How long must one be a volunteer in a ministry before asking for compensation? I ask this question because there is a vast majority of seminary trained/ordained clergy women working in the church on a volunteer basis. There is something wrong with this picture. When I completed by MDIV, I incurred a debt that still needs to paid back. Over the years since I've completed my degree I haven't made any additional income to pay down this debt. (shaking my head). Some of us are blessed to have a church/denomination to pay for our education so we will not struggle with additional debt. I know many of us do not expect a large salary in ministry, but we ought to expect some kind of compensation or position that will help relieve the extra financial burden we added to our household. We all know a seminary degree is not cheap and our current job doesn't cover the cost for this added expense. We can not tell Sallie Mae, Direct Loans, SunTrust or Citibank can we just volunteer in your company to pay this debt.
Why do some churches and pastor believe that the work of the church by ordained staff should be volunteer work? If we continue to run the church with volunteers only, the commitment over time will fade away. As I was reading in the USA Today they talked about the compensation of a position in the church doesn't even come close to the amount of debt one obtains in seminary. Also they talked about the inability of clergy securing a position in a church during these economic hard times. The interesting point of the article is that there will be a discussion in Boston about the salary of clergy and how to increase it even during these hard economic times.
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