3. Pray they will beware of relying on their own strength.

David, who knew the Lord is the one who fights for him (1 Sam. 17:47), trusted in his own might when he took a census of the Hebrew armies. Recognizing his sin, he prayed a prayer most leaders need to pray at some point:

“I have sinned greatly in what I’ve done. Now, Lord, because I’ve been very foolish, please take away Your servant’s guilt.” (2 Sam 24:10)

4. Pray they will be wise in leading God’s people.

When Solomon might have asked for much more, he instead asked God to give him a “listening heart” as he governed the people of God. All of us who lead congregations need this wisdom.

“So give Your servant an obedient heart to judge Your people and to discern between good and evil. For who is able to judge this great people of Yours?” (1 Kgs. 3:9)

5. Pray they will weep over the sin and failures of God’s people.

In my experience, the best shepherds are those who genuinely grieve the spiritual brokenness of the people they lead. Like Nehemiah when he heard about the damaged walls of Jerusalem, they are themselves broken when they see the results of spiritual decline.

“When I heard these words, I sat down and wept. I mourned for a number of days, fasting and praying before the God of heaven.” (Neh. 1:4)

6. Pray they will know when to push away from the crowds to pray.

Ministry is time-consuming, and needs are ever before us. Nevertheless, leaders must have time alone with God to be renewed for the work – just as Jesus did.

“But the news about Him spread even more, and large crowds would come together to hear Him and to be healed of their sicknesses. Yet He often withdrew to deserted places and prayed.” (Luke 5:15-16)

7. Pray they will walk worthy of their calling.

If we pray more for church leaders today, it’s likely fewer will fall tomorrow. We must pray they walk in obedience and bear fruit, just as Paul prayed for the Colossian believers:

“we haven’t stopped praying for you . . . so that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to Him, bearing fruit in every good work and growing in the knowledge of God.” (Col. 1:9-10)

8. Pray they will speak the gospel boldly.

Paul wrote from a prison cell – his punishment for preaching the Word – but still he sought prayer support to continue his evangelizing. If Paul needed such prayer, surely church leaders do today.

“Pray also for me, that the message may be given to me when I open my mouth to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel.” (Eph. 6:19)

9. Pray they will finish well.

Those church leaders who finish well PLAN to do so; that is, they choose from the beginning to stand against the devil and glorify God. Pray that your church leaders can one day echo these words of the Apostle Paul:

“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” (2 Tim. 4:7).

What other ways might you pray for church leaders? As a leader, how would you like the readers of this post to pray for you?

Chuck Lawless currently serves as Professor of Evangelism and Missions and Dean of Graduate Studies at Southeastern Seminary. You can connect with Dr. Lawless on both Twitter and Facebook.

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Nine Issues Regarding Pastors and Office Hours

I know. I’ve been there.

Almost every week, and sometimes two or more times a week, a lay leader would wait in the church parking lot to see what time I arrived. He would also come back in the afternoon to see what time I left.

I was pastor of the church. This layman’s perspective was that I earned my pay by being in the office over 40 hours a week.

In a more recent scenario, the lead pastor of a church I know required all of the other pastors to have set office hours. But he also expected them to be relational and in the community. He kept track of their hours in a very legalistic way.

So what should a pastor and staff do regarding church office hours? What should be the expectations of the church members about their schedules? Allow me to respond by noting nine key issues.

Pastors must be out of the office on a regular basis to be a relational presence in the community. The most effective pastors I know give relational presence a priority. That presence is to both church members and those who aren’t members of the church.
The office hours of a pastor demand flexibility due to unexpected issues. A pastor must rush to the hospital when he gets word that a teenage girl was seriously injured in an automobile accident. Such emergencies and events can neither be planned nor neglected.
The pastor’s office often is not conducive to sermon preparation. It is not unusual for a pastor to spend 20 hours or more per week working on sermons. But it is not unusual for the pastor’s office to be the source of multiple interruptions. Sometimes a pastor must go elsewhere to get the sermon done.
Most pastors have evening responsibilities. Their only time off, therefore, may be during a weekday. Obviously the pastor can’t keep office hours for those days.
A few pastors are lazy. Thus, the overused joke that the pastor is “visiting the greens” (i.e. the golf course) has been repeated too many times. Yes, some pastors do take advantage of their flexible schedules. But don’t assume that all pastors fit this category. Most pastors have a greater challenge with workaholism. And insisting on rigid office hours is not a solution to a problem of laziness.
Some laypersons have unrealistic expectations about pastors’ office hours. They are certainly the exception, but just a few can make life miserable for a pastor. As I noted above, one layperson made my life pretty uncomfortable.
The best situations I have seen take place when the pastor and the church have an informal understanding about office hours. I strongly prefer informal agreements since pastors have totally unpredictable schedules. I know of one example where the church asks the pastor to be available for 20 hours a week for meetings, counseling, and drop-by visits. But the church members clearly understand that the schedule cannot be rigid.
Some pastors prefer to have clearly designated office hours for a part of the week. When I was a pastor, I designated Monday as an office day for staff meetings and meetings with church members. If an emergency occurred, the church understood. If they needed me at other times, which they did frequently, I understood. But I tried my best to protect Mondays to be in the office for meetings.
The office hours of church staff other than the lead pastor should reflect the nature and needs of that position. A student pastor, for example, should be in the schools and the community more often than in the office. An administrative pastor may spend the bulk of the week in the office.

What is your perspective regarding pastors and office hours? What do you think of my nine issues? Let me hear from you.

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Pray for Valley Community Chapel

Location: Yucca Valley, California

Pastor: Tom Aversa

Weekly Worship: Sundays at 9:00 a.m., and 11:00 a.m., Pacific.

Fast Facts: Valley Community Chapel is a mid-sized church in the Morongo Basin of California that grew from a home Bible study group started in 1976. With ministries designed to serve and equip people in every stage of life, VCC aims in all things to be inwardly strong, outwardly focused, and Christ-centered. Members of VCC also serve at a local Navajo reservation. Please pray that this outreach to the Navajo would be a beneficial relationship where Christ is magnified. Please pray that VCC would glorify God more and more, grow in size and maturity, become more effective in making disciples, and that VCC would establish a good system/structure of small group fellowships for greater ministry and equipping for ministry within their congregation.

Website: VCChapel.org

“Pray for . . .” is the Sunday blog series at ThomRainer.com. We encourage you to pray for these churches noted every Sunday. Please feel free to comment that you are praying as well.

If you would like to have your church featured in the “Pray for…” series, download this information form and return it to the address on the form.

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Stories of Transformation: Assessment Helps North Bridge Church Rethink Evangelism

Ed Stetzer has been running stories about the impact the Transformational Church Assessment Tool (TCAT) has made in churches across the nation. This is one such story about how the TCAT ignited a passion for evangelism in a church. You can see other stories like this here.

North Bridge Church in Springfield, Missouri was a fairly healthy church, but Pastor Tony Turner knew the eight-year-old church plant could still benefit from an assessment tool.

After hearing from LifeWay Research about the Transformational Church Assessment Tool (TCAT), Turner was intrigued. “Any time you can have a good, well-thought out assessment and be able to put on paper things that are hard to quantify, I’m always open and interested in learning more,” he says.

After deciding that TCAT was the best fit for his church, Turner did three rounds of questioning. The church staff took it, then core leaders and small group leaders, and finally, other regular, contributing members. The results were not surprising to Turner, but they were helpful.

The assessment “showed us we were headed down the right road,” he says. “Ultimately, we read our TCAT as saying we were a fairly healthy church that doesn’t have major things broken in it. So it encouraged us to continue to lean in the direction we were going already.”

But the church wasn’t perfect and Turner knew that. TCAT showed the people at North Bridge “were very poor in sharing their faith,” he says. “They averaged very low in intentionally sharing their faith.”

Turner believes that is part of their process in growing as a church. “For a long time, we were using it [the age of the church] as our evangelism tool.” According to the pastor, the newness of the North Bridge allowed members to use a “come and see approach,” merely inviting people to come and try the new church.

That style was not working as well as it did previously and TCAT revealed the need for North Bridge to develop an evangelism strategy and system for the members says Turner, which they are currently in the process of developing and implementing.

Overall, Turner says the TCAT is a helpful tool that North Bridge will definitely use the tool again in the future. For more information on how your church can use TCAT, visit TransformationalChurch.com.

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Don’t Waste Your Christmas – Rainer on Leadership #082

Podcast Episode #082

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This week we are joined on the podcast with one of the premier hymn writers of our day: Keith Getty. The Gettys are kicking off their Joy: An Irish Christmas tour this weekend, and Keith was gracious enough to join us for a quick taping of the podcast earlier this week.

As a special bonus to our listeners, The Gettys have provided a free download of the MP3s and sheet music for Joy Has Dawned and Jesus, Joy of the Highest Heaven. Click here to download.

Some highlights from this week’s episode include:

There are more people in our churches at Christmas who are yet to believe.
Christmas carols are the true crossover music of our time.
You can speak into the future by understanding the art forms of the past.
People not caring about singing in worship is a scandal.
Stop boring people by trying to have your music sound like the church down the street.
The highest call for musicians in churches is to accompany the congregation in singing.

The five things we discuss that churches can do to not waste Christmas:

Sing the gospel.
Build your Christmas around carols.
Get serious our congregational singing.
Artist should be creative and innovative with their Christmas music.
Use Christmas to focus on those who don’t come to church instead of those who do.

Episode Sponsor

This week’s podcast is brought to you by The Gettys and the Joy: An Irish Christmas tour. For ticket information and tour dates, visit http://www.gettymusic.com/tourChristmas.aspx.

Feedback

If you have a question you would like answered on the show, fill out the form on the podcast page here at ThomRainer.com. If we use your question, you’ll receive a free copy of Autopsy of a Deceased Church.

Resources

Joy: An Irish Christmas

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Notable Voices: November 27, 2014

The Secret Superpowers of Lifers in Your Ministry — Art Rainer

Art shares how to learn from the people in your ministry who were there before you and will still be there when you’re done.

 

Write More Better — Aaron Armstrong

I’ve written often about my passion for correct grammar and writing well. Aaron shares this passion and is giving away a new eBook to help others write better.

 

Thanksgiving Week on a Turkey Farm — Aaron Earls

Aaron grew up on a turkey farm in South Carolina. He shares what Thanksgiving week was like as a kid. It’s quite likely different than you would imagine.

 

‘Serial,’ Podcasting’s First Breakout Hit, Sets Stage for More — New York Times

Serial has vaulted podcasting into mainstream entertainment discussions. While I didn’t expect such a meteoric rise in podcasting, we have seen tremendous growth in Rainer on Leadership over the past year. The future is bright for podcasting.

 

10 Reasons to Be Thankful — Eric Geiger

Eric shares ten principles of thankfulness from the book of Galatians.

 

Compassion and the Holiday Season — Chris Hefner

The holiday season is a blessing for many, but it is a burden for many as well. This holiday season, let us make compassion our aim as we share the good news of the coming of the Christ.

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