I have an idea. Let's prepare ministers of Word and Sacraments for pastoral ministry in this way: Three or four years of theological education, a few hours a week of placement in a congregation under the direction of the minister, and if they are motivated (or financially strapped) perhaps several opportunities for pulpit supply. Then let's release them to the church. Oh, wait a minute. That's what we do right now. And it seems to be working out alright. Or is it? Well, how would we really know? We've heard the statistics before: Ministry burnout is on the rise, especially in the first five years following ordination, turnover in ministry staff is high, and church conflict is rampant. Why? It must be the people in churches. It must be the colleges' fault. It must be the individuals we're calling into the ministry. Certainly, each of them have a role to play in the situation we find ourselves.
I have another idea. What if we designed something that might address at least one of the players, the newly ordained clergy, in a holistic way. What if after being ordained and inducted into one's first pastoral charge, you knew that the following summer you would be attending a program where you could talk about your first year in the parish as the minister. You would talk with others like yourself who have just completed their first or maybe first few years of ministry. You'd listen to how similar their situation is to your own. You'd discover that you are not as alone as you thought you were. A new eagerness for learning (that perhaps had waned by year three at college) would press you to seek practical tools to add to your growing pastoral toolbox. Perhaps you've already been through your first church fight. This program would offer you an opportunity to learn more about your own personal conflict style and offer some suggestions on how to manage conflict when it occurs. Maybe you've discovered that each person in the congregation has a different understanding about your role as the minister. This program would help you to talk about how you see your role evolving as a ministering person and encourage you to engage in some personal reflection on ministerial identity.
Changes and transitions occurred the day you stepped through the door labelled Vestry or perhaps your own name appeared on that door, this program would help you to manage some of these transitions and provide strategies for coping and leading in changing times. Sometime during the program you'd have an opportunity to talk about the specific case study you'd brought that related to some aspect of your evolving role as a ministering person. Your group would have to listen to you and you'd have to listen to them as they offered their impressions, challenges, and encouragements for your reflection. What a blessing to have time set aside just for you. And what a joy to know that you can do it all again the following year and the year after that. Three years devoted to you as you become the minister that God has called you to be.
It seems that there is nothing new under the sun. My idea is not new at all. Several years ago, a group of people gathered together and created just what I have described and called it Starting Well: First Years in Ministry. Denominational staff in the area of ministry and education from the Presbyterian Church in Canada and the United Church of Canada worked hard to create a program that would address the needs of those who we are releasing on the church. With sponsorship and support from the Churches' Council for Theological Education, an ecumenical foundation and cooperation from Emmanuel and Knox Colleges, the program has completed its pilot project and is now into its second time around. So why not begin ministry by Starting Well.
