Why Ministry??

This is something I put together for the December Newsletter... I welcome feedback and discussion!

From Church Staffing by Todd Rhoades:

This post comes from the NakedReligion blog... I find the ten reasons that he came up with to be quite intriguing. See what you think...
There is an epidemic occurring right under the nose of church middle judicatories and no one seems to notice. Young pastors (less than five years in the ministry) are leaving in droves. The Lilly Foundation has poured millions of dollars into “Sustaining Pastoral Ministry” initiatives and it’s too soon to tell whether or not their approach is working. Aside from the obvious reasons pastors leave the ministry (sexual impropriety, financial mismanagement, and marital dissolution) here are the top ten reasons why young pastors call it quits:

1. The discontinuity between what they imagined ministry to be and what it actually is too great.
2. A life without weekends sucks.
3. The pay is too low (most pastors in my denomination make less money than a school teacher with five years experience).
4. They are tired of driving ten year old cars while their congregations trade in their cars every two years.
5. Many young pastors are called into difficult congregations that chew pastors up and spit them out because experienced pastors know better.
6. Even though the search committee told them they wanted to reach young people, they didn’t really mean it.
7. When the pastor asked the search committee if they were an “emergent church”, the members of the search committee thought he said “divergent church” and agreed.
8. Nobody told the young pastor that cleaning the toilets was part of the job description.
9. The young pastor’s student loans came due and the amount of money he/she owes on a monthly basis exceeds his/her income.
10. Working at McDonalds has much less stress.
Why do you think young pastors are leaving in the ministry in droves?

COR’S RESPONSE TO TEN REASONS

The reality of the “ten reasons” provided by Todd Rhoades is difficult to argue with. Ministry is not always “a bed of roses.” At the same time, there are many things that can be done to improve those first five years in ministry – especially as part of the preparation process. Please allow me to offer alternatives to what Mr. Rhoades says:

1. There does not have to be such a great discontinuity if the preparation has individuals immersed in ministry as part of a Teaching Church or apprenticeship. When individuals are given ministry responsibilities while being properly supervised and mentored as part of their preparation, the shock of actually ministry is minimized.

2. Those in ministry need to schedule a Sabbath into their week and if at all possible take the same day off as family members: a spouse and school age children need to be considered in what day is regularly taken off. Even if it is Saturday when most pastors experience the “pre-Sunday syndrome,” the time spent with family is crucial.

3. Granted, ministry will never produce millionaires, but, the RCA has a good reputation for being fair in the salaries and benefits it pays. Each classis establishes a minimum salary schedule that is adjusted according to the cost of living annually.

4. When it comes to the cars people drive it is often a choice of priorities – when I attend classis meetings and look at the cars in the parking lot I seldom see ten year old cars and thus surmise that in the RCA many congregations believe that the pastor has the right to live a lifestyle equal to the average congregant.

5. Although I have seen situations where new and young pastors begin ministry in difficult pastorates, there have also been numerous efforts in the RCA to support pastors, both young and old. The BCO requires that new pastors be assigned a mentor for the first two years and many are members of pastoral networks from the very beginning of their ministry.

6. Disconnects between what search committees and congregations say they are looking for in a pastor and what they are really wanting continues to be a dilemma in our system. I believe we are getting better at helping both candidates and churches discern needs and if everyone is willing to do what it takes to meet those needs.

7. Without a doubt, terms such as “emergent church” need to be identified and most of us in the RCA realize we must define what we mean when we use such terms… Then again, the RCA is also hoping to be a diverse church.

8. I am not sure if many pastors are asked to clean toilets, but, I do know that if a person goes into ministry he / she must be prepared to be a servant – those who begin ministry with a servant heart tend to be successful.

9. Student loans are definitely problem for many and there are numerous individuals in the RCA willing to investigate the possibility of improving financial support for those going into ministry. The Classis of Schenectady is leading the way by providing full tuition support for those who go to seminary from their classis (I can see the exodus to Schenectady already!)

10. Obviously, Todd has not worked at MacDonalds… every vocation has its stress and when you work with people through life and death issues the stress levels do tend to go up… But, so does the job satisfaction. When one can go to bed at night and say: “I made a difference in people’s lives,” there is a satisfaction that is hard to equal in other vocations.

In recent years the RCA seminaries and the MFCA have surveyed their graduates and discovered that only a small number have stepped out of ministry. I am not suggesting that the RCA is perfect and has it all figured out, but we are working toward preparing individuals for ministry in 2005 and providing satisfying and exciting settings to work in!

Cor