Clergy

The Empty Pulpit…

/ pastorlynnmalone / Leave a comment

I had another conversation this week with a member whose church was going through conflict. The member spoke of conflict the congregation was having with the pastor and about conflict the congregation is having within itself on the future direction of the congregation.

The conflict centered around a looming vote by the congregation on remaining independent or aligning with a denomination. The member stated, “If we stay independent, we’ll lose 3/4 of the congregation and if we align with the denomination, we’ll lose 1/4 of the congregation and the pastor.”

Where the church member I had the conversation with came down in the conflict is immaterial. Either way, the congregation is headed toward a split and that’s rarely a good thing, especially in a small church.

First, it sounds like the decision is already made. I mean, if that member thinks 3/4 of the congregation will leave if it chooses to remain independent, the likelihood of a vote to remain independent is between slim and none (if everyone shows up to vote, anyway). That only means there will be another small church whose pulpit will be empty.

Of course, the congregation is counting on affiliating with a new denomination to help with the pastoral search. Yes, it will help, but methinks the congregation is not being very realistic. The denomination cannot send what it does not have.

An Empty Pipeline

The ministerial pipeline is not full enough to provide pastoral leadership to all the congregations that are searching. There are not enough people entering vocational ministry to fill the gaps.

Seminary attendance is declining. Yes, people are still attending seminary, but fewer and fewer are doing so to fill a pulpit. Seriously? Why would they? An entry level salary for a full-time clergy is between $35,000 – 45,000 a year. That’s at a good church! It doesn’t make financial sense for a person to invest $70,000 in a seminary education for that entry level salary.

I graduated from seminary with $28,000 in debt (from undergrad and grad school). It took us ten years to pay off that debt on what were basically entry level wages. School tuitions have skyrocketed since I was in seminary. If I were a young(er) person contemplating a ministry calling, I’d be hard pressed to consider seminary.

One interesting thing that is happening is that of those who are attending seminary, 40% of them are not doing so to fill the pulpit. They’re looking at other ways of serving in ministry through non-profits or other specialized ministries.

I heard the story of one seminary graduate who applied for an open youth pastor position at a church who was offered $42,000/year with no benefits. When she asked for more money so she could afford to pay her student loans and still manage living expenses, the board got offended. The candidate eventually took a position as a school counselor making $55,000/year with full benefits.

More money and she still gets to engage with youth on a daily basis. She also has most weekends off, and the school doesn’t expect her to work 60 hours a week.

I know of another congregation that wanted its pastor to lead Sunday worship, mid-week Bible study, teach a Sunday school class, visit the shut-ins and attend monthly business meetings (where they would have no vote), and all for the hefty sum of $18,000/year. By my estimation, that’s about 40 hours/week between preparation and presentation. That doesn’t calculate drive time if the pastor doesn’t actually live in the community he/she serves.

Yes, I’m saying congregations (generally) expect too much for what they’re willing to pay. And, don’t come at me with the “Ministry shouldn’t be about money” retort. You’re right. It shouldn’t be, and for most clergy it isn’t. But, it is about being able to feed a family and meet basic living expenses.

I know the examples I offered are only anecdotal but they do reflect the reality of vocational ministry in the contemporary church. Local congregations who pay living wages are far more likely to attract viable candidates for their empty pulpits. Unfortunately, most congregations can’t (or won’t) afford full-time clergy going forward.

Like the congregation in the conversation I had this week, either way their congregation is going to be diminished. They will lose members. That means less money. Good luck finding that pastor willing to move across the state (or the country) to pastor a small congregation that has suffered deep conflict. That’s a special calling indeed.

Signs of Hope

Lest you think I’m being overly grim, I do want to offer what I see as two opportunities on the horizon (obstacles are only opportunities, right?).

First, is the shift to bivocational ministry. Yes, it’s what I’m doing. Honestly, I’m finding much more fulfillment as a bivocational pastor than I ever did in full-time ministry. That’s not a knock on full-time ministry. If you’re called to full-time ministry, go for it! I’m just saying there is a freedom in ministry when one’s livelihood isn’t dependent on the congregation.

Bivocational ministry will open doors to congregations to fill their empty pulpits. Of course, it means those congregations will have to adjust their expectations of what pastoral leadership looks like. Congregations can’t expect full-time ministry on part-time pay. It’s selfish and immoral. There, I said it. Deal with it.

Bivocational ministry also means denominations will have to adjust its “qualifications” for ministry credentials, seeing bivocational pastors as equals to “Elders in full-connection” (to use my current denomination’s terminology–my former one, too). Denominations will be seeing more bivocational clergy and fewer full-time clergy if current trends continue. Denominations must level that playing field going forward.

Bivocational clergy are not any less called than vocational clergy. The only difference is the way in which we are living out God’s call. And, I’m not thoroughly convinced that bivocational ministry isn’t closer to the biblical model. I’m thinking about Paul here who supported his ministry by making tents and Peter who went back to fishing after the resurrection.

The future looks much brighter for congregations who are willing to embrace the opportunities bivocational ministry affords them.

Second, is the opportunity for congregations to raise up their own pastoral leadership. Now this…this…is biblical in the strictest sense. For small congregations, the reality is that their next pastoral leader is sitting in the pew right now. I’m reminded of what the Apostle Paul wrote to the Ephesian church:

11 So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, 12 to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up 13 until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. (Ephesians 4:11-13 NIV)

Also, read Romans 12 and 1 Corinthians 12 where Paul reminds the local churches of the gifts of the Spirit and Peter, who reminds the local congregation of the priesthood of all believers in 1 Peter 2, and Jesus, Himself in Revelation calls the church a kingdom of priests. We are all ministers of the Gospel meant to live out our spiritual gifts in the body of Christ in the local congregation.

Small congregations must embrace the blessing of the ones sitting in their own pews. The church model of the past with paid ministry staff lulled most congregations to sleep, and made them willing to “pay” the professional to do ministry. That model is no longer sustainable. Here’s your chance to fill your empty pulpit internally and thus fulfill the first century image for the local congregation.

I know I’ve chewed this same dirt in blogs before, but the conversations I keep having keep me coming back to these realities.

I’m absolutely convinced the future for the Church/church is bright and secure. It’s just that the future I see isn’t going to look very much like the recent past. I think that’s a good thing. I also believe the Holy Spirit is in it.

Until next time, keep looking up…

Another Supply Shortage?

/ pastorlynnmalone / 1 Comment

Remember March 2020? I’m sure you do! It was the beginning of the Covid pandemic in the United States. Most of us remember where we were and what we were doing when the “lock-downs” started, and who among us will ever forget the great toilet paper shortage of 2020?

The Great Toilet Paper Shortage of 2020

Toilet paper became the brunt of all our jokes and countless social media memes due to its short supply during 2020. “Panic buying” was the most often quoted reason for its short supply, but the most likely reason had more to do with the way toilet paper is manufactured and supplied to stores, and they places we used it.

Think about it this way. People split their time between home and work, which meant they likely used as much toilet paper at work as at home. Suddenly, we were spending all our time at home, which meant toilet paper consumption at home mostly doubled (or more). We needed more toilet paper at home.

The toilet paper used in workplaces is usually different from the toilet paper we use at home, as is the packaging and distribution. Suppliers simply couldn’t shift packaging and distribution quickly enough to handle the transition, so store shelves were left empty until the transition could be made. It all eventually worked itself out and we were able to catch up on our toilet paper needs, and no one (that I know of) was relegated to ancient sources of clean-up as a result (crass, right?).

The Great Pastor Shortage of 2024

But, let’s not go on talking about toilet paper. I bring it up only because I’ve noticed another commodity that’s in very short supply these days–pastors. The pastoral supply shortage was taking place long before the pandemic, but the “epidemic” of departures/disaffiliations from the United Methodist Church seems to have exacerbated the problem.

I belong to a couple of Facebook groups that are dedicated to helping churches find pastors and pastors find churches. One is called Kingdom Leaders Association, and as of two days ago, it listed 17 congregations (all disaffiliated UMC’s) who were seeking pastoral leadership (and it’s a small Facebook group-199 members). The other group is called Pastor Search (over 20,000 members) and the churches that post there seeking a pastor is just too overwhelming to count (last time I counted it was over 200 from various denominations and independents).

I know the shortage was real before the pandemic because as a District Superintendent trying to staff congregations with pastors in my district of 84 churches, there were always those listed as TBS (to be supplied). There was an annual scramble to find retired clergy or lay persons who were willing the fill these slots, and yet many of them remained un-filled.

Why the Shortage?

There are a number of reasons for the shortage. One reason is pastoral burn-out. Pastors are tired. One study revealed that 42% of pastors have considered leaving the ministry in the past year. The stress of pastoral work and the toll it takes on a family has simply become too much for a pastor to be willing to continue, especially in a world where there are so many other options.

Another reason is a decline in seminary enrollment. Put another way, there aren’t enough new people entering the pipeline to ministry. There are now more pastors over the age of 65 than there are who are under the age of 40, and those numbers have flipped since 1992. Many young people are simply not answering the call to ministry in the same way they once did, and that is being reflected in congregations ability to locate “trained” clergy.

One reason some younger folks are not answering the call to pastoral ministry might have to do with the unrealistic expectations many congregations have of their leaders. In my experience, many congregations want a 42 year-old pastor with 20 years of experience, an earned doctorate, a family of four with a spouse who plays the piano, and the congregation wants to pay that person $35,000/year. The congregation’s mentality is, “Lord, you keep the pastor humble, and we’ll keep the pastor poor.”

They want their pastor to be available 24/7, cut short their vacation if a member dies, preach like Billy Graham and shepherd like Mother Teresa. I could go on, but you get the picture. Too many congregations want full-time ministry with only part-time pay. Those expectations are killing pastors and now they’re killing congregations.

I apologize if I drone on about the reasons for the supply shortage. I could unpack a dozen other reasons that add to the problem, but unpacking those reasons does nothing to solve the problem. So, I’ll shift my focus to some things that might be helpful to congregations that are searching for a pastor.

Recommendations

First, be encouraged that this is not the first generation to deal with a labor shortage when it comes to ministry leadership. Remember the words of Jesus to His first disciples:

37 Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. 38 Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.”

Matthew 9: 37-38 (NIV)

Jesus gives us the first key to identifying leadership–prayer! Pray for a pastor, and when I say pray, I mean set aside intentional times of congregational prayer to ask the Lord to send THE leader who will lead the congregation to faithfulness and fruitfulness. This doesn’t mean a passing reference during the prayer time in a worship service. Be intentional in praying for leadership.

Another helpful step? If you are an independent congregation, join a denomination. Joining a denomination may not be the end all and be all for finding pastoral leadership, but it certainly gives a congregation a head-start due to the simple fact that denomination’s have processes in place to assist congregations in finding clergy leadership. Keep in mind, though, that many denominations are dealing with their own clergy shortages. It is not a uniquely Methodist matter.

Let me also encourage congregations to look within. Your next pastor might be sitting in the pew next to you. Where do pastors come from? They come from congregations. If churches do not have enough pastors, it might be because the congregations (and their leaders) have not been intentional in identifying leaders within their own congregation.

No one knows a congregation better than members of the congregation. It’s time to start tapping people on the shoulder to say, “Hey, you have a gift for teaching. Ever thought about using it in the Kingdom?” A congregation’s next pastor could already be in the congregation. Pray about it. Identify them. Call them. Encourage them. Train them. And, then, most importantly, follow them. If necessary, ordain that person as a congregation. If John Wesley could do it, so can you!

Conclusion

This should probably be a much longer post, or at least a multi-part series, but the reality is that I’ve been away from vocational ministry too long to understand the issue as I should. I’ve just offered a few rambling reflections because the issue has been on my mind the last week or so, and because I’ll be serving as pulpit supply for a couple of churches on that list I mentioned earlier in the next few weeks.

I’m also a feeling a little guilty because I know I could be serving any of those churches, but I’m choosing not to do so right now. Yes, I’m praying about it, but I’m waiting on my next burning bush experience before I make a decision concerning future ministry opportunities (feeling a little guilty about that, too–and burning bushes are rare this day and time).

Forgive my comparison of toilet paper and pastors. They are only similar in that they both are accustomed to taking _______ off people. They are different in that it’s much easier to get toilet paper back on the shelf than it is to get pastors in pulpits. It’s easier to make toilet paper than it is to make pastors, and it takes less time, too.

Oh, well! I’m done now.

Until next time (if there is one after this blog), keep looking up…