Seminary Debt: Isn’t There Another Way?

While a few denominations are attempting to “head off” seminarians indebtedness (the PCUSA offers seminary debt reduction in a pastor’s first 7 years of ministry), a large number of educated pastors carry more debt than they are able to easily repay on a pastor’s salary.  The result?  Many leave the pastoral ministry, even though they feel called by God.  I am one of those pastors who will be paying off seminary debt, month by month, for years to come unless something changes.  While my church is growing and financially supports me through an annual budget, and while my denomination offers some seminary debt assistance, it is not enough.  Our family, like many other clergy families, has chosen to live within a pastor’s salary and faithfully pay off debt little by little.

It’s true, God has provided for our needs.  Whenever we have had a need, God has provided.  We have had food on the table.  We have found people who have allowed us to barter services so our children can participate in extracurricular activities.  God has been good. 

Meanwhile the student debt looms . . . A friend told me about a company that lets you set your own hours and make extra income.  This was what I needed, but I really didn’t have any extra hours. On my day off, I want to respect my Sabbath.  I want to rest with the natural rhythm of the week that God offers to me.  My family needs me to take a day off.  My congregation needs me to take a day off.  But I tried the products and I really liked them.  I liked that they were superior products. I liked that they were safe for the environment so I could be a good steward of what God had given to me.  I liked that the company was not an MLM — I didn’t have to sell anything.  I liked that all the company asked me to do was pay a one time joining fee of $29, just like I would for Costco or Sam’s Club and then to buy products I was already buying each month — like toothpaste, laundry detergent, shampoo and vitamins — from them, at a better price than I would be paying other places.  “The company works on a direct marketing model,” my friend told me,  “we tell others about the products and enroll new customers.  The goal is to enroll 8 new customers and help 5 of them introduce 8 new customers.  With each enrollment, you will get a commission check.”  Her approach sounded unique to me. I knew I couldn’t keep up with inventory or sell products at parties.  But I like the idea of telling people about something that works for me, after all, it sounds a whole lot like evangelism.  We’re so excited about our faith that we can’t help but tell others who, we hope, will tell others.

I began to wonder how to find 8 customers, and then I remembered, there are clergy like me all over the place trying to pay off seminary debt.  They can help me and at the same time I can help them.  We can become a team where one by one we pay off our debt, taking the pressure of getting us out of debt off of our families, off of our congregations.  This is the way God helps us.  We help each other. 

This may not be your kind of thing.  That’s fine.  God will show you what you need to do.  I will continue to post about different things my family is doing to get out of debt and to be good stewards of what God has given to us.  But if this is something you’re interested in, comment back to me.  If you have other ideas for me to blog on, let me know that too.  God teaches us so we can teach each other.  And please, as God blesses you, let us know that too. 

Peace.

the no debt pastor

Living on Less: Simple Living

One of the ways I am entering into Lent this year is by doing my best to live more simply.  I suppose it’s hard to call it “simple living” when it is no longer a choice to live simply, but a reality if we want to get out of debt.  But it helps to believe that we do have a choice. We have a choice to live like we have been living and, little by little, go further into debt or live a new life that allows us to see that there is, in actuality, life after debt.  Debt is its own death, whereby we become slaves to our own desires and feel that death is our only hope at freedom. But Jesus suggests something else.  He continues telling us in the Gospels that the Kingdom of Heaven is here, right now, in the middle of our debts.  I choose to live in such a way that I can see resurrection somewhere in my right now.  I choose to live in such a way that God’s kingdom, and thus God’s abundance, is right here, forgiving me my debts.

I decided that I needed to get real about my debts.  If I was going to write a blog about them, I probably needed to take a good look at myself.  And what I discovered was a laundry list of overwhelming debts — some stupid (credit cards to pay off other credit cards) and some smart (education loans to get where I am today).  And I called my creditors, one at a time, and told them that I intend to pay them off.  I asked for lower interest rates. And most all of them decided to help me out.  It was humiliating to say — “I need help.”   But then again, the kingdom of heaven is here.  I have nothing to fear.

I will have my credit cards paid off in 4 years if nothing changes — if I remain as a pastor of a small church with my husband staying home to raise the kids.  And if things do change for the better, well then I’ll have my credit cards AND my car paid off, not to mention making a good dent in our student loans in the next 4 years.

As I entered the “overwhelmed” feeling that money can put on us, a fellow pastor asked me a pointed question.  What is your Source?  Is it God who is able to provide above and beyond what we need or desire or is it this feeling of lack?  I realized the need to live in gratitude — to give back to God with a generous life while paying off my debts.  I’d like to help forgive others their debts, even if it’s just a few dollars here and a few dollars there.

And that, I suppose, it what’s at the heart of simple living.  We still have a decision in the midst of our low-income reality.  We have a choice to help those who accompany us on this life’s journey. Sometimes the gifts we offer look incredibly simple to us — a dollar here, a hug there, a smile to him, an hour of listening to her — but simple living has the potential to announce to the world: The Kingdom of Heaven is here!  God IS our source! So be it.