Wise counsel needed, Reply inside.

[videoguru]

A youth pastor informed that it is often hard for people to move up within a church, that most promotions are done when you move churches.

I beat this statistic last August. I have been employed at my home church for 4 years now. I am 21 years old and getting married in 2 months. 3 of these 4 years we have employed a Media manger (working under the Communications director) that did not have a ministerial spirit and was eventually told to resign in August of 2010. I was offered the position because I was already in talks to get a full time Video position. Prior to August i was the senior Media Assistant that did AV setups, and general things, but my skills were Video Production, so while the other Assistants did setups and ran events, I was running our video Department (me).

Our church is a 7000 member with a Couple Million dollar budget. We do a lot of video stuff, and it has all been story boarded, shot, and edited by me, an opportunity I am grateful for, but as i looked to get married, i needed more than 7.25/hour for 80 - 90 hours/week; while finishing school.

I was offered the Job of Media Manager as I had been helping the Communications director since he arrived here 7 years ago, and He loved my passion, work ethic, and how conscientious I am to my work quality (taken from my yearly reviews).

The Problem came in talking about money. I was told to pick a pay range and write a job description for my media manager position and Video Producer positon. I accepted the job because they told me that I basically had not future with them doing only video and needed to have more to bring to the table; the Media Manager position would provide more room to grow financially. I was told that i would only have to work 45 - 55 hours/week and would immediately begin getting 2 weeks off since I had never taken a day off since is started in 2007. Because they did not know if was completely qualified to do the job, we agreed on a 6 month probation period to review my work and give me the rest of the money this jobs pays. It's been almost a year and I have just had my review done and I received the highest rating possible.

What are my next steps. It seems that everything I do, i get the work around. We are currently on a pay raise freeze (have been for almost 2 years), but I do not see how this is a raise, just the rest of the money I deserve. I need input b/c I am past the point of burn out. God has thwarted my attempts to move anywhere else, and through His grace my friend/boss (Communications Director) sat me down and let me spill, but I got a lot of talk of concern, but when it comes to actually acting on those words, no one seems to want to. Our financial pastor is quick to say he pays what the job pays, but the previous guy before me made over 40K, while I may 24K, Do 4x the tasks he accomplished in a week, and actually do my job well, where as he did not. Needless to say I am bitter, and praying to work through that, but getting married in 2 months, I need to talk Money. I would like to make about 35K (would accept 30K) and get my phone paid for as i use it more for work than to talk to my fiance now. They see to love me, and constantly brag how I am the hardest working employee of our 50+, but don't want to give me the time of day, or remotely give me a fair price.

Does anyone have any wise counsel for me?

[jonack]

I am so sorry you are going through this right now. My only counsel would be to be humble in every interaction (not that you aren't doing that), but talk with them about earning a living wage and being able to support your wife and finishing school. I would write up a really nice and honest letter about working for the church and the joy it has brought you over the years. How you have served and sacrificed for the church and how you believe in the vision and leadership of the church.

The one thing you want to stay far, far, far away from is giving them an ultimatum. Saying "if you don't do x, I am leaving". All the leaders I have been around would rather find someone else than deal with a person who gives ultimatums.

I would turn the corner then and talk about how burdened you are about your salary and how you think it is fair (and asking $35k for your position with a church that large is very much in line with the fair wages). I would tell them that you can continue to serve and support the pastors and their heart for the people they minister to. You want to sandwich all of your "negative" or challenging comments with praise and support of the ministry.

I would say that because you are using your phone more for work than for your personal use, I would ask them for a stipend each month or for them to provide a phone. If not, I would get a google voice number and give that out as your "new" cell phone number. You can have it forward to your cell phone and then only answer that number during business hours. Then once you are off of business hours, you can schedule the phone to go straight to voice mail.

Please post an update, and I will be in prayer for you!

[Esoteric]

This is true even in the corporate world. Often the largest pay increases come from switching companies rather than being promoted from within. That is why there is no much movement in the corporate world.

[petereit]

You have to do what's necessary to provide financially for your new wife and new family, which I'm sure won't be far behind.

You need to make finding a new position your full-time job. As soon as you get your first invitation for an interview with another company, be open and honest with your current employer. Tell them you need a day/half a day/couple hours of personal time to meet with another company for an interview. It's important that your current employer knows that you are not only LOOKING for another job, but that you're aggressively seeking other employment and that other companies/churches are interested in hiring you.

Sit down with your fiance and plan out your finances. Work up a monthly budget based on where you plan on living, your expected monthly expenses, car payments, etc. Once you nail down your monthly expenses, add 20% and make that your goal for YOUR INCOME ALONE. Pray and believe that God will bring you to the employer that is able and willing to pay you that salary.

Just wanted to let you know that this is EXACTLY the plan I followed with my fiance (now wife). I was making $28,000 but based on running the numbers, we determined that I needed to make $39,000. The number seemed impossible to me, but we prayed AND AGREED that with God, ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE.

I got called for two interviews. I didn't get the first, but I DID get the second and their starting salary was $40,000!!

With God, all things ARE possible!!

My wife continued working the first three years we were married, but we forced ourselves to live only on my salary. We saved ALL the money she made. We'll celebrate our 15th wedding anniversary this September. We have absolutely NO DEBT, two paid-off cars and a BIG HONKIN retirement account.

If you need help with the financial planning, Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University is the best.

[Gracetech]

Do you have a demo reel? We are looking for a Media person right now.

Sadly i had to jump churches to get to the pay scale i'm at. I loved working at GCC but i hit the ceiling for that job and i was making a 1/4 of what i was used to making. I had to work on the side to augment my full time pay at the church. Needless to say my family was getting the short end of the stick. Your church can afford to pay you what you are worth.

PM me if you are interested in just talking.

crt

[cmchamp]

Bless you if you can find and keep a job that will pa $35k. I'm a 20+ year teacher, stuck in a charter school and won't ever get back into the regular public schools because of my experience. Prayerfully, the $29k I am paid for busting my behind teaching K-12 music and 6+ performances a year has met our needs. It sure isn't comfortable, but God is making it work.
Sit down with your supervisor and ask if it would be acceptable to set up a bonus system for "goals" met since they feel you have things "to work on" or additional stipends for extra services.
The job market is tough, and employers are wanting to squeeze every ounce of work they can out of their employees for what they pay.
Good pay or bad pay.

[Esoteric]

The market is tough right now unless....

1. You are one of the absolute best in your field or
2. You work in IT, healthcare, or the oil industry (of all things)

So be careful.

Also, I agree that honesty with your employer is best IF you have to do interviews on company time, but if you can avoid it and schedule interviews on personal time, that is best, since you would owe your company no explanation and you might be able to avoid retribution (I have had several experiences both related and personal with churches proactively firing employees that were seeking employment elsewhere, or if the person can not find said employment their current church employer offering them a reduction in salary to stay employed).

Mike

[Paris MkVI]

Originally Posted by videoguru

I need input b/c I am past the point of burn out. . . God has thwarted my attempts to move anywhere else. . . when it comes to actually acting on those words, no one seems to want to. Needless to say I am bitter, and praying to work through that. . .

Brother, these are the things that, more than the dollars and sense, really popped out at me. So I am going to respond along a completely different line of thought. This line of thought has nothing to do with and does not in any way disagree with the other excellent thoughts others have offered here.

Our senior pastor went through a time of leadership crisis many years ago as our church grew. He discovered, through a series of ministerial failures, that he could no longer effectively be "Superman" and minister to everyone in the church. He went before the elders, shared his stress and suggested it was time for new leadership. After a short season of prayer, the elders told him they had no sense at all that God wanted to make a leadership change (attempt thwarted to move anywhere else).

Our pastor was agonizing over his inability to be many places, doing many things, at one time. He was suffering, ministry was suffering, even his family suffered. He went to his mentor in ministry and poured his heart out. His mentor asked, "Do the elders believe it is time for you to move on?" When our pastor admitted to his mentor that they did not, his mentor looked our pastor in the eye, and said, "Well then, buck up - and change."

I shared that to share this. Please know I say all of this in a spirit of love.

Perhaps (underlined to emphasize a humble spirit you cannot hear in text) you are not being released by God to go elsewhere because He wants you to do something here, that [1] glorifies Him, [2] teaches you a new thing that is in line for His future plans for you, and [3], requires that you place your trust only in Him for provision to come for you and a future family.

I do not know the totality of your circumstances and setup, but whenever I hear "burned out", I hear a need for a change (see above). Our pastor realized that the future of our church meant we had to abandon the program model and become a cell-based church. He realized he had failed to acknowledge the importance of the Jethro principle (Exodus 18:17-22).

So he bucked up - and changed. Ministry became a shared thing, which meant he had to grow as a leader and equipper, more than just a doer. It was not an easy transition. People dislike change. But isn't it true so often in God's way that when He changes us, we give up short-term comfort for long-term blessings? Now we have nearly a hundred community groups, a dozen section pastors, several zone pastors - all sharing the ministry load together, working in the spirit of Ecclesiastes 4:12. We exercise this structure at every level. Our senior pastor now operates effective, doing mostly what God intended him to become - a strategic thinker, equipper and teacher.

So I ask you with love brother, have you been released by leadership, with both authority and responsibility, to build teams of servants, train them and release them to serve under team leaders, reducing what you are doing every week to a manageable level? Does God perhaps want to build greater leadership in you in preparation for His future plans for you? Does He want you to learn how to work yourself out of your assorted jobs - by releasing others to worship Him through their gifts and talents?

I have no doubt you have teams - a church your size would drown without them. Are they adequately sized for their task? Does each tech discipline have a team leader to whom you can release a level of authority and responsibility? Should you delegate more? Do you have an apprentice, working alongside you (as opposed to a mere assistant who is off elsewhere running errands), learning what you are doing, and being a huge help in that process?

Text-only communication like this loses so much nuance and expression. Let me close by noting the tone of voice I would want you to hear in the above words is that of a fellow brother in Christ who cares about what is happening with you. I have no desire to ask any question that would stir up resentment or offense. I ask you, if any question challenges you or makes you question your vision for ministry, to hear the questions in the spirit of Proverbs 27:6.

Keep us posted on how things are going.

[WORDpictures]

I totally agree with Jon (Paris MkVI)! (Also, I would not recommend telling the church you're going to an interview or visiting another church, I know of former tech staff who have been let go because of that.) The trend in this region is to empower church volunteers to be actively involved with a majority of the hands-on production. Instead of hiring Technicians to do all the work, churches are trending to hire a Team Director/Coordinator to oversee volunteers. Time for us techs to hone our people skills. And... "people skills" are the defining line of those who can command higher paying jobs in their careers.

Involving more volunteers is budget conscious for the church, allows more service opportunities for members, and alleviates workload for staff. But... they still need someone to guide that, and that's where it could be advantageous for you to first offer or take on such a suggestion - or whatever direction that God may lead. Because the purpose would be to build mentoring relationships with others interested in serving through media, it could help renew your original enthusiasm for your ministry. This wouldn't help your pay situation, but it could help your burnout and work volume.

Sometimes it's difficult for tech types to let go of responsibilities or know how to effectively delegate. But that can be learned - especially if burn-out is the alternative. Though I'm on part-time church staff now, I've been very frustrated in the past by tech/media workers (hired and volunteer) who were oblivious or even antagonistic of others attempting to get a foot in the door to serve. So there's a perspective to consider. Territorialism thrives in the church tech world!

It is a tough field to work in. Relax, pray for direction, get out of the box with your thoughts on the subject. God bless!

[cmchamp]

Originally Posted by Paris MkVI

Perhaps (underlined to emphasize a humble spirit you cannot hear in text) you are not being released by God to go elsewhere because He wants you to do something here, that [1] glorifies Him, [2] teaches you a new thing that is in line for His future plans for you, and [3], requires that you place your trust only in Him for provision to come for you and a future family.

Same questions I ask myself, and am asked by others in my employment situation in education. In my case, other than our building administrator, I am the only male figure the K-5 students interact with on a regular basis. As for #2 above, after 20 years of teaching and leadership roles, I'm learning again how to be disconnected from any decision making process or leadership capacity, do as I'm requested without question (unless it goes against my Faith, then I'll ask).

[tdangelo]

Originally Posted by videoguru

... I am grateful for, but as i looked to get married, i needed more than 7.25/hour for 80 - 90 hours/week; while finishing school.

Videoguru,

As someone who was the Media Director of a large church twenty-five years ago and left under the worst of circumstances I can tell you that my heart pains in sympathy with you when I read your post. First off that you are going through a rough time and it has obviously beaten you down in the process. And two, because I see in your post many of the thoughts I had before I left the church I was working at in the worst way possible.

With the benefit of 20/20 hindsight and now thirty one years working for both Christian and predominately secular organizations I can tell you it is of upmost importance that you resolve the issues you are having with leadership in a way pleasing to God before you make any moves. Now, “in a way pleasing to God” does not necessarily mean the way you currently want things to work out, nor does it mean the way Leadership currently wants things to work out. It does mean in a respectful manner clearly putting God’s will for you first.

If not, I fear that you, like I will be reminded of the poor choices many, many years later. I can tell you that I recall as if it were yesterday the poorly chosen words used by me and my pastor upon my departure. It has become a ready and easy wound for Satan to afflict and torment me with. Even now, twenty-five years later. This, despite the fact that I have long resolved with forgiveness those that offended me. I can and do pray for God’s blessing for those who wronged me. However even when healing occurs, sometimes a scar is left behind.

It is important to accept that in God’s economy that you do not work for so-and-so church. You may worship there, be employed there and the paychecks may have their logo and executive’s signature … but you work for God. This point cannot be over-emphasized. Secondly, God’s choices and will for your life are never wrong however God’s people and even bosses and spiritual leadership are ultimately as human as you, have the same sin nature and capacity to make poor choices. Thirdly, until such time as God directs you to move on and makes a path for you to do so you are still under your employers and spiritual leaders’ authority. So, if you have a beef with them, you have a beef with God! Don’t worry. It’s not as bad as it sounds. And God is more than willing to hear your complaint and to do a work in their heart, your heart, both, or change the circumstances relieving the pressure.

Now, as touched upon in some of the other posts, it is entirely possible that it is God’s will for you to remain where you are for a time, without the leadership or circumstances changing. In this event, the change will be within you and it will have God’s fingerprints on it and the result will be a beautiful thing.

I have a friend who is also a Christian brother who is employed at a major manufacturer of production equipment. The situation he is in is not good and he desperately wants out. I happen to come across a topical sermon which he says was a help to him. It’s been a blessing to me. Maybe it will be to you too:

The title of the series is “Dream Job.” http://www.portcitychurch.org/weekendmessagearchive.php

I found this church while looking at different media ministry websites. This church happens to have an excellent media team website at http://www.pc3production.org/?portfolio=training

Videoguru, you will be in my prayers. I am confident that there are others here on this website that are praying for you as well.

There is more that I would like to write to you, but I feel the points made above are probably the most important, so rather than ramble on …

God Bless,

- Tom

[WORDpictures]

Hopefully I'm not getting side-tracked. This is a place I've been myself so I'm sharing testimony, not directing toward anyone personally. I could personally share about unjust conflictual and abusive situations that a volunteer has endured to serve God through less than perfect church ministries...

But rather I'll ask if you've ever spent some time in an impoverished rural village of a third world country? Been impressed to realize that, though poor, these are incredibly intelligent, responsible, talented and gracious individuals who seem destined as mayors and business executives and professionals except for their daily struggles in bare sustenance conditions... who offer almost everything they have to you in expression of their generosity... who will never have any sort of opportunity to fulfill their true giftedness in life... and that's a life expectancy only a fraction of yours? Then realize this represents a majority of the world's population. Then come home and truly wonder why I deserve to be blessed beyond measure by things that had seemed as insufficiencies in my eyes before this reality check? ...And, how will I use these blessings for the good of others? ("To whom much is given, of him much will be required" -Luke 12:48 )

Sorry it's not practical how-to business advice, but I've found inspirational value in these experiences. Just recently, God presented me another "vison test" through four days in the Joplin tornado aftermath. It looks like an atomic bomb hit there. Again, I had a home and family to come back to - though this same storm had passed uneventfully over us later that night, and I truly wondered...

In all things, let God direct the focus of your eyes.