-graphs and charts

No one gets paid like a pastor. And maybe it's a good thing.

After all, how many other professionals have their compensation debated and then voted on in a public meeting? And who else is an employee- usually-for income-tax purposes, yet selfemployed for social security purposes? Who has a benefit more misunderstood than the housing or parsonage allowance? It's enough to make even an H&R Block accountant unplug her calculator before April 15.

In spite of the many nuances of the pastor's pay package, each year approximately 400,000 churches across our continent somehow arrive at an amount to compensate their clergy. Where the figures come from is anybody's guess, but we now know basically what the figures are.

Last fall, LEADERSHIP, in conjunction with YOUR CHURCH magazine, compiled the most extensive research to date on pastoral compensation, the 1992 Church Compensation Report. Approximately 4,000 churches reported compensation information for over 12,000 employees. Before ...