Tag: Methodism

Multi-site church, localized ministry

multisite

multisiteAt First UMC of Lexington, KY, where I’m executive pastor, we’re doing something that is becoming quite common in the North American Church — we’ve gone to multiple sites and multiple worshiping communities.

At the same time, we’re doing something very unique, at least from what I have seen as I survey the landscape — we are localizing nearly all of our ministry and mission. This is not a hub-and-spoke sort of model, where one site is the “mother church” with several “daughters.” That’s different from the typical central planning we usually see in multi-site churches, and it’s a very intentional difference.

We’ve begun to see the great opportunities this structure provides. I’m posting below an article that I recently wrote for our church community. I hope you’ll see some of my excitement for what this structure allows. We currently have three communities: Andover, Downtown, and Offerings. I’ve made it no secret that I hope we have at least two more in the next five years.

I’d love to hear your thoughts and questions. There’s plenty more behind all of this, and I hope to share more of it soon.

—————–

One Church, Multiple Communities

“What does it mean that we are one church and multiple communities?”

“Why wouldn’t Andover be its own church since they are 8 miles away from our downtown campus?”

“Can we really be one church when we don’t all see each other regularly?”

If you have been around First UMC for long, you’ve probably had some of these questions. I think we all have. Our church is doing something unique, so it’s no surprise that we have all had some questions and confusion along the way.

In the coming months, I’m planning to write a few articles about our structure that might help all of us get a better understanding of how First UMC is organized. More importantly, I hope to show the mission behind why we are organized the way we are.

We are a multi-site church. That’s a relatively new concept. In 1990, there were only 10 multi-site churches in the US. By 1998, there were only 100. By 2005, shortly before we opened our Andover campus, there were 1,500 multi-site churches.

Why multi-site? You may have heard Pastor Mike talk about First UMC’s mission: to make disciples across the street and around the world. That value of making disciples “across the street” takes seriously the importance of being where people are. The Methodist Church has always been serious about that. Until the year 2000, the UMC had a church in every county of the US!

To make more disciples, to reach more people for Christ, we believe it’s important to be across more streets. In the history of the Church, the best way to reach new people has consistently been to open new places of worship. We’ve seen the great value in that at Andover. Our church is reaching people in that community that we never would have reached if we had remained only downtown. I hope you’ve heard Todd tell some of the stories about families who have come back to the Church and people who have been baptized into the faith because of the new Andover congregation.

We’ve also learned that we can do some things better together than we can apart. Why hasn’t Andover become its own, independent church? Because we believe we’re better together. Mike, Todd, and I spend time together weekly to offer each other support, encouragement, and direction in the way each of our communities is going. We have a financial team that is able to handle the church’s finances much better and with less cost than if Andover, Downtown and Offerings each tried to handle finances separately. On high days of worship like Pentecost, we are able to draw on the gifts of people from all of our communities. And should we consider starting a fourth worshiping community – getting across another street to reach more new people – we believe that we can do that better together, too.

We are a very different multi-site church. Yes, there are over 1,500 multi-site churches in the US, but as far as we know, there is only one multi-site church doing what we’re doing! The typical multi-site church beams in a video of one pastor preaching to all of the sites. Or if not, all of the preachers preach the same sermon in their own setting. They have the same announcements at each site. They essentially offer worship site alternatives and keep everything else together. That’s very different from what we’re doing.

Each of First UMC’s worshiping communities has quite a bit of freedom in its worship, its preaching, its discipleship, and its outreach. That has been a very intentional, much-discussed decision. We have decided to be one church with multiple expressions. 

We believe there are a number of good ways to worship and become disciples, and we want to allow each community to embrace the forms that are best for them. We all have the same Wesleyan theology. We all believe in the importance of worship, growth in small group community, and service in the world. We all believe in making disciples. But we each embody those values differently.

Why are we one church? Because we believe we are better together. Because we all share the mission of making disciples. Because we want to maintain a connection of encouragement and ideas, even if we aren’t in the same building on a regular basis.

Why are we many communities? Because we believe we can make more disciples by being across more streets. Because we believe we reach more people through multiple expressions. Because we believe we can become stronger disciples when each community has the freedom to handle worship, discipleship, and outreach just a bit differently.

We have created a structure very different from most you may have seen. That inevitably creates questions and confusion. It has been a learning process for all of us. But I have a great excitement about the possibilities for First UMC’s future. I truly believe our willingness to try new things is preparing us to do great new things in Lexington and around the world. All of this only by the grace and power of God. To God be the Glory!

Grace to you and peace,
Teddy Ray
Executive Pastor

More to come. Why don’t you subscribe for e-mail updates?

The Pastor Salary Fallacy

preach for food

preach for foodMany people promote a common half-truth about pastors’ salaries, and it needs to end.

I just heard it again last week. “Hey, I only make $50,000.” Well, that was true. Technically.

What it neglected was the $20,000 housing allowance this pastor receives. And the $4,000 utilities allowance.

The truth about pastoral compensation

Pastors’ compensation packages are arranged differently than most. Whereas almost everyone else in America is responsible for paying for their own housing and utilities, these expenses are usually covered for pastors. We usually receive either a parsonage (a house provided by the church) or a housing allowance that covers the cost of our mortgage, along with any furnishings, maintenance, and renovation. And then the church pays for our utilities. This will often include the cost for lawn care, and probably some other things I’m forgetting.

One other benefit: Housing and utilities allowance are exempt from federal income tax. And pastors still get to claim a deduction for the mortgage interest they pay. It’s a double dip, and I have no idea why the IRS allows it, but they do.

Those in parsonages will tell you that they get a bum deal sometimes. They get a house that’s far from ideal and poorly maintained. This is a reality for many, and a genuine concern. Church – if you provide a parsonage for your pastor that you would never consider living in, you need to do something. Then again, you’d be surprised at the quality of some other parsonages. I’ve seen them valued up to $600,000 (in an area where median is $158k).

In all, here’s what this means: The pastor I reference above who only makes $50,000 actually receives $74,000. And $24,000 of that isn’t subject to income tax. Which makes his relative compensation – when compared with people in other professions – roughly $88,000.**

Yes, the IRS allows this – although I expect that to be challenged sometime in the next few decades. But let’s stop telling half-truths about pastors’ salaries.

Pastors, please don’t tell people, “I [only] make $XX,XXX,” and leave out that all costs associated with your housing are taken care of on the side. The people you’re talking to have to use their salaries to pay for their rent/mortgage, their utilities, their home maintenance, their lawn care, their cable bill…

As I read over this, I know it could be taken in a bitter or antagonistic tone. That’s not my intention. I receive a housing allowance and utilities allowance, too. I’m just imploring us to be more honest when we talk and think about our compensation. The lowest compensation package for a United Methodist elder in Kentucky (where median household income is $42,000) is just shy of $60,000. As compensation goes, none of us have anything to complain about.

Thinking theologically about pastoral compensation

My greater hope is that we would stop thinking about pastoral compensation in the business-world pragmatic sense and start thinking theologically about compensation in the church. See this earlier piece: “Pastors’ Salaries and Church Buildings.”

The pragmatists will say we can’t do it or we’ll lose our most talented people. There are a number of problems with that, which I might try to address another time.

For now, I would venture this with the pragmatists in my Methodist tradition. When we look at the relative compensation of our pastors and the numerical growth of Methodism, I bet you’ll find the greatest growth in the times and places where relative compensation was the lowest. And I bet there’s a pretty surprising negative correlation (i.e. one number goes up while the other goes down) between those two numbers over the last 200 years. I’d love to run some numbers on this, but I feel pretty confident about it based on what I’ve seen.

—————–

** Some more details, for those who are really interested…

Because the pastor I reference was a UMC pastor, he has a pretty nice health insurance package, for which his church pays nearly $13,000 annually. They’re also required to make an annual $11,000 pension contribution on his behalf, regardless of whether he contributes anything. Ignoring any other expense allowances or continuing ed, this is a $98,000 pay package. I point all this out just so we know the reality for this person who claimed to make “only $50,000.”

One other unusual thing that comes into play for pastors: we file as “self-employed.” Odd, isn’t it? This means the church doesn’t make FICA/SECA payments on our behalf. If the pastor in this example pays SECA taxes, this is a loss of $5,661. Adjust that comparable compensation number back down to $82,339.

But the final unusual piece: pastors can opt-out of Social Security. That’s a great economic boon to them! It’s also highly questionable, as far as I’m concerned. Anyone who opts out has to sign a statement that states,

I certify that I am conscientiously opposed to, or because of my religious principles I am opposed to, the acceptance (for services I perform as a minister, member of religious order not under a vow of poverty, or a Christian Science practitioner) of any public insurance that makes payments in the event of death, disability, old age, or retirement; or that, makes payments toward the cost of, or provides services for, medical care. (Public insurance includes insurance systems established by the Social Security Act.)

“Conscientiously opposed to […] the acceptance of any public insurance.” Hmmm… I see far more opt-outs out of economic convenience than out of troubled conscience.

Why I am (Still) a Methodist

methodist connection

methodist connectionA recent article in Relevant Magazine, Why I am (Still) a Christian, and a recent blog post by Chad Brooks, Why I became Methodist, have inspired me.

The Relevant Magazine article is beautiful. It speaks well for my experience. Go read it before you finish this.

Chad’s post about Methodism is right on, too. These are things I love about the Methodist tradition.

The two articles got me wondering why I’m still a Methodist.

I love Methodist theology – at least the true, Wesleyan core of it.

But that’s not why I’m still a Methodist. I could keep my most important beliefs in several other (non)-denominations. In fact, I don’t know that the UMC’s theology is my best fit, as it has softened or entirely caved on some pieces of real Wesleyan belief.

I love Methodist history. I think the early Methodist movement was one of the greatest movements of evangelism and outreach since the primitive church.

But that’s not why I’m still a Methodist. Some have even suggested that other churches are learning from our history while we have forgotten it. I could embrace the early Methodist missional impulse just as well in another (non)-denomination.

I don’t love Methodist polity. You’ve probably picked up on that by now. But I will approve, support, and maintain it unless I have proper opportunity to encourage some changes. And I do believe there are some good things about it. A pastor can make difficult decisions or preach a hard, prophetic word, and the congregation can’t hold a vote afterward to send him/her packing.

But that’s not why I’m still a Methodist.

There are 3 major reasons I’m still a Methodist…

1. The Methodist Connection and Pastoral Ministry

I received a call a few months ago from a mother in another state. She goes to 1st UMC where she lives. I serve at 1st UMC Lexington. Her son had just been imprisoned, and she was hoping someone could visit him. I was able to visit him that week.

I was also able to call a friend at the family’s home church and tell him what was going on. The family had been inactive for a while, and my friend was able to visit with them that same week. They have since re-engaged in the church.

A month later, the young man I had met in jail was released. He moved back to his home state, but to a different town. A relatively small, rural one. He called and asked if I knew any good pastors in the area. He didn’t just want to walk in cold without an introduction. In 30 minutes’ time, I was able to give him the name of the local Methodist pastor, while a friend who knew the pastor called the church to tell them about this young man seeking a church.

The Methodist connection amazes me. Someone can move into a rural town in another state, and I can make a personal introduction to a recommended pastor within 30 minutes. A family that has disappeared from the church can have a crisis, and within hours, I can have a trusted friend on their doorstep. I’ve seen that Methodist system work time after time, and I’m continually amazed by it. As I have understood it, few others have this sort of connection.

2. The Methodist Connection and Revival

I agree with my friend Bill Arnold, who says, “If revival is going to come in America, the Methodists have the best shot.” Because when we catch fire in one place, our connection makes it possible for that fire to spread well.

I don’t know if that will truly happen. The most visible point of our connection – General Conference – sure didn’t give anyone hope for revival this year. But we have a better shot at fire spreading than those who are unconnected have.

3. UMCOR

The United Methodist Committee on Relief is a shining star within the major Methodist bureaucracy. When disaster strikes anywhere around the globe, they are among the first responders. Charitywatch.org gives them an A rating for their use of funds. And they provide opportunity for me to be on the ground, or get others on the ground, for long-term relief and development work as soon as it would be helpful and appropriate.

For all the reasons I love the Methodist Church, and for all the frustrations I have with it, I think these are the biggest reasons I am still a Methodist.

For those of you who are Methodists, why are you still a Methodist?

Sign up to receive new posts by e-mail

Go back

Your message has been sent