question about pastors salary

[peter83]

I want to ask how a pastor get paid? i mean when people pay tithes how many go to the pastor?how many to the poor ,mission etc.?

[Jito463]

It's up to the individual church.

[consapente89]

If a church is following the biblical example then the entire tithe is goes to the ministry. The offerings above that finance the church and other out reaches and ministries.

[wire2john]

Originally Posted by consapente89

If a church is following the biblical example then the entire tithe is goes to the ministry. The offerings above that finance the church and other out reaches and ministries.

I do not agree that the Bible teaches this, but this is how tithing is taught in the Bible colleges, from a theoretical perspective. In practice, churches with more than a few members do not and frankly cannot follow this, because the people would not stand for it. Instead, pastors in churches of more than a few are paid a salary.

[consapente89]

Originally Posted by wire2john

I do not agree that the Bible teaches this, but this is how tithing is taught in the Bible colleges, from a theoretical perspective. In practice, churches with more than a few members do not and frankly cannot follow this, because the people would not stand for it. Instead, pastors in churches of more than a few are paid a salary.

What's a few to you? 60? 120? 600? 1200? 2000?

Because I know churches of all these sizes that practice that type of tithing. And the pastors live blessed but modest lives.

[Scott Pitta]

We were taught at CLC that a pastor should peg his wages to the average income of his church. Case in point, Kenneth Haney never drove a nicer car than a Buick.

When I was a church treasurer, pastors were paid wages like any other employee. The first 3 years, their pension contribution and vacation days increased. Our stating policy was "as the church prospers, so will the pastor."

[wire2john]

Originally Posted by consapente89

What's a few to you? 60? 120? 600? 1200? 2000?

Because I know churches of all these sizes that practice that type of tithing. And the pastors live blessed but modest lives.

I can't give you a precise number, but look at the math:

If the church has 10 members with an average salary of 50K, 10% = $50K
If 100 members, 10% = $500K
If 1,000 members, 10% = $5 million

Churches with 500 members are fairly common, and that would be 2.5 million dollars a year. Most people would balk at a number like that, when the average income level is $50,000 annually.

[wire2john]

Originally Posted by Scott Pitta

We were taught at CLC that a pastor should peg his wages to the average income of his church. Case in point, Kenneth Haney never drove a nicer car than a Buick.

When I was a church treasurer, pastors were paid wages like any other employee. The first 3 years, their pension contribution and vacation days increased. Our stating policy was "as the church prospers, so will the pastor."

This sounds like the way most churches do it, how does it square with tithing doctrine though? My understanding of tithing is that 10% of income is owed to the pastor personally.

[Scott Pitta]

In our case, we had 2 ministers on the payroll. The tithe income financed both salaries.

We did not concern ourselves with the theology of who were paid from tithes. Not all of our income was tithes, some was general offering.

[wire2john]

Originally Posted by Scott Pitta

In our case, we had 2 ministers on the payroll. The tithe income financed both salaries.

We did not concern ourselves with the theology of who were paid from tithes. Not all of our income was tithes, some was general offering.

This sounds reasonable and surely represents what most churches are doing in practice, but can you point me to something official from the organization? If I am wrong when I say that the organizations affirm that the tithes belong to the pastor, I need to know so I can stop saying it! I realize what I am asking you for is a hassle, but I don't know how to find it myself.