USA Today had an article posted online two days ago regarding the fact that there just aren't very many jobs out there for Protestant pastors. The article is talking about the lack of full-time, professional, pastoral positions.
I remember back in my seminary days being annoyed by the fact that seminary students were not told by the administration that pastoral positions are few and far between.
Let me ask a barrage of questions:
*Why do people who are gifted to minister the Gospel solely look for full-time positions in order to minister? *What if the economy doesn't recover?
*What if you [hypothetical reader in the category of one looking for a place to minister full-time in a professional pastoral position] never find the ministry "job" you're looking for?
*Will that prevent you from functioning as a pastor/shepherd/minister?
Please discuss.
I just saw an article in The Christian Century (maybe) last week debating the pro's and con's of lay ministry in small mainline churches unable to afford full time pastors.
ReplyDeleteIt seems like Paul's bit about "woe is me if I don't preach the gospel" comes into play. Even if you aren't getting paid, if you're called by God to ministry, you best minister whereever you can.