Several blog
writers that I follow have recently posted observations about the needs of pastoral
leaders in the contemporary setting and in the coming years. They have asked
questions like, “What are the competencies required?” “What type of preparation is needed?” “Will there be a place for paid, full-time
clergy?”
In one of these blogs, Alan Roxburgh made
the following observations about the preparation of clergy:
“There is a disconnect between the
kind of leader seminaries are producing and the growing sense of the kinds of
leaders now needed on the ground in congregations. There is a heightening of
anxiety across church systems that what seminaries are producing is simply out
of step with what is needed. There is a growing conviction that the established
model of the ‘professional’ clergy will go the way of the dodo bird. We are in
need of shaping new kinds of contextual learning communities which are working
at discovering together what the new leadership needs to look like. This is not
an abandonment of classical or intellectual skills but a loss of confidence in
the existing professional, degreed models of leadership.”
He also pointed out that the financial
crisis in many churches and denominations will have an impact on full-time
clergy:
“At the same time, we are reaching
the point where, in many denominations, over 50% of congregations can no longer
afford full-time clergy and many of the remainder can’t pay their clergy the
salaries needed to maintain a decent living and pay down their student debt.”
In a recent blog, I addressed the
second concern as I pointed to Jeff Woods’ ideas about alternative support
systems for ministers. In this posting,
I want to share some ideas about addressing the apparent disconnect between the
kind of pastoral leaders that seminaries are producing and the type of leaders
that churches need or will need in the future.
There are several skill sets that ministers
will need to meet the changing needs of faith communities in the decades ahead.
First, ministers must be equipped to
be spiritual directors. Not only will
this strengthen the life of the minister, but this will help the clergyperson
to guide individuals as they identify, learn and practice the spiritual disciplines
that will enrich their relationship with God.
This is a key aspect of discipleship and one that churches have long
neglected. As a result, Christians have often felt compelled to explore
non-Christian practices to give them spiritual grounding.
Second, ministers need to learn how
to read their culture. This does not
mean uncritically embracing the popular culture, compromising the Gospel
message, or “going native.” It does mean
that the minister needs to learn the skills of the cultural anthropologist in
order to fully comprehend the context in which he or she ministers—the innate
values and norms in the culture, the way
that people really communicate with one another, and the nature of authority,
for example. In so doing, the minister
can function more effectively as a leader, pastoral minister, proclaimer of the
Gospel, and change agent.
Third, the “dirty little secret” of many
seminary degree programs is that they devote very little time in the curriculum
to developing communicators. Students can
complete some courses of study and take only one preaching course. Of course, communication is not limited to
preaching, but many seminary graduates are poor writers and have only the basic
skills of teaching. Ministers need to be
able to communicate effectively both orally and verbally in a variety of media
and settings.
Fourth, today and tomorrow’s minister
must be an intentional networker. He or
she must be able to connect with people in various contexts in order to advance
the ministry that God has provided. This
starts in seminary by exposing students to leaders in all kinds of settings—religion,
business, education, health, media—so that they can “learn the language” and be
able to relate to people both in the church and in the marketplace.
Finally, most 21st century
ministers will need to have entrepreneurial skills. Traditional resources for ministry are
becoming scarcer, so the minister is going to have to be able to find,
cultivate, and use resources—personnel, finances, space, and technology—from new
and unexpected places. The resources are
there, but they must be repurposed for Kingdom work.
Of course, I realize that no one individual
will possess all of these skill sets, but various ministry settings will
require several of these. This will
require both theological educators and prospective ministers to embrace new approaches
to formation for ministry.
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