How much should your pastor be paid?
The subject of salaries is taboo for most people. Perhaps it's because of the general perception that a worker's worth is hinged on his paycheck - the higher his salary, the more valuable he is, and vice-versa.
In the marketplace, this is usually true but should this apply to those in the pastoral ministry? Years ago, the popular saying was "Keep them (pastors) poor, keep them humble."
Though uttered in jest, the saying has a ring of truth, for wealth tends to puff people up. Then, entering the pastoral ministry despite full knowledge of the material sacrifices one has to make seems to be the ultimate test that the person is truly 'called'.
We Christians profess God to be our provider; however, very few are willing to enter the pastoral ministry. Is it because of the low salary?
With the rising cost of living, attracting Christians to the ministry and keeping them and their families afloat pose a real challenge to most churches, especially the rural ones where the salary package is generally lower compared with that for city churches.
Times have changed. Today, with more affluent churches and Christians accustomed to a better quality of life, expectations have risen. Many churches have thus come to recognise the need to properly compensate pastors for their work.
The Bible's call to "Let the elders who rule well be considered worthy of double honour (compensation), especially those who labour in preaching and teaching (1 Tim. 5:17)" is slowly replacing the old "Keep them poor, keep them humble" saying.
In light of this, the NECF Malaysia Leadership Commission is studying various salary structures so as to come up with a recommended salary scale for pastors in Malaysia.
The question is: On what basis should pastors be remunerated?
For example, the Singapore Campus Crusade for Christ paid its three top executives below $100,000 each in its last financial year. The group provides Christian counselling, training and Christian publications.
They base their workers' basic salaries to social workers' pay (between $2,000 and $2,700 for a fresh graduate) and use this benchmark since the nature of their work is similar to that of social workers - serving the needs of a community.
For Malaysia, the Commission is looking at the possibility of using the government schoolteachers' salary structure as the model since the nature of teachers' work is similar to what pastors do - teaching, training and developing people.
A fresh graduate teacher starts out with just over RM2,500; likewise a fresh seminary graduate pastor's starting salary should be in that region.
While the Commission has listed a seminary degree as the starting point, there can be other equivalents, such as previous work experience in the marketplace and Bible School training, which the church has to decide.
The assumption is that once the church recognises and appoints the person as its pastor, the starting pay should be at least that of a fresh graduate.
Of course, the salary range may vary in accordance with work performance, the increment policy within the church and job requirements, and further advancement dependent on taking on more job responsibilities scope and growth in expertise.
Every church has its own method of remunerating its workers. What the Commission hopes to achieve is to propose a salary structure that duly ensures pastors are decently paid in tandem with the times so that they can fully concentrate on their ministry. |
