That’s his TOTAL package, not salary.  Includes all benefits, health insurance, retirement plans, etc.—PLUS his expense account.

I can imagine his expense account is way up there, given his job.

At any rate, for a guy that leads a $270 million operation, and has been doing it for decades, a salary of $150k or so is very, very low, and he’s in a high cost-of-living area, to boot.

I’m a skeptic about ministry use of money, but this sounds no alarms whatsoever.  Like I say, I’m actually relieved.

i was surprised to see that on the Better Business Bureau’s Website Wess Stafford makes about $205,939 each year. i wonder what he does with all of these treasures here on earth? 

http://charityreports.bbb.org/Public/Report.aspx?CharityID=3017

disseminating a good organization to get involved with is an interesting journey.  in some ways i guess it just takes faith…

Isaiah 58

peace

There are organizations that simply *couldn’t* handle it.  I don’t know anyone with $200 mil to give, but I do know some wealthy people, and I kinda wonder how Compassion deals with major donors, if they just use that money to plug into existing programs, or launch entirely new areas.  Just curious what Wes would say, if he’d have an immediate, “Yes, here’s what we’d do…”

And American churches could drop $200 million a year on Compassion in a heartbeat, if we so chose.

out of the 860,000 kids being cared for by Compassion International, I believe the number that HAVE sponsors was around 720,000.  If I’m correct about that, then that would mean about 140,000 kids need sponsors and are currently having their care paid for by the unsponsored children’s fund.  That fund is what I suggest any one-time gift folks put on the memo line of their checks.  We recently were handed a check for $10,000 and had them make it out to Compassion International but designate it to that fund.

.  Could Compassion handle it if someone donated, say, $200 million dollars?

What do you mean by “handle it” Brant?  Do mean could they use it?  Or how would they use it?  What exactly do you mean…and do you have a donation to make? ; )

American pulpits haven’t changed how we view Compassion International and poverty—Compassion and poverty has changed how we view American pulpits.

Yes.  Me too.

Compassion is developing what I can only describe as sermon aids to help pastors teach about poverty and the Christian’s role in combatting it.  Wes has spoken to large numbers of pastors and asked why they don’t teach on poverty.  The answer he gets most often, he said, is that they don’t know anything about it.  Seminary didn’t prepare them for it.  So he’s asked them if they’d teach about it if they were prepared.  They say yes.  So he’s preparing them.

2.  What would Compassion do C.I. was suddenly funded with an extra $200 million a year?  What would happen?

3.  What does he think of campaigns to help, say, Africa, that ask for no sacrifice?

4.  What does he think of current ideas/projects to help Africa that rely on largely statist solutions, through the IMF, the U.N., etc.?

5.  His recommendation:  Should Christians give to UNICEF?

6.  How many children does he sponsor?

Please let him know Compassion is making those sermons happen, just not in pulpits…but pulpits are becoming less important. 

For my family:  American pulpits haven’t changed how we view Compassion International and poverty—Compassion and poverty has changed how we view American pulpits.

We got a letter from our little boy, Wedner, in Haiti the other day.  He was thanking us for the Christmas gift we sent.  He used the money to buy himself a chicken to raise.  My kids thought that was so cool and wanted to know if we could get one too!

Beth

I read a few years ago about Jesus teaching on the Good Samaritan.  This was, apparently, a common rabbinical parable; except Jesus put a twist, really a barb, in the parable.  As commonly told, after the priest and Levite, a pious Jew would come along and tend to the beaten man.  Can you imagine the crowd as they heard Jesus begin this story to answer “Who is my neighbor”?  I’m sure it was like hearing a comforting old story: of course, Jesus, I’m the little man and I can be more righteous than the professional if I care for my hurt brother.  But then Jesus hits them with this hated, outcast Samaritan.  Sure, we’ve all talked about how this was a hard teaching about loving everyone; but to see how Jesus lured them down the path and then sprang a trap on their egos and self-centeredness, that makes the parable even more meaningful to me.  It makes me wonder if we’ve become a little too comfortable in hearing this story of the Good Samaritan and we need Jesus to upend our complacency, as well.