Church Executive SEPT / OCT 2019 DIGITAL ISSUE | Page 24

Church Executive
CASE STUDY
Pastors follow the path
to financial wellness
By RaeAnn Slaybaugh
Research shows pastors are twice as likely to experience
financial stress as the average American.
As Rev. Dr. Perry J. Hopper, MBA, Associate Executive
Director of MMBB, explains, this is because clergy sustain
significant levels of indebtedness with fewer resources to meet
their financial obligations.
Coupled with a theology that sometimes can be interpreted
as promoting financial abundance, wealth and even prosperity,
these debt levels can be open to theological interpretation and
lead to personal guilt and shame.
For pastors who deal with these challenges, the Strategic
Pastoral Excellence Program (SPEP) is a godsend.
Addressing attitudes, perspectives and assumptions about money
As Norori explains, this component is important because it digs deep
into what the Bible says about money and how we’re called to behave
around it.
“We also talk about our upbringing — what we learned from childhood,”
she says. Then, beneficial mindsets and practices are encouraged, and not-
so-good ones are eliminated before they can be passed on.
Rev. Dr. Benton says this component of the training really hit home.
“It did a phenomenal job of unpacking what it means to be a steward
or, as they say, a ‘trustee,’ of God’s blessings,” he explains. “We came
to understand that when we increase our level of stewardship, those
blessings come back our way.”
Clergy taxes
Because taxes are a major pain point for clergy, it’s a focus in all three
years of the program.
For Rev. Dr. Benton, one of the biggest takeaways has been a familiarity
with ‘the rules’ related to clergy taxes. Though blessed to have a CPA
preparing the family’s taxes for years, he says the program taught him
that not all persons preparing tax returns are conversant with the
nuances of clergy taxes.
“So, that was a fun and scary thing to learn,” he laughs.
Additionally, he learned different ways to make sure the family’s
expenses are structured for maximum tax benefit. “Of course, they also
put the fear of God in us around making sure that everything was done
properly — and the consequences of not doing so,” he points out.
A thoughtful curriculum
SPEP Director Ania Norori explains that the curriculum is meant to
build on itself year over year.
Several areas of focus — presented in a logical order — are at the heart. Compensation basics
In the second year of the program, a lay leader is asked to join each SPEP
pastor and spouse in “off-sites” — two-and-a-half-day, workshop-style
gatherings — during the compensation and retirement planning portions.
“We can suggest all we want about how fair compensation is actually
put together; but this way, the lay leaders go back to their churches and
make those decisions on their own,” Norori explains.
Rev. Dr. Hopper echoes this sentiment. “Very often, pastoral leaders
and congregational decision-makers can talk past one another on matters
of finance,” he explains. “The added benefit for pastoral leaders has been
congregational leaders returning to their churches and advocating for
improved compensation for their pastors.”
Coincidentally, the Bentons were considering relocating from New
York to New Hampshire for a new pastorate when the compensation
portion of SPEP training came about. “I really came to understand that,
even as servants of the Lord, there's value in what my husband provides
to the community and to the church body,” Mrs. Benton says. “It was
important not to shy away from that.”
Likewise, Rev. Dr. Benton acknowledges that advocating for himself
during compensation discussions had always been a weak point. “But
through the program, I was empowered to provide as well as possible for
my family — and that's in everybody's best interest.”
Prior to discussions, he had access to statistics on comparable
compensation packages from similar churches and an understanding of
all the variables of compensation.
“Salary is just salary,” Rev. Dr. Benton says. “Beyond that, there was a
total package I needed to consider, to make the move a feasible option.”
Debt management
As Norori points out, helping SPEP participants’ homes to become
financially stable is the first priority.
This head-on approach suits Rev. Dr. Byron L. Benton, his wife Yasmeen,
and their young family well. Retirement & investment planning basics
As Norori explains, the chosen lay leaders from each SPEP pastor’s
congregation are also involved in the retirement planning portion of
the curriculum — primarily because their churches are contributing
to this initiative every month.
Rev. Dr. Byron L. Benton & Mrs. Yasmeen A. Benton and their daughters
SPEP — one of the initiatives launched as part of the grant MMBB
received from Lilly Endowment Inc. in 2015 — is a three-year program
designed to strengthen the personal and organizational financial skills of
pastors who have been identified as key leaders of healthy congregations.
SPEP creates a firm foundation of key financial topics for participants,
focusing first on personal financial planning topics for the pastor,
supporting them in creating a personal financial plan.
Additionally, the program engages pastors and congregations in
the dynamics of congregational stewardship, care for the pastor, and
developing healthy patterns of talking about financial issues. This means
arming pastors with the tools to have healthy conversations around
money within congregations.
“To the extent that the program promotes effective church financial
management, we hope it will promote principles of good stewardship for
the church-at-large,” says Rev. Dr. Hopper.
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Because of the information they received, the Bentons paid off a car
note and hospital bills and significantly lowered credit card debt.
“We got pretty aggressive and were able to gain serious ground,” Rev. Dr.
Benton explains. “It changed our entire financial outlook and improved
our cash flow in life-changing ways.”
CHURCH EXECUTIVE | SEPT / OCT 2019