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    Clergy Negotiating Guide: Don't Sell Yourself Short
    Clergy Negotiating Guide: Don't Sell Yourself Short
    Clergy Negotiating Guide: Don't Sell Yourself Short
    Ebook35 pages27 minutes

    Clergy Negotiating Guide: Don't Sell Yourself Short

    By John Zehring

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    About this ebook

    The Clergy Negotiating Guide helps pastors to meet with church leaders to negotiate their contact, compensation, and annual raises in a way that is fair, just, and compatible with denominational compensation guidelines for your experience, skills, and the demographics you serve. Many clergy are not skilled at negotiating for themselves. The goal is not to enter into an adversarial conversation but to find a win-win outcome that is mutually satisfying to both clergy and congregation. The Clergy Negotiating Guide leads clergy to articulate their specialized skills, to arm themselves with good data, to set the tone for a collaborative conversation about compensation, to learn to speak in a matter-of-fact manner about the business aspects to their employment, and to consider their personal theology about their calling and being paid for their service. An especially helpful guide is the section encouraging clergy to seek a guaranteed contractual minimum annual increase as beneficial to both clergy and congregation. Whether you are negotiating for a new position (and therefore have some clout) or returning to the table once again to discuss your compensation and job description, The Clergy Negotiating Guide will provide you with valuable assistance.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherJohn Zehring
    Release dateJun 9, 2014
    ISBN9781310049026
    Clergy Negotiating Guide: Don't Sell Yourself Short
    Author

    John Zehring

    John Zehring has served United Church of Christ congregations as Senior Pastor in Massachusetts (Andover), Rhode Island (Kingston), and Maine (Augusta) and as an Interim Pastor in Massachusetts (Arlington, Harvard). Prior to parish ministry, he served in higher education, primarily in development and institutional advancement. He worked as a dean of students, director of career planning and placement, adjunct professor of public speaking and as a vice president at a seminary and at a college. He is the author of more than sixty books and is a regular writer for The Christian Citizen, an American Baptist social justice publication. He has taught Public Speaking, Creative Writing, Educational Psychology and Church Administration. John was the founding editor of the publication Seminary Development News, a publication for seminary presidents, vice presidents and trustees (published by the Association of Theological Schools, funded by a grant from Lilly Endowment). He graduated from Eastern University and holds graduate degrees from Princeton Theological Seminary, Rider University, and the Earlham School of Religion. He is listed in Marquis' WHO'S WHO IN AMERICA and is a recipient of their Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement Award. John and his wife Donna live in two places, in central Massachusetts and by the sea in Maine.

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      Book preview

      Clergy Negotiating Guide - John Zehring

      Clergy Negotiating Guide

      Don’t Sell Yourself Short

      John Zehring

      Smashwords Edition

      Copyright 2014 John Zehring

      Smashwords Edition, License Notes

      Thank you for downloading this eBook. This book remains the copyrighted property of the author, and may not be redistributed to others for commercial or non-commercial purposes. If you enjoyed this book, please encourage your friends to download their own copy from their favorite authorized retailer. Thank you for your support.

      Introduction

      I have enjoyed the privilege of serving as Chair of the Clergy Compensation Guidelines Committee in two states, which gave me insights to how clergy and churches negotiate. I have witnessed how clergy will often sell themselves short, perhaps because they do not know how to negotiate or because they think it unbecoming to talk about money or maybe because of a personal theology that leads them to accept whatever they are offered. I have also witnessed how, frequently, churches will pursue their own best interests financially while the clergy member will not. Studies indicate that more than four out of ten workers (49%) do not negotiate their first job offers, often to their detriment. My guess is that number would be higher for clergy.

      Clergy and congregations must learn to talk about money and the business side of their relationship with comfort, collaboration, and a search for a win-win solution where both parties feel good about the outcome. Indeed, begin your conversation with one another by saying just that as your mutual goal. Never should churches try to get away with paying as little as they can and never should clergy try to get as much as they can for themselves. It is not an adversarial relationship. This is not a battle to see who wins the most. You are their Pastor. After you walk out of the negotiating room, you will tend to their spiritual needs. And so, always begin by affirming that you would like to join them in speaking matter-of-factly about the business arrangements so that you and they can then be free to pursue a journey of faith together, as partners.

      Clergy Negotiating Guide

      Don’t Sell Yourself Short

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