I just got here!!!
Top ten reasons "young pastors" are leaving the ministry.
Others comment on the year old conversation.
1. The discontinuity between what they imagined ministry to be and what it actually is is too great.
2. A life without weekends sucks.
3. The pay is too low (most pastors in my denomination make less money than a school teacher with five years experience).
4. They are tired of driving ten year old cars while their congregations trade in their cars every two years.
5. Many young pastors are called into difficult congregations that chew pastors up and spit them out because experienced pastors know better.
6. Even though the search committee told them they wanted to reach young people, they didn’t really mean it.
7. When the pastor asked the search committee if they were an “emergent church”, the members of the search committee thought he said “divergent church” and agreed.
8. Nobody told the young pastor that cleaning the toilets was part of the job description.
9. The young pastor’s student loans came due and the amount of money he/she owes on a monthly basis exceeds his/her income.
10. Working at McDonalds has alot less stress. link
Eh. Funny. Worrisome. Yeah...both...
Posted by tripp at November 5, 2006 01:43 PMI think that much of what happens is self-deception. It seems to me that many people consider the ministry without taking a hard look of at the realities of the life.
(1) If, in any way, material wealth is important to you, this is the wrong field for you (unless your spouse has a high-caliber profession, or you're independently wealthy).
(2) I think many think to themselves "My life would be better if only I could have a vocation" and this only means ordination for them. You can have a vocation, you can serve the church, without being ordained.
(3) EVERY congregation has its problems and failings. There is no perfect call. The question is, does what works well outweigh the problems for you?
(4) I have seen many young clergy try to change a congregation to be "more like what they should be." That's the fastest way to burnout. We are called to go the people, not vice-versa.
The student loan thing is a reality that too many in the church are unaware of. If the church wants educated clergy, we need to start being more responsibile about helping to fund theological education.
Posted by: Pastor David at November 6, 2006 11:39 AMSubstitute "theatre artist" for "minister" and "theatre company" for "congregation," and it's just as true. Oy!
Posted by: Megan at November 6, 2006 11:53 AMYep, nothing surprising in that list... although, I wonder how much of that is really about "young" in age - which is how it gets expressed. I know plenty of second-career clergy with equally unrealistic expecatations!
Posted by: Susie at November 6, 2006 01:17 PMQ...If you follow the links "young clergy" means anyone new to ordained ministry including the second career folk.
Pastor David, I agree on each point.
Megan, Trish and I have had that same conversation. It is interesting to speak to her fellow ctors about working in the church an discovering just how similar it all is.
Posted by: Tripp at November 6, 2006 01:23 PMI think you would absolutely love a book published by the Wittenburg Door around 15 years ago called "Pastor Karl's Rookie Year" by Karl Beck (a psedonym the author used to protect the innocent and the guilty in his parish). It's out of print but is available for like 36 cents or something on Amazon used sellers. Insightful, sarcastic. Here's the link.
http://www.amazon.com/Pastor-Karls-Rookie-Year-Unexpected/dp/0830818359/sr=1-11/qid=1162946269/ref=sr_1_11/104-2368425-8556747?ie=UTF8&s=books
Posted by: Anabaptist Monk at November 7, 2006 06:42 PM