Church Value Pt. 1: What is A Pastor Worth?

At a time where many church boards and staffs are holding or have held their year end meetings, I thought it'd be interesting to take a look at what the value of a church is in the local and global community.  For the sake of the next few pieces, when I say church, I'm not referring to the Church as described in 1 Corinthians 12:27,  Colossians 1:18, and other places.  I'm referring to the business of church, which would include the sale of what's known as Christianity.  To guide this, I've identified four areas where we can look at various regulation and data to get solid opinions about the church; the value of a pastor, the value of the music department, and the value of the worker, and the value of the congregant or consumer.

With all that, knowing that the pastor is the CEO (and in many cases the owner) of a church business, let's just get right to it...is a pastor worth a six or seven figure salary?
 Before we get there, let's look at whether or not pastors should even get paid.  The obvious answer would be yes, as the pastor does carry the responsibility of the church as it's chief executive.  And while I do agree with that, I also believe that this question opens a discussion for compensation for other executives (elders, deacons, and/or leaders) and staff as well...to be discussed later.  But what does scripture indicate about compensating pastors?

Several passages are available and used...in and out of context.  Many pastors oddly point to the kings of Israel and Judah to justify being paid and being paid well; especially using the financial might of King Solomon.  But just a surface look at First and Second Kings in no way confirms God's intent for a pastors wealth or existing salary.  In fact, I often wonder what some pastors are eluding to when comparing their own "blessing" of wealth to Solomon's', as that king taxed his population so much that easing the financial stress was not only the main topic after his reign, it ended up starting a civil war (1 Kings 12).

Then there's the prophet thing...highlighted by Elisha getting a room made and having everything taken care of in 2 Kings 4.  But again, no salary indicated.

We can also look at Simon Peter, the disciple of Jesus-turned-apostle who gave the first sermon that ministered Salvation in Christ...getting around 5,000 people to commit their souls to Jesus.  It's well understood that he (as well as the other apostles and church members) did not have any financial need that wasn't met (Acts 4:32-37), but what's less discussed is an incident in Acts 3, when Peter healed a man, first saying "silver and gold I do not have."  Does this indicate that pastors should in fact not be overtly rich?

Then there's the Apostle Paul, who was an evangelist but can also be considered as a pastor.  He started, worked in, and supervised churches across the Mediterranean region, but did not take a salary with any of them and worked a full-time job as a tent maker.  He did however, support the thought of paying not only pastors but ministry workers as well in 1 Corinthians 9.  In this passage and also in 1 Thessalonians 2:9 he decided against it because he didn't want to "be a burden."  With all of this, we get some great information and insight on God's intent.

God wants people to be compensated for their work, and this includes pastors.  With that are these things: heavy "taxing" to support a huge salary isn't advised, and there isn't a reason why a pastor shouldn't work to earn a living outside of ministry.  Still, what these scriptures don't consider is the billion dollar business Christianity has become.  So now, we must look at things a little more carnally.

According to the Evangelical Christian Credit Union's 2013 Study on Church Budget Allocations, Learning Priorities, and Quarterly Financial Trends,  36% of a church business budget goes to the senior pastors' salary.  To find out whether that's fair, we have to look at the value of a pastor...past what a pastor does, but what is a pastor supposed to do, and what (if any) is the dollar amount attached to that.

As with athletes and music stars, the demanding factor is butts in the seats (as well as television and internet viewers).  Keep in mind, the pastor is the primary product...purposely and inadvertently.  He or she is Lebron James; the difference between a thriving downtown and a few poppin' sports bars.  And contrary to regulation, people pay tithes as a result of a talented pastor.  He or she is the earner.  In comparison, Kobe Bryant, the legendary Los Angeles Laker guard that has been the attraction of that team for 18 years, is 35% of the Lakers salary budget.  Even on a bad team, he's why people come to the Staples Center night after night.  So the answer for the pastors' 36% may not be that it's fair, but it is normal in American capitalism.  This then does not indicate the actual value of a pastor, but only his or her popularity.

Because even though the best pastors building other pastor, are incredible givers of time, money, and resources, do not love or purport to love money, unfortunately that's not what the majority of consumers pay for.  It's like Bryant, Terrell Owens, or any other ultra-gifted poor attitude athlete.  We're not paying for personal off the field character or the other incentives that make a good person. Most of us aren't even paying for how many souls get saved off of a pastors' sermon. We're paying for a winner, or someone that makes us feel like a winner.  So again, the question is already clear about whether a pastor is worth that big check.  As long as the seats stay full and the ratings keep climbing, it's completely justifiable. The more important question is what are you getting out of the product?  McDonald's without a doubt is mostly unhealthy, but that doesn't stop the billions and billions served.  That's not Mickey D's fault, that's the people buying the fries.  In this sense, the earning potential for the business should be evident, but the worth of a pastor is strictly personal.

I guess now you should ask yourself this question: are you paying for popularity or value?