Selfishness
It's official. I'm the most selfish person I know.Actually, I've known for a long time.
Not by choice, of course, but true nonetheless. And it takes a great deal of effort to overcome my own inherent selfishness as I go about my daily life. As a husband, as a father, as a friend...selfishness is constantly in the way of being who I strive to be.
I'm convinced that selfishness is the basis of our original sin as humans. It exerts control over every part of us, in every arena of our life, and prevents us from (or at least negatively encourages us from) loving God and our neighbors fully, as the scriptures command us to. Simply put, we're too busy loving ourselves. We can't focus outwardly, as we're too focused inwardly (which of course happens on a corporate level as well to churches).
At a recent district clergy meeting, someone floated the idea of making adjustments to our denomination-wide pension system to make it more "justice-based" rather than the present system which gives greater financial reward to those pastors serving larger churches (which in turn are able to give larger salaries, which then requires giving more to the pension fund which is determined by a percentage of salary). It's a catch-22. Pastors serving larger churches make more now and later, while pastors serving smaller churches, or pastors called to staff ministry positions (which traditionally pay less than Senior Pastor positions) make less now and later. The end result is a system which encourages pastors to "move up the food chain". It feeds into that inherent selfishness that all of us are called by Christ to overcome. In this discussion, someone put forth the notion that we should make pension payments (upon retirement) an across the board amount, so that all pastors receive equally, rather than receiving what was put in by their churches (and based on salary levels). This, as one clergy member stated, would be much more in line with a biblical model of justice. On an aside, it might also encourage more pastors to take small church calls, and allow more pastors to remain in staff ministry positions. They may still make less now, but they would receive equally later. At the conclusion of the discussions, one of the members talked about bringing this forward for discussion and action at our upcoming denominational ministerium annual meeting. It makes sense. It follows scripture. It seems right. It might even help a lot of churches.
But...what's the chance that our inherent selfishness can be subdued to the point, that many will be willing to give away what they see as "their money"?
posted by Unknown @ 2:27 PM
3 comments
3 Comments:
I remember being told, as a manager, I had a certain "budget" to spend in our department. If I could save money in what I designated as salary to those I managed, I could have the rest for myself. Ultimate selfishness in the corporate world! I remember giving a % increase to everyone and that was the end. The whole concept bothered me then and still does but I wonder if I would do any differently now.
Thanks, Johnny, for putting forth our ideas from that day. This has been a big concern for many years and it really needs to receive more than a token response/"smile" from those we have tried to get to take a good look at it. We were told that "our system" doesn't work that way. I say, let's see why some other denominations are moving in this direction. Why can't we give it at least a bit more balance? How about getting someone who knows an actuary do give us an analysis of our system? And ... we can't expect them to fund this! Isn't there someone in seminary/business track who could take this on as their thesis/project? Systems should be looked at -- from many different angles -- and asked "why," and "why not?" And, what are the results of our present approach -- you hit the nail on the head for some of these.
I believe ministers should be paid salaries commensurate with their education, responsibilities, and work load. Forget about housing allowances and other "perqs" that are designed to make up for an inadequate salary and sometimes give the appearance of attempting to circumvent tax regulations. Certainly, in upholding the principle of separation of church and state, I do not think the government should treat ministers differently from other citizens in any way.
The Evangelical Covenant Church has an obligation to its ministers to provide a pension plan that is both equitable and just. However, the idea of all ministers receiving an equal pension without regard to merit or labor or personal or institutional contribution strikes me as unjust in a democratic society.
Additionally, ministers are human, and some may suffer from the same weaknesses the rest of us do. Without oversight, accountability, and rewards for achievement, there is a possibility that motivation will lag.
I know absolutely nothing about the denomination's pension plan. However, drawing inferences from what is implied in the original post, I would suggest that perhaps what is needed is to value the work of pastors in small churches and in staff positions more. Perhaps the denomination can find ways to compensate the ministers in those "hardship" positions all along. Why wait for retirement to give them a living wage? Perhaps supplements.....charity on the part of bigger and richer congregations...are called for at the denominational level.
Finally, I do not think ambition is necessarily a selfish thing. It could be more selfish to set personal priorities that rule out "moving up the chain."
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