Eighteen
Personal Finances and Life-style
“I’ve spent ten years in graduate schools and I make
less money than the guy working down at the 7-11
store. And I am tired of it. I’ve got to figure a way to
make more money and if I can’t here at the church,
well, I guess I might have to leave. This simply can
not continue.”
Who was this pastor? Me!
Very few pastors accumulate any considerable
amount of wealth. How much is enough and how
much is too much is debatable. Rarely do pastors earn
the equivalent of what someone in another field with
the same abilities, education, and experience would
earn. This is perhaps a good thing.
Pastors, I believe, must learn how to live a simple
life. For example, it is extremely important to avoid
debt. I think a sound principle is “If there is not enough
cash to buy it, don’t buy it.”
Situations may arise where the use of a credit card
is necessary, perhaps in the purchase of a car or to cover
major medical or dental costs. But living a simple life
style and being content with it will free a pastor from
much stress and anxiety.
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For Pastors
One of the sins that pastors are sometimes tempted
with is covetousness. Ministers of large churches whose
salaries may be more than adequate, who may either
own their own homes or be in the process of buying
one, who may take expensive long vacations, who may
be granted periodic sabbaticals, and who may be off
doing other wonderful things—these may tempt a less
financially advantaged pastor to covetousness with a
little envy thrown in as well. In addition the large
church minister may have a great health plan and a lot
of money in a pension fund. For a pastor to be
financially well off is not wrong, but it is somewhat
unique and beyond reality for most.
“Middle class” is an apt description of my life style,
thus, I consider myself to be quite well off. (I could
live on less.) My income must provide for a family of
four, my wife and I and our two children. I have to
have money to operate the household, keep the cars
on the road, the IRS happy, and the insurance
companies paid. Therefore it is required that I do this
in the best way possible and I do it with what the church
can provide combined with what my wife and I earn in
other ways. It seems to me that we Philpotts enjoy our
lives and have the necessities met. I have never had a
situation of extreme need. There have been difficult
times, but God has provided for us all the way along.
Pastors should be careful to tithe all income and
provide for offerings beyond the tithe. Giving is best
when it is done on a “cheerful” basis with gratefulness
for God’s provision. All giving should be done in secret,
not letting the “left hand know what the right hand is
doing”. Only the treasurer and/or bookkeeper would
know the details. Pastors do not want to be talking
about their patterns of giving.
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Personal Finances and Lifestyle
I have not taken a salary increase the entire time I
have been at Miller Avenue. Now, I want to be careful
to say that in a way that does not sound boastful. The
truth is, I have taken certain perks over the years—
benefit increases here and there. But I keep it to a
minimum. I do not like to continually come to the
church asking for more money. Every year this small
church has wanted to increase the salary of their pastor.
And I have declined that, and with thanksgiving, too,
that people would be concerned for me. My goal has
been to prevent the church from getting into a situation
where money was a problem. I know many churches
like to have a continually increasing budget, and we
do in a very small way, but I like to keep the church in
the black. Running behind budget thus necessitating
a situation where the congregation has to be continually
appealed to is something I want to avoid almost at all
costs.
It has been my custom to work outside the church.
(I’m going to be talking in another chapter about having
a trade.) At the outset of my pastoral ministry at Miller
Avenue I asked for permission that I be free to engage
in other means, in limited and appropriate ways, in
order to increase my income if necessary. Currently,
primarily through weddings and funerals, I do make
some extra income. For several years my wife and I
operated a part time legal service. The additional
income has kept the financial pressure off the
congregation.
Living a simple life and keeping finances pretty
much on a cash basis has worked for me personally.
Good churches want to see that their pastors are cared
for and their needs met. And it is important that the
pastor is not constantly presenting needs. Some refer
to this as “whining”. If there are some needs not being
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For Pastors
covered then those needs should be dealt with in a
very careful way. Constantly presenting the church with
needs can become discouraging to any group of people.
A congregation may even feel guilty and may not know
how to meet the needs.
If I were independently wealthy I might think
about paying the church to be able to be the pastor
and preach the gospel on Sunday morning. It is my
chief joy to preach Jesus and I would be so very poor if
I could not. Certainly, I could find other avenues for
gospel preaching, but I love these people and this
community and I want to pastor right here. Therefore,
as best I can, I will do what it takes to be a gospel
preacher and trust that God will meet my needs.
How attached are you to credit cards?
Do you panic when the money is low or nonexistent?
Are you content with what you have?
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Personal Finances and Lifestyle
PASTOR’S BULLETIN BOARD
—Seeking counsel on a particular situation.
—Sharing programs you have found helpful.
—Needing an associate or assistant pastor.
—Looking for a church to pastor.
—Sermon outlines.
—Asking for prayer support.
—Other concerns.
Go to Earthenvessel.net and post it.
If you want to ask Philpott about any particular
issue, feel free to do so.