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Lack of young clergy a loss for churches
February, 2001
By Rev. William J. Fleming, Jr.
Pastor and Teacher, Immanuel Congregational Church, Beverly
I first heard a warning of the now appearing clergy shortage some 15 years ago. I do not remember who spoke the warning but I do remember the citing of the sudden shift to older and career change persons entering seminary as the primary factor. The warning focused on the shortage that was to come when clergy careers would shorten and a much higher percentage of clergy would be retiring at the same time without a depth of younger and upcoming clergy to fill the void. A related issue that has continued to concern me is what is lost when there are so few young adult clergy in the life of the church.
One of the reasons for the relative vibrancy of the church of the late 50’s through the mid 70’s was the youthful enthusiasm and willingness to risk experimentation contributed by the young adult clergy who were fresh out of seminary. The younger pastors and associate pastors of my generation, often with guitar in hand, not only kept the interest of the youth in the church, but witnessed to the joys of church vocation in a way younger folk could appreciate and understand. But then, as we matured and fell into styles that were more status quo, we were not challenged by newer young mavericks. Our new colleagues out of seminary became increasingly our age or older, and thus less likely to rock the church boat, much less be persons with whom the younger generations could identify.
A major factor in accepting the call to the church I now serve was that at the time of my call it had three candidates for ordained ministry, two having grown up in the church and being under the age of 30! In working with these candidates (two are now ordained, the third in seminary), I discovered some things about what we need to do to attract young people into the vocations of the church.
First is that it is very important to keep young people involved through significant participation in the life of the congregation and the acceptance of the congregation of that involvement. When I arrived, one of the candidates was moderator of the church at the age of 21. It is in such an environment that one becomes open to hearing a call to ministry and to responding to that call. Secondly, there needs to be an openness to continually talk about everyone’s call to ministry through baptism, along with a general invitation before youth and young adults to be open to God’s call to a vocation in the church. While the example of this needs to be set by the pastor, as it was by the pastors who preceeded me, it is not uncommon for that example to also come through a lay person like a church school teacher or youth advisor.
Once the call is received and accepted, the role of the pastor(s) and the congregation must continue, not only to benefit the individual, but also to set the example for others who may follow. The way the first two candidates were accepted, supported, and encouraged had its influence on the third candidate, and hopefully other youth who have the potential to being called by God.
One of the candidates also cited as an important factor in continuing toward ordination his being invited to apply, and then receiving a fellowship grant from the Fund for Theological Education that has networked him with other young seminarians across the country. Discovering a collegiality among peers and with other clergy is a source of finding a continuing confirmation of call.
A recent comment by John Thomas, General Minister and President of the UCC before the clergy of the Conference challenged how we often respond to “How are you?” by some reference to how busy we are and what image that gives to persons considering going into the ministry. I found I had to plead guilty to the charge, and resolve to do a better job of sharing the joys and blessings of ministry. That challenge also needs to be put toward congregations. Who would want to consider going into the ministry if they see their pastor frequently criticized, picked on, or not given adequate compensation? We all need to work together to lift up vocations in the church so that upcoming generations will be open to seeing the gifts of the Spirit within themselves and to share those gifts when they are called by God as our next pastors and teachers.