I do want to offer this correction from the comment below. According to this Open Letter from the Church Council at Riverside Church, Rev. Dr. Braxton’s total compensation was $460,000 – not $600,000. This is helpul information to have – though I think the underlying questions still pertain to the situation.

The Rev. Dr. Brad Braxton has resigned today from his position as Senior Pastor of Riverside Church (details here). Braxton has served Riverside for just 9 months before submitting his resignation. Many of you probably first heard Braxton’s name when the NY Times ran the story about his compensation package back in April of 2009. According to those who were labeled as “dissidents,” they said his package was over $460,000 and included:

• Annual base salary of $250,000
• Monthly housing allowance of $11,500
• Pension and life insurance benefits
• Entertainment, travel and “professional development” expenses
• An equity allowance for the future purchase of a home
• Money for a full-time maid
• Private school tuition for his 3-year-old daughter

First, let me say that I have heard some really wonderful things about Rev. Braxton. He is a fellow FTE Fellow and was a part of an FTE Conference a few summers ago. I was also very impressed with him after watching this segment from a Religion & Ethics Newsweekly Report. I have also been to Riverside Church for worship before and know that it is an historic church for our country and would be quite the place to try to step in and begin to serve. It is also a congregation that has dealt with a lot of controversy in its rich history. [Read more...]