Churches should remember ‘worker is worthy of hire’

Charge conference notes

Fall is here! Charge conferences are in full swing. I am enjoying visiting each church and learning what we have accomplished in mission and ministry in the past year and what visions and dreams we have to be faithful to God’s future.
I encourage everyone to attend the Bishop’s Thanksgiving Gathering Nov. 18 at 5 p.m. at the Seguin Coliseum in Seguin. It will be a great time of celebration and worship as Bishop Joel N. Martinez, a Seguin native, preaches in his hometown.
I am pleased to announce the first Stewardship Sermon Competition. I am asking all Austin District pastors to submit a stewardship sermon they have preached for consideration by our distinguished panel of judges.
First prize is a weekend for your family at South Padre Island, and your sermon is to be published in the Witness. The winner also is to preach his or her prize-winning sermon at the next district professionals meeting.
Please submit your sermon manuscript and video, if available, by Dec. 10. The judges will remain anonymous for their own safety.
I think most of our churches have their stewardship campaigns in the fall, so you will be writing these sermons as a part of the rhythm of church life.
Preaching on stewardship/generosity is important. Generosity is a spiritual gift that must be nurtured and encouraged like other spiritual gifts. If our pastors preached on money as often as Jesus did, they would preach on money at least 17 times a year.
Some pastors are shy about preaching about money because they fear their church will think they do it only because they want a raise. Luke 10:7 says a worker is worthy of his or her hire. Full-time pastors deserve to receive a wage that allows them to care for their families and is appropriate to their education and experience. We must not be afraid to say the “M” word (money) in church.
All of our charge conferences are setting their pastor(s)’ compensation for 2008. It is important for congregations and staff-parish relations committees to remember a couple of things as they make these important decisions.
First, many congregations confuse the difference between what it costs the church to have a pastor and the pastor’s salary. There is a dramatic difference between the two. The church pays housing, pension and hospitalization separate from the pastor’s salary. These are all costs to the church but not part of the pastor’s pay.
The second thing to remember is that clergy are seen differently from laity by the Internal Revenue Service. Clergy members pay income tax, Social Security and sales tax just like everyone else. Clergy members must also pay SECA self-employment tax for Social Security.
In 2007 the self-employment tax rate is 15.3 percent, which is double the employee rate.
I hope these reminders will be helpful.