was not a part of my basic seminary education. There seemed to be too few publications that brought the tools for dealing with anxiety and conflict, and an understanding of church dynamics, into the market place of everyday church experience for both pastor and congregant. This is what this book seeks to do. In plain language you will read about what I wish I had known from the beginning of my ministry but what you can and should know right now regardless of your church size or situation. A basic truth is that people are people.
Throughout this book I suggest some “possible” activities. Almost all of these are things I have done with congregations during intentional interims. They are listed as “possible” because each church is unique; selection and adaptation are required; one size never fits all. You will, no doubt, be able to come up with improved and different activities from the ones listed. I would appreciate hearing about them. (Contact information appears at the end of the book.)
Each section concludes with five “Questions for Reflection and Discussion.”
Series Preface
Clergy, having left Seminary, quickly discover that there is much about congregational ministry that they never learned in school. They have touched upon it in a practical ministry class or a preaching class, and an internship may have allowed a person to get their feet wet, but as important as this foundational education is, there is much that must be learned on the job. It is not until one spends actual time in congregational ministry that one’s strengths and weaknesses are revealed. Continuing education is therefore a must. Having collegial relationships is also a must. Who else but other clergy truly understand the demands of this vocation? In addition to ongoing continuing education and collegial relationships, it is helpful to have access to books and articles authored by experienced clergy.
This series of books, the second to be sponsored by the Academy of Parish Clergy, is designed to provide clergy with resources written by practitioners – that is by people who have significant experience with ministry in local congregations. The authors of these books may have spent time teaching at seminaries or as denominational officials, but they also know what it means to serve congregations.
The Academy of Parish Clergy, the sponsor of this book series, was founded in the late 1960s. It emerged at a time when clergy began to see themselves as professionals – on par with physicians and attorneys. As such, they not only welcomed the status that comes with professional identity, but they also embraced the concept of professional standards and training. Not only were clergy to obtain graduate degrees, but they were engage in ongoing continuing education. Following the lead of other professions, the founders of the Academy of Parish Clergy saw this new organization as being the equivalent to the American Medical Association or the American Bar Association. By becoming a member of this organization one would have access to a set of standards, a means of accountability outside denominational auspices, and have access to continuing education opportunities. These ideals remain in place to this day. The Academy stands as a beacon to clergy looking for support and accountability in an age when even the religious vocation is no longer held in high esteem.
In 2012, the Academy launched its first book series in partnership with Energion Publications. This series, entitled Conversations in Ministry, fits closely with an important part of the mission of the Academy – encouraging clergy to gather in groups to support one another and hold each other accountable in their local ministry settings. The books in this first series are brief (under 100 pages), making them useful for igniting conversation.
This second series, Guides to Practical Ministry, features longer books. Like the first series these books are written by clergy for clergy. They can be used by groups, but because they are lengthier in scope, they can go into greater depth than the books found in the first series. Books in this series will cover issues like writing sermons, interim ministry, self-care, clergy ethics, administrative tasks, the use of social media, worship leadership.
On behalf of the Academy of Parish Clergy, the series’ editorial team, and the publisher, I pray that the books in this series will be a blessing to all who read them and to all who receive the ministry of these readers.
Robert D. Cornwall, APC
General Editor
Preface
“Too soon old, too late smart” (based on the Pennsylvania Dutch saying: “Ve grow too soon olt and too late schmart”)1 was foreign to my understanding in the early years. When we are young there is a strong temptation to think we have forever to accomplish our goals, or at least a very long time. A popular song when I was growing up was “It’s Later than You Think.” My twist on that would be: “The future got here much sooner than I expected.” It always does. It hardly seems possible that I am in the second half of my seventieth decade. It is a shock to discover where old people come from – they come from us! But it’s not all bad news.
“Too late smart” is too harsh a judgment. There are some things we come to understand, view differently, and simply accept only when we have had sufficient life experiences that enable us to gain a better/different perspective on things. I do believe that I have lived into some “smarts” that were not possible for me in the early years. The wise counsel of teachers and mentors I now understand with greater clarity; many things that we often complain they didn’t teach us in college or seminary we now know they did – we simply didn’t have the context of experience in which to see and hear them. That is also why the re-reading of books, especially the Scriptures, is so valuable. We are able to find things we never knew were there because we have lived into a different life-context. We don’t berate ourselves for what we didn’t see earlier; we simply weren’t ready. I have found the familiar quote to be true: “When the pupil is ready, the teacher will come.” I have also found Esalen’s Law to be true: “You always teach others what you most need to learn yourself.”2
One of the major “smarts” I have lived into is the realization of just how vast is the ocean of truth and how very limited is my knowledge and understanding. In the land of smarts, I acknowledge I’m still in the undergraduate program. Paul confesses, “We know in part” (I Corinthians 13:9) and perhaps it takes some living to realize this is our ongoing confession. But there were some things he did know and I do believe I have lived into some truths that seem to me basic for all of us in this journey called life. It is a little bit of wisdom I have acquired the hard way (my usual learning stance) and I even have the bruises and scars to prove it. My life has been lived in pastorates which have been my training ground. I could have titled this book “Church Truths” even though they are applicable to all of life – both personally and in community relationships.
One of my critics charged that my books are written in a conversational manner, more for the ear than for the eye. That is correct. When I am writing, I think of someone seated across from me as I attempt to talk about the things in life with which we all struggle. One of my high school English teachers once commented on a book she was reading that made her “spit cotton.” A seminary preaching professor told us it was all right to impress classmates with our oratorical skills, knowledge of Hebrew and Greek, and deep theological insights (all of which were actually in short supply), but that when we stepped into the pulpit on Sunday morning our duty was to convey in clear and easily understood language the message of the text. Many of the things discussed in this book are to be found in weightier texts; my goal is to introduce a wide variety of survival (and thriving!) skills for churches that most will never encounter in general reading.
I invite you into conversation with me as I talk about some of the things I have learned in over fifty years of pastoral ministry. As I continue my work as an intentional interim minister and church consultant, I am amazed at how many congregations function on the basis of comforting illusions. Since the lessons I have learned are equally applicable to individuals, families, and all other relationships, the applications often seem quite threatening and the level of resistance quite high. In workshops, I frequently begin with a warning
