Indebted to Paul Williams
I just received the April 1st edition of the Christian Standard and--as I often do--I flipped it over and read Paul Williams' article "And So It Goes" first.
His article deals with the fact that many young ministry leaders enter the ministry deep in financial debt and will remain so because entry-level ministry does not pay well.
I like the tone he takes in this article.
He doesn't lay the blame at the feet of Christian Colleges, which would be unfair, but instead notes, "Most are struggling to keep their doors open. Faculty live at a subsistence level, even as administrators work hard to keep schools financially solvent. To expect them to lower tuition costs is simply unreasonable." As an adjunct professor at a Christian college, former employee, and son of a Christian College professor I'd like to add a hearty "amen!" to this point.
He doesn't blame anyone, he simply asks churches to consider subsidizing college costs in some creative and real way.
This article resonated with me because two weeks ago my wife and I finally paid off our last bit of college debt. I graduated with a BA & BTh 15 years ago and a MA 7 years ago and we've carried student loan debt for all 16 years of our marriage.
We've always been paid really well by the churches with which we've served. We've been blessed abundantly by the generosity of loving Elderships in each ministry, but our (my wife and my) Christian college educations were expensive, and--even though we've always been paid really well--our debt was a big mountain for our slow and steady income to climb.
I think if every Elder who read Paul's article would accept his challenge to ask their young ministry staff about their school debts to see what they can do to help they'd find that their young ministry staff would be indebted to them forever.
posted by Arron Chambers @ 10:30 AM
3 comments
3 Comments:
This is an issue that's been simmering in my head for years. My wife and I went to expensive undergrad and grad schools and have carried student debt for 9 years and will continue for about 11 more. Many thanks to Paul Williams for addressing it. Typically, churches are painfully unaware of this. Most every minister has numerous horror stories. And in a world where salaries and church budgets are increasingly common knowledge and are accessible by almost anyone, this problem will contribute to a dearth of vocational ministers. All told, I think this is a much bigger problem than most people know.
BTW, BIG congratulations on having all your student loans paid off! That has got to be a big help in so many ways... financially, emotionally, etc. My wife and I are SO going to throw a party and invite all those people who were encouraging along the way... and, by then, my grandchildren will be able to join in the fun! :o)
I am impressed by the low tuition rates for most of our brotherhood colleges. The problem of debt becomes a problem for the colleges as well. Most struggle with gifts from recent alumni simply because they cannot give for two reasons...
(1) Extremely low salaries from their first churches and (2) Inability to give because all of the income goes to paying off student loan debt. I had a roommate who along with his wife graduated with nearly $80,000 of debt.
We've got to find a solution, which is a multi-pronged approach. Tuition scholarships from the churches themselves (supporting their Timothy's), Churches getting on board and generously giving to colleges, Students being responsible with spending habits while in college, and colleges continuing to find a variety of sources of financial aid for students.
I also applaud the faculty and staff of our colleges because they are underpaid as well. It is definately a humble calling into the ministry and seems to be an even more humble call to teach in a Christian college. I say thank you for all of my professors who sacrificed wealth and comfort to educate the thousands of students that have come through the gates of JBC.
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