Earlier this month, Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) published Clergy and Congregations in a Time of Transformation: Findings from the 2022-2023 Mainline Protestant Clergy Survey. This wide-ranging study "considers the perspectives of mainline Protestant clergy from the seven largest mainline Protestant denominations on the cultural and political divides facing the nation, and how such divides may be impacting their own congregations." And, it is filled with statistics that warrant Read More …
Clergy
Too Many Ministers in the United Church of Christ? (#2053)
Are there too many clergy in the United Church of Christ? This question deserves real consideration in the context of decline in the United Church of Christ and in Mainline Protestantism more broadly. Thankfully, I've written about Mainline decline for the last fourteen years with a focus on the traditions I know best: United Church of Christ and Presbyterian Church (USA). A few examples of Mainline decline more generally are followed by analysis of the decline in the UCC and Read More …
Public Perception – Clergy Ethics at All-Time Low (#1770)
Eight years ago I wrote about how clergy fared in an annual Gallup survey on the American public's views of the honesty and ethical standards of a variety of occupations. In 2010, I noted that "clergy ranked 7th among the professions surveyed. Just over half (53%) of all respondents rated the honesty and ethics of clergy as high or very high." From the start of the poll in the 1970s till 2010 the percentage of those rating clergy honesty and ethics as Read More …
The Disappearance of Young Pastors (#1667)
Last week I saw a link to Kate Shellnutt's article, "Only 1 in 7 Pastors is Under 40" appear on my social feeds a few times before I clicked through to read it and to learn about the latest research on the topic. The research was conducted by the Barna Group and Pepperdine University. It included 14,000 pastors. Findings include: Average Age of Protestant Senior Pastors 2017: 54 1992: 44 Young Senior Pastors 2017: Only 1 in 7 is under age 40 Getting Personal This topic is of Read More …
Clergy = Not Trusted? (#1652)
According to a recent Pew Research Center Report clergy and other religious leaders are not as trusted to act in the best interest of the public as are many other groups. More specifically, the percentage of American adults who say they have either "a great deal" or "a fair amount" of confidence that a group will act in the interest of the public follows: Medical Scientists - 84% Military - 79% Scientists - 76% K-12 Principals and Superintendents - 66% Religious Leaders - Read More …
Retiring Clergy – End of an Era (#1485)
The youngest Baby Boomers reached retirement age in 2011. 10,000 Boomers a day will hit that milestone every day through the year 2030. While not all will retire upon turning 65, it is reasonable to expect a good number will retire at some point not long thereafter. Clergy Retirement Boom Charles M. Austin's cover story in the latest edition of "The Lutheran," illustrates the significance of Boomer retirements in the life of the Lutheran church. More specifically, he cites Read More …
Too Many Clergy? (#1320)
How many clergy are too many? I don't have an answer, but do think the question is important to discuss at all levels of the church. I have heard from several colleagues and from members of search committees just how different the search process has become in recent years. Perhaps this is why (or at least a part of the reason why): In the 1950s there were roughly the same number of ministers as there were U.S. churches. Now there are almost two ministers for every church, according Read More …
Churches Rely on Part-Time Clergy (#1235)
While small Evangelical churches have long relied on unpaid (or very poorly paid) pastors, the same hasn't been true for small mainline congregations. A recent article explores a trend: an increasing number of small and declining mainline congregations are opting for part-time pastoral leadership, and paying these clergy limited salaries or providing them no compensation. So What? According to Hartford Seminary's 2013 Faith Communities Today survey, mainline churches current salary Read More …
What Should Pastors Wear? (#1195)
What should pastors wear during worship? Joseph Yoo, pastor of St. Mark's United Methodist Church in Santa Barbara (CA), recently addressed this question in a post titled "Pastor Dress Code." He writes: What is the appropriate attire that a pastor should wear on Sunday mornings? And, is it really that important? Apparently, the issue is much, much bigger than I had ever thought it would be. So What? I found myself spending more time reading the comments than the original Read More …
Pastoral Selling (#1063)
Clergy obviously need more than spirituality, academic preparation, and field education to become great bishops, deans, rectors, and vicars. Retired Navy chaplain George Clifford recently included the above quote in a blog post emphasizing the importance of the skill of selling within the framework of leadership. He writes: Spend a day with the bishop, dean, rector, or vicar of one our relatively few growing, thriving dioceses or congregations and you will observe a Read More …