A Dallas/Fort Worth TV station did a story about Ed Young’s possible ownership and use of a private plane. The story included details about his compensation and housing situation. I don’t know the reporter, but I can bet he has an agenda, and the Darth Vader figure was over the top. Still, the story is making waves, and it’s embedded below.
Ed Young responded to the story on his blog. It certainly appears that in a blog post titled “No Secrets” where comments are open, critical comments are not approved.
First, a disclaimer or two.
Most people have no idea how difficult it is to lead a large congregation. We see big numbers and compare them to our situations, which may not be comparing apples to apples. And in theory, I don’t have a problem with an influential leader using a private transportation in certain cases. Finally, it’s not the job of the church to keep the pastor’s poor. The Bible teaches that churches should take care of their leaders and that a pastor is worth his wages.
But here is my issue.
He wrote about financial accountability, but never answered the question. Does the church own a jet? That was the basic tenant of the news piece, and there has been no response to that question. Why not come out and say, “Yes, the church owns a plane because we did a cost analysis.” Secondly, how can a pastor of a church justify a $1.2 million compensation package? I’m aware of independent compensation studies, but how do a pastor personally justify a salary at such level? I just don’t understand.
And here is my question.
Should the salaries of pastors be public knowledge? We know how much government officials make, including teachers. We know about the compensation of non-profit leaders like Franklin Graham from Samaritan’s Purse. We even know the salaries of corporate leaders of publicly traded companies. Should the salary of a tax-exempt non-profit organization be a matter of public record?
Update: Ed addressed some of these concerns with his church over the weekend. That video is embedded below.
Thought I’d create an open ended post for anyone to ask any question they would like. Ask about me, Oak Leaf, church, whatever. Just leave a comment with your question and I’ll reply.
Oak Leaf Church is a growing church, and I’ll be honest with you. It would be easier for a lot of us if we weren’t growing, because growth is difficult.
Growth means change. Not everybody likes change, and some people feel left behind when changes happen.
Growth means more responsibility. There’s more at stake and there are more people involved.
Growth is expensive. Diapers for little girls are expensive. But young adult girls getting married are more expensive.
Growth is much harder than maintaining the status quo. But God expects His church to grow, so I’ll keep changing, accepting responsibility and paying the price.
There are a handful of people on our staff that work directly for me. I am technically their authority. But I have the opportunity to influence everyone on our entire team, even though they may not report to me according to our org chart. The distinction between authority and influence is important.
When you try and turn your influence into authority, you’ll just make people mad.
Many times, we rely on our authority, when we should really utilize our influence.
Great leaders allow other to influence them, even if they don’t sit in a position of authority.
Great staff members know how to borrow the authority and the influence of their senior leader.
Spoke to a man after one of the services who was attending a gay church and wondered if he’d be welcome at Oak Leaf Church. (My answer: He would always be welcome, especially by me, but he could expect to be challenged with the truth from God’s Word.)
Talked to a lady who left an abusive relationship up north and wanted to leave behind the thorny soil for the good soil.
Talked to a lady headed into surgery on Wednesday who said her family was with her. And she was talking about her church family.
Talked to someone who spent time in jail and is a recovering addict. He is sharing his testimony with his small group this week.
Talked to a lady at church who was invited by another lady in the restroom of a restaurant.
God is doing some amazing things at Oak Leaf Church.
This week, you can get Docs & Forms for $49. That’s every document we use at Oak Leaf Church…stuff that will save you time and improve your systems.
I also have one opening in my next coaching network (it begins in March and meets once a month for five months). If you’re interested, email Tracy and she will send you an application. Some scholarships are available.
Finally, if you’re not already registered, you should register for the churchplanters.com conference this month. I’m doing a breakout on systems, and there are a TON of great speakers.
It was week nine in the Jesus series (we’re walking through the life of Jesus from birth to resurrection, beginning last Christmas and concluding with Easter) and one of my favorite weeks in this series.
We talked about parables (stories with a point), and focused on the sower and the seed. Bottom line: You are responsible for the condition of your own soil.
Awesome to have Amy Winkles from Athens leading worship. That girl can sing. Songs included We Crown You (Fee), Lift us up to Fall (Tenth Avenue North), Sing, Sing, Sing (Tomlin), and Jesus Reigns (Todd Fields).
God is really doing some great stuff in our church right now.
We’re going to limit it to three organizations that are useful, and organizations that we use or recommend. We are not having 100 booths all trying to sell people something…just three sponsors that will add value to the event. If you’re interested, contact me and I will send you some information.
Stay tuned for advance registration information for the conference.
When we came to Cartersville a little over three years ago, there weren’t many churches putting out road signs. So in an effort to get the word out, we began putting out signs on the weekends. It’s something we continue doing now. Here are a few thoughts on churches and road signs.
When we survey our church, about 15% of people say they came to church because they saw a sign. While personal invitations are always number one, that’s a significant percentage.
Road signs are a fairly inexpensive form of advertising.
It’s possible to OVER use them. Right now, we’re putting them out for about 4-5 weeks in a row, and then taking a break. Remember, when you stop something, you get to start it again.
We try not to put too many signs in one location, and we do our best to stay away from other church signs. It looks ridiculous when you pull up to an intersection and there are twenty signs from three different churches. That just makes the community mad.
We keep our road signs very simple. There’s really no need for a phone number or your mission statement. Our signs in Cartersville have the leaf and the service times.
We also use signs as a way to generate awareness. For example, the signs we’re putting out in Canton simply say “Canton,” with the leaf logo where the “o” should be. It’s a teaser sign.
Our Canton Campus Pastor has turned putting the signs out into a Journey Group. After they complete the task, they grab a bite to eat and talk about life and God.
God is doing some great things at Oak Leaf Church, and I’ve never been more excited about our future. But God is at work in lots of churches all over the world. Here’s a little of what I see in my small circle.
Newspring Church, led by my friend Perry Noble, celebrated their 10-year anniversary with 15,000 people gathered together in the Bi-Lo Center. Several hundred people were saved.
Tim Grandstaff and his team launched Genesis Church in Orlando last week. 150 present and they gave 100% of their first offering to Haiti.
River Church in Charleston, led by Todd Macgouyrk, is set to launch this weekend. Those guys are already doing a great job. I’ve gotten to know Todd a little bit in my coaching network and he is a sharp leader.
Freedom Church in Acworth is doing amazing stuff, and dozens of people have been saved in the last few weeks as they are celebrating two years in ministry.
Westridge Church in Dallas, Georgia is growing, reaching people, serving the world and helping plant churches. They are running over 5,000 people. I’m super proud of our mother church!
My friend Vince is about to launch a church serving the Las Vegas Strip. Within 5 miles of his location, there are 270,000 people. That’s the size of Lexington, KY. And while Lexington, KY has more than 400 churches, Vince’s area has just 15.
Over the last few days, I had the opportunity to hang out with about ten pastors…sharing ideas, encouraging each other, and hanging out. I’m excited about what God is doing all over the place. Leave me a comment and let me know what’s happening in your church. I’d love to celebrate with you.
I am Michael Lukaszewski. After a dozen years of working with teenagers, I moved to Cartersville to start Oak Leaf Church . I'm passionate about leading, teaching, starting churches and advancing the Kingdom of God.
