In Changing Times. Ronald L Higdon
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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 that I am going to write on the board a word that will shake all of them to the very foundation of their lives; if any are faint of heart they might want to exit immediately. Then I write one word on the board: “Change!” That is the most threatening and challenging word in our language. It is the most feared because we usually see it as what happens beyond control in our lives and in our world; change is seldom viewed as something we intentionally decide to do in specific ways in order to have better lives, better relationships, and better churches.
I have tried to acknowledge the sources for the many truths that fill this book but I have avoided technical terms and complicated explanations. A person once critiqued my sermon to a member of my congregation with, “Your pastor is a scholar.” I don’t think he intended it to be a compliment and I don’t think he was correct. I consider myself to be forever learning and (hopefully) forever growing. A concept in vogue when I was a seminary student was to view the pastor as “the theologian in residence.” I understand this to mean: “The work of the pastor is to help people understand the life-giving logic of the gospel of Jesus Christ in the totality of their lives.”3 If that what it means to be a scholar, so be it.
As always, I