I Need to Find a Job at a Megachurch…

I’d be curious to know what people typically tithe.  I was never a church goer, so other than that I hear Mormon’s pay an automatic 10%, I have no idea.  The few times I’ve been with my mother she gave coupons.  I decided to leave some origami in the box.  But I can’t see most churches paying those salaries on coupons and origami.

Depends on the theology and the churches, I’d say that 10% is probably the median, but the average is probably closer to 5%-7%.  Mainline protestant is probably a couple percentage points less. A lot of these churches preach a prosperity gospel where your faithfulness in tithing will result in earthly rewards. I bet Pew might have some of this data…or at least a Christian pollster like Barna.

Thanks all.  And of course if your budget is tight, you have to make sure to pay God first

Didn’t Darrel Ray’s last study show that the majority of new atheists in the US are coming out of Evangelical Mega Churches? I know that’s where I came out of.

I think you shoot yourself in the foot with the point you are trying to make…

“Keep in mind that these are average salaries, too. Some senior pastors are making *far* more than the $147,000 listed.”

O.k so if 10% of the mega churches have people on ludicrous salaries, then that will inflate the average to give a false sense of the average.

Its like when you hear the average income figures. the small % of millionaires and billionaires wreck the statistics & make a far higher average then what is applicable for most people

I’m guessing then by this rational, that the *real* average that most pastors will be earning will be quite a bit less then this. 

The opposite of the point I think you were trying to make.

I don’t care what they earn as long as they do the job that they’ve been hired to do and they pay their taxes like everybody else.  

Despite believing that their job is a complete waste of time I have to admit that they do provide entertainment for thousands of people on a regular basis.  If people are happy to pay for it like gullible fools then the mega church can pay the staff what it likes.  It is no different to paying a football player or singer a huge sum of money.

I’m not entirely sure how the US tax system works but I assume that income tax is still payable by church staff even if the disgusting profits that they make aren’t?  There may be a loophole in tax law that needs to be closed so that wealthy pastors can’t benefit from tax free allowances.  A lot of taxes are avoided for a lot of wealthy people and that places a greater burden on the less well off.  That is the case whether someone works in private industry for the public or for a tax dodge like a mega church.

Maybe your congress could do something about that rather than waste time on petty and divisive pledges that don’t need reaffirming.

Someone should ask them what they say about Mark 10, 23-25:

>And Jesus
looked round about and said unto His disciples, “How hardly shall they
that have riches enter into the Kingdom of God!”And
the disciples were astonished at His words, but Jesus answered again
and said unto them, “Children, how hard is it for them that trust in
riches to enter into the Kingdom of God!
It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the Kingdom of God.”<

I don't believe in a word of that "holy" book, but the best way to show the hypcrisy is to quote from it yourself 😉

I downloaded a copy of the full LN report to check out the statistics.

It does give medians as well as means. There’s not as much disparity as you might think. This is for churches with 2000+ attendees figures:

Senior/lead pastor/minister:

Low: $40k
Median: $139k
Mean: $147k
High: $400k

Associate pastor/minister:

Low: $39k
Median: $80k
Mean: $82k
High: $148k

Executive pastor:

Low: $40k
Median: $96k
Mean: $99k
High: $230k

…and so on. Interestingly, in the very large church range (10,000+ attendees), some of the median salaries for some roles (e.g. CFO) are higher than the mean.

The primary finding of the report is that attendance and church income are the two biggest factors which affect compensation and benefits. For the churches surveyed.

I was thrown out of a “coffee house” new church plant for questioning the salary of the pastor. At a meeting one night, they handed out forms for us to sign. The pastor pulled out the forms from his notebook and sent them around the room. What luck, he had handed me the salary breakdown per expected ‘mandatory’ tithing. I was livid. I approached to discuss the breakdown, in private. He was being paid a salary of 65k, which is modest, I suppose. He held no formal religious education or college degree, so I felt it was a little excessive, considering our family of 4 was taking in less than 70k and both earners held 2 year degrees. He was allowed a housing allowance to cover his mortgage of 2000k per month. He had just purchased a 4 bedroom home on an acre of land, in the breakdown it showed the church’s contribution of 50k for a down payment. I pay my own rent on my one bed and a den @ 1735/mth, no yard, no separate rooms for my kids- I guess I wasn’t faithful enough. The church had paid off his car loan and was affording him a stipend to pay for health insurance for his family. To top it off, the church was contributing to his retirement plan. I was mad as hell. He shoved me off, so I did some research. He had partnered with a mega church (willow creek) to help plant new churches. I obtained a copy of his agreement. He had to meet a certain number of recruits each month and meet the goal of 90% commitment signing within 12 months. He had to donate money to mission work and within 3 years had to off shoot another church plant. A kind or pyramid scheme, no? Each church had to donate to its parent church and then eventually the money came back to Willow Creek.
I took him to task on the numbers. He ignored me repeatedly. I contacted Willow Creek, they threatened me (politely). So I did what I could to be heard. I made photocopies of the salary breakdown and rules and left them everywhere at the church, handed them to fellow members and sent them to the local businesses that supported the church and one to the local paper.  I got a meeting real fast. I was grilled, accused of abusing my kids and living in a failed marriage. The next day I received a call from a friend that said I was no longer welcomed, it would be best for me to move on, since  I do not share the same vision as the business or hold any real, true faith in the lord’s work. That was the last time I had anything to do with a church or their god. The church has dissolve and the pastor has moved to Vegas. Guess there are better odds in sin city.

I find the article quite slanted but interesting all the same.  Why is it all right for a CEO of a large corporation (of having hundreds of staff under him) to make 150K a year, but not all right for this man because he works in a church.  Does he not need to lead a great amount of people and then a congregation even larger?  I find it funny no one even blinks for corporations but gets angry at churches when they make money.  It’s not an average “Joe” who can get the job done, and he usually has a doctorate of philosophy behind his name.  I think for education and responsibilities sake… he should be well paid.  
Like you said that is not representative of 95% of churches out there that are not mega style of over 1000 people.  They do not make that kind of money.  They also don’t have the responsibility or staff leadership.
Because you don’t agree with the teaching is irrelevant as well.  I don’t agree with much of what government does, or maybe agree with some charities platforms or CEO’s with major companies and what they do… but the people who pay the churches salaries are not you, but the people who do believe in it.  Unlike government, where we have to pay whether we agree or not.  
I say live, and let live. 

The tithe means 10% that the Bible directs to give… however the average person who is considered a member gives an average of 3%.  
Yes, origami doesn’t work for tithes 😉

What lesson are you referring to?  Where they were making people pay an exorbitant amount more for a simple offering that they were obligated to bring to pay for their sins… ?  They were mistreating people by jacking up prices that they couldn’t offer since they knew they had to buy it… I haven’t seen that in the church.  
Do people have to buy anything in a church if they don’t want to?  I think you are mistaken with your understanding of these verses.