No pastor worth his salt likes talking about his own salary. But in order to care for his family and himself, he does need to be paid. What is the way of Christ? How are we to be faithful to both our families and our congregations? Join us for episode 35 of The Crux of the Matter.

FOLLOWUP

Muslim Refugees Converting to Lutheranism – Dr. Gottfried Martens, 9/16/15, On Issues, Etc.

WHAT ARE WE TEACHING

Mere Christianity, by C.S. Lewis (Audiobook on Audible)

NOTES AND OTHER STUFF

From Dr. Beverly Yahnke: "The education requirements for clergy place them in the top 10% of educated learners in the United States, yet clergy are 325th out of 432 occupations in salaries received." (Weaver et al., 2002). The United States Department of Labor (2011) lists the average salary of clergy in 2011 as $48,490. By comparison, in the same year, individuals with master’s degrees earned $65,676, those with doctoral degrees earned an average of $80,652, and those with professional degrees $86,580. Clergy who have advanced degrees, such as master’s-level (M.Div.), and doctoral degrees (D.Min.) have equivalent education and training, but their earning levels do not reflect it." (Gauger & Christie, 2013).
From Winter 2013 issue of Concordia Seminary, HT to Rev. Chris Gillespie
Average Pastor Salaries in United States Churches, by Jack Wellman on Patheos
For the Life of the World, Volume 18, Number 2

WHERE TO FIND US

Todd and Scott co-host THE CRUX OF THE MATTER. You may find Todd Peperkorn @toddpeperkorn on Twitter or facebook.com/toddpeperkorn on Facebook. He also blogs, posts sermons, and random nonsense at Lutheran Logomaniac and Dark My Road. Todd’s parish is Holy Cross Lutheran Church in Rocklin, California. You can find his sermons & bible classes on YouTube HERE.

You may find Scott Stiegemeyer @scottstieg on Twitter or Facebook.com/scottstiegemeyer on Facebook. Scott is an assistant professor of theology and bioethics at Concordia University Irvine.

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Intro and Outro Music is “Handel - Entrance to the Queen of Sheba for Two Oboes, Strings, and Continuo allegro” (by Advent Chamber Orchestra). Licensed under the EFF OAL License (Open Audio License).