Taxing the uninformed
Also posted at Gathering Voices a blog for TheThoughtfulChristian.com
The Obamas and Bidens released their tax returns this week. If you were wondering, President Obama made $1.7 million, well down from last year (I guess e-book sales really are hurting authors these days). The Bidens’ income was $379,000, though their charitable giving of 1.4% of their income is pretty poor if you ask me (including, by the way, $1000 to Westminster Presbyterian Church). In any case, the President and Vice President’s tax returns are now public.
In Norway, all tax returns are published online. All of them — not just those of public officials. I grew up the son of a pastor whose annual salary was posted on the bulletin board in the main hallway of the church. When I was hired as a pastor in Hallock, my salary was approved by the congregation and the presbytery. Openness. Accountability. Transparency.
Though some public positions require one’s salary to be posted for all to see, the general practice in the US is to be very tight-lipped about one’s salary. It’s fine to complain generally about paying too many taxes, but one doesn’t get too specific. In fact, even as a pastor whose salary is pretty darn public, I can’t recall ever having had a conversation with a friend about how much money we make.
With my peers it’s ok to complain about student loans. I’ve playfully fought over who should pay many a bar tab, but talking specifics of salary, charitable donations, retirement savings and that sort of thing. Well, we just wouldn’t do that.
I wish it were different.
I wish we had more open and honest conversations about money, giving, spending, and debt.
I wish we were like those in some spiritual communities who meet annually to hold each other accountable, spending included.
I wish we all posted our salaries on a public bulletin board, or online.
And I wish, when we did that, we might come to understand salvation comes from God not money.
I know it’s not particularly helpful to simply complain and wish for pie-in-the-sky happenings, but I find it difficult to do more when it comes to US conversations about money. Take this CNN poll that recently found Americans so far off in their estimations of US government expenditures that, upon reading the results, you either have to laugh or crawl up in a ball crying.
According to the poll, on average Americans think we spend 10% of the budget on foriegn aid — the actual number is close to 1%. They think we spend 5% on public broacasting while the real percentage is a tenth of 1%. They also mistakenly assume we spend many more times the actual dollar on low income housing and food programs.
So what is a thoughtful Christian to do? Well, first of all, one could check out the cool Federal Tax Receipt program at the White House website. Put in how much you paid in taxes this year and out pops the proportion of what went where. Pretty spiffy, really.
After posting the tax recepit calculator to my Facebook page this week, a pastor friend commented wondering if congregations should make similar recepts for stewardship campaign season. I thought that was a brilliant ideal. I’ll add it to my list of wishes. How much to buy three?
image by brainloc
Additional Resources from www.TheThoughtfulChristian.com
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“Should Churches Pay Taxes?” by Edward Leroy Long Jr. (Adult Study)
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“Why We Pay Taxes,” by Brent Waters (Adult Study)
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“The Tea Party Movement: A Return to Basic American Principles or a Radical Departure?” by Aaron Hoffmann (Adult Study)
Jell-O Confessions
Originally posted at Gathering Voices: Faith Conversations from TheThoughtfulChristian.com
Pastoral ministry is a funny thing. A few years ago, I never in my wildest dreams would have imagined myself pastor of a rural congregation 20 miles from Canada (I grew up in Florida!). But then we moved up here, I got connected to a great church, and now I really hate to leave. A number of circumstances conspired against me staying as long as we might have liked, and I preached my last sermon as pastor last Sunday. Transitions are tough. Goodbyes can be very sad.
It’s much too early to reflect fully on my ministry there, but it’s always the right time for bullet points. So, here’s my top twelve reflections on my first stab at pastoral ministry.
- mark the Bible readings carefully before you try to read them from the pulpit — lesson learned the hard way
- going the extra mile with pastoral care is always worth it
- Confirmation can be totally, completely, entirely, a rocking-fun experience. (We loved the re:form curriculum.)
- In Minnesota, when visiting someone in their home, you take your shoes off at the door. You do the same in Hawaii, but not Florida or Scotland.
- Breakfast at the Caribou Grill every wednesday nourishes much more than one’s body.
- More parishioners read your blog than you think.
- It’s really very hard to schedule time to read ministry books, magazines, and the like.
- Colleagues of one’s own denomination are fine, but ecuenical pastor colleagues from the local area are even better.
- You can put absolutely anything in a Jell-O salad. Anything.
- Many things run totally smoothly without the pastor doing a thing: e.g. Presbyterian Women, potlucks, annual traditions.
- Some things run totally rough without the pastor’s help: e.g. new traditions, turf battles, the batteries in the automatic flush urinal.
- Preaching every week is a great gift, but after ten weeks in a row or so, I needed a break.
Pastors out there, what did you/are you learning in your first parish? Have you come to appreciate the art form that is a Jell-O salad?
Additional Resources from www.TheThoughtfulChristian.com
- Best Advice: Wisdom on Ministry from 30 Leading Pastors and Preachers, edited by William J. Carl III
- A Guide to Preaching and Leading Worship, by William H. Willimon
- “Children in Worship,” (Adult Study)
What would Jesus wear to prom?
Originally posted at Gathering Voices: Faith Conversations from TheThoughtfulChristian.com
When I was in high school, I used to hate it when older people spoke to me using phrases like, “Well, when you get to the real world…” Um, last time I checked, high school students do indeed live in the real world, and for many it’s a rather challenging world at that. So, when I wrote The Thoughtful Christianstudy, “Faithful Budgeting: Connecting Our Spending Habits to Our Beliefs” I wanted to make sure the study didn’t come across as condescending. Youth today, perhaps more than many adults, are in the real world when it comes to spending money.
Price of gas? Most youth with a car know that. Price of the new iPod? Youth know that too. Discussions on the values of buying name brands versus imitations? That’s a daily issue for many a young person. The tricky issues of money, spending, and values aren’t somehow hidden from youth culture — they’re part and parcel of growing up.
Think back to when you were in high school. What was the cool thing? Do you remember your biggest purchase as a young person? Before I drove, my biggest purchase was a Trek bicycle (my parents paid the orthodontist themselves!). After I drove, I bought a tool box for my pickup (bought by my parents) and slowly bettered my golf clubs. Thank goodness these were the days before iPads and MacBook Pros — things could have gotten ugly.
In high school, my friends approached money from several different perspectives. Some had wealthy parents who paid for practically anything they wanted. Others didn’t receive much money from their parents, but had well-paying after school and summer jobs. I worked as a soccer referee most every Saturday for most of high school, but my parents also gave me an allowance. My allowance didn’t depend on whether my room was clean or I mowed the lawn. Some of my friends, though, could earn more from their parents by helping out around the house. And the neighbors wondered why their parents’ cars were always so clean!
For better or for worse, the Bible does not tell us how many songs Jesus wants on our iPods (or other music-playing device), or whether to buy Chacos or Crocs. But, the Bible does give us resources to approach questions of money and stewardship. Jesus, after all, lived in the real world. God, very much, cares how we use our resources.
The “Faithful Budgeting” study is designed to enable discussion on how youth spend their money, but also about how the broader culture approaches money. Check it out, and with youth and adults, ask (and maybe answer) questions like: Do you know how much the average U.S. family spends each year and on what? If you were a single mom with a young child, how would you prioritize among your child’s nutritional needs, rent, and vehicle costs? Is that expensive prom dress really essential?
High school, after all, is as real as real can be.
image by sanja gjenero
Additional Resources from www.TheThoughtfulChristian.com
Check out all of Adam’s studies on The Thoughtful Christian.
On Saturday Delivery and Daily Navel Gazing
The US Post Office is considering dropping Saturday delivery. Postmaster General John Potter recently released consultant reports Tuesday that project the U.S. Postal Service will lose $7 billion this year. Elected representatives are in a tricky position because they have been touting cutting the deficit, but also don’t want to close post offices in rural districts. In addition to dropping Saturday delivery, Potter suggests moving more post offices into other businesses such as supermarkets and drug stores. Oh, and of course, many of the budget issues are connected to the enormous decline in mail volume due to internet communications.
But this is just prolegomena to the actual point of my post. Usually, the Grand Forks Herald online discussion questions garner relatively few comments. But a recent question has generated a whopping 57 responses: “Do you agree with the U.S. Post Office proposal to cut home delivery one day a week? Why?” Even questions on the area’s perennial controversy — whether to keep UND’s Fight Sioux Logo — don’t produce as many responses. Intrigued, I read through several pages of comments.
I scrolled down, aghast. Almost every comment is in favor of dropping Saturday delivery — heck, maybe that’s a good idea, they get by in Canada fine without it, I hear — but that’s not what shocked me. Every single comment mentioned only how such a change would affect the commenter. Folks said stuff like, “Everyone I know just uses email now” and “All my paychecks are deposited straight into my account anyways.” And on and on, every comment was only about how the change would affect the individual writing.
Come on, people. The world doesn’t revolve around you. I know the context of a newspaper comment board is very different than my usual work in the church, but isn’t the idea that government is in place to serve us all regardless of our email access or online banking status pretty basic? The Post Office exists not for one’s individual benefit, but for society as a whole. Sure, you might think first of how a change would affect you, but we don’t make decisions as a society just on the basis of one person’s convenience.
Maybe I’m jumping to conclusions, but I think that little comment board speaks to a deep seated larger issue for our culture and government these days. All to often, we think first and foremost about ourselves, and rarely about the other — those of us who are employed think not of how hard it’d be to live on unemployment benefits, those of us who have health insurance think “well, I’m fine” rather than thinking of the millions who can’t afford a regular checkup let alone an injury, those of us not fighting in a war forget about the sacrifices made, the sky-rocketing suicide rates of US troops, how it’d be to live with foreign troops in your front yard.
Hey, maybe dropping Saturday deliveries is what we need to do, but let’s make the decision with more in mind than our individual welfare. That’s what makes American so great, after all, a government of the people, by the people, and for the people.
Negotiating for a Better Future
Some denominations do it better. The transition into ministry process, and supporting pastors in negotiating Terms of Call, that is.
Way back when I was in seminary and taking the course Congregational Leadership and Administration, another student described the call process in his denomination. Much of the process was similar to my PC(USA) experience — with online forms and a national database — but something he said struck me as a brilliant idea, one which PC(USA)ers should consider.
In my denomination, when a pastoral candidate is offered the call by a Pastor Nominating Committee, the committee offers certain Terms of Call. These terms include descriptions such as how much vacation and continuing ed time one is alloted, but also the monetary terms. And, for those of you who’ve seen them before, pastor’s salaries are really confusing because they involve so many line items, insurance/pension, and (hopefully) self employment tax and the like. They’re not exactly easy for pastors to understand, let alone parishioners. So the pastoral candidate, after she receives the offered Terms of Call, usually mulls them over and makes a counter offer to the committee.
[Annoying challenge: some committees plan on the candidate asking for more money so do not offer all that’s budgeted while other committees would be aghast at a candidate asking for more.]
Anyways, so the PNC (or sub-committee) and candidate work out the terms and, presto, a call is agreed upon. But let’s think about that for a second. The pastor, all by herself, must negotiate with the committee made up of her future parishioners. She probably doesn’t know all the church’s financial info by this point, and certainly doesn’t know the history. She’s also unsure of her financial condition in the new town. And while I’m using the female pronoun, remember that female pastors’ salaries are lower than male’s in part, I imagine, because they do not negotiate as well on behalf of themselves as do men.
But that’s the problem. Which brings me back to my class. This student from another denomination said that a person is assigned — usually an elder in the congregation — to advocate for the pastor. So at the negotiating table there is not just a future pastor on one side and a committee on another, but an elder sitting in the pastor’s shoes, an elder advocating for her, an elder who knows the congregation and is informed of the pastor’s financial situation who can seek not the cheapest deal for the congregation, but a fair salary that will help the pastor better serve the congregation.
Now before anyone reads too much into this post, I am NOT the least bit annoyed at the committees and presbytery folks with which I am currently in conversation. So please don’t think I’m speaking of my own situation. Let me say that again: this isn’t about me and please don’t take it so. Whew, ok. That said, of course, my current situation did remind me of our class discussion and the fact that Terms of Call negotiations can become so individualistic rather than an act of Christian community. Negotiations are less about supporting one another, and more about a financial transaction.
The Church of Scotland has remedied the situation by paying all pastors the same salary based upon their years of experience. Congregations are also required to provide a manse for their minister. Now this setup provides problems of its own, but it certainly speaks to the communal nature of ministry, and it saves pastoral candidates from having to negotiate with a foreign committee on their own behalf.
So I wonder, how could the PC(USA) support pastoral candidates in Terms of Call negotiations? Have a few people per presbytery trained in the process act as a mediator? Have a local elder assigned to speak for the pastor’s best interest? Have the pastor in the neighboring church help out? I don’t know, but I’m sure the process can be improved.
Money Matters
I just got back from a meeting with Megan. Yes, I have meetings with my spouse. Scheduled meetings for particular purposes. It works brilliantly. About every few weeks Megan and I will schedule a meeting to sit down and go over our budget. We’ll look at the shape of monthly income and expenditures. We’ll chat about any big purchases on the horizon. And we’ll make changes to the budget accordingly. We usually meet in coffee shops so it’s a little more business-like than just chatting — and its the quickest budget entry ever — coffee into the coffee line.
I haven’t blogged much about money before, so what follows are a few random thoughts, and some questions for the blogosphere.
First, our relationship would not be nearly as peachy were it lacking our money meetings. If money issues aren’t addressed, money thoughts can become all-consuming. On the other hand, if money matters are never addressed, well, checks bounce and things can escalate quickly. We’ve found no better way to deal with such challenges than addressing them head-on, but in a particular place at a particular time (yes, we’re both pretty strong “J”s).
Second, we keep account of everything we spend (well, we try to get darn close at least). Megan’s been the one to do so over the first few years of marriage by using a spreadsheet, but I’m going to take the reins next month. So, I need to find a method to call my own. I’m not a huge spreadsheet guy, or at least, I’d prefer to find a bitter way if one exists. Here’s where the blogoshere comes in…
I’m looking at Mint.com, Wesabe, and Geezeo. Anyone have experience using them? I think the interface of Mint looks great, but I wonder if it’s smart enough to handle our budget (not that it’s a big budget, just lots of line items that can be tricky — e.g. toothpaste, even if you buy it at the grocery store, must not be counted in the food line item). I’d say budgeting is my top priority for these sites, and then other functionalities are bonus. Any other sites/resources you’d recommend?
Finally, I’d just like to say in public how strange I think it is that folks don’t have more real conversations about money and budgeting. I mean, sure, people talk about it when they reach a breaking point. But I’d love for churches and groups of friends to offer safe places to have other types of conversations as well.
One of the ideals I love held by those who are members of the Iona Community is that they meet annually to check in, to pray, to keep each other accountable, and also to talk about how they are using their money to serve God and others. Maybe that’s a bit idealistic of me, or maybe it’s not. In either case, I’m happy to schedule a meeting with Megan and to talk it over.
image by sanja gjenero
Stewardship in an Economic Downturn
Several of my pastor friends are in the midst of overseeing their first stewardship campaigns in the midst of the worse economic crisis since the great depression. Darn.
I’ve heard it said, though, that church givings tend not to go down in difficult economic times. If this is true, what might it suggest?
Do people just feel too bad about lowering a pledge to a church so they cut back on other things but not givings?
Certainly, then, people could afford to give more generously to their congregation in good economic times, right?
Does it also suggest that people tend to give not as a percentage of their income (which may be dropping or not rising as quickly as usual) but as a lump sum per month as in a membership fee?
Though congregations particularly affected by the economic crisis remain in my prayers I also remember the fact that Presbyterians give about 2.5% of their income to all charitable causes including their congregation. This statistic remains, in my estimation, a brutal indictment of our lack of generosity.
And don’t get my started on the giving rates in the Church of Scotland… 
For funzies, my first poll with the new wordpress easy poll maker is below. Hope it works!
image by gravityx9
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