Dear Disciple of Christ,
How about you? How many different companies have you worked for (or with) over your working years? How many did you find were more of a challenge than you expected? As I’ve spoken to people over the years, the hardest part of a job is often not doing the “job” as much as it is working with bosses and co-workers. But we aren’t shocked when we find interpersonal challenges. We’ve seen sin at work in others and ourselves and we sometimes wonder if the pay is sufficient for us to put up with all the effects of sin at that job. So, we may move on to another job.
But I’ll bet you’ve noticed the impact of sin in your church congregations as well, right? I’ve mentioned the “open doors” we most often have in our churches that allow sinners of all ilk to come, visit, join and impact the life of the community, the church leaders and the pastors. After serving my current congregation more than 34 ½ years at my church in Florida, it may seem that my service in Brooklyn was pretty short, totaling only 6 ½ years. But, for a pastor receiving their first call, it was a little longer than some (many?) pastors experience. Pastors face all kinds of challenges in their ministries and perhaps even more than the average in their first pastorate (many come and go in 2 to 4 years). They are expected to be professional and, in many ways, they often have more training and study in church life than the members of their churches. But it is the interpersonal relationships that can “make or break” a pastor in any of their calls. How sinners work with sinners in a sinful community is the challenge.
I didn’t ever feel the need to move on as, very honestly, I’ve known some pastors to desire and request. Sometimes there is a feeling in some pastors that the particular church they’re at is particularly difficult, even “toxic” when it comes to relationships (including their relationship with long time members, church leaders and members). They may feel that a new “call” would improve things by virtue of the fact they will have a fresh start. In some ways, that may be true for some of pastors. Having too many broken or challenging relationships with too many people makes leading the congregation very difficult. There are times when the congregation asks a pastor to leave or the bishop suggests it or the pastor requests it.
So how and why did I leave my first church? It was actually the bishop himself who came to me and indicated he felt it was time for me to move on to my “second” church. I have often wondered how much my financial challenges was a concern for him and that may have led him to suggest the change for me. Chris and I had our second daughter after our fourth year in Brooklyn and things did get a little “tighter” when it came to our finances. That is why I worked on my day off at the synod office, to earn a little more money there. I think finances were a concern for him for my family. When I did move to Queens and my Brooklyn church needed a pastor to replace me, the bishop refused to provide candidates to be a new pastor until the congregation increased its financial package for a pastor. They needed to start the compensation package at a higher rate than mine was after 6 ½ years of my serving there.
The bishop had in mind a congregation for me, still in an urban setting, but with a larger membership and more financial resources. I found this out on one of my work days in the synod office. He had me pulling together information on three pastors to be considered to fill a vacancy at Atonement Lutheran in Jackson Heights, Queens. One possible pastor was a renowned author of many books with many years of experience in ministry. The second was a pastor who had served as a missionary in Korea, and, with 15 or 16 Korean families in the church, he seemed an especially appropriate fit. The third pastor was a classmate of mine who was serving a church on Long Island. It was at that point the bishop placed the fourth pastor’s information before me to be included in the “pastoral packet.” I was shocked to see he was giving me my information. I had not requested this nor did I feel I could compare to the capabilities of the author or the experienced Korean missionary. Despite my hesitancy to have my name submitted, I trusted the bishop’s judgment and the process proceeded with those four pastors’ names.
The call process (for a congregation needing a pastor) included selecting a call committee to interview and recommend the possible future pastor to the congregation. As I mentioned, I really didn’t see how I fit in that list of pastors. But, I believed pastors should trust the bishop who is trusting God. We “really” (should) trust God in His knowledge and plan for congregations and pastors. In this case, the “author/candidate” withdrew his name from the call list indicating he didn’t feel ready to go back to congregational pastoral service. The Korean missionary who seemed to be a great “fit” for the congregation, was asked by the Korean representative on the call committee whether he would be willing to help the Korean members in their needs concerning naturalization and life in America. The pastor indicated he would not do anything illegal to help those members. Uffda. That was not what the member was asking and not something the members would have wanted. The concern about the “Long Island” pastor was the thought that most people moved in the opposite direction, from urban to suburban setting not suburban to urban life in the city. They weren’t sure how long he would stay. My 6 ½ years of experience leading and developing the Brooklyn congregation indicated I had some understanding of how urban churches function and develop. My experience of God’s power and presence allowed me to respond to questions of the call committee with trust in God that if that church was where I was to serve, God would lead the way.
The congregation voted to accept the recommendation of the call committee to extend the call to me. As is usual, a pastoral candidate has about a month to prayerfully consider what they would do, which call they would accept. In effect, at that point, for the first time in their ministry, they have two calls at the same time (their original call and the additional new one). It is a time of reflection and prayer for the candidate to try and identify which call represents God’s leading in their life and the future ministry of the congregation. They need to identify which call is coming from God’s people and God Himself. Is their service at their original congregation completed or is there more to be done? If there is nothing clearly calling to their serving in the new setting, and if there is more to be done in the original setting, the pastor usually “returns” the new call to the bishop. If the new call seems to be coming from God (through the bishop and the new congregation), the new pastor informs the bishop and the congregations involved that they are ready to move to the new congregation.
It is always our hope and prayer that the decision is made with serious prayerful reflection, that the pastor can see how their gifts fit well in the new setting and that their previous church will be cared for by the bishop providing interim pastors and the prayerful support of the national church. It is not always a smooth and comfortable transition (with the previous church so the change in call happens within about a month and with lots of prayers. Next week I will describe some of the real life situation involved in leaving one church and moving to the next.
Peace in His service,
Pastor Johnson