The Need to Support Young Clergy
Excerpted from The Crisis of Younger Clergy by Lovett H. Weems Jr. and Ann A. Michel. Copyright © 2008 by Abingdon Press. used by permission. To purchase the book, visit Cokesbury.
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Authors’ note: In recent decades, many North American churches have suffered a serious decline in the number and percentage of clergy under 35. In many denominations, these younger clergy now comprise only about 5 percent or fewer of all pastors. In 2005, the Lewis Center for Church Leadership of Wesley Theological Seminary began a study of clergy age trends. Our findings, published in The Crisis of Younger Clergy, were even worse than many feared. The percentage of United Methodist elders under 35 decreased from 15.05 percent in 1985 to 4.92 percent in 2007. Because the pool of elders is smaller today than in 1985, this decline, when viewed in terms of actual numbers, is even more dramatic than the drop in percentages alone suggests. In 1985, when the UMC had 21,378 elders, 3,219 were younger than 35. By 2007, however, the total population of UMC elders had dropped to 17,800, of whom only 876 were under 35. If we look back further, the trend becomes even more pronounced. In 1973, for example, 21.2 percent of United Methodist clergy were under the age of 35. This trend is not unique to the United Methodist Church. Many other denominations we studied also experienced similar declines in younger clergy. The following excerpt addresses how denominations and congregations can better support younger clergy.
“The church has very high expectations of young clergy. They expect us to save a declining church, but we are given a very short leash if what we are proposing has never been done before.” — Daniel Mejia, young pastor
The reality of so few young clergy is more than statistics on a page. It often involves young clergy feeling alienated, alone, and unsupported among clergy colleagues old enough to be their parents or grandparents. Many serve aging congregations that are wary of their youthfulness and skeptical about change, yet, at the same time, expecting their young ministers to restore declining congregations to their former glory. Often young clergy have very few contemporaries in their congregations, districts, and conferences.
Andrew C. Thompson, a thoughtful commentator on Gen-X issues, calls isolation the “plague of our generation.” He feels that his generation’s isolation is compounded many times for young clergy. Thompson cites conversations with a Gen-X colleague from Arkansas, Eric Van Meter, identifying some of the reasons. Young clergy tend to move more frequently than their older counterparts, thus making it harder to establish deep roots and relationships. At the same time that new clergy are trying to establish their pastoral identity, they often do not have peer groups, especially following the probationary process and ordination.1
Geographical isolation is another reality. Young clergy find themselves separated from support systems developed in their seminary years, but not yet connected with well-established clergy networks within their conferences. This is particularly the case for clergy who attended seminary farther from home or enter conferences with few seminary classmates.
To a young elder in the Southeast, the reality hit home when he would attend district clergy events with his wife and young children. He could not find any other clergy in his district who had children in grade school, or even any children still at home. “There really wasn’t much affirmation for people who were just coming in. There wasn’t any network or support for us, no understanding of what we should get involved in. I found myself praying for the sense that the church really wanted me and was willing to make a long-term investment in me.”
Even when young clergy have colleagues within their conferences, geographical isolation can make getting together difficult. It is not uncommon for an annual conference covering a huge geographical area to have only five or six probationary or ordained elders under 35. As one Midwestern clergywoman put it, “I have to go to an event halfway across the country to be together with 20 or more young clergy.” A probationer from the Northeast laments, “When I am ordained in a couple of years, I will be the only elder under 30 in my conference.”
In the Lewis Center survey, young clergy indicated that one of the most valuable aspects of the candidacy and probationary process is the opportunity for young clergy to be together with colleagues. However, after ordination, this opportunity often evaporates. In answer to the question: “What one thing could your annual conference do to be more supportive of young clergy,” providing opportunities for young clergy to gather was one of the most common responses. The need for a peer support system is a sentiment echoed over and over by today’s young clergy. They know they must take responsibility for developing their own support systems, but they also would welcome conference assistance. The demands of ministry, family and child care responsibilities; distance; and lack of authority make it difficult for the young clergy themselves to initiate and carry out such events.
Importance of Place
Emerging generations put a tremendous importance on place. Cities and states understand this reality. Some localities attract and keep young adults by providing events that bring together young workers in their communities to meet one another and connect with volunteer opportunities. It has been said that the majority of Gen-Xers put more value on a good place to live than on a good job.
Some young clergy feel an uncomfortable dislocation in communities that are very different from those they might choose for themselves. Young clergy’s acceptance of itineracy is strained when they feel a loss of control over their destiny or fear going to a locale where they will be isolated from much that is important for them.
For some young pastors, particularly those serving in rural areas, there is loneliness and social isolation. They are often appointed to serve in congregations where their own generation is totally absent within the membership and, sometimes, largely absent in the community. Young clergy in many regions tell of early appointments that put them sometimes 50 to over 100 miles from places to shop or eat. The sense of isolation can be particularly difficult for young single clergy, and it may be one reason that singles are so underrepresented among young United Methodist clergy compared to the general population of 25 to 34 year olds. Only about 21 percent of young single clergy agreed with the statement “I am able to date or pursue social connections,” 46 percent disagreed.
Pressured by Generational Crosscurrents
Some young clergy feel the pressure of what is sometimes called the “lifesaver mentality.” “We are expected to save the church with our energy and new ideas, but they give us very little rope,” says a young clergywoman from the Midwest. “Parishioners and older colleagues express in subtle and not so subtle ways that the future of the church hinges on our ability to save it,” writes another young clergywoman. “Not only does the laity look to us for a church-saving miracle but our retired and close-to-retiring colleagues also look to us to ‘turn this ship around.’ Within only a few years of ministry to our names, we quickly learn that great, if not impossible things are expected of us.” 2
They also feel caught between the desire to reach out to a new generation and their obligation to care for their aging congregations and institutions. A young clergywoman from Virginia put it rather bluntly: “I feel the very assignment I’ve been given is at odds with reaching my own generation. I could think of a hundred ways to bring young people in to the church that would probably be pretty successful, but I don’t get to minister to those folks. I feel like a slave to the institution I’m assigned to and can hardly get out of it.”
When young pastors do succeed in bringing new young people into their congregations, they often find themselves in the role of cross-cultural interpreters, having to bridge the gap between congregations steeped in their own institutional cultures and a new generation that often has no prior experience of church. “I find myself having to be an apologist for an institutional system that can be overwhelming for newcomers,” says a young clergywoman from California.3 “When I bring younger adults into church leadership, they are quickly overwhelmed by the maze of procedures and policies than seem to thwart actual ministry.”4 These generational crosscurrents can leave young clergy feeling drained and caught in the middle.
The Need for Support
What can help young clergy in these difficult situations? One solution is to appoint young clergy more strategically, either to communities or congregations where other young people are present or to associate pastor positions or “teaching congregations” where they will have the support of other clergy. Appointment issues are discussed at length in the next chapter.
The ability to be in community with other young clergy can help young clergy navigate this difficult terrain. Conferences should provide opportunities for young clergy to come together. But since many conferences have a very small number of pastors under the age of 35, young clergy need to be connected with those beyond their conference as well. Jurisdictions, denominational agencies, seminaries, and other organizations should look for opportunities to support young clergy by providing fellowship, learning, and leadership development opportunities.
The Lewis Fellows Program
Since 2005, the Lewis Center for Church Leadership has been conducting a pilot program called the “Lewis Fellows” that brings together groups of outstanding young clergypersons from around the country for an ongoing program of intensive leadership development. This program is supported through the Sustaining Pastoral Excellence Initiative of the Lilly Endowment, Inc. The groups come together periodically over two years.
Participants in this program have found the opportunities for peer interaction and support to be invaluable. “Every time we gather, within the first few moments, I feel community,” said a member of the inaugural group of Lewis Fellows. “This is the only clergy gathering I’ve been a part of with no acrimony or back-biting. There has been real trust.” Over two years, the Lewis Fellows forged extraordinary friendships and a network of professional accountability and support. “I don’t feel alone any more,” one Lewis Fellow said of his experience...
But the program involves more than building community and fellowship. The emphasis is on leadership development and encouraging fruitfulness in ministry. Such leadership training for young clergy is particularly important. Because of the dearth of clergy leaders in their generation, many of today’s young clergy will be called to serve in challenging situations much earlier than clergy in previous generations. Of the graduates of the first Lewis Fellows cohort, one is stepping into a senior position of denominational leadership in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ.) One has launched a successful satellite worship service. One is planting a new church. And another was elected to public office while continuing to serve his congregation. Several Lewis Fellows were elected as clergy delegates to General Conference for 2004 and 2008. All of these clergy are in their 20s and 30s. Many other young clergy could benefit from this type of program if the opportunities were available.
More support needed
Bishops, superintendents, local pastor-parish relations committees, and other church leaders all must be mindful of the need to support and encourage young clergy in this era of isolation, pressure, and high expectations. We are aware of several conferences that have planned special events for young clergy or have given young clergy the opportunity to work together as a team in the context of ongoing connectional responsibilities. More of this is needed. Mentoring, discussed in the previous chapter, is another important component of support. Simply giving young clergy the opportunity to be heard will help increase the awareness of the unique challenges they face in ministry. And increased awareness is the first step toward a more hospitable climate for the young.
Lovett H. Weems Jr. is executive director and Ann A. Michel is associate director of the Lewis Center for Church Leadership at Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington, D.C. Weems is director of the center’s Sustaining Pastoral Excellence program.
1 Andrew C. Thompson, "Gen-X Clergy Struggle Against Spiritual Isolation." United Methodist Reporter. September 8, 2006.
2 Amy Aitken. “Together on the Edge: A Covenant Group of Younger Pastors Exploring the Spiritual, Theological, and Practical Issues of Leading the United Methodist Church into the Postmodern Era.” (D.Min. Project, Wesley Theological Seminary, 2006), 45.
3 Ann A. Michel, “Young Clergy Speak,” Circuit Rider, March/April, 2006, 9.
4 Amy Aitken, “Together on the Edge,” 3.
