Church Consultant on the Quiet Issue of Pastors' Salaries

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A church consultant says that when it comes to pastors' salaries, the small minority of preachers who live lavishly should not be reason to underpay the other 400,000 pastors leading churches.

A pastor's salary is a quiet issue, Thom Rainer, president and CEO of LifeWay Christian Resources, acknowledged in a December blog post. It causes discomfort both for the pastor and congregation when brought up, which Rainer finds unfortunate.

While there are extreme examples of pastors who mismanage finances, most pastors are not overpaid, he says. Many are underpaid.

With that, Rainer wanted to clear up five common issues that most church members are unaware of when it comes to a pastor's pay.

First, he says churches should not count benefits and expense reimbursements as a pastor's pay. No secular company counts benefits and expenses as part of a worker's pay and it shouldn't be the case in the church as well.

"I cringe when I hear churches state a [compensation] package to be the pay for the pastor," he wrote.