Leadership and hope
11/02/24 01:18
Both of the pastors of the congregation to which we belong frequently refer to themselves as “bible nerds,” by which they mean that they enjoy studying and talking about the bible. I don’t think one has to be a minister to share their enjoyment of the bible. I’ve known plenty of laypersons who have developed expertise and derive enjoyment from bible study. In fact, now as a layperson who has a lot of academic study as well as a lifetime of devotional reading of scripture in my story, I almost resent the use of the term “bible nerd.” The way it gets used in our congregation, it seems to me, is almost as a way of distinguishing those who have attended theological seminary from those who have not.
There has been an ongoing conversation about leadership in the church that probably goes all the way back to the first generations of church members and leaders. How leaders are identified and called varies in different denominations and different phases of history.
To be sure, the church has often gotten it wrong. For example, the Christian church in general has suffered many failures of leadership because of the attachment to traditions that favor male leadership. In the United Church of Christ, we are often a bit smug about this, noting that there are many churches, both Roman Catholic and Protestant, who have yet to recognize the full ordination of women while our denomination has been ordaining women since 1853. While that statement is technically correct, it is not the case that women have enjoyed equal status in the leadership of the church. While Antoinette Brown was ordained by a Congregational church in 1853, our denomination chose its first female General Minister and President in the summer of 2023.
Although I served on a search committee that, in 1998, called a woman to the position of General Minister and President of our denomination, the action of our committee was reversed and our candidate was not presented to General Synod for election because of the decision of some leaders in the church. A man, chosen by a new search committee, was presented and elected to the position at the next Synod.
My wife and colleague, Susan, and I were ordained in the same worship service in 1978. My whole career as a minister was served with female colleagues who have been important not only to my personal development as a pastor, but who have also contributed to the leadership of the church. However, back in the days when we were ordained, the placement of pastors was controlled, in a large part, by Conference ministers, who served as placement officers for their conferences. In those days, the Council of Conference Ministers was a good old boys club. And I mean boys literally. Although women joined the ranks of conference ministers not much longer after we were ordained, the majority of conference ministers were male and white for many years.
Another way in which the church has gotten things mixed up when it comes to leadership has come from confusing preparation for ministry with fitness for ministry. In our denomination, ecclesiastical councils are charged with determining fitness for ministry, while evaluating preparation has been delegated to committees on the ministry. Until fairly recently, the United Church of Christ and most of its predecessor denominations have placed a high value on academic preparation. When we were ordained, an four year college degree plus a three year masters degree were considered to be base requirements for ordination. That bias towards advanced academic preparation excluded from ordained ministry those who were called but who could not afford very expensive educational programs. This resulted in a shortage of leaders and the overlooking of other factors such as experience, maturity, personal study, and mentorship that have served the church’s leaders throughout generations. The adoption of a major study, called “Multiple Paths to Ministry,” began an important change in how our denomination viewed leadership. It also resulted in a general decrease in the number of church leaders with intense academic experience.
The general perception in the church is that there is a shortage of leaders available to serve the church. Congregations have a very hard time finding pastors. Positions are advertised and have very few applicants. This is in part due to a general decline in the ability of congregations to offer living salaries. The cost of health insurance has skyrocketed and forced churches to commit huge portions of pay packages to insurance leaving fewer dollars for wages and housing expenses. Many small congregations simply can no longer afford to offer health insurance to their leaders. Add to that expense mountains of debt from years of academic preparation and freshly-graduated seminary students simply cost too much for many congregations to afford. Those with academic preparation and years of experience can demand higher wages making competition for a small number of clergy fairly intense.
I can observe all of this with a certain sense of detachment now that my time as an active minister is passed and I am retired. Like some of my colleagues I am sometimes tempted to bemoan some of the changes in the leadership of the church. However I am not only a retired minister. I am also an active member of the current church. I care about the leadership of our congregation and other congregations. I care about the future of the church and how leadership affects that future. I also confess that I don’t know all of the answers.
What I do know is that leadership continues to emerge, despite the flaws of the system. I am confident that the Holy Spirit will continue to lead and provide leadership for the church. I believe that the Spirit will continue to work through our flawed human systems to call the church into God’s future. I also believe that even though I have much of a lifetime of involvement in the church behind me, there can and will be surprises of leadership that emerge from places that I did not anticipate. God yet has more surprises even for an old fool like me. Knowing that gives me hope.
There has been an ongoing conversation about leadership in the church that probably goes all the way back to the first generations of church members and leaders. How leaders are identified and called varies in different denominations and different phases of history.
To be sure, the church has often gotten it wrong. For example, the Christian church in general has suffered many failures of leadership because of the attachment to traditions that favor male leadership. In the United Church of Christ, we are often a bit smug about this, noting that there are many churches, both Roman Catholic and Protestant, who have yet to recognize the full ordination of women while our denomination has been ordaining women since 1853. While that statement is technically correct, it is not the case that women have enjoyed equal status in the leadership of the church. While Antoinette Brown was ordained by a Congregational church in 1853, our denomination chose its first female General Minister and President in the summer of 2023.
Although I served on a search committee that, in 1998, called a woman to the position of General Minister and President of our denomination, the action of our committee was reversed and our candidate was not presented to General Synod for election because of the decision of some leaders in the church. A man, chosen by a new search committee, was presented and elected to the position at the next Synod.
My wife and colleague, Susan, and I were ordained in the same worship service in 1978. My whole career as a minister was served with female colleagues who have been important not only to my personal development as a pastor, but who have also contributed to the leadership of the church. However, back in the days when we were ordained, the placement of pastors was controlled, in a large part, by Conference ministers, who served as placement officers for their conferences. In those days, the Council of Conference Ministers was a good old boys club. And I mean boys literally. Although women joined the ranks of conference ministers not much longer after we were ordained, the majority of conference ministers were male and white for many years.
Another way in which the church has gotten things mixed up when it comes to leadership has come from confusing preparation for ministry with fitness for ministry. In our denomination, ecclesiastical councils are charged with determining fitness for ministry, while evaluating preparation has been delegated to committees on the ministry. Until fairly recently, the United Church of Christ and most of its predecessor denominations have placed a high value on academic preparation. When we were ordained, an four year college degree plus a three year masters degree were considered to be base requirements for ordination. That bias towards advanced academic preparation excluded from ordained ministry those who were called but who could not afford very expensive educational programs. This resulted in a shortage of leaders and the overlooking of other factors such as experience, maturity, personal study, and mentorship that have served the church’s leaders throughout generations. The adoption of a major study, called “Multiple Paths to Ministry,” began an important change in how our denomination viewed leadership. It also resulted in a general decrease in the number of church leaders with intense academic experience.
The general perception in the church is that there is a shortage of leaders available to serve the church. Congregations have a very hard time finding pastors. Positions are advertised and have very few applicants. This is in part due to a general decline in the ability of congregations to offer living salaries. The cost of health insurance has skyrocketed and forced churches to commit huge portions of pay packages to insurance leaving fewer dollars for wages and housing expenses. Many small congregations simply can no longer afford to offer health insurance to their leaders. Add to that expense mountains of debt from years of academic preparation and freshly-graduated seminary students simply cost too much for many congregations to afford. Those with academic preparation and years of experience can demand higher wages making competition for a small number of clergy fairly intense.
I can observe all of this with a certain sense of detachment now that my time as an active minister is passed and I am retired. Like some of my colleagues I am sometimes tempted to bemoan some of the changes in the leadership of the church. However I am not only a retired minister. I am also an active member of the current church. I care about the leadership of our congregation and other congregations. I care about the future of the church and how leadership affects that future. I also confess that I don’t know all of the answers.
What I do know is that leadership continues to emerge, despite the flaws of the system. I am confident that the Holy Spirit will continue to lead and provide leadership for the church. I believe that the Spirit will continue to work through our flawed human systems to call the church into God’s future. I also believe that even though I have much of a lifetime of involvement in the church behind me, there can and will be surprises of leadership that emerge from places that I did not anticipate. God yet has more surprises even for an old fool like me. Knowing that gives me hope.
