First, spiritual leaders are individuals who serve the Church of Christ through the following categories: Minister of Word and Sacrament (priest/elder/presbyter), Minister of Word and Service (deacon), or Minister of Word and Parochial Care (licensed/certified lay minister). Second, the principle duties and responsibilities of either a Pastor or Assistant/Associate Pastor – are those associated with Pastoral Care. Individuals performing the Ministry of Pastoral Care belong to one of the following categories: Minister of Word and Sacrament, Minister of Word and Service, or Minister of Word and Parochial Care. Training for the Vocation Before offering my thoughts on the training and education for those serving as spiritual leaders, I think it would be wise to take a minute and remind ourselves that not every spiritual leader has the same talents and level of education. This brings us to a fork in the road; one path is in missionary service and the other path is executive service. Those in missionary service are members of either laity or a rank of clergy. They have the gifts to serve congregations that are dependent upon an ecclesiastical authority (bishop, district president, a senior clergy) as missionaries. Those in executive service are clergy who have the talents to serve self-sufficient congregations as executive administrators. Regardless of the chosen path both serve the Church of Christ as Pastors, but the nature of their service is very different. Each path has different challenges, demands, and resources. Now, let us address the training and education of those who serve the Church of Christ as spiritual leaders. Because they will serve as professional executive administrators, I believe that the gold standard for Ministers of Word and Sacrament should be either an accredited masters of divinity or theology degree, with a strong introduction to business administration and management. The only exception should be for those who will serve as non-professional Ministers of Word and Sacrament (local clerics). I also firmly believe that these individuals have made a large investment of their time and resources in order to earn a post-graduate degree and therefore they should receive a salary that honors their academic credentials and life experiences. Therefore, I believe that denominations should never allow pastoral executive administrators to be paid employment salaries that are less than what their credentials are worth. I also believe that denominations should not permit congregations to pay pastoral executive administrators a salary that is less than what their academic credentials are worth. Because they have earned the right to work and have family/personal time, I also hold to the conviction that denominations should not permit pastoral executive administrators to serve more than one congregation at a time; they are professionals and as such, they should be serving only one congregation. Therefore, if the membership and neighborhood participants of a congregation cannot pay the appropriate salary for the services of a pastoral executive administrator, than I believe that congregation should be served by a missionary who is either ordained or a lay leader. I also hold to an equally strong conviction that affirms that those spiritual leaders who will serve as domestic missionaries (either as a local cleric or as licensed/certified lay minister) shall not be required to have the same college and seminary education as those who will serve the Church of Christ as professional executive administrators. I believe that alternative training programs that require only a minimal amount of formal education should exist for the benefit and education of these spiritual leaders. Two of my personal favorite alternative training programs for those who will serve as missionary clergy are: the four year Education For Ministry (EFM) program offered through the University of the South – School of Theology and taught by mentors in the local parishes and the United Methodist Church has an effective training program for its certified lay ministers (pastors) who serve the Church in smaller communities. Both of these programs have open enrollment and anyone can receive training and study from them. Furthermore, I believe that if a denomination requires missionaries to have a college degree, it should be an equivalent to an associate degree in divinity, theology, or ministry with a focus on Practical Theology.
Posted on: Sun, 30 Jun 2013 02:45:41 +0000
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