Perhaps you are blessed to be part of a congregation that
has a full-time professional staff. Your
pastor and most of the associate pastors are seminary educated. The staff members provide leadership and
train lay leaders in specialized areas of ministry such as Christian formation,
worship, youth, children and preschool, and senior adults. This is the model that 20th
century American Christianity sought to achieve and one that was encouraged by
most denominations. Even smaller
churches attempted to follow this model.
In many cases, this model is no longer viable. Here are some
reasons.
First, congregations no longer provide the financial
resources to support this model. Giving
is down among congregants. Even if a
church has cut its missions giving to denominational entities, they no longer
have the resources to support this approach.
Second, seminary education is expensive and fewer seminary
graduates can afford to take entry level positions that fail to help them cover
their educational debts. First call
churches could be more aggressive in helping with this debt, but their
resources are often limited as well.
Third, population shifts have left churches in smaller
communities, even “county seat” churches, with an aging congregation, fewer
young adults and families, limited income, and limited vision. The key concern is sustainability not growth.
Fourth, in the past seminaries provided a steady source of
young adults who were willing to relocate anywhere to find a ministry
position. Today, there are fewer young
adults receiving theological degrees.
Many are not interested in church related positions and often want to
live in more urban environments.
So what is the answer?
Many congregations are finding creative ways to address the church staffing
situation.
1. Many are using
biprofessional staff including pastors and associates.
2. Some are sharing
pastoral staff with other congregations.
3. Others are calling
out lay leaders to assume more responsibility in ministry leadership, often
compensating them for their time and encouraging them to receive additional
training.
Each approach has its strengths and weaknesses. Theological institutions can help in this
transition in several ways.
First, seminaries are educating “second career” leaders who
will serve as full-time ministers in their retirement or will be biprofessional
ministers while retaining their present vocations.
Second, pastoral leaders must be intentionally trained as
equipping leaders who can work with lay and part-time leaders to pursue the
church’s mission. For those who have
been out of seminary for awhile, this may come in the form of continuing
education, support groups, and coaching.
Third, seminaries can provide learning opportunities both
for seminary graduates who are being asked to take on new responsibilities in a
shrinking organization and for leaders without a theological education who find
themselves in significant roles of leadership in the congregation.
Is the glass half full or half empty? Personally, I think this is an opportunity to
recognize the gifts of those in the church and leverage these for effective
ministry, but it will require qualities that are not often attached to the
church--flexibility, creativity, and innovation.
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