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Pastors in Transition: Why Clergy Leave Local Church Ministry (Pulpit & Pew
Whether they leave out of preference for another ministry or due to serious conflict, pastors who relinquish parish ministry face misunderstanding and even hostility. Pastors in Transition brings clarity to this little-examined aspect of the pastorate by examining the main reasons why pastors in five Protestant denominations have left parish ministry.
The fruit of careful sociological research, Pastors in Transition presents the findings of the largest-ever study of recently ended ministries. More than 900 ex-ministers, representing the Assemblies of God, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod, the Presbyterian Church (USA), and the United Methodist Church, were surveyed or interviewed. Besides gathering facts and figures, the book contains personal stories, forthright opinions, and concrete recommendations from former pastors for strengthening parish ministry in the future.
The fruit of careful sociological research, Pastors in Transition presents the findings of the largest-ever study of recently ended ministries. More than 900 ex-ministers, representing the Assemblies of God, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod, the Presbyterian Church (USA), and the United Methodist Church, were surveyed or interviewed. Besides gathering facts and figures, the book contains personal stories, forthright opinions, and concrete recommendations from former pastors for strengthening parish ministry in the future.
271 pages, Paperback
First published May 2, 2005
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January 6, 2022
This book defines the results of a multi-denomination study of pastors who left the ministry and why. If you are interested in the impact of these categories on the personal, relational, and vocational health of pastors--conflict, marriage/sexuality, family needs, and change in sense of call--then you should take a look at these findings. The data is almost 20 years old now, but much of it validates current trends. Here are a few of my favorite quotes from the research:
HOW DO PASTORS FIND POSITIONS?
The three denominations vary in the details. The Presbyterian Church has an open matching system of jobs and candidates, in which any ordained Presbyterian pastor or candidate may participate. In the ELCA bishops maintain some control over the selection process; a pastor is not free to candidate for a different job unless the bishop approves. In the LCMS a minister desiring a new call announces his availability, and his name then typically goes on the “call list” of one or more districts…. The United Methodist Church is unique in that the bishop of each annual conference has full responsibility for placing all licensed and ordained clergy in his or her conference. (21)
WHY DID PASTORS LEAVE THE MINISTRY?
Why did ministers in the various denominations leave? Three summary statements are supported by the research…. (1) Conflict was the main reason ministers left—conflict with parishioners, with other staff members, or with denominational officials. Many ministers felt blocked or frustrated in their efforts to bring new life to their congregations, and this led to disillusionment with their members and with their denominations. (2) Women left local church ministry more than men…. Women also left because of disillusionment with denominational systems and continuing resistance to women clergy in some local churches and among district superintendents. (3) More clergy left due to institutional or interpersonal problems than due to loss of faith or financial needs. The greatest interpersonal problems were feelings of loneliness, isolation, and inadequate boundaries between ministry and family life. (29)
THE ROLE OF CONFLICT.
Conflict within the congregation pushed more ministers out of local church ministry than did conflict with denominational leaders. (39)
Conflict is part of life; psychologists consistently remind us that it should not be seen as something inherently bad. It is an inevitable part of any close relationship, especially relationships in which people have a strong personal investment. Marriage, the quintessential example, brings together two people with different, often unvoiced, expectations regarding living together. Church members and their pastors make a similar emotional commitment to their church, bringing sometimes radically different, unacknowledged ideas of just how the church should function and what its goals should be. In both cases, conflict is a strong indicator that people are invested—that they really care about their marriage of their church. Where conflict is present, apathy is not a problem. (77)
ISSUES GENERATING CONFLICT
The top five issues in the conflicts were pastoral leadership style, finances, changes in worship style, conflicts among staff or clergy, and new building or renovation issues… Presbyterian and Assemblies of God pastors reported slightly more conflict related to pastoral leadership style, while the United Methodist and ELCA clergy had slightly more concern with financial issues. (79)
EXPECTATIONS OF PASTORS: REAL VERSES DESIRED
We asked ex-pastors to tell us how much time they spent in each of four task areas in their last ministry position: (1) preaching or leading worship, including sermon preparation and special services; (2) teaching or training adults and youth; (3) pastoral care, including visitation; and (4) administration, including planning, paperwork, and meetings. We also asked them how much time they ideally would like to spend on each. But subtracting the one from the other we created four measures of imbalance between ideal and real. It turned out to be true in our sample, as it has been in pastor research, that the ministers commonly experienced a gap between ideal and real expenditure of their time. In the areas of preaching and teaching, the actual time they spent was much less than their ideal: on preaching, 8 percent said that the actual time they spent was more than the ideal, while 49 percent said it was less. In the area of teaching, 10 percent said the actual time was more than the ideal and 50 percent said it was less. In the area of pastoral care the gap was smaller: 24 percent said the time spent was more than the ideal, and 34 percent said it was less. The fourth area, administration, was just opposite. Sixty-four percent said the actual time spent was more than the ideal, verses a percent who said it was less. (118)
HOW DO PASTORS FIND POSITIONS?
The three denominations vary in the details. The Presbyterian Church has an open matching system of jobs and candidates, in which any ordained Presbyterian pastor or candidate may participate. In the ELCA bishops maintain some control over the selection process; a pastor is not free to candidate for a different job unless the bishop approves. In the LCMS a minister desiring a new call announces his availability, and his name then typically goes on the “call list” of one or more districts…. The United Methodist Church is unique in that the bishop of each annual conference has full responsibility for placing all licensed and ordained clergy in his or her conference. (21)
WHY DID PASTORS LEAVE THE MINISTRY?
Why did ministers in the various denominations leave? Three summary statements are supported by the research…. (1) Conflict was the main reason ministers left—conflict with parishioners, with other staff members, or with denominational officials. Many ministers felt blocked or frustrated in their efforts to bring new life to their congregations, and this led to disillusionment with their members and with their denominations. (2) Women left local church ministry more than men…. Women also left because of disillusionment with denominational systems and continuing resistance to women clergy in some local churches and among district superintendents. (3) More clergy left due to institutional or interpersonal problems than due to loss of faith or financial needs. The greatest interpersonal problems were feelings of loneliness, isolation, and inadequate boundaries between ministry and family life. (29)
THE ROLE OF CONFLICT.
Conflict within the congregation pushed more ministers out of local church ministry than did conflict with denominational leaders. (39)
Conflict is part of life; psychologists consistently remind us that it should not be seen as something inherently bad. It is an inevitable part of any close relationship, especially relationships in which people have a strong personal investment. Marriage, the quintessential example, brings together two people with different, often unvoiced, expectations regarding living together. Church members and their pastors make a similar emotional commitment to their church, bringing sometimes radically different, unacknowledged ideas of just how the church should function and what its goals should be. In both cases, conflict is a strong indicator that people are invested—that they really care about their marriage of their church. Where conflict is present, apathy is not a problem. (77)
ISSUES GENERATING CONFLICT
The top five issues in the conflicts were pastoral leadership style, finances, changes in worship style, conflicts among staff or clergy, and new building or renovation issues… Presbyterian and Assemblies of God pastors reported slightly more conflict related to pastoral leadership style, while the United Methodist and ELCA clergy had slightly more concern with financial issues. (79)
EXPECTATIONS OF PASTORS: REAL VERSES DESIRED
We asked ex-pastors to tell us how much time they spent in each of four task areas in their last ministry position: (1) preaching or leading worship, including sermon preparation and special services; (2) teaching or training adults and youth; (3) pastoral care, including visitation; and (4) administration, including planning, paperwork, and meetings. We also asked them how much time they ideally would like to spend on each. But subtracting the one from the other we created four measures of imbalance between ideal and real. It turned out to be true in our sample, as it has been in pastor research, that the ministers commonly experienced a gap between ideal and real expenditure of their time. In the areas of preaching and teaching, the actual time they spent was much less than their ideal: on preaching, 8 percent said that the actual time they spent was more than the ideal, while 49 percent said it was less. In the area of teaching, 10 percent said the actual time was more than the ideal and 50 percent said it was less. In the area of pastoral care the gap was smaller: 24 percent said the time spent was more than the ideal, and 34 percent said it was less. The fourth area, administration, was just opposite. Sixty-four percent said the actual time spent was more than the ideal, verses a percent who said it was less. (118)
May 7, 2015
I wish it would have consulted Baptist polity structures and included more recommendations for how congregations can support their pastors beyond the three briefly described at the end of the book.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews