If you talk to many people within our denomination, one overpowering reality is that economics are necessitating cutting staff. As we emerged out of WWII and entered a period marked both by increasing prosperity as a nation, and through the 60s a growth in size of churches and denominations, we began to professionalize variety of aspects of our church’s ministry. This ranged from multi-staffs in large churches to increase in presbytery, synod, and GA staff. As we recognized the scope of ministry before us, we sought out professionals that could enable the church to carry out that ministry. Regardless of the choice of reasons for the decline in church membership, that, together with our recent economic collapse has forced the church to pare back considerably.
Like corporations, the first attitude is to trim staff but not expectations for ministry. The result is an increasingly stressed and exhausted staff in our upper judicatories of our church. It is important to realistically examine our expectations of these servants of the Lord while at the same time looking for ways to care for them in their ministry.
That will be the topic at least for a few days.
