March 2001
That is another of the five priority goals adopted by the GRR Board of Managers in May of 2000.
Ministerial leadership is important! Despite what some enthusiasts suggest, persons who have experienced a specific call into congregational leadership, who have invested themselves in some sort of training, and who are committing significant time to congregational leadership will continue to be needed in the foreseeable future. It doesn’t matter if their title is “pastor,” “minister,” “elder,” or whatever.
Ephesians identifies such persons as God’s gifts for the purpose of “building up” the body of Christ.
Leadership is essential. Every organization can verify that. While ministerial leaders cannot (and should not) bear the sole responsibility, visionary, long-term pastoral leadership is a key factor in congregational vitality.
However, business observers note that America is in the midst of a leadership crisis right now. That is doubly true for the Church. Over the past 15 years, the number of persons preparing for leadership in congregations has declined by 50%. At the same time, we are experiencing growing leadership losses due to retirement.
From a spiritual perspective, we have not been encouraging persons to listen for the call of God. From a material perspective, the demands and rewards of ministerial leadership make ministry appear unattractive. Some of the brightest and best potential ministers never get past the grueling demands and grudging paychecks.
The Region cannot solve this problem, but we do intend to spotlight the need, and do what we can.
To this end we will:
· Encourage congregations and ministers to proclaim the whole Gospel, including the call to ministerial leadership;
· Provide ongoing opportunities for the continuing education and training of ministerial leaders;
· Advocate for the just compensation and benefits of ministerial leaders;
· Promote opportunities for ministerial leaders to attend to their spiritual health;
· Nurture networks of ministerial leaders for mutual support, mentoring, and accountability;
· Recognize ministerial leaders for their faithfulness and commitment;
· Utilize specific regional events (such as camping and youth conventions) to encourage the response to God’s call.
Ministry has always been difficult in the sense of being hard work. But much of the difficulty being experienced today is because of three major factors affecting churches and their leadership: demographics, finances, and status. Populations have shifted in numbers, location, ethnicity, and culture (“demographics”). Ministerial leaders (and churches) are generally disregarded and dismissed by the surrounding culture (“status”). Too often the church is influenced by that culture and results in low ministerial esteem. “Finances” speaks for itself.
Healthy congregations will recognize the stress that this creates for ministerial leaders. Effective ministers will recognize that the skills of 1950 probably will not serve them well in the 21st Century. Potential ministers will see that serving Christ’s church deserves our best, and prepare themselves accordingly.
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