Because we are part of a profession that is generally underpaid relative to our education and skill set, and frequently have to ask members to give more of their money to support the community who determines our salary, pastors often find finances a source of tension personally, in their family, and in society in general. We need to look for ways to break the cycle of tension and even offer experiences of redemptive celebration. I want to suggest two ideas that might contribute to some experiences of joy.
First, most pastors receive an occasional honorarium for performing a funeral or wedding. Too often that just gets absorbed in the general family finances and the struggle to pay the bills. Consider placing the honorariums for weddings in a special fund that would be used for special family celebrations and the honorariums for funerals in a fund that the family would vote on as a charitable gift in honor of the deceased.
The second idea was given to me by a friend. Look in your wallet and find a dollar bill. Look in the lower left quadrant of the side of the bill with the picture of Washington on it. You will see there a letter in a circle. Different dollar bills will have different letters of the alphabet on them. My wife chose B for her maiden name. I chose L for laughter. I haven’t checked but I’m told bills at least go up to M. Set aside a small box or “piggy bank” in your home and every time you come to one of those bills with your letter on it, put it aside. You’d be surprised how quickly that collection builds up and therefore can be used for a special event, purchase, etc. You won’t miss the bill but you will enjoy the guilt free purchase after the collection has built up.
We need to find ways to interrupt the tension often caused by financial realities and these two ideas might be possibilities.
