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What We Are Learning

From Sabbath Leave Program Projects

From the Pastoral Partnerships for Excellence Project

  • Please see the link "Pastoral Parnters Research" on the RCPE home page for audio, video, and text content from the work of the Pastoral Partners.
  • Case study sites and participants include Birmingham's Sixteenth Street Baptist Church (Arthur Price, Pastor) and Vestavia Hills Baptist Church (Gary Furr, Pastor); Baptist Church of the Covenant (Sarah Shelton, Pastor) and Our Lady Queen of the Universe and Sacred Heart of Jesus Catholic parishes (Fr. Vernon Huguley, Pastor); and two organizations, The Greensboro Pastors' Fellowship (Kervin Jones and Fletcher Comer, participants) and Mission Birmingham (Frank Stone, participant).

From Our Partners

From Our Experience


Emerging Theological Understandings of Pastoral Excellence

     In our original grant narrative we noted many of the challenges pastoral ministers face in the present context.  In Common Fire, Leading Lives of Commitment in a Complex World, Daloz, et al., summarize the forces that hamper the efforts of people to have a positive impact in our increasingly complex world.  These challenges include a legacy of individualism that is expressed in busyness, consumerism, cynicism, and tribalism.  William Willimon in his book Pastor: The Theology and Practice of Ordained Ministry, argues that pastoral leadership is "particularly hazardous work" in such a climate.  Pastoral ministry is open ended; its requirements are amorphous; its clientele is needy and demands quick fixes'; its rhythm rarely includes time for "de-roling"; its core tasks are reparative and failure is a common theme; its preparation is head and not heart-focused; its negotiation requires both clear boundary-setting and tolerance for ambiguity; and at the same time, its very work is increasingly culturally marginal (pp. 315 ff).   Feedback from participants in our programs this year reveals they not only struggle with the issues we identified, they are finding encouragement and help for their challenges through our programs.  In addition, they are demonstrating growth in their theological understandings.  We will summarize the understandings we have identified in four key areas.

Reframing Being and Doing

     One Sabbath Leave participant, who has been pastor of his church for over 20 years and had his first sabbatical this year, described his work as being filled with constant demands around "things that must be done."  This pastor at one time organized his day using a pad with the words "My Worry List for Today" printed at the top.  In his exit interview, he described to us his difficulty disengaging from the daily routine of pastoral expectations and administrative demands to which he had become conditioned.  A goal he had for his Sabbath was to have time that was not filled with the awareness of expectations and demands of doing ministry so he could become more aware of the presence of the Holy in his life. 
     First semester PT interns found themselves overwhelmed by the "busyness" of ministry, and fortunately at this early point in their vocational journey, they also recognized the need to connect this doing of ministry to a deeper sense of being in ministry.  A "101" semester intern reports:     

                    I felt consumed by the ministry.  In running around trying to plan this, 
                    plan that, go get this, go get that.  You're speaking to the kids one 
                    week, the next week you're just sitting in the crowd.  I got to worship 
                    when the praise band was playing and when our youth minister was 
                    speaking, but I felt like a lot of times I was running around and I 
                    couldn't [worship].  I was running around so their worship could be 
                    worshipful.  Yet it was tough for me to get a worshipful spirit because 
                    I was either thinking about something else or doing something else.  
                    I guess it's good that I'm doing this internship.  But I'm going to have 
                    to take a little bit of a break to take the time to renew myself.

Another student offered similar feedback:

                    It's hard when you don't have that time for yourself, for that 
                    accountability.  You are running around all night long trying to get 
                    stuff organized, trying to get stuff done.  Then when you're in worship 
                    and they're singing, you're "Oh, Where am I? I'm at work."  It's hard 
                    this semester to make time for my spiritual life so I don't run out, and 
                    dry out.

The longer term experience of our SLP pastor and the initial immersion into church ministry experienced by young PT interns highlight the theological concept of being and its relationship to doing. 
     A minister's role is one of both being the presence of Christ as well as doing his work.  This dual role is expressed in a variety of ways.  Many parishioners, in fact, view their pastor or priest as the very presence of Christ in their times of need and as he or she proclaims the Word.  Yet, the same parishioners increasingly demand that their minister perform a range of job roles including program administration, conflict management, finance, marketing, and supervision.  Balancing the theological roles of being and doing in the context of a culture that encourages high expectations for production and success and promotes individualism, consumerism, and cynicism is no small challenge. 
     Paul Fiddes in Participating in God: A Pastoral Doctrine of the Trinity describes the pastor-people relationship as one where ministers are given authority and validation through their role of being as well as doing.  Yet, Christ calls his people to a particular way of being that does not reduce the meaning of ministry to a functional concept.  The terms "office" and "ordination" both suggest the idea of a way of being which must come before all doing (p. 99).  Similarly, Marcus Borg in his book The God We Never Knew provides these insights into the presence of God:

                    One of the names of God in the Hebrew Bible points to God's 
                    presence.  In the famous story of the call of Moses, Moses asks 
                    God, "What is your name?"  In Hebrew, God's response is ehyeh 
                    asher ehyeh, a difficult phrase that is most commonly translated 
                    into English as "I am who I am."  But Martin Buber …argues 
                    persuasively that the Hebrew verb ehyeh means "being there, 
                    being present" and that the phrase as a whole should be 
                    translated, "I will be present as I will be present" (p. 35).

Excellence in ministry, perhaps more than ever, requires that pastoral leaders attend to being in Christ's presence as preparatory to and necessary for being Christ and doing the work of Christ in congregations. 
The experiences of both our Sabbath Leave participants and our Project Timothy interns reinforce this learning.  Perhaps, however, attention to being in ministry is attenuated by a misappropriation of the concept of servanthood in the context of contemporary culture.

Serving the (Right) Master

     A theology of ministry that is based on the concept of servanthood is at the heart of the teachings of Jesus.  Yet, many pastors struggle with what some have described as the tyranny of need-based ministry'.  As previously noted, a culture of advanced capitalism creates a dilemma for many ministers.  They find themselves in the situation where their faithfulness to the calling of God to serve people is at the same time draining them of their creativity, energy, and joy.  Yet, many view withdrawing from meeting needs for the sake of one's own well-being as a self-centered response.  Others, because of the demands and expectations of congregants, are reluctant to curtail such activity for fear of unfavorable reactions from their church members.  Ray Anderson in The Soul of Ministry addresses the dilemma in this manner:

                    It is true that wherever the needs of the world impinged upon him, he 
                    reached out to heal the sick and feed the hungry.  But hunger, sickness, 
                    and even death did not set the agenda for his ministry.  …Jesus was 
                    not, first of all, one who served the world, but one who served God. 
                    (p. 79)

Anderson observes that the fatigue and loss of joy many clergy experience related to their ministries is due less to their over-investment in ministry than it is a symptom of a theological disconnect.  The challenge for many ministers is not that they are over-worked, though such is certainly the case for quite a number.  The challenge for most ministers is to have the courage to serve the right master.
     Participants in our TFT program, many of whom have described their own experiences of the tyranny of need-based ministry', reveal growth in their understanding of the theological implications of service and calling.  One participant in the Anniston group, a younger minister, offered this feedback:

                    I have come to understand that I'm not as good at handling conflicts as I 
                    ought to be.  I need to work on dealing with different people's 
                    personalities and how I respond in different situations.  About a year ago,
                    I began a journey of getting to know myself.  Our experiences with the 
                    group helped me realize others are dealing with the same issues as I am.
                    The material on self-differentiation, conflict, and dealing with stressful 
                    situations – learning to respond rather than react – this was helpful.  I 
                    realize more and more how anxiety can keep me from being effective.  
                    I'm also more aware that I can't fix someone's problem.  And I have to be 
                    careful that I don't allow myself to take on their problem because it seems 
                    like the right thing for a pastor to do.  I guess I'm learning more about 
                    "tough love."

Pastoral excellence results when clergy learn that it is often appropriate and necessary for them to say "no" to requests or expectations, though this may be contrary to their sense of responsibility to minister.

Celebrating Grace
     A predominant theme throughout both Hebrew Scripture and the New Testament is that of suffering.  Stories abound in scripture of how God related to people in the midst of tragic situations to accomplish God's will for healing, wholeness, and redemption.  Several church buildings in the west-central region of Alabama were destroyed by arsons this past year.  These church buildings were used by rural, predominantly African-American congregations.  At the time of the burnings, popular opinion held they were racially motivated.   The arrest of three college students and subsequent investigations indicate that the burnings were done as pranks, with no regard for the racial makeup of the congregations involved.  As mentioned earlier in this report, the pastor of New Galilee Baptist Church in Panola, one of three in the area that was burned, is a member of the Pickens PSN group.  At a recent meeting he told about the arson's parents visiting his church one Sunday, by invitation.  He described the interaction in this way:

                    We realized there were lots of hurting people in this situation and lots of 
                    victims.  Those parents were hurting.  And you know... they are victims 
                    too.   We were hurting.  The community was hurting.  When his mother 
                    stood in that pulpit and with tears pouring down her face told us they 
                    were broken up about what had happened but they loved their son and 
                    would stand by him no matter what… that was powerful.  You know, 
                    we began to feel how powerful forgiveness can be.  

     John Claypool in his book God, the Ingenious Alchemist uses the following words to describe the power of grace and its role in our relationships with one another:

                    As St. Paul asserts, we humans will always "know in part and prophesy 
                    in part," when it comes to our perceptions.  We do indeed "see as 
                    through a glass darkly," particularly with regard to understanding the 
                    Holy One, which means that we should never be dogmatic or arrogant 
                    about our theological insights.  Realizing that there is more in God than 
                    we can ever fully know, we can sense certain aspects of the Mystery 
                    and share our witness with each other as honest gifts, rather than 
                    sledgehammer absolutes imposed coercively on others. (p. xvii)

     Project Timothy participants have also been challenged to consider their theological constructs regarding grace – applied to their personal expectations and goals.  Some PT interns experienced setbacks in their work, causing them to think of themselves as ministry failures.  One intern benefited from a healthy conversation with his mentor:

                    It was the fourth or fifth week we were at the house [his assignment] 
                    and we were behind schedule and stuff was just falling apart left 
                    and right.  We would send an email to the Habitat guys and then 
                    arrive at the site with 40 volunteers but no materials.  So, I was 
                    running around trying to find out what to do with 40 volunteers, how 
                    to keep them from leaving.  My mentor and I were talking and he 
                    basically said I was doing a good job and he understood how I could 
                    be frustrated.  I talked with him about not being sure I was being 
                    called to this kind of ministry.  He shared with me that I should not be 
                    too hard on myself – that I was doing fine in tough situation.  That 
                    helped me a lot.

     As clergy continue to minister in a context of high and often unrealistic expectations, both from outside sources and within themselves, a theology of grace that allows them to recognize, accept, and celebrate both strengths and weaknesses is essential.  Excellent ministry often emerges from the depths of one's own brokenness, vulnerability, transparency, and authentic experience of grace.

Practicing Holistic Ministry

     Daily life has a way of draining and disconnecting people, often leaving them feeling discouraged, isolated, and lacking spiritual vitality.  Miroslav Volf in his book Exclusion and Embrace posits that exclusion has become the primary evil in our world.  It skews perceptions of reality in such a way that people tend to react out of fear and anger toward others who are different from them or who are outside their comfortable and increasingly smaller circle of relationships.  Volf offers the idea of "embrace" as a theological response to the problem of exclusion.  His metaphor comes from the New Testament concept of salvation as reconciliation.  Participants in our programs this year, both clergy and lay, indicated they felt a greater sense of "embrace" of persons in the larger Christian community as a result of their involvement.  We have noted that our programs engaged clergy from 10 different denominations including persons from African-American, Hispanic, and Asian cultures in addition to Caucasian American.  The Day Apart group for women in ministry has remarkable diversity.  African-American Pentecostal-Holiness clergy from the deep-south participate with Caucasian Episcopal clergy who have come to the south from northern states.  Their interaction is lively, stimulating, and affirming.  The comments of one participant reveal the perceived value of these diverse relationships and their impact on excellence in ministry:

                    This is a refuge for me, a safe place.  This came to me at a time in my 
                    life when I needed affirmation that I was any good.  So coming together, 
                    it really has been an affirming experience, to come together with my 
                    sisters from many different faith journeys and it just provides me with a 
                    refuge.  …I come here and I'm around persons that, you know, embrace 
                    the same things and understand without actually talking about what we 
                    go through.  We look at each other and we know our stories are similar.  
                    We just know.  We are a diverse group of people – but we're really alike 
                    in so many ways.

     Practicing holistic ministry requires an understanding of diversity within the larger community of faith as well as affirmation of the variety of ways religious experience occurs among persons from different social, cultural, racial, and denominational backgrounds.  We have observed that pastoral excellence thrives in this context, where meaningful relationships are nurtured and cultural, racial, denominational, and hierarchical divisions are minimized.