MNO Synod Bishop's Message

An elephant in our living room

In the January 2007 Anglican Journal, the letters to the editor caught my
eye. Both letters were concerned with clergy burnout, clergy expectations
and how diocese deal with the increasing personal and professional issues
surrounding pastoral leadership. The letters resonated with me because
those have been concerns raised in our synod as well. In fact, as a result
of differing expectations for our pastoral leadership, conflict was the number
one issue I dealt with as bishop from December through February in our synod.
There were days in which I dreaded answering the phone for fear it would be
another conflict or a leader under stress.

Two things come to mind. One, I don’t have the expert skills to deal with
conflict resolution and thankfully there are lay leaders in the church who
can assist in this area of ministry. But it is my responsibility to direct the
people to resources for assistance. Secondly, if expectations are at the centre of conflict in the parishes, what are we doing about it? How are we addressing it? What has changed in the Letter of Call that reflects today’s environment?

Parish ministry has changed dramatically in the last decades but parishes and pastoral leaders may not have changed. Pastors are expected to be counsellors, good preachers and worship leaders, motivate lay leadership, be good administrators, teach all ages and be available 24/7. That’s probably the minimum expectations. Our environment today expects pastors to also do community development, mission assessments, fundraising, etc.

I wonder if congregations and pastors should be doing more around setting goals and expectations for ministry so that there is a measuring tool for expectations. I wonder if congregations and pastors should actually be using the ELCIC tool- Mutual Ministry Handbook, so that there is a group of people who can handle concerns in ministry around leadership. I am sure there are other strategies out there and I would appreciate people sharing them on the bishop’s blog on our synod website.

As a bishop, I am finding it harder and harder to find candidates to fill vacancies. Congregational expectations have something to do with that. Clergy are also staying where they are at if they have a good working relationship with a parish, are compensated fairly for their education level and tasks for ministry and have the ministry skills that meet the congregational profile needs.

I know that the issue of expectations can open a can of worms, but it is an elephant in our living room. In an environment where pastoral leadership is diminishing, where we are at a crisis in leadership in the church, we need to address the issues that affect the pastoral leaders we do have in our midst.

What is your congregation doing to address expectations for ministry? What do clergy expect from their congregations, their synod office, their bishop? How might we work together to begin to address the issues that affect ministry? What are bishops doing to create trust with their leaders and how are they validating and caring for parish leaders?

Yes, it’s a challenge to answer those questions, but together we can work on the answers. Let’s validate the things we ARE doing and move toward resolution in the areas where we need work.