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Winter 2006 Vol. 40, No. 3

Church Work er Indebtedness: A Sarch for So ltons

T h e C h u r c h

IN CHRISTIAN EDUCATION

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A PUBLICATION OF CONCORDIA UNIVERSITY, SEWARD, NEBRASKA

Church Worker Indebtedness: A Search for Solutions

Winter 2006Vol. 40, No. 3

Reections

Brian L. Friedrich, President

Editorials

Church Worker Indebtedness: What Research Tells Us

Roland Lovstad

The Financial Support of Church Workers: Theological Perspectives

David Peter

Now What?

David Muench

Personal Reections

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Editor

Editorial Committee

Editorials

Book Reviews

Associate

Associate

Graphic Design

Copy Editor

rinting and Circulation Coordinator

Circulation Policy iSSueS . . . n Chrstan edcaton (ISSN02780216) is published three times a year by thefaculty of Concordia University, Seward, Nebraska 68434. iSSueS is sent free to each church, school, districtand synodical ofce in The Lutheran ChurchMissouri Synod. Copies are also sent to high schools, colleges anduniversities afliated with the Synod.

Individuals wishing personal copies may obtain them as follows: Single copy @$2.00 each; Subscription@$6.00; 10 or more copies mailed to the same address @$1.20 per copy. Call 800 535-5494 ext. 7276 oremail hmatzke@cune.edu

Readers are invited to reprint portions ofiSSueS materials provided that the following credit line appears:

Reprinted from iSSueS n Chrstan edcaton, Volume 40, No. 3, Winter 2006, a publication of Concordia University,Seward, Nebraska. This edition is on Concordia Universitys Web site at www.cune.edu/issues.

Marvin Bergman, Ed.D., Ph.D.

Russ Moulds, Ph.D.

Rebecca Fisher, Ph.D.

Daniel Thurber, A.D.

Brian L. Friedrich, M.Div., Ph.D.

Paul Berkbigler, M.F.A.

Marlene Block, B.A.

Holly Matzke

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IN CHRISTIAN EDUCATION

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TYPEFACES USED IN THIS PERIODICALTitles set in 22 point Mrs. Eaves Roman (Imigree of

Sacramento). Tracking normal.Subheads set in 13/13 point Mrs. Eaves bold.By-lines and author information set in 13/13 point

Mrs. Eaves small caps.Footers and folios set in 11 point Mrs. Eaves.Feature articles set in 11/13 point Mrs. Eaves.Three column text set in 9/10 point Mrs. Eaves.

Layout, design and graphics by CONCORDesignof Concordia University, Seward, Nebraska.Issue designed by Paul Berkbigler with illustrationscreated by Tonya Boenisch.

Brian L. Friedrich, President

Walking Together

I walked out of my ofce to make a copy. It was noon, and all wasquiet. My administrat ive assistants phone rang, and I answered it.

Twenty minutes later, I was glad I did. I heard rst-hand from one of

our alumni who had been a church worker and is married to a church

worker his concerns about the cost of attending Concordia University.

Recently, he had read that the average sticker price for a four-year

degree at one of our Concordias is $100,000. Wow, he said.

How wil l my wife and I afford a Concordia education for our now

eight-year-old son?

Tough question. No simple answers. I rmly believe debt is not the

answer. In the August 31, 2006, edition of the Lncoln Jornal Starin an

article tit led Debt Rising Slowly, Study Finds, Melissa Lee noted:

Since 2001, average indebtedness of Nebraskas college graduates hasnot increased as much as you might think. Private school grads havent

racked up that much more debt than public school grads but wait

Nebraskas graduates stil l accrue nearly $18,000 in debta huge chunk

of most entry-level salaries. And because federal Stafford loans are

capped, indebtedness logically cant increase rapidly unless the cap goes

upwhich it will next year for the rst time since 1994. Lee also noted,

based on the Project for Student Debt, that Concordia University,

Nebraska graduates from the class of 2005 had an average indebtedness

of $15,522well below the state average.

But beating the average is not the point. Debt is debt and needs

to be repaid. As Lees artic le reminds us, students are graduating with

a debt that represents a huge chunk of most entry-level salaries.Many times that is even more true when it comes to the salar ies of new

church workers.

This edition ofisss articulates church worker indebtedness which

has serious and sometimes lasting impacts on the congregations, schools

and called workers of our church.

What shall we do? Much has been done. More can be tried.

During the conversation with our alum I suggested that one answer is

partnership, walkng togthr, if you will. Christian education never has

been or ever will be inexpensive. It costs! Preparing future generations

of students to serve our congregations and schools costs. But walkng

togthrparents, students, universities and seminaries, alumni,

donors, congregat ions, each and all of usblessed by the abundance

of our gracious God we can ease (or better yet eliminate) the debt load

of our church workers and be wiser stewards of the physical and

material blessings given us to proclaim the Good News of the Gospel

of Jesus Christ.

By the way, in case you think this is pie-in-the-sky thinking, earlier

this week an LCMS pastor shared with me that three of his four children

have completed their Concordia educations without taking on any debt.

Number four has two years left here, and it appears he will graduate debt

free also! What a blessingwalkng togthrcan be!

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editorials

The Laborer is Worthyof His Wages

There is alarming news about the indebtednessof theological students.

In the last ten years the percentage of

students who have debt has increased, andthe average amount of debt has increaseddramatically. Graduates are finding therepayment of their debt difcult.

The situation causes stress and may affectthe graduates persistence in ministry.

There is, however, some encouragingnews. Some schools, some students,and some congregations have found waysto enable students to avoid debt or to keepit manageable.

The alarming student loan indebtednessat our LCMS seminaries can be veried.

When comparing the average indebtednessfor the last two graduating classes at one

seminary, the percentage of students thatborrowed more than $50,000 in studentloans doubled. And this only pertains to thestudents indebtedness and does not includethe spouses student loan information. Atboth seminaries the percentage of studentsgraduating with debt has grown to more than65 percent. The average overall indebtednessis more than $30,000. This is enough tostrike a note of fear. Once graduated, onemay have to add a house mortgage beyonda debt load.

$100,000 is the approximate cost toeducate a pastor today who earns a masterof divinity degree. A typical single student

incurs, lets say, $15,000 a year in actualexpenses payable to the seminary (tuition,health insurance, room and board). Theaverage award from a district is about $1,500per year, while the average grant by a homecongregation is about $2,500 a year. Thatleaves an approximate balance of $11,000,and note that this does not include expensesfor books, supplies, car insurance, summerclasses, and so forth. The gures are evenhigher for married students with chi ldren.The bottom line for many students is that

while the cost of tuition, room and boardincreases, the amount of support fromcongregations and districts remains stable.Unfortunately, students must bear more of

the cost, and, for some students, a loan is theonly option to pay their expenses.

There are two reasons, at least, whypastors have incurred this level of debt:increased costs for higher education andlow income levels. This situation bringsstress. Its no wonder that the 2004 DaedalusResearch Report noted that 67 percentof the respondents knew a fellow church

worker contemplating leaving the ministrydue to financial issues. One has to bereally persistent in hi s or her vocation tostruggle through the concerns surroundingones indebtedness.

At the same time there are more trends thatexacerbate the indebtedness issue. Membersin congregations have changed their giving

habits and practices. One result is that theSynod gives severely reduced support toinstitutions for church workers. It appearsthe burden of payment falls to the churchworker. At the same t ime congregations havetight budgets which can lead to low salariesand reductions in the health care support ofchurch workers.

Student indebtedness may inadvertentlycause problems for the seminaries, for thecongregations, and church plants that seekto engage a pastor. That means we are allaffected by this debt.

The reader needs some encouragingword at this point, and there is some. The

LCMS Commission on Ministerial Growthand Support reported in the August 2006Supplement to the Rportrthat an action team

will craft a strategy for coordinating theefforts toward providing help and hope inthis matter. The Economic Vitality A ctionTeam will strive to help LCMS churchworkers and the Church establish economic vitality. The plan intends to equip themto make wise decisions centered in faith,hope and love for joyful service to the Lord,identifying and coordinating emergencynancial assistance to workers in crisis. Thisis a team effort worthy of your prayers.

The seminaries have taken some steps,

too, like implementing entrance counselingonline, working with Concordia Plan Servicesand individuals to offer workshops regardingbudgeting and debt information, whilechanging the loan application to give a moremeaningful understanding of how a loan canaffect ones ministry.

I personally am an advocate, but have foundfew supporters, of the practice that wouldrequire each student, loan or no loan, tosubmit with his application a business planto show exactly how he will nance his four-year seminary education (starting out with afull disclosure of both consumer as well ascredit card debt). That in itself would bringabout some understanding and knowledge

that is lacking, and answer the question, Dothey know what theyre doing?

What more can be done? At our seminariesI would suggest: give more consideration tolimiting the speed and the convenience ofaccess to loans; work to substitute grants forloans; stretch out the educational programfor working students and/or offer more nightand weekend classes; screen applicants moreclosely for nancial viability.

For our church body and congregationsI would suggest encouraging highercompensation for clergy, the developmentof scholarships and endowments (perhaps

the denomination could pay back $3,000a year for graduates who go to smallercongregations, and congregations could

apply for matching fellowship dollarsfor support of a seminarian), closer nancialscrutiny and planning by candidatesat the District Seminarian Interviewlevel, and a church body endowment forassistance programs.

Until there is a substantial increase inseminary graduates compensation, the bestrecourse against t he curse of debt is toprepare the students carefully so they canunderstand and manage their debt.

As Kim Marxhausen wrote in her August2006 Rportr commentary, only by Godsincrease of faith in us through His meansof grace will there be increase in nancial

support, scholarship awards, salaries, andin our giving to address this issue.

L. Dean HempelmannS. T. M., Ph.D.

Executive Director, LCMS PastoralEducation, International Center

St. Louis, Missouri

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The Cost of a ChurchUniversity Education

The cost to educate a church worker hasincreased 1,000 percent in 25 years. Yes,you read that correctly. This is the difference

between the cost of my undergraduatedegree in 1981 and what it would currentlycost our daughter to graduate from one ofour Concordias. To add a new perspectiveto these numbers, base pay for salaries hasincreased over this time period about 300percent. I may be a kindergarten teacher,but even I can see 1 + 1 = debilitating church

worker debt.A year and a half ago, our daughter Anne

was applying for admission to collegeswith the goal of earning a music educationdegree and teaching at one of our Lutheranhigh schools. What we experienced in thatprocess was quite the learning adventure.

We dutifully lled out the FAFSA only todiscover that this report was not so much ajudgment of your nancial need as it is anexpression of your credit rating. Our familyhas a very good credit rating, so Annes SAR(Student Aid Report) indicated we shouldbe able to contribute an amount equal to 25percent of our take-home pay. We would, ofcourse, need to take out a loan to do this. Inspite of the fact that banks would be morethan happy to lend us this money, it wouldnot be nancial ly prudent for Anne or herfamily to do so.

Yet, we did not despair. Anne beganapplying for scholarships. She earned over$13,000 in academic and music scholarshipsto the school of her choice. Unfortunately,this equals only a little more than one-thirdof her total costs. The only scholarship/grantmoney related to church work which we couldnd was a $500 award from a universityand a similar amount from her church.That is the same amount I received 25 yearsearlier, only then it represented 25 percentof my total costs. Any scholarship money sheearned, including a grant from For th Sak ofth Chrch, would be applied to her nancialaid package and would not lessen her ownnancia l responsibilities. The bottom linebecame clear. The only way our daughtercould attend a synodical school to obtain

a church work degree was for us to cover$60,000 with savings and loans.

Needless to say, Anne is attending theUniversity of Nebraska, and our state ispaying her tuition through her academicscholarship. With money she earns workingand some funds from money her father andI set aside, she should graduate with litt le orno debt. She, of course, will not be eligiblefor a call, but she can seek to be rosteredthrough a colloquy if she nds a position ata Lutheran school. But as a church worker, Iwonder if her secular degree plus a colloquyare equal to a synodical education. She is

missing the opportunity to be a part of aschool that integrates the faith, that nurturesfaith development, that encourages its staff

to model servanthood, that provides missionand servant opportunities, and that worshipstogether. These are the intangible yet vitalelements of a synodical education in thepreparation of a church worker.

Whose job is it to prepare Anne forchurch work? It is Gods responsibility. Hehas chosen her to be His own, and He wi llprepare her for the work He has set aside forher. However, knowing this does not absolveher parents and her church community fromthe responsibility of educating her. We arethe means by which God accomplishes thetask of preparing His servants. Her fatherand I have prayerfully done our best to

follow the directives of Deuteronomy 11:19to teach them to your children. Her churchand schools have nurtured her faith andprovided her with models of servanthood.The rest of her church work education isup to Synod. I am not talking about Synodthe organizational entity, but Synod thepeople. We are responsible for educatingfuture church workers to serve God hereon earth.

Twenty-ve years ago, Synod began to pullback on nancial support for its colleges. Thepeople of our Synod have not done enoughto take up the slack. We now have a debt/earnings ratio for our future church workers

that is dangerously out of proportion. Beforewe point our ngers at injudicious creditcard use as being the cause of church workerdebt, we need to work on the log in our owneyes when it comes to faithfully tithing forchurch, district and synodical work.

If we tackle the problem of a lackof nancial literacy and ignore the otherissues, we will create a generation thatwhen investigating future earning potentialand holding that up to the loans they

will accrue at synodical schools, willcome to the only logical conclusion:They cannot afford to become full-timerostered church workers.

Kim MarxhausenTeacher, Faith Lutheran SchoolLincoln, Nebraska

Member, Commission for Ministeria lGrowth and Support

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Living a Simple LifeSurely God is good to Israel, to those whoare pure in heart. But as for me, my feet hadalmost sl ipped; I had nearly lost my foothold.

For I envied the arrogant when I saw theprosperity of the wicked. Psalm 73:1-3.

Among the many failures of socialism/communism was its inability to attract

widespread support in A merica. Instead,most Americans considered themselves tobe middle class, or engaged in the pursuitof this attainable economic station. Whilethis remains largely the case, a skewed

vision of the middle class life has arisen.Perpetrated by the commercial mediaand Madison Avenue, a lifestyle that wasformerly considered upper class is now soldto Americans as middle class. Some teachers,unfortunately, have (literally) bought into

this mindset.Much has been written about the cost ofhigher education, credit card debt, scalliteracy, and the nancial responsibilities ofthe congregation and church, and for goodreason. Much less, however, has been sa idabout this mindset and its consequences. I

would suggest that in reality, it is a matterof the heart. Consequently, it may be moreaccurate to refer to an individuals heartset.For where your treasure is, there your heart

will be also (Matthew 6:21).Consider the fascinating report published

by the U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 100Years of US Consumer Spending Data forthe Nation, New York City and Boston.In 1901, 79.9 percent of family income

was spent on food, clothing and housing.By 2002-2003, however, families enjoyedthree times as much income, and only halfof that income went for food, clothing,and housing. While families now spend 30percent less on the necessities of life, manyreport it is harder to maintain a middleclass lifestyle. Why is this so?

The concept of living a simple, contentedlife seems to be a lost ideal. Have we forgottenPauls message to the young church worker

in 1 Timothy 6:6-8? But godliness withcontentment is great gain. For we broughtnothing into the world, and we can takenothing out of it. But if we have food andclothing, we will be content with that.Have we forgotten Hebrews 13:5? Keep

your lives free from the love of money andbe content with what you have, because Godhas said, Never will I leave you; never willI forsake you. As further proof, wordssuch as prudence, thrift, frugality, delayedgratication, and stewardship have virtuallydisappeared from our nancial lexicon.

When they do enter a conversation, theytend to be given a negative connotation.

Moreover, the notion of living a simple lifehas been parodied by two spoiled brats onreality TV.

Jesus, the disciples, and the apostleslived simply, unencumbered by worldlypossessions. Jesus tells us in Matthew 8:20,Foxes have holes and birds of the air havenests, but the Son of Man has no place tolay his head. Likewise, when the disciples

were sent out, they were instructed to travellight in Luke 9:3: Take nothing for the

journeyno staff, no bag, no bread, nomoney, no extra tunic. In possession ofthe pearl of great price, Paul could tell thePhilippians (4:11b-12), I have learned to be

content whatever the circumstances. I knowwhat it is to be in need, and I know what itis to have plenty. I have learned the secretof being content in any and every situation,

whether well fed or hungry, whether livingin plenty or in want.

To be sure, I am not suggesting thatteachers should lead ascetic lifestyles ofself-denial, solely dependent upon the

good graces of passers-by or congregationmembers. Nor am I advocating that theimportant issues of college debt andteacher compensation be ignored. Theresult of a misguided heartset, however,has exacerbated the problems addressedelsewhere in thi s publication. It has ledsome teachers to substitute expectations of acertain level of comfort that is commensurateto that presented by the world. Dedicatedto this imprudent pursuit, they squandermoney on frivolous purchases, questionableacquisitions, and unnecessary interest onexcessive debt. These dubious scal decisionshave led to career decisions that, at best,

distract from the teaching ministry. Atworst, they precipitate the end of a teachersministry in the classroom.

We, too, have been called to ministry andthen sent forth. As aliens and strangers inthis world, we wisely remember that, a manslife does not consist in the abundance ofhis possessions (Luke 12:15b). Our li fe isin Jesus, and our citizenship is in heaven.

With our treasure stored in heaven, we canjoin the psalmist in saying, Whom have Iin heaven but you? And earth has nothing Idesire besides you (Psalm 74:25).

Mark CheneyTeacher and administrator

Faith Lutheran Junior/SeniorHigh School, Las Vegas, Nevada

cheneym@faithlutheranlv.org

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Roland Lovstad

Church Worker Indebtedness:What Research Tells Us

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The Lutheran ChurchMissouri Synod(LCMS) church professional who ismost likely to be uncomfortable or veryuncomfortable with a level of debt ts thisprole: under age 35, new to the ministry,

serving a small congregation, a commissionedminister, and female.

Not surprisingly, that prole also is mosttypical of the 15 percent of church workerswho are high riskuncomfortable with debtand experiencing stresses in family life andministry because of it.

The pictures of debt concerns amongLCMS ordained and commissioned ministerscome from the Rostered Church WorkerSurvey, completed in July 2006 by BehaviorResearch Center of Phoenix, Arizona.Conducted for the Lutheran ChurchExtension Fund (LCEF), the survey wasbased on in-depth telephone interviewswith 1,000 ordained and commissionedLCMS ministers.

Expressing condence that the ndingsreect an accurate sample of the householdsof LCMS church professionals, the reportincluded these ndings: 77 percentof all LCMS church

professionals say they are very

comfortable (31 percent) or comfortable(46 percent) with their level of debt. Aboutone in four is either uncomfortable(20 percent) or very uncomfortable(3 percent) with his/her level of debt.

15 percentof LCMS rostered workers fallinto high-risk categories based on debt-related stress that affects their personal andfamily lives and their ministries.(see Sidebar on page 14)

Highest on the list of nancial concernsamong church professionals are rising

health insurance costs (83 percent),retirement planning(71 percent), andbeing able to pay for their childrenseducations (56 percent).

One-third of church workers say theyhave experienced debt-related stress tothe extent that it negatively affected theirministries or their personal lives. Of thatgroup, one-third indicated that debt is a

continuing issue, while two-thirds say theissue has been resolved.

16 percentof all church professionals haveconsidered leaving their ministries becauseof nancial issues. Among the risk group,the number climbs to 45 percent.

The current study was conducted because ofconcerns about indebtedness among churchprofessionals, according to LCEF PresidentMerle Freitag. It follows a 2004 study ofworkers in The Lutheran ChurchMissouriSynod, the Evangelical Lutheran Churchin America, and the Wisconsin EvangelicalLutheran Synod.

LCEF began offering debt consolidationloans in 2000at the request of the 1998LCMS Convention. Close to 40 percentof the applicants were rejected because ofextreme conditions of their debt, Freitag said,adding that LCEFs obligation to its investorsis to make prudent loans. He also emphasizedthat LCEF tried to assist the rejectedapplicants by steering them toward services

that included debt counseling.Freitag also noted that the recent studyvalidated the 2004 study of Lutheran churchworkers. That study found that 20 percent ofall workers were in personal nancial stress,and that workers had high debts in addition totheir home mortgages.

Educational Debt AmongProfessional Workers

Our concerns are with the level of debtand the cost of indebtedness among church

workers who cannot afford that level, Freitagsays. Its a prsonal issue, but its also a prsonnlissue for the church.

According to the 2006 research, almosthalf (48 percent) of LCMS professionalsincurred educational debt, while only 11percent now have outstanding educationaldebt. Among workers who have served lessthan 10 years, 45 percent hold outstandingeducational debt, and 14 percent of those

Roland Lovstad is a freelance

writer whose articles have

appeared in The Lutheran Witness

and in other publications.

lovstadent@earthlink.net

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with 10 to 19 years service have outstandingeducational debt. Among all rostered workerswith outstanding educational debt, themedian level of outstanding educational debtis $15,600.

Three-fourths (74 percent) of those in thehigh-risk categories borrowed money for theireducations, and one-fourth (24 percent) stillowe on their loans.

When those with educational debt wereasked to estimate how much they owed, 23percent say that their educational debt is lessthan $5,000. Eight percent of the workersowe $5,000 to $9,999; 33 percent owe$10,000 to $19,999; 32 percent say their debtis $20,000 to $49,999; and four percent owe

$50,000 or more.Behavior Research Center sought tostudy a sample that is reective of the overallLCMS church professional population.If the percentages were to be extrapolatedfor the 15,496 LCMS church professionalhouseholds, the numbers look like this: 1,705households have educational debt. Amongthose households, 392 families owe less than$5,000; 136 owe $5,000 to $9,999; 563 owe$10,000 to $19,999; 546 owe $20,000 to$49,999; and 68 owe $50,000 or more.

The study showed that 44 percent ofpastors and 51 percent of teachers incurreddebt to nance their educations. Currently,eight percent of pastors and 13 percent ofteachers have outstanding educational debt.The percentages are higher, however, amongother rostered workers: 72 percent incurreddebt to complete their educations, and 33percent have outstanding educational debt.

The Rising Costs of Education

In 1998, a Financial Aid Task Force reported

to the LCMS Convention that directeducational coststuition, books, and roomand boardat LCMS colleges and seminariesare not out of line with costs at comparableuniversities. However, the report cited expenditures on legitimate living expensesand other needs such as medical coverage [are part of] the underlying cause for thegrowing level of student indebtedness.

That task force cited average debt amonggraduates leaving LCMS colleges anduniversities approaches $13,000, while thegure approached $15,000 for seminarygraduates. (Note: This is the average amongstudents who ncrrddebt. Not all studentsborrow to complete their educations.)

The Gathering Storm, a report oneducational debt of theological studentsfrom the Auburn Center for the Studyof Theological Education, completedin September 2005, notes that averageeducational borrowing among master ofdivinity students nearly tripled between 1991and 2001 (rising from $5,267 to $15,599).1In 1991, more than half of master of divinity

graduates did not borrow for their seminaryeducation; in 2001, only 37 percent hadno debt. The Auburn research includedgraduates of major Protestant denominations,including Lutherans.

The Auburn study cites severalreasons for the increase in debt amongseminary graduates: Availability of funds and low interest rates. Rising costs of education as programs

saw tuition increase by 74 percent, whilestudent aid remained constantresulting

in students paying 25 to 50 percent morefor their education.

Living costs and demographics, especiallythe fact that more students are marriedwith children and are well beyond theage when they would consider living in adormitory.

School characteristicsdepending onparticipation in federal loan programs,levels of nancial aid, tuition and livingexpenses, educational programs, andnancial counseling services.

Extensive student loans may hinder graduatesfrom accepting calls to challenging positionsthat do not pay well, said the Auburnresearchers. Denominations sponsoringtraditional missionary appointmentsnd their candidate pool shrinking ascandidates must be largely debt-free to servein subsistence settings. Small churches,start-up churches, social action ministries,

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nonprot organizations and other innovativeforms of service may similarly be unlikely toprovide compensation generous enough toservice substantial student loans.

In the Missouri Synod, Dr. Kurt Krueger,

President of the Concordia University System,notes that tuition at the LCMS colleges anduniversities falls in the mid-range of liberalarts universities. We also need to keep inmind that the Concordias annually provide$59 million for all nancial aid, and of that,$21 million goes to church work students,he said. Our schools are trying to keep nettuition low for church work students who havenancial need.

Tuition for the 2005-06 academic yearat the ten LCMS colleges and universitiesranged from $9,200 at Concordia College,Selma, Alabama, to $21,312 at ConcordiaUniversity, St. Paul, Minnesota. The spanof room and board costs was $3,800 atSelma to $6,850 at Concordia University,Bronxville, New York.

Like most educational institutions, theConcordias face rising expenses, especiallyauxiliary services such as counseling, careerservices, stafng for medical services, andtechnology improvements. Krueger notes

that capital expenditures to improve academicfacilities, housing, and food services arenecessary to attract students.

Other Debt AmongChurch Professionals

The 2006 survey sponsored by LCEF alsoasked respondents about their currentdebt, excluding mortgages or balances oneducational loans. According to the ndings:

68 percentowe less than $10,00017 percentowe $10,000 to $24,99911 percentowe $25,000 to $49,9994 percentowe $50,000 or more

If the research ndings on debtexcludingmortgages or educational loanswereextrapolated for the 15,496 church workerhouseholds, the numbers would look like this:

Amont Owd$50,000 620

The breakdown of those owing $25,000or more showed a spread across all years ofministry experience:

18 percentwith less than 10 years in ministry19 percent, 10 to 19 years15 percent, 20 to 29 years

13 percent, 30 years or more

Among those who owe $25,000 or more:

13 percentreport incomeslower than $35,000

20 percentreport $35,000 to $44,999 income16 percentearn $45,000 to $54,99914 percentreport $55,000 or more

More than two out of every ve in the high-risk category have debtsexcluding mortgagesand educational debtthat exceed $25,000.

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From my perspective, those who take upchurch work are people-oriented, and theyhave little interest, or ability, to do nancialplanning, he observes. But that doesntabsolve them from the responsibility. Theymust address the basic issues of personalnancesand it goes beyond not getting

paid enough.The basics of nancial planning, Gomezadds, include knowing what you ow and whatyou own, understanding where you are going(setting nancial goals), and learning how tomake monthly decisions about your money.While there is often concern about income,Gomez adds, The real answer is how to dealwith expenses.

Yet, the recruitment of church workershas to change, in the opinion of the Rev.David Muench, executive director of the

LCMS Commission on Ministerial Growthand Support. We have recruited by saying,Money will take care of itself, or Dontconsider money when taking a cal l, but thatcan be harmful if its not said in terms ofnancial literacy, he says.

Ministry is a sacrice, but when parishesbalance their budgets by paying low salaries,it becomes a penalty, Muench continues.When they treat a worker that way, it saysthey dont value the workerand that affectstheir ministries.

Income Levels

The Behavior Research Center found 11percent of pastors, 15 percent of teachers,and 29 percent of other rostered workershave a household income less than $35,000However, the median household income inthe Synod among pastors is $50,800. Themedian household income for teachers and

other commissioned ministers is $49,900and $49,300, respectively.In comparison, gures released in

September 2006 by the U. S. Census Bureaushow the countrys median household incomeduring 2005 to be $46,000. (Median isthe point where half make more and halfmake less.)

The LCMS study found 92 percent ofpastors are married. It also found 29 percentof wives work full-time, and 25 percent ofwives work part-time. Only 26 percent of

the pastors have children under 18, and 75percent have children older than 18.

Among teachers, the study found 84percent are married, and 64 percent ofspouses are employed full-time and 15 percentpart-time. In teacher households, 39 percenthave children under 18, and 48 percenthave children older than 18. Among otherrostered workers, 76 percent are married,and 63 percent of spouses are employedfull-time with 17 percent employed part-time. In those households, 40 percent have

children under 18, and 38 percent havechildren older than 18.

Income Levels of LCMS Workers

Household Income Total% Pastors Teachers Others

Under $35,000$35,000 to $44,999$45,000 to $54,999$55,000 or more

14271643

11281843

15281542

25181840*

*Total xcds 100 prcnt d to rondng.Source: Behavior Research Center, Inc.

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Attitudes on Financial Matters

Behavior Research Center also askedrostered workers about their attitudestoward nancial matters: 65 percentsay they strongly agreed or

agreed that they did not consider the

nancial ramications when consideringchurch work as their call.

52 percentreceive continuing nancialsupport that is not job-relatedfamilysupport, trusts or inheritances, spousalincome, or other sources.

48 percentsay they would tell a leaderin their congregation if they had debtfrom school.

37 percentsay there is sometimes conict intheir family regarding money management

issues. 24 percentsay their level of personal debt

negatively impacts their desire and theirability to support healthy stewardshipprinciples in the congregation they serve.

11 percentsay they received adequateeducation about money management issuesand nancial literacy during their churchwork training.

11 percentagree with the statement,My unpaid debt has given me a personalsense of failure or shame.

Representing Concordia Plan Services,Gomez is available to present seminarson nancial planning and preretirementplanning, and one of his emphases is hope.As Gods people, we have that hope. Whenwe nd ourselves in need, the forgiveness hasbeen taken care of through Jesus Christ.

There is a great heart for the church andits workers among the people in the pew, addsLCEFs Freitag. LCMS organizations andindividuals invest in LCEF; these invested

dollars provide funds that al low LCEFto make loans, such as housing and debtconsolidation loans for church professionals.LCEF also is starting a home equity loanprogram for rostered church workers.

Freitag said LCEF encourages workersto consult with a nancial planner, notingthat contacts are available through Gomez.The LCEF president emphasizes that LCEFis pledged to condentiality when churchworkers seek assistance.

15 percent of workers are high-risk

In its 2006 study of LCMS churchprofessionals, Behavior Research Centerformulated three risk groups to identify thevolume of workers who were experiencingvarious levels of stress in their lives due to

nancial i ssues.

High Workers who say they areuncomfortable with their current level ofdebt andare concerned with being able toprovide their family with basic needs.

Very High Workers who are experiencingthe two issues above andpersonallyexperiencing stress about debt thatnegatively affects their ministries orpersonal lives.

Extreme Workers who were experiencingthe three Very High stresses, plsexperiencing family conicts regardingmoney issues.

Fifteen percent of church workers fall into theHigh risk group. In the Very High andExtreme groups, which are subsets of theHigh risk group, nine percent of all workrsfall into the Very High risk group, andseven percent of all workrs are in the Extremerisk group.

If the percentages were extrapolated forthe Synods church worker households, 2,624current church workers fall into the Highrisk group. Of that group, 1,170 are in theExtreme category.

The prole of High risk workers showsthat more than half (58 percent) are teachers.Almost a fourth are younger, newer workerswho have lower incomes and serve smallcongregations.

The researchers specically cited threeattitudes that were especia lly pronounced

among the risk groups: 73 percent reportedfamily conict regarding money matters;63 percent said debt negatively affects theirability to support healthy stewardship; and38 percent said unpaid debt has given them apersonal sense of failure or shame.

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Knowing W here to Seek Help

About one-third (30 percent) of the churchprofessionals surveyed this year said they haveconsulted with a nancial professional forassistance with money management issues.That percentage, according to the survey,

remained about the same regardless of thesize of the workers congregation or level ofincome. Younger and newer workers weremore likely to have consulted a professional.

The survey a lso asked if rostered workerswould consider speaking with a nancialprofessional at the district or national churchlevel for assistance if their debt problemswere impacting their ministry. Among therespondents, 68 percent say they woulddenitely or probably consider consultinga professional.

For the Synod, the challenge will be tomake the services known, since only 30percent of workers are aware that programsand services are available to assist workers whoare experiencing debt problems. The surveyfound 41 percent of workers are unsure ifsuch programs exist, and 29 percent thinksuch services do not exist. Regardless of howthey answered the question, nine out of tenagreed that debt assistance programs shouldbe available.

References

Th Gathrng Storm: Th edcatonal Dbtof Thologcal Stdnts, Anthony Ruger, SharonL. Miller, and Kim Maphis Early, September2005, Auburn Theological Seminary,Center for the Study of TheologicalEducation, New York, N. Y.

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Ron, the president of St. Michaels LutheranChurch, called the monthly meeting of thecongregations administrative council to

order. After sharing an opening devotion,he directed the attention of the councilmembers to Sally, the director of the Boardof Personnel. I have allotted half an hourof our meeting time for Sally to present amatter of concern to her and to others inthis congregation, Ron stated. It regardsan issue that this council has struggled withfor some time now, the issue of the nancialsupport of our church workers.

David Peter

The Financial Support of Church Workers:Theological Perspectives

Sally stood and moved to the front of theconference room to speak. She was a long-time member of St. Michaels Church and

highly respected in the congregation asan intelligent lay theologian and a godlyvolunteer worker. Thank you, Ron, forproviding me this opportunity to address thecouncil, Sally began. The reason I haverequested to speak to you is because I amgravely concerned about our congregationstreatment of its called church workers inrecent years. As you know, St. MichaelsLutheran Church employs seven full-time

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such as Gods command that the Israelitesprovide for the physical needs of the LeviticalpriestsI wil l limit my focus to the NewTestament. First lets consider what Jesus hasto say about the nancial support of people

who are called to be ministers of His Word.Then we will consider what Paul states aboutthis subject.

Sally wrote on the white board thisheading: The teaching of Jesus. Underthis heading she penned a Bible reference:Matthew 10:1-11. She opened her Bibleto this passage and began reading at verseone. When she had completed verse 11,she commented: This is the rst time inMatthews gospel that all 12 disciples of Jesusare identied. In verse two they are referredto as apostles, a word which means thosewho are sent forth. And that is exactly whatJesus doesHe sends them forth throughoutthe land of Israel to carry out ministry inHis namepreaching the message of Godskingdom and healing the sick and oppressed.They do this not by their own power orresources, but by that which is given to themas a gift from God. Thus verse eight reads:Freely you have received, freely give.1 Inother words, ministry is carried out through

Gods provision, and he certainly providesHis servants the spiritual gifts to bringChrists Word and care to others. However,God also provides physical gifts to Hisworkers. How? His provision is mediatedthrough the physical resources offered by therecipients of the apostles ministry. She readagain verses 9-11.

Now I recognize that this is a uniquehistorical event that doesnt parallel exactlythe situation of our church workers today.However, there is an underlying principle

that does apply. That principle is that churchworkers who freely receive the gifts of theHoly Spirit for ministry joyfully sharethose gifts with others as they preach, teach,and care for others. Their motivation forministry is not a mercenary one, and sothey do not charge fees for their service. Butthere is another side to the principle. Jesusexpects that those who receive of His servants

Dr. David Peter is associate

professor of practical theology,

director of the Doctor of Ministry

Program, and acting director of

Placement, Concordia Seminary,

St. Louis. peterd@csl.edu

professional church workers: one pastor,one Director of Christian Education,and ve teachers at our Lutheran gradeschool. During the past two years, due toa very tight budget, the congregation has

frozen the salaries of these church workers.Moreover, this administrative council isproposing to do so again for a third year.We all recognize that this amounts to anactual decrease in nancial support forthese church workers, since although theirsalaries have been frozen, the cost of livinghas increased approximately four percenteach of the last two years. Furthermore, lastyear we dropped the health care coverage ofthe staff members children, and there istalk this year of dropping the coverage of theworkers spouses. This provides a signicantadditional nancial burden on the churchworkers, who are forced to subsidize theexpensive health insurance premiums fortheir families with their own decreasingnancial resources.

In earlier meetings of this council I havemade my argument for increased nancialsupport of our church workers based onChristian ethicsan appeal for fairness andjustice. Today I will make my argument from

scripture, providing a theological rationalefor a higher level of nancial support for ourstaff at St. Michaels.

Sally moved to the white board attached tothe wall of the room in which the council hadgathered. She picked up a marker, removedits cap, and transcribed at the top of theboard these words: The biblical position onnancial support of church workers. Thenshe spoke: The Holy Scriptures, which arethe guide and norm for our doctrine andpractice, are not silent when it comes to the

Christian communitys responsibility toprovide for the creaturely needs of those whominister to us with Gods Word. Althoughthere is certainly material from the OldTestament that is relevant to this subject

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the message. Those who value the messagewill show appreciation to the messenger.The twomessenger and messageareintegrally bound together. As Christians,we receive the message of Gods Good News

with thankfulness. In the same manner weshould receive the messengers of that news.This passage clearly indicates that a thankfulreception of the messenger means a graciousprovision for his physical needs: food, shelter,and creature comforts. The messengers thatGod has sent to us are our pastor, DCE, andLutheran school teachers. The spirit of Luke,Chapter 10, tells us that we should provide forthem not begrudgingly but appreciatively, notstingily but abundantly.

Sally picked up her Bible and pointedto Luke, Chapter 10. Especially considerverse seven, she noted. Here Jesus givesa foundational rationale for compensatingour church workers. He instructs the 72messengers with these words: Stay in thathouse, eating and drinking whatever theygive you, for the worker deserves his wages.This tel ls me that nancial compensationof a church worker isnt based simply onwhat the congregations cash ow iswhata congregation thinks it can afford. It is

also based on what the worker is deservingof. Although in our relationship with Godwe cant do anything to earn His blessings,in our relationships with one another ashuman beings we must earn a l ivelihood. Inthis dimension of working with and for oneanother, even in the work of the church, itis entirely appropriate and godly to speak interms of deserving and earning the meansfor surviving and living. God has created uswith physical bodies, and those bodies needfood, shelter, clothing, and other material

goods which money purchases. God meetsthese physical needs through physical work,and so a church worker is entitledas Jesusputs it, deservingof wages and nancialcompensation for her work. Accordingly,for us not to provide appropriate nancialcompensation to the worker is defrauding ourneighbor of what she rightfully deserves. It isfailing to love our neighbor as ourself.

ministrations will also respond with graciousgiving. They will do so rst and foremost bysharing their physical resources with thosewho serve them.

Moreover, this support of the ministers

physical well-being is not optional; it is anobligation! Jesus afrms that a reason forproviding this support of creaturely needs isbecause, as verse 10 states, the worker is worthhis keep. The recognition here is that thosewho minister Gods grace do work. They arereferred to as workers by Jesus. And we referto them as workers today as wellprofessionalchurch workers. God has established in thecreated order that people should receive theirlivelihood from their work. So also shouldthose receive reasonable compensation thatdo the work of preaching and teaching GodsWord, of leading others in Gods mission, andof caring for others in the name of Christ andHis Church. The worker is worth his keep,Jesus saysthat is, he or she is deserving ofphysical and nancial support from those whoreceive the benets of that work.

Sally continued: Now lets look at anotherpassage from the gospels. Sally picked upthe marker and wrote Luke 10:1-16 on theboard. Several council members retrieved

Bibles from the center of the table and openedthem to Lukes gospel. Sally inquired, Tom,since you have found the passage, will you readit out loud? Tom gladly obliged.

After Tom completed the reading, Sallycommented on it. You notice a similarcontext to what we read in Matthews gospel.However, this is a different occasion, becausein this instance Jesus sends out not 12, but72 folks to be, as he puts it, workers in hisharvest eld in verse two. But the samegeneral principle that we discovered in the

sending of the 12 applies here. Christsworkers go forth into the mission eldtrusting that God will provide for theirphysical needs. And those who receiveministry abundantly share their physicalresources with those who serve them.

In these passages Jesus clearly associatesthe message with the messenger. How onetreats the messenger reects how one values

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Sally glanced at the clock. Oh my! sheexclaimed. I have used up a good proportionof the time allocated to me. And I haventeven yet attended to what the epistles have tosay about this subject! Well, Ill have to be

more concise in my analysis of these. Sallywent to the white board and inscribed anotherheading: The teaching of St. Paul.

The rst passage from the epistles toconsider is from First Timothy, Sally stated.I think you will see a connection to what wejust read in Luke 10. She then scrawled thescripture reference: 1 Timothy 5:17-18.The council members began ipping thepages of their Bibles, and Andrew arrivedat the passage rst, volunteering to read italoud. Immediately following this readingSam, the chairman of the Board of Elders,blurted out: Hey! I think this passage issaying that we elders ought to be paid for ourwork! Ive been an elder at this church for 13years, and Ive never been paid for what I dohere! Tom, the congregational president,responded: But you cant deny that for eachyear that you have served as an elder we havedoubled your remuneration for the position!Everyone laughed.

With a smile Sally began explaining the

scriptural passage. This term elder actuallyrefers to one who lls the pastoral ofce, sheclaried, not to a layperson who serves as avolunteer on a church board called elders.In the course of Christian history, the ideaof a lay elder is actually a relatively recentone.2 So Im sorry, Sam. This doesnt give youhope for earning a few bucks for your serviceas a lay elder, because it doesnt apply to you.

However, it does apply to our pastor, andby extension to our DCE and Lutheranschool teachers who work with him inprofessional ministry.

This passage says that pastors are

deserving of honor for their work of leadingthe affairs of the church and especia lly ofpreaching and teaching Gods Word. Thosewho excel at this work are worthy of specialhonor. The phrase those who work in verse17 is actually translated from a word thatmeans those laboring or those toiling. Thisis a word most commonly used to express thework people engage in for a livingthat is,work they receive pay for.

Furthermore, verse 18 makes it explicitlyclear that the honor they deserve is notjust in the form of intangible respect andesteem. It also includes tangible nancialremuneration. Paul here quotes two passagesof scripture. The rst quotation is fromDeuteronomy 25:4: Do not muzzle the oxwhile it is treading out the grain. The pointPaul is making here is that even an animalis provided physical food and support forits labor. If that is true for an animal, howmuch more it is true for a human being whosework brings Gods salvation to others! The

second quotation is especially signicant.Remember that I told you that this passage hasa connection with the passage we consideredpreviously from Luke 10? Well, the secondquotation is of Jesus words that we read inLuke 10:7, which say: The worker deserveshis wages. The signicance of this is twofold.First, Paul applies what Jesus said aboutproviding for the 72 itinerant messengers

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to the support of pastors who serve churchespermanently. The principle of providingphysical support to ministers of the Gospelis a timeless one that extends beyond theunique occasion of the sending out of the

72. Second, Paul commends what Jesus hadsaidthat church workers dsrv fair andcommensurate remuneration for their laborin ministry, just as other laborers do in theirvocations of agriculture, business, commerce,government, education, and the like.

Sally picked up a book from the table.In my preparation for this presentation,she said, I ran across a quotation from acommentary on this passage that I thinkexpresses its message particularly well. Id like

to conclude our study of 1 Timothy 5:17-18with this quote. Dr. Donald Guthrie, in hiscommentary on 1 Timothy, states this:

Whatever the apostle is here citing, heintends Timothy to understand that adivine sanction underlies the principleof fair provision for those who servethe Church. Too often a niggardlyattitude has been maintained towardsfaithful men who have laboured forChrist in the interest of others. Theapostle has already deplored money-

grubbing (iii.3), but he equally deploresinadequate remuneration. If Godordained ample provision for oxentreading out corn, it is incumbent uponChristian communities to see that thosewho devote time and energy to theirservice are adequately rewarded.3

Tom, the council president, stood up. Sally,he interjected, according to my watch, youhave only ve minutes left. I just want you tobe aware of this.

Thanks for this notice, Tom! Im just gladits not the two-minute warning yet. Sallychuckled. I have only one more scripturalpassage for us to consider, and I think wecan cover it in ve minutes. Tom sat downand Sally moved to the white board, uponwhich she penned: 1 Corinthians 9:1-14.As the members of the council were locatingthis passage in their Bibles, Sally asked forsomeone to read it out loud, and Rachel, thedirector of the Youth Board, volunteered.

Immediately after the section of scripturewas read, Sally offered her comments: Paulis writing to the Corinthian Christians as onewho has worked in their midstas a churchworker, if you will. In verse one he even

contends that their very status as Christiansis a result of that work: Are you not the resultof my work in the Lord? he asks them. It isbecause of his work of preaching and teachingthat they were brought to faith in Jesus andnurtured in that faith.

But apparently the Christians in Corinthdidnt provide much nancial support to Paulwhile he was with them. As a result, Paul wasconstrained to earn his living through othermeans, probably as a tent-maker. Despite this

difcult situation, he put up with it in orderto continue to minister to this community ofbelievers. As the apostle writes in verse 12, we put up with anything rather thanhinder the gospel of Christ.

Yet although he put up with a lack ofcompensation, he here informs the peoplewhom he served that they are wrong toneglect the provision for his physical needs.In fact, he claims that he has a rghtto thatcompensation. He says in verses four andsix: Dont we have the right to food and

drink? Or is it only Barnabas and I whomust work for a liv ing? Similarly, in verse12 Paul asserts: If others have this right ofsupport from you, shouldnt we have it all themore? In verses 7 and 10 Paul maintains thatworkers in other occupations have the right toample remuneration for their toilthose whoserve as soldiers so that the Corinthians maylive in security; those who plant vineyards,tend ocks, and produce grain so that theCorinthians can eat and be clothed. Theseworkers get fair compensation for their labor.

So also, Paul asserts, should church workersreceive ample remuneration for their work ofproviding spiritual nurture to others.

Notice how in verse 9 Paul quotesDeuteronomy 25:4 to support his argument,the same Old Testament passage he quotesin 1 Timothy 5:18: Do not muzzle an oxwhile it is treading out the grain. In verse10 Paul says that this command applies lessto our treatment of animals and more to ourtreatment of human beings who work for us,

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with all that I need to support this body andlife.4 In the Second Article Luther afrmsthat God the Son has redeemed me, a lostand condemned person, purchased and wonme from all sins, from death, and from the

power of the devil; not with gold or silver, butwith His holy, precious blood and with Hisinnocent suffering and death.5 And in theThird Article the reformer reminds us thatthe Holy Spirit dai ly and rchly forgives allmy sins and the sins of all believers.6 Whatrichesphysical, spiritual, and eternalGodhas bestowed upon us in Jesus Christ! We nowhave the opportunity to respond to God andHis gracious gifts by joyfully doing His will,by faithfully following His commands. And

this includes His will that we provide for theearthly needs of those who minister to us theriches of Gods grace.

The room was quiet. After a period ofsilent reection, Tom, the council president,arose to speak. Although there are otheritems on our agenda for tonights meeting,he declared, Sallys presentation hasconvinced me that nothing is more importantat this time than for us to reopen discussionon the issue of compensating our churchworkers. So lets talk.

References

1 Scriptural quotations are taken fromTh Holy Bbl, Nw intrnatonal Vrson, copyright1984 by the International Bible Society.

2 Albert Collver, Lay EldersA BriefOverview of Their Origin in the MissouriSynod: Implications for Elders Today,Concorda Jornal 32.1 (January 2006): 38-53.

3 Guthrie, Donald. Th Pastoral epstls.Tyndal Nw Tstamnt Commntars. Grand Rapids:William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company,

1957:106.4 Martin Luther. Lthrs Small Catchsm.

St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House,1986: 13.

5 ibd.: 14.6 ibd.: 15.

especially those who provide us with spiritualnurture. Paul asks a question in verse 11:If we have sown spiritual seed among you, isit too much if we reap a material harvest fromyou? The implied answer to this rhetorical

question is: Absolutely no! It is not toomuch for church workers to expect just andabundant material resources for their work!Similarly, our school teachers, DCE, andpastor who have sown spiritual seed among usin their faithful service are deserving of fairand ample material compensation from usfor their labor!

Sally had become more passionate as shespoke. But now she paused to catch her breath.She sat down. For a brief moment there was

silence, and it lay heavily upon the room.Then Sally submitted her nal entreaty.My dear sisters and brothers in Christ, sheuttered with deep sincerity, I am afraid thatthe church workers here at St. Michaels areputting up with our neglect of their needs inorder not to hinder the work of the Gospel ofChrist in this place. Theyre putting up withit. But that doesnt mean that it is okay. Theyhave a God-given right to fair compensation.Look at what verse 14 states: the Lord hascommanded that those who preach the gospel

should receive their living from the gospel.This is the Lords command! Can we honestlysay that we have been obedient to Godscommand as we have overseen the erosionof fair compensation to our faithful pastor,teachers, and DCE?

Sally paused once again, and thenconcluded her comments. Tonight I haveaddressed you as brothers and sisters inJesus. You and I are part of Gods family, theChurch, purely by the grace of God. We areChristians. And Christians are motivated

to carry out Gods wil l, His commands, notby the threats of the law, but by the power ofthe Gospel. Tonight we have considered theissue of nancial provision for our churchworkers. As we do so, we also rememberthe abundant provision God has for us inJesus Christ. In Christ, we are truly rich!Luther reminds us of Gods riches to usin his explanation of all Three Articles ofthe Creed. In the First Article he says thatGod the Father rchly and daily provides me

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David Muench

Now What?

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Shortly after I was installed into theprofessional ministry1 as a Lutheranelementary school teacher in 1975, I receiveda beautifully embroidered sampler from adear friend on which a cross was stitched

with the following statement: Working forthe Lord the pay isnt much but theretirement plan is out of this world. Thatlovingly created gift hung on the wall in ourbedroom for many years, through many movesto different locations, serving as a reminderthat one does not enter the professionalministry with the intention to get rich. Itsremarkable how often one hears that phrase,or something similar to it, when exploringthe topic of indebtedness among professionalchurch workers.

The same sentiment is bound to surface atsome point among congregational membersinvolved in extending a divine call to ministryand in the deliberation of that call by onehaving received it. In fact, traditional effortsencouraging young persons to considerthe professional ministry have includedassurance that one need not worry about thenancial aspects of ministry, because Godsomehow always seems to take care of that.Again, when considering a call, professional

ministers have traditionally been taught to becareful about placing too much interest on thearrangements for housing, or how the salarycompares to ones current compensation.Rather, the encouragement has been togive more weight on whether or not onesparticular gifts for ministry might be wellsuited for the specic needs in the callingcongregation. The message has a lways been,Money and material matters should be at thebottom of the list of considerations.

Now, however, there is growing alarm

related to the level of indebtedness amongprofessional ministers. Im grateful for thispublication ofisss and the commitment topresenting various components of this veryreal problem among us. Its my privilege toexplore opportunities we have for responding

as a synodical system. I engage the task witha prayer that our gracious Lord will blessthe efforts, granting patience, persistence,and progress toward resolutions which glorifyHim while strengthening and expanding

His Kingdom.

A Systems Perspective

In considering this challenge, its helpfulto remember that professional ministersfunction as an element of a systm, a st ofntrconnctd parts workng togthr n th contxt of achangng nvronmnt.A system functions withmany circular, interlocking, and time-delayed relationships among its individualparts. We have named our system TheLutheran ChurchMissouri Synod. Likeany other system, al l members of thesynodical system have some level of impacton all other members of the system. A fewelements in our synodical system includeprofessional ministers and staff, theirspouses, their families, the congregationalleadership, congregational members, circuitcounselors, district presidents, the synodicalpresident, and other ofcers, staff, districtand synodical conventions, boards andcommissions at district and synodical levels,

Lutheran elementary schools, Concordiauniversities and seminaries, and others. Asyou know, an element cannot belong to asystem without impacting and being impactedby all the other members of the system, evenif the impact seems minimal. That realityalone makes the issue of church workerindebtedness highly complex.

It is neither necessary nor helpful toidentify one member of a system as the xclsvpossessor of a problem in the system. Oftenwed like to try to attribute successes to, or

blame failures on, one individual component,when there are multiple paths within a systemto any outcome. Attempting to identifyone member as exclusively responsible fordysfunction in the system risks the assignmentof energy toward developments of allegationand defense so that little energy remains forthe discovery and work towards resolution. Weall have a stake in the problem and in workingtoward constructive change. Its meaninglessto look at a single part without looking at theinterconnectedness of the whole.

The Rev. David Muench is the

Executive Director of the

Commission on Ministerial Growth

and Support. David.Muench@lcms.org

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Similarly, its not necessary to identify andanalyze the negative aspects of absolutely everyrelationship in a system before beginningefforts toward improvement. Instead, becauseevery member is impacted by the interactions

of every member, minor adjustmentsin the system, even at the periphery, willripple through the system and impact allits members. That systemic truth gives usencouragement to get started instead of beingfooled into thinking that we must have theultimate, all-encompassing solution inhand before we make a beginning.

Though systems function withinenvironments that are constantly changing,a system will try to maintain balance byminimizing change. As we make a beginning,we need not be surprised by resistance toproposals for change. Resistance will surface,sometimes in the form of subtle sabotage,even from surprising sources within thesystem. Remember, the system has not arrivedat its current form by accident, and its thenature of a system to try to maintain itself.

How Change Occurs

Another consideration in our search forresolution to this indebtedness problem is

a theory related to the Stages of Change.Development of this model is attributed toJames Prochaska and Carlo DiClemente,although others have shared in the work.Their premise is that behavioral changeinvolves progression through six stages,each with its own tasks. Those stages areidentied as:

1. Pre-contemplationdenial of the needfor change;

2. Contemplationbeginning to

acknowledge a problem;3. Preparationplanning to take action;4. Actionmodifying undesired behavior;5. Maintenancesustaining new behavior;6. Terminationnew behavior is a habit.2

A valuable insight within this model is therealization that action undertaken when aperson is in the stage of pre-contemplation orcontemplation usually fails and then increases

the level of discouragement and despairregarding the potential for change.

As redeemed children of God, we alsounderstand that every change which isin harmony with Gods wil l and follows

the guide of His law is motivated andaccomplished by Him in us as a functionof sanctication, acknowledging thatwithout faith, its impossible to please Him(Hebrews 11:6).

A Charge

In August of 2005, realizing the need forchanges in our system, and pledging thesupport of himself and his ofce, LCMSPresident Gerald Kieschnick charged theCommission on Ministerial Growth andSupport (CMGS) to assume leadership inaddressing the issue of Rostered ChurchWorker Indebtedness in the LCMS.In response, the CMGS has formed theEconomic Vitality Action Team (EVAT)and assigned the tasks of 1) identifyingthe nature and various dimensions of theproblem; 2) identifying available resources;and 3) developing strategies for resolution.This action team is functioning under thefollowing purpose statement:

The Economic Vitality Action Planstrives to help LCMS professionalministers (ordained and commissioned)and the church body to establisheconomic vitality. The plan intends toequip them (professional ministers andchurch body) to make wise decisionscentered in faith, hope and love forjoyful service to the Lord, identifyingand coordinating emergency nancialassistance to workers in crisis.

The rst commitment of the EVAT is topursue this project within a framework oflove, owing from Jesus instruction that thehearts of those professing to be children ofGod are dominated by mercy (Luke 10:37).There is plenty of opportunity to discusswhat might have been done differently inthe past. Without question, mistakes havebeen made and opportunities overlooked byvarious elements of the system, but Gods

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Next Steps

One of the initial strategies toward resolutioninvolves research. Appropriate strategies forchange must be informed by specics. Forinstance, are we able to identify throughresearch the objective dimensions of Rostered

Church Worker Indebtedness? Are theprofessional ministers themselves able toidentify the perceived impact of their owndebt load on the ministry they pursue?Do we have a way to establish the impact ofindebtedness on a professional ministersfamily and on the decision of the nextgeneration to choose a career in ministry?Do we also have access to some of the previousefforts of the synodical system to discover whatwas successful in this arena and why, alongwith what did not work and why not? Arethere practices and values from non-church,nonprot, and for-prot organizations thatmight provide guidance and insight? Researchsuch as the study conducted by the LutheranChurch Extension Fund and discussed in theprevious article will also serve to establish abaseline so that current and future effortsmay be measured relative to outcomes.

As the research indicates, professionalministers as a group must pursue increasedexpertise with the basics of nancial literacy

as they begin the long and expensive processof educational training and as they servein ministry. Its no longer sufcient, if itever was, to say, Im not worried about thenances, Ill pursue ministry faithfully andlet the Lord take care of the money.

In this age of easy credit and elevatedmaterialism, its easy to be distracted fromsound scal judgment relative to personaland family expenses. Professional ministerswill benet from increased appreciation ofand access to responsible nancial advisors

as they consider appropriate uses of credit,credit cards, and alternative resources tomake ends meet on meager salaries. It wil lbe a blessing for called workers to be ful lyaware of tax requirements and benets. Aswith many other dimensions of support andaccountability, there may be great value forthe professional minister and spouse to beinvolved in a support/accountability grouprelative to discussion and management ofpersonal and family nances.

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that would provide some level of matchingassistance toward educational loans accruedbefore arriving could result in positiveactions. This would require high levels ofintegrity, honor and trust on the part of al l

involved, with a determination to demonstratelove. Congregations will want to ght thetemptation to allow provision for theirministers to fall short because they haventthought of another way to meet the budget.They will refrain from decision-makingbased upon a statement like, They knewthere wouldnt be any money in it when theydecided to enter the ministry, so why arethey so upset now?a view that can leadto a disregard for proper consideration ofcompensation and benets.

Congregations will want to seekopportunities to demonstrate the high valuethey place on those who serve among them.When that is matched by the genuine effortsof ministers to honor those they serve, ashift wi ll happen in the congregation.The two entities of that relationship,ministers and congregations, instead ofpracticing their best techniques to avoid beingtaken advantage of by the other, will each beseeking to serve and honor each other, eager

to accommodate the other.What Educational InstitutionsCan Do

Our educational institutions will bringvalue to the effort through an increase intheir attention to the level of an applicantsnancial literacy and stability as a regularpart of the admissions process. At boththe university and seminary level, studentsseeking admission will be assisted inthe development of a realistic and scally

sound strategy demonstrating how oneseducation wil l be nanced. That plan isnot likely to be free of all debt, but it wouldbe constructed within parameters of scalresponsibility, with an eye toward the realitythat beginning salaries in the eld ofprofessional ministry are not in the uppertiers of vocational options.

Educational institutions will be theinstrument of tremendous blessing to the

We dare not overlook the biblicalstewardship. Professional ministers are underthe same call to live as wise stewards withwhat God has provided, setting aside andcheerfully returning to Him a sacricially

proportionate measure of the rst fruits.When professional ministers take seriouslytheir responsibility to teach and modelhealthy scriptural stewardship to those theyserve, the impact wil l be noticed in theresources available to pursue ministry locallyand beyond, including provision for thosewho serve in the professional ministry.

What also will make a difference in thelives of professional ministers is that theyserve the congregation to which they have

been called in ways which honor the peopleas beloved children of God. The ministersintentional efforts to promote connectionsof healthy, respectful, servant relationshipswill go a long way toward the provision ofadequate material needs by the congregationin response. Within this context, professionalministers will need to grow in theirwill ingness and ability to appropriately engagediscussions with the congregational leadershipregarding compensation.

What Congregations Can Do

Congregations are key participants in theimplementation of strategies for resolution.Signicant help will be known throughan honest evaluation of their commitmentto honor and provide for the professionalministers who serve them. It would be ofgreat benet for congregations to establisha ministers care committee, appointedby called workers, and set apart from thegovernance structures in the congregation.Their role is to exercise discretion as they

intentionally discover how the congregationmight best care for its professional ministersand then work toward bringing this about.

It would also be a blessing if this committeewere willing to interact with the professionalministers relative to their specic and uniquenancial situation. Their agenda may includea recommendation of connecting withtrustworthy and reputable nancial advisorsin the community. Monitoring a fund

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entire church and to the issue of workerindebtedness specically if they will initiate acurriculum of basic nancial training basedon a theological foundation for all students.Age appropriate curricular materials might

also be developed for use in the elementaryand high schools of our system as well.

The discussion of this issue almostalways involves the topic of student loansand the rising costs connected to gainingthe educational credentials to serve inprofessional ministry. Our educationalinstitutions are in a difcult position asthe support for their work received fromsynodical dollars has continued to declinewhile the costs for providing their product

have continued to climb. The obvious result isan increasingly heavy burden on the students.Our institutions serve the students wellwhen they do not simply encourage furtherdebt without helping the student to honestlyevaluate the ability to repay later.

What Synod Can Do

It would be easy to offer the suggestion thatthe Synod should simply increase its supportfor the education of professional ministers atthe same levels as two generations ago. The

reality is that synodical dollars ow ultimatelyfrom congregational offerings. Very quickly,the systemic nature of our efforts forresolution becomes quite obvious. Levels ofpersonal and corporate stewardship will haveto grow for this to be a reality.

The ofcers and staff, boards andcommissions of the synodical and districtadministrative structure will play animportant role as they provide workshopsand advocacy for professional ministers.Districts will have the best opportunity to

encourage congregations in the developmentof salary and benets packages. District salaryguidelines have brought signicant blessingalready, and they are even more benecialwhen they include factors accounting for theaverage household income of the speciczip code in which a minister is serving. Thecollection and sharing of Best Practices inthe various districts regarding church workerindebtedness can foster creativityand encouragement.

District ofcials are well placed topromote healthy relationships of mutualaccommodation in service as they work withcongregations during the calling process.They also can be instrumental in advocacy

for the provision of an educational loanrepayment match mentioned earlier. Theseefforts might best be accomplished througha person identied as the Districts Advocatefor Ministerial Wellness, a position alreadyexisting in some districts.

The Synod might initiate a programthrough which congregations receivespecial recognition and church-wide honorfor their sincere and creative methods ofcare for their professional ministers. TheSynod might also provide various resources,such as a national help-line, the gatheringand management of emergency rescuefunds, and communication materialsand encouragement for a church-wideinvolvement. Other organizations connectedto the synodical system, such as LutheranChurch Extension Fund, Lutheran ChurchMissouri Synod Foundation, Concordia PlanServices, Lutheran Education Association,Thrivent, and many others can be recruitedto share expertise and resources. The

Lutheran Church Extension Fund hasalready stepped up with low-cost mortgage,debt consolidation, and home equity loansfor rostered church workers, and ConcordiaPlan Services has engaged a brilliantlygifted nancial advisor who regularly offersnancial workshops and training events.

These are only some of the strategiesthat will lead toward resolution in the issueof indebtedness among our professionalministers. The discussion of and process fordiscovering further avenues of resolution

must continue.As awareness of the problem grows,

some will be asking What Now? from theperspective that someone is always asking forsomthng, so, what is it now? Theyll remainreluctant to admit that there is even aproblem, and even if there were a problem,theyll be tempted to deny that it is in any waythrproblem.

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Others will ask What Now? in a genuinedesire to know what can I be doing to make adifference? and, How can I get involved?

The diminution of pain and the pursuitof pleasure are leading motivators in getting

people to the action stage of change.Christians, however, are also motivatedby the sanctied and responsive desire tolive rightly. With each of us being partof a system, I urge you, whatever your role,whatever your access to resources, to pray thatGod would lead you to understand the seriousnature of this problem and motivate you toaction. I remain condent that He will showerunimaginable blessing beyond what we couldhope to ask for upon the efforts of all themany and various members of our synodicalsystem to eliminate indebtedness among ourprofessional ministers. In our having beenblessed, His name will be gloried and HisChurch strengthened.

References

1 The terms professional ministers andprofessional ministry are used throughoutthis document to refer to both ordained andcommissioned ministers.

2 Changng for Good, James O. Prochaska,

John C. Norcross, and Carlo C. DiClemente,Avon: New York, 1994.

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Needed: Fair CompensationWhen I was a young 18-year-old, my dadsaid, You know if you become a teacher

you wont earn much. Being young andadventurous, I didnt care. How true myfathers words became. My husband and Iboth hold advanced degrees. We are bothinvolved in helping professionsme as aLutheran educator for over 20 years.

Debt is a difcult subject. We often feelguilt y and foolish for acquiring debt as theif onlys pile up. If only my school helped topay for advanced degrees, if only I didnt havea chronically ill child, if only my childrendidnt attend a Lutheran high school wherewe still have to pay tuition maybe then wecould be in control of our nances.

I have come to realize that the Lutheranchurch bears part of the responsibility formy crisis. I cant count the number of timesthe budget of the church has been balancedon my back no raise, one percent raise.To add insult to injury, I also now teach 12months of the year but continue to be paid ona 10-month call. No one in my congregationseems to think this is unusual or that thiskind of added year-round responsibilitydeserves a fair salary increase. My husbandI both work additional jobsas a matter offact we have for the past 12 years. We are tired

and feel burdened.Dont be fooled into thinking I am just

grumpy. I love my call. I wouldnt want togive it up. But I would like to have a salarythat compensates me fairly. I was visitinga new college graduate who has never heldanother job, other than part-time positions.He will begin w ith a salary of $45,000. Howsad. I probably will not even make it to the$40,000 mark in the next ve years.

None of my children is looking intochurch work. Why? I think its because theysee how much work you do with so very littlenancia l or verbal reward. The dollar isntnecessarily their driver, but they have seen

how it has inuenced the choices we areable to make as a family. They are aware ofthe sacrices their own family will have tomake and my children are not going inthat direction. Helping professions? Yes.Professional church work? No.

Administrators, boards, and churchleaders must pave the way for fair and ethicalcompensation for church workers.

Name Withheld Upon Request

Are there solutions to these and similarfinancial issues impacting the church?Of course there are! The Lord didntinstitute the church and then walk awayfrom it. Some of my suggested solutionsare a little radical, but not mean spirited.

1. The most obvious solution is to paymore. Dont balance the congregationalbudget through the salaries and benetpackage of the workers. Charge a tuitionthat allows for the workers to be paid onthe District scale.

2. Skew the salary scales to give higherpercentage raises to the young workers.This allows them some additional moneyto compensate for starting ministryand paying loans. Many businesses givesigning bonuses to new recruits; why notthe church? Dont penalize the moreexperienced worker; instead, give the

younger worker a higher salary.3. Lower the cost of college for those

studying for any ministry withinthe LCMS. Perhaps tuition couldbe lowered in exchange for yearsof service in the church similar to whatour military does.

4. Force congregations to be realistic

about salaries. Placement ofcers anddistrict presidents have the power toeffect a change by not placing workersinto situations that arent paying a fair

wage. Whi le this may not be popular, itis the right thing to do.

5. Require the young worker to take anintensive money management andbiblical stewardship course beforegraduation. Dont wait for disaster;avoid it. There are many Bible-basedstewardship programs on the market.

6. Organize the workers. No strikes,slow downs, or picket lines, but aforum, probably electronic, where the

topic can be discussed and wheresolutions can be found. Dont fear thetopic; address it openly and in the spiritof improvement.

Consider Philippians 4:8-9 as you evaluatethis topic.

Gary SpielerPrincipal, Zion Lutheran School

Belleville, Illinoisemail: gspieler@zionbelleville.org

Financial Challenges ofa Lutheran Educator

Time for a Union?No one ever said, If you want to berich, become a Lutheran educator! But Idoubt any have entered Lutheran educationwith the hopes of struggling from pay check topay check. Are the modern nancial pressuresof being a Lutheran educator affectingcongregational ministry, recruitment andthe workers performance? I think the answerto these questions is yes, and the long-termimpact for the church could be devastating.

This article arose from a comment Imade to the Lutheran Education Associationsemail listserv for administrators inthe summer of 2006. On a fairly regularbasis the topics of adequate teachercompensation, paying for staff benets, lowmorale, and high indebtedness are addressedin this professional forum. My tongue-in-cheek remark that we should organize aunion to address these issues may haveraised some ire, but at least it has helpedbring attention to the need to address thesenancial issues impacting our commissionedand ordained ministers.

In the past it was possible for a churchworker to graduate from one of the Concordiaswith no debt. Even though salaries werelow, church workers could live sensiblybecause they had no debt, the congregation

embraced them as kingdom workers, and thecongregation paid for all of the ConcordiaPlan premiums. With few exceptions, it isimpossible for most students to graduate todaywithout debt. Low salaries, high expectations,a growing number of congregations askingthe worker to pay for a part of the benetpackage, are a recipe for failure. Many

workers get second jobs or quit to seek otheremployment. Many who stay in the ministryfeel stressed by nances, and their ministrysuffers. Many potential workers dont evenconsider a church profession because of thelow salary potential, high cost of education,and high job expectations.

The church is blessed with many dedicatedworkers. However, as a principal of a largerLutheran school and father or father-in-law to several young church workers, I seenancial pressures on workers as probablythe biggest threat to all congregationalministries in the near future, especiallyLutheran schools.

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God Always ProvidesI need to begin with this conviction: nomatter what, God always provides. In mylifetime, there has never been a time thatHe has not. Yet I have had to do an amazingamount of juggling to stay in church work,

with signicant stress on my family. Hereis my story:

In year one, my salary did not coverrepaying student loans, paying rent andbuying food. On paper it didnt work, ever,that rst year. One Sunday I wrote a checkfor my last 12 dollars to the church my tithe and gulped, because my anc was comingto visit, and I didnt know where to get themoney for a Thanksgiving meal. Yet folksfrom my congregation showed up at my doorwith a basket of Thanksgiv ing xings that veryafternoon. Many stories like these followed.

All church workers have them. It shouldnthave worked on paper yet it did.

My church worker husband and I movedto a highly urban teaching setting where wefelt God had called us. Unfortunately, wecouldnt make the loan payments on oursalary and pay the rent. We laid the burdenon the Lord. We both considered second jobs.A relative died and left me some inheritancemoney, so I paid off the loans, which allowedme to stay in ministry. But again, it shouldnt

have worked.Our next call included a major pay cut,

but despite the fact that we rented a housefrom generous members, I had to waitress

weekend nights to make the family budgetstay in the black. My husbands second jobevolved into a business venture, and he leftchurch work. Then came Baby One with thehope I could take some time out to raise her.

We tried it for a year, couldnt make endsmeet, and I found myself waitressing nightshift s to avoid daycare. I wanted with all myheart to go back to Lutheran e