Opinions on Ordination (Episode 5)

Ministry just isn't attractive to many young adults.  It's hard to get into and there's not much benefit once you're in.  I'm not sure that I believe there are less young adults going into ministry, there's just less young adults going into ministry in many of our denominational churches. 

I'll add this caveat though.  I think ministry is much more available in churches without denominational tags than it is in churches like the UMC.  Let me explain.

I felt called to ministry as a senior in high school.  My senior pastor, though I believe he cared about the youth of the church, was uninvolved in the youth ministry.  Out of respect for the youth minister, he left that work up to her (I'm sure he had plenty to do anyway).  I was fortunate enough to have a youth minister that could relay me back to the pastor and a pastor that was willing to take time for a teenager.

Not every student has that opportunity though.  Sometimes, when a teen has that experience, they might report it to their youth pastor.  Generally, that youth pastor isn't ordained and isn't aware of how ordination works or even what it means.  The discovery process might end there.

Sometimes, the pastor relies solely on the youth pastor to make the important connections with his or her youth and to nurture them into adulthood when the pastor begins to interact with them.  By that point, either the call to ministry has been quieted or alternative options have been made available to the teenager.

My Annual Conference has done a good job in recent years to make exploration of ministry easier for candidates and also for their pastors.  These are things I would have benefitted from as a teen and things that I can see benefitting others.  What are some ways we can improve these ministries?

Thoughts?  Comments?  alexander.stroud (at) gmail.com

Opinions on Ordination (Episode 4)

Why should a young adult choose to be a minister in the United Methodist Church.  The fact in these times is that they just aren't.  There's good job security, excellent resources for ministry, and wonderful levels of accountability and support to make us each better - but it doesn't seem to be enough.

Problem number one seems to be with the extensive process candidates for ministry have to endure to achieve credentialing in the UMC.  The process eliminates the possibility for anyone to be ordained until at least their late 20's.  That's a long time for someone that is supposed to be in the real world to have to wait to be official and free to be the minister they believe God has called them to be.

For me, the process looked like this:

• 1998 (18 years old) - Felt a call to ministry, talked to my pastor and my district superintendent.  Submitted my information to the district office to be on record as asking about ministry.  Graduated high school, left for college.  Spent the next four years working with a mentor in ministry.
• 2002 - Graduated from college with a 4-year bachelors degree.  Began a masters program at a school of theology and also took a part time job as a youth minister.  That fall, I was declared as a candidate for ministry by the church I was working in.
• 2003 - Appeared before the district committee on ordination.  The committee certified me as a candidate for ministry.  This allowed me access to scholarships for my masters program.
• 2005 - Appeared before the conference board of ordained ministry - submitted large quantities of information, prepared for months, interviewed for a few hours, and approved for commissioning as a probationary elder pending my placement in an appointed position.  A month later, I graduated from seminary and went to work for another church as an associate pastor.  That summer, I was commissioned at annual conference and began three years of meeting with a covenant group (which seemed to be more for the BOM's observation of candidates than for the personal improvement of those candidates).
• 2008 - I appeared before the BOM again, having resubmitted the same work from three years before with added commentary from my experiences, and was approved for ordination.  Finally, at 28-years-old, I was ordained as an Elder in Full Connection.  10 YEARS LATER!

But I'm not bitter...*

There are several problems with this process.  First of all, its too long.  If we need three years of observation in ministry, is it possible to do that concurrently with our education?  After all, that's when observers would probably get a good picture of how we're improving in ministry.

Second, some of this seems out of order.  Why would we ask a candidate to finish seven years of school before we ever approve them, even tentatively, for ordained ministry?  How many people have invested that time and money, only to be denied by a conference board?  Some denominations move the approval process to the beginning of seminary, so that the candidate is attending school with the assurance that its not in vain.  Additionally, the denominational authorities can invest themselves in the candidates in a more focused way.  For a candidate that may be deficient in an area, they can be mentored and guided in ways to improve those areas specifically. 

There has been an attempt to shorten the ordination process in the last year or two, but so far, it's only really been shortened a year.  So, in a few years, maybe someone as young as 27 will be ordained.  This doesn't really go far to solving a problem. 

The best way to shorten the process seems to be removing some of the educational requirements, which I talked about in yesterday's post.  That may not be a popular option for many leaders, but even if you shorten the process to make seminary graduates immediately eligible for ordination, it's still a 7-year process, making the youngest ordinands 25 years old.

Comments?  alexander.stroud (at) gmail.com

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*I'm really not bitter, though at times I was very frustrated with the process.  It's a work in progress and I don't know of anyone that wouldn't admit to that.  The plus side to the inconvenience is that I've personally seen people come and go from the program because ministry wasn't somewhere they needed to be.

Opinions on Ordination (Episode 3)

Ordination of young adults, especially in the UMC, has been a concern for the last several years.  My annual conference, which consists of 900+ ministers has less than two dozen ministers under 35.  That's alarming, especially when you consider that the North Georgia Conference is one of the strongest in the denomination.

If you haven't followed along to this point, take a minute and read the last two posts, starting HERE.  It will help this make more sense.

A large part of our problem is that there are tradeoffs between getting more good ministers in and keeping the wrong ones out.  Unfortunately, in order to make sure that we've sufficiently evaluated each one before committing to them through ordination, we turn some off to the process altogether.  What once took a minister a matter of months now takes 10 years.

Another problem is that ministry just doesn't compare in terms of compensation and opportunity to other professions in our world today.  For many, the fact that a committee within the local church is able to determine our living conditions is a concern - it is for me also.

I'm grateful for the home that my church has provided for my family, but its not the same as having your own.  Many churches have transitioned from owning a parsonage to adding a housing allowance to the minister's compensation package.  In many cases, this makes sense.  However, because it isn't standard across the board and we are subject to moving regularly, we are at the mercy of whatever the local church decides our living conditions will be.  One pastor in our conference bought his first home this year after at least two decades of ministry (he's in his 50's).

This creates problems now and problems later.

In the now, there is a problem with some parsonages not being well maintained, not being in preferred school districts, not being in good neighborhoods, and in some cases, not being sufficient for the family moving in.  In addition, some trustee boards of churches maintain absolute control over the property.  Who's wife hasn't occasionally wanted to paint some walls or get new carpet?  I had this experience when we moved here - we were willing to pay for materials and do the work, but were denied permission by the board to paint our dining room.  If a church has a parsonage, it's not usually an option for the pastor to choose to buy his or her own house in the community. 

In the later, there is a problem for retiring ministers.  My parents have owned their home for the last 28 years (let me clarify - not the same house, but a house).  By now, as my father gets a little closer to retirement, they've got a good amount of equity in their house that will give them greater control in retirement.  Some ministers that spend years in parsonages retire with no equity and little control over choosing a retirement home.

One solution that a colleague of mine has developed is to add a requirement to the pastors compensation for churches with parsonages.  Churches without parsonages pay more per year by adding a housing allowance than a church that owns and owes nothing on its parsonage.  Those churches could begin paying additional compensation into an investment account for that pastor.  The amount paid in would equal the amount of equity the pastor would build in a year's mortgage payments.  It's complicated, but it sets ministers up for a happy retirement.  Good idea, but it only solves the problems that will come later.

Another solution is to standardize how churches compensate pastors for housing.  Either require every church to have a parsonage or every church to offer a housing allowance.  Housing allowances across the board solve both the problems of the present and establish a better future for the pastor and his/her family.

The problem with that solution is that it will cost churches money and when the economy is in the dumps like it is now, pastors that move are burdened with trying to sell a house in a buyer's market.  Are there solutions to those problems?  Probably, but I'm not sure what they are.

It all comes down to this: I can choose a lot of professions and even in ministry, I can choose which denomination I want to be a part of, if one at all.  Nobody wants to be told how to live or where to live.  Giving young adults more freedom to choose could be big.

Comments?  alexander.stroud (at) gmail.com

Opinions on Ordination (Episode 2)

Yesterday, I started a post string about ordination, especially as it pertains to concerns over dwindling numbers of young clergy.  If you haven't read that post yet, check it out HERE.

I want to start at the end though.  I talked about three concerns yesterday that are potential reasons why we don't have more clergy in the UMC under 35.  Third on that list, I pointed out that our salaries don't match the educational requirements.  Every Elder ordained in the last 17 years has completed four years of college and three years of graduate school, with the exception of  a minority who have taken a non-traditional, longer route through Course of Study.  When a candidate is finally ordained, they become one of the lowest paid people in our country to have a masters degree.

We can argue the fairness of this, but I'm not so sure about worrying about fairness - my benefits as a pastor are much greater than a paycheck.  There are other problems with low salaries, especially when a low paid pastor is expected to live in and serve an affluent community.

The first solution is for churches to increase compensation for pastors.  The minimum for an ordained elder is currently in the ballpark of $32,000 plus either a parsonage or a housing allowance (minimum $17,100).  Increasing compensation isn't the best option since we're already eating up a large percentage of people's tithes in paying for pastors.

The second solution is for the rest of the world to decrease compensation as well as cost of living - not viable for obvious reasons.

Third, we can change the educational requirements for ministers.  What if seminaries and theological schools began offering bachelor's programs?  That would take 3 whole years off the ordination process.  For someone who begins ministry as a first career, that's the difference between ordination at 28 and ordination at 25.  It's also the difference in tens of thousands of dollars worth of tuition, books, boarding fees, and years spent not working (or working part time) to be able to attend school.

I think this is actually a reasonable option for everybody, except for those who teach at and run our theological schools and seminaries.  If you're in this group, there are new challenges to incorporating core educational classes and reformatting the way you do things for 18-22 year olds instead of 22-25 (or older) students. 

But why can't we do this?  Why isn't it feasible to create a bachelors program that can meet the educational requirements for ministers.  When I started college at LaGrange College in 1998, I struggled with what I was going to study.  I started as a religion major, but soon changed because I realized that what I would learn at LaGrange, I would essentially repeat when I graduated and went to seminary.  I'm a pastor with a Bachelors of Science in Computer Science* that I've never used, but that I spent four years and a small fortune on.

I think this is a win-win.  Candidates for ministry gain three more years of valuable career time, spend less on school, and a masters degree and doctorate are certainly still an option for those who WANT it.  More students can enter the ministry world full-time at 22 and achieve ordination (credentialing) at 25.  That means more young adults in ministry.

From that, you can also look at how that will change some of our current practices in the UMC.  Many of our apportionment dollars go to funding for UM schools, both undergrad and graduate as well as scholarship money for students at both levels.  If you shave 3 years off the educational requirements, maybe you eliminate the need for funding in some areas.  Maybe we begin to fund schools based on how many students they have enrolled in denominationally approved pre-ministry programs.  Send money on a per-capita basis for the students who have declared a major in ministry.

There you have it, problem solved.  Right?  Comments to alexander.stroud (at) gmail.com.  More to come tomorrow.

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*Don't tell anybody - they'll want me to fix their computer.

What Should Ordination Look Like?

Question: What should the ordination process look like for pastors? 

Lay members, what sort of checks do you expect your pastor to have to pass before they're given the authority to lead your church and care for your family?

Pastors, what's fair?  What frustrates you?

I ask this because there has been a lot of talk over the last few years about ordination in the United Methodist Church.  For the last two years, our Bishop has asked the young clergy (under 35) to stand at Annual Conference.  In the midst of 900+ ministers, only 12-18 have qualified to stand.  I saw a stat this morning that in 1985 there was 1 young adult clergyperson for every 13,000 young adults in the US, but in 2005 there was only 1 elder for every 47,000 young adults.  I believe there are several factors at play here.

First, ordination in the UMC takes too long.  I began exploring my call to ministry as a high-school senior and began the ordination process at the same time.  After four years or college, three years of seminary, and a three-year probationary period, I was finally ordained at 28 years old.  I watched ministry friends in other denominations (or non-denoms) ordained in less than half that time.  I watched other friends in other professions achieve more and gain more credentials much faster than I did.  Simply put, it's unrealistic that it takes 10 years for someone to break into a profession, especially when you consider how much time we have after that to do ministry - it amounts to bad stewardship of those lives that are truly called to ministry for the sake of weeding out those who aren't truly called.

Second, the "perks" are few.  I realize that at the end of a 40 year career, I'm going to have a great retirement plan and a multitude of friends to share it with.  But compare the beginning of a ministry career to other non-ministry careers.  I'll be 30 next year and I'm living in a parsonage where the paint colors on my bedroom walls are dictated by a group of 9 church members who haven't seen those walls in 2 years and probably won't see them again until I move.  Many of my friends have been able to buy their first homes and have begun building equity in those homes.  While many churches have transitioned to housing allowances, there are still those pastors in their 50's who have never owned a home.  Now why would I want a profession that would take away my freedom to choose how my family will live?

Third, the educational requirements don't match the salaries that are available.  Pastors in North Georgia make between $32,000 and $150,000 per year.  The ones over $75,000 are very few and usually, you don't have a shot at getting to that point until those with more experience choose to retire.  Ordination in the United Methodist Church requires a bachelors degree AND completion of an 80-hour masters degree.  How many people, other than pastors, do you know that make only $32,000 after finishing their masters degree?

Now, I completely understand and believe that a ministry calling is a call to a life of sacrifice.  It's not meant to be glamorous or even materailly profitable.  I chose to become a pastor despite those facts and I love what I do.  The question that keeps coming up though is "How do we get more young people to become pastors?"

Thoughts?  Email me: alexander.stroud (at) gmail.com

I'll post more this week on what might be some alternatives/responses to these circumstances.

Jeremiah

Tonight marked one of my favorite nights of the year.  I piled into an auditorium in Athens, Georgia with a few thousand other people to witness a milestone for several people called into ministry.  Tonight, being the first night of annual conference, was the night of the ordination and commissioning service for the North Georgia Conference of the United Methodist Church.

I love this service.  Last year was my year - Bishop Davis and other fellow bishops laid hands on me and instructed me to take authority as an Elder in the church.  My lay leader asked me tonight how well I remember last year and I told her that when I'm old and my mind is gone (I really hope not) there are a few events that I will remember and that is definitely one of them.

Tonight, I watched two of my very good friends, Stephen Walters and Geoff Grubbs come to the kneelers and the same authority was conveyed to them by the grace of God.  I'm excited for both of them, as well as the other friends and colleagues that took up this call to ministry and God's authority tonight.. 

As meaningful as witnessing this was, it wasn't the most meaningful part of the night for me.  Bishop Wandabula from the East Africa Conference delivered the sermon and despite his broken english, the message was clear and went straight to my heart.

The text that our bishop, Bishop Watson read and Bishop Wandabula preached was from Jeremiah 1.  This is the text that has challenged me and inspired me for the last two years and it's the call story from the Bible that I most associate with my own call to ministry.

You've either read my posts about Mt. Bethel, or if you know me, you've heard me talk about it at length.  This church is at what I would consider an important juncture in it's history (but what moment in the life of the church isn't of the utmost importance?).  As we stand at the crossroads, I see two distinct possibilities for this church:  one involves greatness - reaching the lost and caring for the least and seeing God's church prosper - the other involves defeat - continued complacency and eventually the agony of death.  While I would love to see the former and not the latter and while I would love to be the next Mike Slaughter or Kevass Harding, I know that the best I can do is to do what God tells me to do and say what God tells me to say (Jeremiah 1:7).

I find hope and comfort in the way that God called Jeremiah.  Never did God call Jeremiah, or anyone else for that matter, to do what he asked alone.  Simply put, God asks to use us as tools for transforming the world, one life at a time - the actual transformation and change is God's responsibility.  When I forget this, the pressure of ministry is crushing and the desire to see success is overwhelming. 

I was reminded of this tonight in the ordination service and also earlier by another good friend.  Stephen's brother, David Walters was asking me about Mt. Bethel.  I told him that I wasn't sure how things are going, but that I know I'm hearing from God and that I'm being faithful to what I'm hearing.  Without hesitation, he reminded me that my faithfulness was all that mattered (thanks David).

So I will continue to be true to my calling.  I truly believe that, like Jeremiah, God has appointed me "over nations and kingdoms to uproot and tear down, to destroy and overthrow, to build and to plant" (Jer. 1:10).  I don't know yet what needs to be uprooted, torn down, destroyed, or overthrown.  I don't know yet what will be built or planted, but I'm anxious to see.  I continue to be hopeful and to pray that others will hear God's leading and pursue his plans for Mt. Bethel and for the world.

It is clergy and laypeople that are faithful and obedient that are changing East Africa right now.  It is the obedient that will change the world through God's power.  It is the faithful that will see the Kingdom come and not just recite some words about it when they pray the Lord's Prayer.

Some things have already been broken down and uprooted at Mt. Bethel.  New things have been planted and plans are being drawn up to build new things.  I don't know how people will respond when it gets down to the nitty-gritty, so I don't know how things will turn out, but I know where I stand and why I do what I do.

How are you answering the call?  Have you answered it at all?  God has a great plan for us, but the eventual outcome is most definitely up to YOU!

Ordination & Annual Conference

I've been absent from the blogging world for the last couple of weeks. It's been a busy time.

Faith, my daughter, was baptized on Father's Day. Baptisms are always special and exciting in the church, but it's exponentially more special when it's your own child. Thanks to Stephen for driving down for this special occasion. Today was his last Sunday as Minister of Evangelism at First UMC of Lawrenceville and it means alot that he'd give up one of his last Sundays for our family.

The next day, I left for Athens (a.k.a. the New Jerusalem) for Annual Conference. I always look forward to this week. Nowhere else have I found so many Christians come together and treat strangers like lifelong friends. I get a week to hang out with friends I don't see much the rest of the year.

This year's AC was different than others for me. Tuesday night, I was ordained. I began to take steps to answer my call to ministry in 1998 and finally, on June 17, 2008, Bishop Lindsey Davis laid hands on me with a great crowd present and instructed me to "take authority as an Elder to preach and Word of God, and to faithfully administer the Holy Sacraments." What a moment! What a responsibility!

I don't think its completely set in yet. I've been pursuing this for 10 years (the minimum for a high school senior) and in a few moments on a stage in Athens, Georgia, it was final. I think it may not set in completely until the fall comes and I don't have to drive to the United Methodist Center for my monthly covenant group.

I only have one disappointment so far. Wednesday morning, I filled up my hotel bathtub with water just to see if I could walk on water yet. No good - sunk right to the bottom!

I've tried to send messages and make calls to all who have played a part in getting me to this point, but the numbers are unbelievable. Thousands of people have played some role, either major or minor, in support of my calling. Thanks to you all. You are important to me.

With that, I would say that each of us knows someone who God is calling into full-time ministry. Support them. Pray for them and push them to answer that call. It may take a village to raise a child, but it takes a Church to ordain a minister.

Ordination - At Long Last!

Friends and family, June 17th will be a milestone in my life. Yes, I've already shared the news, but my ordination will be at 7:30 the evening of Tuesday, June 17th and you are all invited.

If you're nearby, the service will be at the Classic Center in Athens, Georgia. If you're not, or maybe you want to watch from your living room in your underwear, you can watch it here. It will be broadcast via live streaming. (If you have trouble with the link, copy and paste this address into your browser: http://www.ngumc.org/communications/annual_conference_2008/streaming/)

It's still two weeks away, but if I didn't tell you now, I might forget later. Thank you for your prayers and support over the past several years.