Transforming Church

"Those from mainline denominations are being drawn to a wide range of fields from academia to social service to hospital chaplaincy, said the Rev. Daniel O. Aleshire, executive director of the Association of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada. Only about half of those graduating with a Master in Divinity now enter parish ministry, Mr. Aleshire said. The portion has fallen sharply in a generation, he said, and declined 10 to 15 percentage points in the last five years alone."

Given the rate of pastoral vacancies in the mainline churches, this is not a comforting trend. The article further states, "Though mainline denominations have shrunk considerably over the last 35 years, enrollment in mainline divinity schools rose 20 percent from 1990 to 2004, according to the Association of Theological Schools. Part-time study programs and interest from minority applicants and women contributed to the gains.

At Candler, a United Methodist divinity school with about 500 students from various denominations, a majority of students is under 30, according to Cynthia Meyer, assistant dean of students. Only about half the graduates say they will become church pastors, she said."

So, what are they going to pursue, if it is not the pulpit? Banerjee writes, "'The young candidates are exploring,' said the Rev. Jonathan Strandjord, director for theological education at the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. 'Young people are thinking about possibilities, about blue-sky possibilities. Older people have mortgages and responsibilities, and their goal isn't to invent a form of ministry or find something that is really out there.'

Often, seminary education, with its focus on personal spiritual growth, theology and social justice, introduces students to the idea that one's calling need not be answered in church every Sunday.”

Martin Luther's priesthood of all believers seems to be catching on with this crowd. The trend is also forcing denominations to look at other avenues for filling the pulpit. The Times found, "So far, the shrinking interest in pastoral ministry has not created a shortage of ministers in the mainline denominations, partly because they have adapted. The United Methodist Church has added licensed ministers, who have completed training programs rather than the seminary and who can perform the functions of an ordained minister except for participating in the denomination's decision-making bodies." Our own ELCA has developed non-traditional tracks to fill empty pulpits.

Perhaps this trend will cause a shrinking of the unhealthy gap between our ordained clergy and the laity. While much work is going on to affirm the vocation of lay leaders, and their calling from God, there is a strong residual perception that still puts the ordained at a different place. This is reinforced by the challenge lay leaders have being heard in leadership circles in the Synods and the national church. This separation of the ordained from the laity is not apparent in the early church, and seems to immobilize large numbers of lay leaders today. It is a stumbling block to the emergence of discipleship communities.

We are thankful for visionary leaders like Dave Daubert. In his article, Multiplication, he points out non-traditional ways of training church planters from within their own church community. This kind of fresh thinking can unlock the potential of greatly multiplying God's kingdom, without every leader going off to seminary for four years.