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Budget Planning
Honoraria I want to follow God’s leadership related to speaking and travel, regardless of financial issues. But because many church leaders ask for guidance about honoraria and love offerings, the following statement is provided. Like many, I have taken a significant salary decrease in order to train ministers and leaders through the seminary. In reality, Southern Baptists expect their teachers and professors to earn part of their livelihood through a broader ministry of traveling and speaking. In earlier positions, love offerings were just a nice supplement – now they are basic. My desire to be a fully devoted father and husband places a ceiling on the number of events I can accept. Thus, each of those events I am able to accept becomes an important part of financial support for the family. With a spouse clearly called to be fulltime at home, this responsibility is on me alone. To date, most love offerings for out-of-town, weekend events have ranged from $800 - $2,500. To date, most love offerings for local events have ranged from $300 - $500 on Wednesdays and $500 -$1,100 on Sundays.
With that background, I trust churches and conferences to do what is fair. Honorarium Check Receiving the honorarium at the close of the event is typical. Understanding Love Offerings
1. Due to tithe, offerings, and taxes, 30% of love offerings never appear in the family budget. As an example, a love offering of $1,000 actually benefits the family with $700. 2. When a dad travels most weekends, then love offerings must be used to pay for lawns to be mowed, plumbing to be repaired, and simple car repairs to be made - tasks dads at home on Saturday can do for no expense. Similarly, love offerings pay for more dry cleaning than is typical and for road expenses that are not reimbursable. 3. Love offerings are a way to express gratitude for six years of degree work past college. These extra years of study related to Scripture, teenagers, and families provide the background for all preaching and speaking on the road. 4. Love offerings are a way to express gratitude for missing most of what many adults look forward to on weekends.
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