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A headline for an AP story was “Clergy need more than faith in God to retire.”  This is not news to me.

I thank God for the calling He has brought to me, and I now am in a good financial position with a larger church congregation that has favorable compensation for an official retirement. I will never retire in my commitment, but there will come a time when my role as a youth minister will be given to someone else who can keep up the crowd of children who need to be taught God’s word their way.

The retirement of many ministers around the country is not as fortunate, almost like Father Mackenzie in the Beatle song, ”Eleanor Rigby.”  Shrinking church attendance in some areas and denominations is causing problems for the retirement of clergy…
Father McKenzie writing the words of a sermon
That no one will hear - no one comes near
Look at him working, darning his socks in the night
When there’s nobody there - what does he care?
© 1966 EMI Records

According to that AP article, those clergy who are dedicated to help people live for today and the time when we are no longer on earth need to gain more control of their personal financial futures now.  I would agree. The clergy around the country often lack home equity and a full pension, and they tend to stay on the job longer than other professionals who benefit from traditional retirement benefits.  The financial meltdowns of the stock market in 2000 and 2008 hurt many people including ministers (and me), and recovery is still slow.

A senior minister at a small to medium-sized U.S. church gets on average $70,300 a year, according to a survey by the National Association of Church Business Administration. A  small percentage of the group, 13 percent , do not get retirement benefits, and other churches are making very small contributions to the retirement plans of others.

I realize people who go into social services, especially ministers, are not expected for get rich for their years of education and dedication.  Money issues, especially higher-than-normal salaries can be tempting, and these matters can become a problem for church administration. Major TV ministries, for example, have suffered from “Pass the loot” syndrome.

The article stressed that whatever a member of the clergy earns in a lifetime needs to be properly and professionally managed so when the time comes to step down from the pulpit, the minister won’t be going to others to ask for help after being a source for advice after all these years.

Peace be you with always,Rev. Paul Abernathy

“Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.” -2 Peter 1:2

Contact Paul Abernathy at paulabernathy@gmail.com.

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