Resolution 3-10

[sirrahbed]

3-10: To Appoint a Task Force to Study the Call Process for Returning Missionary and Military Chaplains and Other Rostered Church Workers without a Call

I believe this cannot be put off for three years. At minimum, it needs to be amended to allow returning chaplains, missionaries, graduate students and those pastors who lost their congregations and became CRM due to the failing economy – to be matched up with vacant congregations as soon as possible. I am especially concerned about the CRM men who lost their congregation through no fault – such as my own son Jason. The men in the above categories could be placed in congregations before the end of the year or within 90 days of returning to the states/completion of graduate work/separation from the military.

I think this Lutheran satire clip  could well be about this very issue:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nxbZh_3svpg Funny but also pathetically sad when you consider all of the pastors who are without a call and who long to serve.

[sirrahbed]

I understand that 3-10 will be discussed on Tuesday and that the floor committee may have some improvements and that there may be some amendments. These men in question who are without calls and want nothing more than to have a congregation to serve as they have been trained....some are completely qualified to serve immediately....why must they wait for a task force to evaluate the situation when some have been languishing and trusting that those in power care for them and work to place them in congregations? The realization that men like my own son who went off to serve happily in a congregation who loved him...but soon found they could no longer afford him after three years....he went CRM, trusting and assuming that leadership would circulate his name for his next call and three years later there have been zero contacts....This is disheartening to learn:(  These men are asked to wait at least three more years for possible suggestions?? Many of these men could and should be matched with a waiting congregation within just a few months. What is wrong?? Oh God help them!!

[Daniel L. Gard]

Sirrahbed,

The manner in which we have treated pastors without a call is sinful and shameful. The floor committees have essentially pushed any action off until 2016 when dealing with this uncomfortable situation can be pushed off to 2019.

There are delegates at the convention who will do everything they can to bring this to the floor. These pastors and their families deserve better than another three years of disgraceful treatment.

[peter_speckhard]

The problem I have with 3-10 is in the one clause, which reads, "Whereas it is poor stewardship that these gifts from God [church workers] are not being fully utilized because a call has not been received in a timely manner."

As usual, sloppy language (plural gifts, singular call) and passive constructions mask problematic assumptions. Calls are not a commodity that get hoarded or distributed. They have to come from God. So while I think the intent is good and think the resolution is important and should pass, I would want that whereas clause removed.

[sirrahbed]

@peter - have you heard any discussion about this one? Is it possible to strike a clause or two and still amend and pass it? Please, please post anything you hear about it ok?

BTW, I greatly appreciate the coverage you are providing. Between this forum, several others, Twitter and live coverage - I am able to (sort of) follow things I care about

[Don Whitbeck]

@peter - have you heard any discussion about this one? Is it possible to strike a clause or two and still amend and pass it? Please, please post anything you hear about it ok?

BTW, I greatly appreciate the coverage you are providing. Between this forum, several others, Twitter and live coverage - I am able to (sort of) follow things I care about

Why can't these people be placed in a congregation as an assistant pastor, until a full time position is open. All we hear about is the shortage of Pastors, if that is the case, then you found away to fill these shortages, by giving these men an offering of a Pastor-ship, to serve in.

This whole question is a shame. You would think that Pastors and Chaplains would receive better treatment then this.

A pew setter!

[Daniel L. Gard]

@peter - have you heard any discussion about this one? Is it possible to strike a clause or two and still amend and pass it? Please, please post anything you hear about it ok?

BTW, I greatly appreciate the coverage you are providing. Between this forum, several others, Twitter and live coverage - I am able to (sort of) follow things I care about

Why can't these people be placed in a congregation as an assistant pastor, until a full time position is open. All we hear about is the shortage of Pastors, if that is the case, then you found away to fill these shortages, by giving these men an offering of a Pastor-ship, to serve in.

This whole question is a shame. You would think that Pastors and Chaplains would receive better treatment then this.

A pew setter!

The resolutions that deal with this want to study the issue for three more years and let the 2016 convention respond. That way everyone can feel good and can say, "See we did something!" One can only hope that delegates can see through this and force the issue in 2013.

[Mike Gehlhausen]

@peter - have you heard any discussion about this one? Is it possible to strike a clause or two and still amend and pass it? Please, please post anything you hear about it ok?

BTW, I greatly appreciate the coverage you are providing. Between this forum, several others, Twitter and live coverage - I am able to (sort of) follow things I care about

Why can't these people be placed in a congregation as an assistant pastor, until a full time position is open. All we hear about is the shortage of Pastors, if that is the case, then you found away to fill these shortages, by giving these men an offering of a Pastor-ship, to serve in.

This whole question is a shame. You would think that Pastors and Chaplains would receive better treatment then this.

A pew setter!

There is no reason why these men can't be placed as assistant or associate pastors in a congregation.  Why doesn't your congregation call one?

Perhaps therein lies part of the issue.  There are enough non-CRM pastors around that few congregations want to take a chance on a CRM pastor when they have other options.  For the same reason, not all seminary graduates have been placed at call day in the past few years.

Mike

[Charles_Austin]

Pastors need
1) an adequate salary
2) a house
3) insurance
4) pension contributions
5) a car allowance
6) continuing education funds
7) vacation time
8  an allowance for books
It also helps if the congregation is active, well-funded and not scraping the bottom of the financial barrel to pay the electric bill.
That is why many congregations do not call pastors.

Congregations need:
1) a pastor with a reasonable "track record"
2) a pastor whose style of ministry fits the milieu of that particular place
3) a pastor who has the confidence of the district/synod leaders
4) a pastor who has the confidence of the local congregational leaders
5) a pastor with a "personality" relatively free of quirks, anomalies or overly-noticeable eccentricities
6) a pastor who can pass a background check

That is why many pastors do not get calls.

[Jeremy Loesch]

One idea that I have heard in a few places, one being Pres. Harrison's interview on Issues, Etc. a week or so prior to our convention is this:

There should be stable congregations across the nation where a CRM guy can go and serve.  Charles' list of needs are very accurate for normal situations.  But I think that a lot of the CRM guys fall out of the normal category.  Some CRM guys screwed up.  Some congregations treated their pastor shamefully. 

In these stable congregations, they would already have a full time pastor on staff.  The congregation would call a CRM pastor to little or no salary as he would by this time have found secular employment elsewhere.  The CRM guy might preach every once in a while, serve as liturgist, lector, teacher, something like that.  He would be eased back into the ministry.  If he had some issues that he needed to work on, he could do that in this environment and have a brother pastor to watch over and guide him.  And after a time, this pastor would be able to show that he has been serving and is ready to go back into full time ministry.

That seems like a reasonable step forward with this issue.  Some of our wounded pastors need a good environment where they can nurse their wounds, let the fresh scabs turn to scars, and move forward ready to serve.

My congregation is stable enough to welcome an unpaid/low paid CRM guy.

Jeremy

[Charles_Austin]

I do not understand what a convention resolution can do for pastors without call. Presumably, everyone thinks that a man qualified and called should be engaged in ordained ministry. If you have men without call (probably for lots of reasons, some of them good ones), what can a convention resolution do for them? You can't force congregations to call or DPs to give priority to these guys.

[sirrahbed]

I do not understand what a convention resolution can do for pastors without call. Presumably, everyone thinks that a man qualified and called should be engaged in ordained ministry. If you have men without call (probably for lots of reasons, some of them good ones), what can a convention resolution do for them? You can't force congregations to call or DPs to give priority to these guys.

There are over 200 men currently on CRM. There are currently no guidelines in place for DP's to follow to match them up with vacant congregations. A possible suggestion might be to direct DP's to actually maintain a current list of unrestricted men who are on CRM and make it available to the calling congregations. This could and should be updated and made available at least once a year.

Yes some men screwed up and made mistakes - in that case they need to be given counseling and helped.  Some men have medical issues and family emergencies. These things could at least be monitored. These men are also most likely considered *non candidates* or on *restricted status*. In this case, a resolution is being sought to help *unrestricted candidates* - qualified, experienced pastors.

I also know that some men lost their congregation through no fault of their own. Let me tell you about my son Jason. His first call out of seminary 2007 was to a small rural congregation who had been using part-time pastors and wanted their own full time pastor so called him fresh out of seminary. They were already familiar with him and wanted him because he had served his vicarage at a congregation in the same town. Within the first year, they began having trouble paying his salary and it only got worse. At that time, my son asked his DP to put him on a call list. The DP insisted that the congregation do their best to pay the pastor they had called but by summer 2010 the congregation was nearly out of money and decided they were in danger of closing completely. My son offered to resign his call a few months before the deadline they had placed for being out of funds. He had no problems with his congregation – he loved them and they loved him and were very good to him. The failing economy simply made them unable to afford him.

There are many, many other stories of the men I have come to know during the past year via forums. Some are just like my son, and lost their congregation due to the failing economy of 2009. Some churches had to close their doors. Some men were bullied into resigning by congregations who make it a habit to get rid of pastors who do not tickle their itching ears. I know there are exceptions but is that any reason to let all of these men languish in the purgatory known as CRM?

At the very least, there need to be guidelines in place to help these men. Make their names available to vacant congregations - at this time there are over 300 vacancies and let calling congregations decide who they wish to call. Nobody has even suggested that DP's give them priority. Just to give them visibility and a fair chance.

[sirrahbed]

3-10 never even came to discussion or vote. Motion was made by Pr Hans Fiene from the floor to skip over several lesser resolutions to get to this meatier one, but the motion was voted down. As time passed, yet another pastor moved to suspend the late afternoon business so that 3-10 could be adequately discussed....but this was also voted down *one* minute before committee 3 time was up. I am disheartened beyond words. Perhaps time will be set aside for tomorrow since this is important to many people....but perhaps these people are not considered to be important?   

[Dave Likeness]

At the current time the category CRM covers
too many different situations to be helpful.
For example it covers:
1) Pastors who are having marital problems.
2) Pastors who have serious medical conditions.
3)Pastors who have personal issues to deal with.
4) Pastors who left parishes who had financial
issues and could not pay their salaries.

Category 4 is a  special situation  and those
pastors need immediate attention.

[sirrahbed]

@Dave Likeness - you are correct. There is currently no distinction as to why men are on this list that must feel like purgatory, Supposedly there are *candidates* and *restricted candidates* BUT there is no way to know which is which - they all seem to be lumped together and abandoned, forgotten and rejected. Even pastors I speak to are not all that sure what CRM is and is not, only that nobody wants to be one. Some essentially say "sucks to be you, buddy" and walk away.