Re-careering: Translating Ministry Skills Into Alternative Careers Blog Post 1

Many clergy are re-careering these days. Clergy across the country and denominational lines are experiencing frustration, depression, isolation and a growing dis-ease with how and often where they are living out their calling. As a coach and leadership consultant for the last 25 plus years, I have encountered some clergy, of all ages, many experiencing at different levels of feeling trapped in their career and sometimes even trapped in their calling. I have come to realize that there is a growing need in our church culture to re-image ministry that fits our increasingly secular culture. This article is a spin off of work with several coaching clients and dialogues I have had with readers of my book, Spiritual Leadership in a Secular Age released in 2005.

 Sources of Dissatisfaction of Clergy

 Research has been done in recent years indicating that many clergy are fulfilled and satisfied (www.hartsem.edu ).  While I celebrate this research, for it gives me encouragement, my experience with ‘soft research’ (dialogue with clergy and their families), I hear growing dissatisfaction and frustration from an increasing number of clergy. Some of the sources of dissatisfaction seemed to be:

          Unrealistic expectations of the congregation or themselves.  As churches grow, communities change, demographics change and family systems become more complex and diverse traditional expectations often create great stress.

          Unmet personal, social or spiritual needs also figure into this dissatisfaction.  Many clergies are isolated. Friends are at a minimum at best, and shallow most of the time. Trusting others, particularly peers or parishioners with the personal sins or shortcomings, becomes a risk many clergies refused to take.  Many fear that if they were seen as fallible or broken that they might be fired. Some congregations even contribute to this by preferring the pastor have no ‘favorite friends’ in the community or congregation.  How fair is this?

          Inadequate training for the real world and real challenges of the church press upon many and contribute to the dis-ease. Those who are seminary trained find that training to be woefully inadequate preparation for the challenges most pastors and staff face on a daily basis. Re-tooling or continuing education opportunities, while encouraged and expected by professionals in most other professions, are not encouraged and rarely expected by churches. The day has come when churches should require and pay for ongoing annual substantive continuing education and coaching for all staff.

          Many feel overwhelmed and over-challenged by the multiple roles in which they are expected to be proficient. Especially in these days where church memberships and budgets are decreasing, more than increasing in most places, staff responsibilities or expectations are often layered, rather than calling other staff or discovering other ways to meet leadership or pastoral care needs. Pastors are often expected by parishioners to be great counselors, pastors, preachers, social leaders, administrators, marriage and grief counselors, financial managers, building contractors, etc.  Well, maybe you get the picture.  No one person can be good at all of this – yet we often expect our pastors to be ‘superpastor, ' and many pastors expect that of themselves. The future church will be more lay lead than pastor led.  We need to discover other avenues of leadership.

          Well, enough of the sources of dissatisfaction. These are just some of those I have heard most frequently in my conversations. There are certainly other sources. Let’s look now at some of the drivers that surface the need for re-imaging ministry.