Coupled with the consumer addiction is the debt many clergy families obtain in the course of preparing for ministry. This debt can greater than a year’s salary, and seem insurmountable.

The financial pressures of pastoring a congregation intertwine themselves with the pastor's life. In many polities, the congregation approves the salary, often behaving and speaking ignorantly, often creating hurtful experiences for the pastor. Then there are the expenses of ministry. If the congregation provides only a modest reimbursement for business expenses, what should be submitted and what should be borne by the pastor's salary? If pastors feel they are compensated inadequately, is it proper to reduce their own giving commitment? If so, how then does the pastor uphold good stewardship theology? The ethical lines can get blurry.

How does one provide good fiscal leadership for a congregational system when it is so difficult to manage one's own finances? Certainly the uniqueness of congregations makes it different than operating a hardware store, no matter what the congregational treasurer says! Or is it? With very little pastoral training available for leading the economic life of the congregation, it is difficult to know how to confidently proceed with congregational economics, or organizational finances in general.

With all this background, many pastors end up avoiding the painful realities of adequately managing their household finances. They hope lay leaders provide quality financial leadership for the congregation — although what that quality financial leadership looks like remains undefined. They also become skittish about broaching the subject of money from the pulpit. Thus the powerful linkage between faith and money remains unaddressed.