EDITORIAL: Take steps to strengthen, lengthen ministers’ tenures_60903

Posted: 6/06/03

EDITORIAL:
Take steps to strengthen, lengthen ministers' tenures

What enables a minister to stay with a church a long time? Two articles in this week's Standard explore that theme, as some of Texas Baptists' longest-tenured pastors and a minister of music discuss their calling and careers. Their stories build a solid case for investing many years of ministry in one church.

Several personal qualities seem to help these ministers remain effective in their churches through many years. They're patient and mature. They focus on preaching and ministry. They work hard to stay current inprofessional disciplines. They handle conflict well. They love their people.

But long, successful tenures are not the domain of the minister alone. Like any other relationship, the bond between ministers and churches thrives on reciprocity. Your church can take several steps to strengthen and lengthen the service of your ministers, whether you only have a pastor or a large staff:

Pray for them. Prayer “works” on at least two levels. One is divine mystery, the way God moves among us when we pray. The other is interior and more personal, the way we ourselves change when we pray. Churches that pray for their ministers and ministers who pray for their churches seem to grow toward each other, understand each other and sublimate their individual wills out of respect for each other.

Love them and their families. If you pray for them, you'll be more likely to love them. Love often is an act of will. Sometimes, this is hard, perhaps because love involves trust and a previous minister has been unloving or broken trust. But most ministers and their families are starved for a loving church and will multiply the love they give in return.

Let them be themselves. So, you think your pastor has a quirky personality. Guess what? So do plenty of people in your church (maybe even you). Too often, churches judge ministers and their families by unfair standards. Yes, ministry is a divine calling, and we have a right to expect upstanding moral and Christlike behavior. But they're people too. They have a right to their own styles and tastes and idiosyncracies, all the things that make people unique and fascinating. Let your ministers down off the pedestal or the shelf and allow them to be authentic people among you. You'll find they're often the kind of folks you like for friends, in your home, down by the lake, out at the ballpark.

Pay them. Lindell Harris, the late Bible professor at Hardin-Simmons University who trained generations of Texas Baptist ministers, was fond of saying, “A pastor who does his job can never be paid enough; a pastor who doesn't do his job almost always is paid too much.” Of course, church finances can be tight, but so are family finances. Ministers don't pay any less for children's braces, groceries or electricity than the rest of us. They can serve more effectively when they see a tangible expression of the church's appreciation and when they don't have to worry about making ends meet.

Take care of them. This is a corollary to fair pay. Too many churches lump benefits, such as medical insurance and annuity, into one sum with salary and force the minister to pick and choose which he gets. So, when insurance goes up 18 percent, he gets a pay cut. When a child enters college, he passes on preparing for retirement. Ministers deserve better, and churches should expect more of themselves.

Let them rest. Burnout is a serious occupational hazard in ministry. Pastors and other ministers who remain effective for many years serve churches that enable them to take care of their natural need for spiritual, emotional and physical rejuvenation. Few churches are able to offer sabbaticals, but churches ought to be sure to give their ministers several weeks of vacation, including weekends, each year. And policies ought to explicitly ensure that they get one weekday off each week. Sure, many laypeople attend church several hours on Sunday and still work five days a week. But Sunday is most ministers' hardest day of the week, and many of them put in 12 or more hours of intense work. They need and deserve rest.

Serve alongside them. We call them “ministers,” but we're all called to ministry. Nothing boosts their spirits like serving alongside laypeople who respond to God's leadership to work and witness for the cause of Christ.
–Marv Knox
E-mail the editor at [email protected]