What Is The Big Deal About A Pastor's Big Salary?

And so it begins... again.

After a rubbish report on Pastor Prince in a top ten richest pastors list, criticisms on his alleged (former) salary of $700,000 (as reported by  Yahoo Singapore) have surfaced from all manner of people all over the internet... just like in 2009.

Yes, the same circus had happened in 2009 when it was reported in our local newspapers that Pastor Prince's annual salary then was estimated to be around $500,000 in 2008. 5 years later, even though Pastor Prince is no longer on the church's payroll since 2009, Yahoo Singapore in their news report has raised Pastor Prince's salary to $700,000. Regardless, whether $500,000 or $700,000,  considering that the median household annual income in 2013 in Singapore is about $95,000 (monthly$7,870), that level of income is considered very high, even more so when it is a pastor's salary as there is a general expectation (misconceived or otherwise) that pastors should be modestly paid and lead a frugal lifestyle.

So what is the big deal about a pastor's big salary? Let us examine the following:

1. What level of salary should a pastor receive? On what basis?

Many Christians feel that they are paying the pastor's salary through their tithes and offerings; hence they feel resentful when they discover that the pastor is earning many more times than they. So what level of salary should the church pay the pastor? What is the basis?

You ask 100 Christians this question and in all probability, you will get 100 different answers. This all boils down to an individual's own perception of values and the worth of that pastor. However, as an analogy, let me use the example of teachers' salary in Singapore as a pastor is in a way a spiritual teacher.

Teachers in Singapore are paid according to the salary scale of their respective civil service grade, so teachers within the same grade are paid around a narrow band. I'm sure during your schooling days, you would have encountered different subject teachers of varying teaching capabilities, yet they are all paid around the same salary regardless of their level of competence if they are in the civil service grade.

Is that fair? Shouldn't more capable teachers be rewarded much more? However, this system can't do that as there's a narrow band of salary to adhere unless that teacher is promoted to a higher grade. However, the same situation will still surface within that higher grade. How about scrapping the grades and salary bands altogether? Well, this is for the Ministry of Education to decide.

Similarly, should all pastors be expected to receive a salary within a narrow scale on a low service grade? Every church has its own council or board of trustees which will have to decide for themselves.

How about the individual Christian? What can you do? Well, you can walk out! Find another church which pays the pastor peanuts! Before you do that, maybe you should spend two minutes to read this blog post which I wrote 5 years ago during the same circus then:

A Family Dinner 

Last night, to celebrate April Fool's Day, I took my family out for dinner at a very nice restaurant in the city. The waitress led us to a table and we sat down and waited for her to hand us the menu. However after some time, we still did not receive the menu. I managed to catch the attention of the waitress and asked her for the menu. She replied,"I am sorry, sir. In honour of April Fool's Day, our restaurant is serving only the Chef's Special Set Dinner today. Your dinner will be served shortly." 

True enough, while the waitress was still explaining to us, the first dish arrived. All in all, we were served a seven course dinner plus dessert (mango pudding). Man, was the dinner good! We thoroughly enjoyed the food and my kids were pestering me to come again soon, even though we still haven't left the restaurant yet! 

Then suddenly, something caught my mind: I had not asked about the price of the dinner! I quickly signaled to the waitress for the bill and crossed my fingers that I have enough money in my wallet to pay for it. To my surprise, the waitress walked over empty-handed and said,"We have no fixed price for our set dinner, sir. You just pay us whatever you want." 

My surprise turned into shock. I thought this was too good to be true. Could this be an April Fool's Day joke? I asked,"Is it ok even if I pay $2?""Yes, sir. Any amount you pay is fine with us." came the smiling reply. Of course, I didn't pay $2 but I did give what I thought was an appropriate amount. 

I asked the waitress,"I am curious. Since the customer can pay any amount he wants, how much does your chef actually earn a year?" She replied, "$500,000". I was flabbergasted; "What? $500,000 just to cook food? This is too much! I am never coming to this restaurant again!" 

My dear wife (God bless her) said to me,"Darling, we really enjoyed the dinner just now, didn't we? How much did you pay for it? Just $20, not $500,000! For a seven course dinner plus dessert! Why should you be concerned about how much the chef earns?"