How big a cross will pastors carry?
The question has been on my mind recently as the Methoblogosphere and Metho-Facebook have been bubbling over the prospect of guaranteed clergy appointments coming to an end. Many people are asking a range of very good questions. Some are expressing anger. The lack of trust between clergy and supervisory structures is showing. The mix of career and calling that goes into being an elder has been thrown into high relief.
Then I see this story on Out of Ur about clergy unemployment rates rising. The bad economy is taking its toll on clergy jobs, too. But what drew me up short was the first comment on that story:
If you’re truly called to a people and a location, you won’t quit just because you can’t be paid anymore. God’s call is not tied to salary. Whether pastoral ministry or any other ministry – if you’re called, you’ll find a way to do it, even if it means working two jobs PLUS being in ministry. One of the many things I love about church planting – if you’re called to it, whether as a pastor, deacon, or in some other role, it sure won’t be for the money!
On one hand, part of me – and a big part of the biblical witness – supports the sentiment of this poster. How many sermons have been preached about bearing crosses and giving up attachment to the world to follow Christ? Isn’t this comment just a reflection the call that Jesus put out when he asked a bunch of young men to drop their nets and follow him. Jesus had no pension plan or housing allowance to offer them.
But then I reflect on my own situation. I would not take this commenter’s advice. I chose not to go to seminary at this point in my life because it would have conflicted too much with my family and current job. Despite my deep admiration for John Wesley, I am not prepared to sacrifice family and job for ministry.
So, what do you do with that?
Jesus does not have any parables about making exceptions when the going gets tough. He said pretty much the opposite.
Am I, then, failing to live out my call? Am I, who preaches about following the lead of Christ, a cheerleader who lets others carry the cross while I stand on the sidelines? Am I the problem that Jesus came to fix?
I am a part-time local pastor serving 
This love we believe to be the medicine of life, the never-failing remedy for all the evils of a disordered world, for all the miseries and vices of men. Wherever this is, there are virtue and happiness going hand in hand. There is humbleness of mind, gentleness, long-suffering, the whole image of God; and at the same time a peace that passeth all understanding, and joy unspeakable and full of glory.
I think what’s wrong is cookie-cutter thinking regarding the pastorate. No two churches, pastors, cabinets, etc. are the same, so we’re dealing with infinite variables.
This cookie-cutter thinking is just intellectual and ecclesical laziness.
There’s a big difference between Christian duty and Christian call. All people are called to Christian duty–Christian call is unique to each individual.
So no, you’re not failing to live out your call, unless your conscience and the witness fo the spirit say contrariwise. The problem is in the Pharisaical hard-liners who are dictating to pastors what God REALLY called them to do.
Kurt, thanks for the response and encouragement.
The situation does leave me wondering what is a “fair” or “biblical” compensation system for pastors. If we don’t expect pastors to preach for free, what do we and can we expect from a servant of Christ? And what should they expect from the church?
just to chuck something out there, but I wouldn’t be opposed to every charge having essentially the same salary, with some variation based on experience, and cost of living expense for its area. The base salary would be determined by either a median, mode, or mean income in the ministry area, based perhaps on the Conference or more appropriately each district. But I think that compensation should be average for the area. We’re not in this to get rich.
I also think that apportionments sent to the Conference should be the source of pastoral salaries. This would straighten out our ridiculous tax burdens, and would allow every charge to have the opportunity to have an elder or full time Local Pastor of they want or need one. The church I serve now would thrive under a full time appointment, but they can’t afford one, so they’re stuck with SLPs.
I like your proposed system of compensation, Kurt. I feel the same way about the charge I serve.
I really like the idea of standardized compensation that is paid out by the Conference. But try bringing it up in a room full of large-church pastors who have been elected to the General Conference delegation. They can think of all kinds of reasons why it wouldn’t work, of course. I believe we should look at moving that direction.
Thanks for your thoughts John. Your post reminds me of a recent reflection. I have struggled with the question of whether or not I have actually given anything up to follow Christ. After College I went straight to seminary, worked in the secular world for a while until I received my first full time appointment, lived in parsonages, etc. I will be ordained in two weeks, at which point, under the current system I am guaranteed an appointment as long as I remain faithful to my calling. In some ways it is as if I have sacrificed relatively little. But recently God has shown me just how much I have sacrificed. I am humbled by the sacrifices I didn’t even think about as I made them. The guarantee of appointment does not necessarily make the job of a pastor posh–but it does make many of the family sacrifices more bearable. The trust issue is really the big one here. As a pastor, I cannot fully trust my congregants (especially in an unhealthy church), nor can my family. I am told to limit my trust of the Bishop and Superintendent, and to limit my trust of colleagues who might one day be my Bishop or Superintendent. We say that Elders are not members of the churches they serve but of the conference–that we find our support, encouragement, and strength in our Bishop, Superintendent, and fellow pastors. If we cannot trust those people, then we are like congregants who find themselves unable to trust the Pastor, the lay leaders, or anyone else in the church. Such people (often good people with desirable gifts) leave the church on their own–no one needs to ask them to leave. I wonder if all trust is broken within our annual conferences how often that might happen.
I find it alarming – the more I learn – how much distrust there in our conferences. How can we preach community and love to congregations when we cannot live it among with each other?
Maybe you are correct – whether you meant this as a good thing or not – that the fallen community of clergy is the Via Dolorossa over which we drag our crosses.