Clergy RolesBurnout! Stress Leave! Crisis! We have heard those cries too many times. All to often it is because the load has become too great for congregational staff and lay people.
There is an answer. Lighten the load. Focus your energy for the maximum benefit. The key is to evaluate what you are doing and why you are doing it. Ask people how it is going and invite feedback - real, honest, forthright feedback - so you can get as many perspectives as possible. And then focus all of your resources on doing the one or two things you feel God is calling you to do.
The ability to focus on essentials involves taking time to decide what they should be. Where is God calling for action? Finding a focus is the easy part, letting go of the activities we love but need to stop is the tough part.
Each of us has to go through this process personally. There are no mass-produced answers any more. There are no denominational programs that guarantee success. We are no longer in the industrial age, we are living in an information era, and the tempo is accelerating daily. There are, however, some guidelines that we have discerned in our experience with congregations that may be helpful.
Clergy Roles
The role of clergy used to be to do ministry. That's what clergy were trained to do in seminary. Harold Percy, pastor of Trinity Anglican Church in Mississauga, hit the nail on the head when he informed the clergy at Edmonton Synod: "The better we are at doing what we were taught in seminary, the faster our congregations will die."
The role of the clergy in the post-modern world is to support lay people in their ministry. That is quite a shift of perspective, one that has sent many a cleric into a tailspin of vocational crisis followed by stress leave. Look at it this way. Lay people are incredibly well educated. We live in a wealthy society that provides leisure. Laypersons don't want to sit on committees discussing ministries, they want to make a difference with their lives. The main task of clergy and the congregation is to support them.
The Congregation's Role
The role of the congregation is to model what it means to live in Christian community and create space so others can participate. The congregation has to provide a place where people can belong. It has to offer opportunities for Christian growth. That means creating openings where people get to know others, and others can get to know them. It means providing places where it is safe to share deep faith.
It is important for clergy and congregations to understand the dynamics and stages of change. It was William Bridges who first identified for many of us the fact that between an ending and a new beginning lies a very uncomfortable and creative period he named the neutral zone. Every change requires saying goodbye to the old and being open to the new. Churches are good at funerals for their members, but not so good at letting go of their warm well-worn ways of doing things.
It is also the task of clergy and lay leaders to model spirituality in everything they do. People want leaders who walk the talk. Church is about reinforcing our relationship with God, about feeding us spiritually. That means leaders who are spiritually well fed showing the way.
What does it take?
We at the Centre have worked with enough congregations that we know what it takes to create this kind of place.
1. Small Groups: Today it takes an intentional emphasis on small group ministry for a congregation to be truly effective. Small groups are places where people can share their faith. They are places where clergy and lay people meet as equals and support one another. They are the places where true Christian community develops.
We recommend that the Board and Committees of a congregation begin by taking responsibility to model what is means to be a supporting community. From there the congregation can create new opportunities for others to participate in a meaningful way.
Small groups need coordination, they need staff support, and they need lay leadership. But most of all, they need examples of what it means to live in community.
2. Children's and Youth Ministry: Congregations that we see thriving have a vibrant children's ministry and an active youth outreach that lives what it means to be Christian at the appropriate level. Young people are looking for models. They want a place where they are accepted and know they belong.
At the Centre we have come to admire those congregations that are taking their children and youth seriously and providing the resources necessary to meet their needs. Taking that stance is the second pillar of a thriving congregation.
3. Honouring of Gifts: In the industrial age, people were expected to "plug in" where they were needed. Congregations that are effective today are places where time is taken to get to know people to the point of recognizing and supporting their gifts.
At the Centre we have developed Prisms and the Prisms Workbook as a tool for individuals and congregations to help identify gifts and passions. It has been developed to serve mainline Canadian Christians.
4. Worship that Connects: Congregations that are thriving today are those where worship brings together the energy from small group ministry, the children's and youth life, along with the energy freed as people develop and use their gifts in service. Worship is where that energy is celebrated and affirmed.
At the Centre we know that great worship flows in the veins of a congregation that has a vision of what it truly means to live in Christian community. It is not the starting point - it is the end product.
Burnout and stress do not have to be the trademark of a Christian life. There are answers. It is just a matter of asking the right questions, then listening very hard to know what actions to take.
Congregational Life Newsletter Vol. 10 No. 2 January 2004