One of the rising concerns among those who care about clergy is the number of people who have a call, even gone to seminary, but can’t find employment as a pastor. This is not a new concern but it may be exacerbated lately because of the economic downturn. It is also affected by the rise of the mega-churches who may well be having the same effect among churches that Superstores have had on small businesses. Like a Wall mart, a mega-church can offer many services that smaller churches cannot and their very biggness seems attractive to congregants. The result seem to be the shrinking of many small churches. I read somewhere that more than half of all Presbyterian Churches have less than 100 members.
We can look at the meaning of all of this another time, but for the moment lets focus on the unemployed pastor. What does it mean for a person to feel a call from God, responded by making the necessary preparations, but not be able to find a church? It is a common biblical theme to discover that people have misunderstood God’s promise in their lives. Israel thought they could not exist without the temple until God helped them discover the synagogue. We sometimes try to box God in according to our definition of reality. Not finding a church that will employ you does not mean that your call was inauthentic. For some, God’s call may not include a church that can fully employ them.
While it involves new forms of “tent-making,” one of the trends in our culture is the rise of the home church or small spiritual group. In the history of Christianity, some found their calling as worker-priests, fulfilling their ministry in full time secular employment. Methodists employed circuit riders and continue to have multiple point charges. What are other innovative ways that God might be calling us in the future?
This may be the time for some deep, innovative, flexible thinking about the meaning of God’s call in our circumstances. It is clear that our age needs some profound theological thinking. Sometimes, depth comes at a price.
