To be clear from the outset, the Bible is explicit that we are to care financially for our leaders — pay a workman according to his wages, as it says. We affirm and encourage this. But as in so many things, the ANTM lives in the gray area between what constitutes respectful and adequate care, including salaries, and what would trigger alarms, both personally and legally. They avoid the personal alarms by hiding the extent of their pastors' salaries from their congregations. We question why there is a lack of transparency in this area.

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And so the issue here really isn't the salary, as much as it is the fact that they hide it. That speaks volumes. The fact that they protect those salaries by enlisting questionable outside firms to say "you're ok" speaks volumes. It's as if they know they are doing something wrong, so that's why they hide it from their congregations.  

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Cult Education Institutes has this to say about safe leaders: A safe group or safe leader will disclose information such as finances and often offer an independently audited financial statement regarding budget and expenses. Safe groups and leaders will tell you more than you want to know. 

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Let's see how the ANTM stacks up against those principles and consider the finances of the ANTM leadership. Throughout this article, when we say salaries, we are actually referring to the total compensation package each of these pastors are provided with which includes salary, retirement accounts, car stipend, home stipend and various other fringe benefits including health insurance.

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The last few remaining ANTM member churches are comparatively small, ranging in approximate size from under 40 members in Maine, to under 70 in North Ridgeville, around 100 in Columbus and under 300 in Pittsburgh. Despite having so few giving units (as the members are affectionately referred during church business meetings), one thing can be said about the congregations, they give. They are routinely reminded that contributing 15% of their total gross income to the church is the goal to be aspired too. This percentage is flashed on the screen from time to time during their annual congregational business meeting. The people know what is expected of them. The church members are a mix of poor, lower class, working class, and upper middle class, while there are some that are very well off. Some struggle to put food on the table, others do extremely well for themselves. But they all are expected to give, even sacrificially.

 

Norman Sr. and Becky were always well compensated by the congregations they "served" and lived a life of privilege, including new homes, new cars, and lavish trips abroad for ‘ministry’. When they retired to Maine, families were repeatedly encouraged to give large sacrificial gifts to help pay for the James' new home and retirement, over and above regular tithes and offerings. Even now the James Sr.s' receive substantial financial support in the tens of thousands from each congregation to provide a comfortable retirement income. This is not common knowledge to the congregation and the money budgeted for that purpose is hidden under nebulous terms in the budget like "ministry support".

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Back in the day, when the James Sr.s' were still pastoring, members were even responsible for cleaning the James’ home and taking care of their lawn and landscaping. This mindset continues as Norman's son, Norman Jr. to this day enjoys the same "lawn care package" and his assistant Chris Otis even gets his driveway shoveled by the church. The point is, there was this modeled approach of “taking care of our pastors” that was passed down over generations. This led to generous pastor compensation packages over the years. It was made easier because these salaries were voted on by boards often comprised of relatives of the pastors and more importantly men who wanted to go along and get along with their pastors because that’s what the doctrine trains you to do.

  

In the mid 2010’s, the pastors began to realize that their salaries and fringe benefits were up to a level that could trigger a suspicious eye from the IRS. Every church board has a fiduciary responsibility to the congregation to protect it from excessive compensation of the pastor and staff. The pastors' growing concern regarding this in private conversations led to enlisting outside help to address the issue. The goal of this private resource was not to guide the boards to reduce pastoral compensation to sensible levels, it was to justify the excessive compensation, which ran well into the six figure range for some of the ANTM pastors, even those in the smaller churches.

 

It is interesting to note that over the years, Norman vigorously condemned ministries that were judged by him to be led by charlatans, grifters, and people that were in it for the money, peddling a false gospel. Yet, when it came time to seek out an expert in maximizing compensation, the ANTM went to none other than Joel Osteen’s brother’s firm. Joel Osteen’s ministry stands apart as one where Word of Faith doctrine as well as the “feel good” type of theology is preached. These ideas are absolutely highest among those for which Norman Sr. expressed contempt very often and most vocally. Nonetheless, ANTM contracted with this leader’s brother to obtain the legal knowledge required to maximize the salary of its local pastors.

 

Unable to compare salaries with other local churches of comparable size, because the ANTM pastors' salaries were so much higher, the ANTM was advised by the firm that the ANTM is a 'unique church population', whose congregants want to demonstrate ‘special honor’ to its leaders. This was the line the pastors fed themselves. This was their justification. Thus, the ANTM decided not to compare their salaries to other churches, but instead decided to compare itself with itself as the standard for what compensation would be appropriate. Paul warns the Corinthians that when those “measure themselves by themselves and compare themselves with themselves, they are without understanding.” It seems that this is a willful ignorance so as not feel culpable in violating excessive compensation principles that the tax code clearly prohibits. So the six figure incomes continue and the pastors continue to hide the embarrassing numbers from their congregants. And just as an aside, on top of all of this, at the time of year when many families struggle, every year at Christmas time, the elders solicit every congregant for an additional pastor's Christmas gift, that runs into the thousands, a nice cash gift completely off the books.

 

The congregations have no idea that their pastors are being compensated at such levels. The stats are carefully folded in to “ministry obligation” figures at the annual church business meeting, where details and specifics are obfuscated for obvious reasons. No one has asked in one of these meetings “Hey pastor, how much are we paying you?” For current members reading this, we dare you to do so. And to the pastors -  no one hides something like this if it's on the up and up. You know what you're doing is wrong.

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