Pastors, Salaries, and the Future

Way back in 1958, the Boston Red Sox captured headlines with an outrageous signing deal: they held on to Ted Williams in a staggering one-year contract for $135,000, making him the highest paid player in Major League Baseball history.

 

Adjusted for inflation, that would be worth about $1.5 million today.

Juan Soto, now of the New York Mets, will earn nearly $129 million in 2025 after signing a 15-year $765 million contract. Of course, this year’s salary also included endorsements and a $75 million signing bonus, but hey, who’s counting?

So what’s happened over the course of nearly seven decades?

The same could be said of, say, tech CEOs. Or of any number of careers: celebrities, cardiologists, corporate lawyers, etc.

Interestingly, the average U.S. Senator is paid $174,000 today. Picking 1958 again, their average salary was $22,500. If we adjust that number for inflation, today that would be $252,000.

Hmmm…didn’t see that one coming.

But what determines the monetary worth of an individual?

In several of those contexts, the revenue streams have increased exponentially. And, of course, in MLB’s case, not a lot of humans can do what Soto does—that’s simply supply-and-demand. A strong union doesn’t hurt either.

So let me shift gears for you who are pastors.

There is a dearth of people entering “clergy” careers. Protestant and Roman Catholic churches are struggling to fill pulpits, resulting in mergers, closures, and increasingly bi-vocational leaders. But yet the supply-and-demand construct isn’t happening here. And with churches surviving primarily by the generosity of attendees, that has certainly tightened: MinistryWatch reported last year that the average “evangelical Christian” gives a little over 2%.

We’re in trouble.

So why do you pastor?

For most, it can’t be for the money, based on median salaries. I will assume it’s about intrinsic values and revelation—the most spiritually-realized version of the word vocation—from the Latin vocare: “to call”.

But something has to change, especially at the institutional level.

I have a suggestion.

We have got to shift to a local apprenticeship model.

Pastors have to make the move from only shepherding to include a personal replication model via apprenticing. Now that Bible schools and seminaries are no longer the “feeder” for pastoral positions (that ship sailed a long time ago), churches—and pastors specifically—must be the ones offering practical ministry to potential leaders, and the ones feeding schools and seminaries for further theological training if nothing similarly has been developed at the local church level.

This isn't done overnight and will require a major paradigm shift ecclesiologically and at the pastoral/leadership level. It means that a pastor’s job description must include replication, and other aspects of his/her job must be jettisoned and/or delegated. And even more, a model of leadership that is Spirit-breathed to identify and enlist future shepherds in winsome and inspiring ways, must be developed—challenging recruits to lose all for the sake of the Kingdom.

Not easy in a consumeristic me-first culture.

But wasn’t that the Jesus-model?

The current way isn’t working. So let’s get off that track and start building another.

Quickly. 

Dave Workman | The Elemental Group

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The Elemental Group’s Church Scholarship Initiative is designed for churches that want to impact their communities but lack the resources because of context or circumstances. The six-month Pathway program is a comprehensive development and coaching program for church leadership teams. Our generous Kingdom-minded donors have made it possible for under-resourced churches to receive proven help at a minimal cost. Click here for more info.