Beyond the Ordinary

Learn About Leadership and Vital Ministry

Next month The Columbia Partnership is offering an online conference where you can connect with a dozen national experts and authors. This learning experience is for pastors and lay leaders who want to get the most up-to-date information on church transformation strategies.

Each instructor will present for about 45 minutes in a webinar format. Then, after a short break, participants can engage in a telephone dialogue with the presenter.

Cynthia Woolever, one of the presenters, will give a sneak peek of our forthcoming book on pastoral leadership (a chapter of the book will be made available to conference participants). Her session is: Leadership That Fits Your Church: Finding a Mission and a Match.

Other webinar topics and presenters that have already been confirmed are:

• Seven Steps to Leading Adaptive Change  (Dick Hamm)
• Reaching People Under 40 While Keeping People Over 60  (Eddie Hammett)
• Community Based Servant Evangelism  (Gene Wilkes)
• Leading Congregations Through Crisis: Pursuing God’s Purpose Through Perilous Times  (Greg Hunt)
• Making Covenant Together: Why Didn’t We Do This 25 Years Ago?  (James Bowers)
• Moving from Attractional to Missional: Creating a Missional Congregation  (Peter Wernett)
• Moving from the Program of Discipleship to the Process of Disciplemaking  (Ken Kessler)
• Staying Alive: Why the Conventional Wisdom About Traditional Churches is Wrong (Mark Wingfield)
• From Our Doorsteps: Developing a Ministry Plan That Makes Sense (Rick Morse and Philip Lotspeich)

More topics will be posted in coming days on the conference website.

When? Tuesday, June 19th (beginning at 12:00 p.m. CDT and ending at 9:00 p.m.) and Wednesday, June 20th (beginning at 8:00 a.m. CDT and ending at 1:00 p.m.). Check the website for the specific time when each webinar is offered.

How much does it cost? Registration for individuals is $49 to access all webinars; or registration for a church team of one pastor plus four or more people is $200.

How can I find out more or register? Go to the webinar website to get all the details!

www.Transforming2012.info

 

What are the consequences of clergy turnover? (Part 2)

By Cynthia Woolever

Sometimes pastors leave a congregation because of conflict. What is the conflict about? One out of three pastors whose church had experienced conflict in the past two years reported leadership style as a source of conflict. But other disagreements erupt into conflict around church finances, changes in worship services, or renovating or building new facilities. Our national study of congregations included churches and parishes that participated in 2001 and again in 2008, giving us the perfect opportunity to look at conflict and clergy turnover.[i]  

One in four congregations reported church conflict that led to a pastor’s departure. None of the congregations with the same key pastoral leader in 2008 as in 2001 reported a leader departure related to conflict. However, 26% of churches with different pastors in 2008 said the church had experienced a conflict that led a pastor or minister to leave in the past five years. (We did not ask additional questions about the nature of the conflict.[ii])

One in ten pastoral leaders serving their congregation since 2001 report conflict that led to a church split. We also asked church leaders if the congregation had experienced a major conflict that led to a church split. In churches with the same pastor in 2008 as in 2001, 11% reported a church split in the past five years because of conflict. None of the churches with a new pastor reported a similar event.

Congregations with a different pastor in 2008 experience minor conflict more often than churches that retained the same pastor. Conflict is much rarer in congregations with the same pastor in 2008 as in 2001. Two out of three pastors who arrived in their congregation sometime since 2001 reported some minor conflict. New leadership always means change and some adjustment for members. However, we also discovered that fewer pastors who were new in 2008 reported some form of major conflict (only 24% did) compared to pastors who had been in the same congregation since 2001 (35% reported major conflict).¹

Conflict is part of church life. People of faith will always disagree. The question is: How can we prevent those disagreements from growing into major fights. These results confirm that when conflict is not resolved there is the potential for members or the pastor to leave. Departures rarely solve the underlying issues. Departures also rob people of faith of the opportunity to practice peacemaking skills.

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[i] Based on responses to the Leader Survey, completed by a sample of 108 pastoral leaders whose congregations participated in the 2001 and 2008 U.S. Congregational Life Survey. The survey question about conflict asked about conflict in the past two years.

[ii] Based on responses to a Congregational Profile, completed by a key informant in each congregation. The survey question asked about conflict in the past five years.

 

What Are the Consequences of Clergy Turnover?

By Cynthia Woolever

Pastors serve a congregation, on average, about five years before leaving for another call. The amount of time pastors remain in any single position varies greatly by their denominational affiliation, career stage, theological training, and church setting. Because the U.S. Congregational Life Survey included congregations that participated in the national study in 2001 and again in 2008, we can explore the congregational consequences of a change in pastoral leadership.

About half of the congregations experienced a pastoral transition between 2001 and 2008. Conservative Protestant churches were the least likely to experience a pastor turnover—only 29% of these churches welcomed a new senior or solo pastor during the past eight years. Relatively few Catholic parishes experienced priest turnover—only 36% of these parishes welcomed a different priest (senior pastor) in that period. The biggest clergy turnover occurred among mainline Protestant churches. Two-third of these churches received a new senior or solo pastor during the past eight years.  

Clergy turnover is associated with numerical decline for mainline Protestant churches. Many mainline Protestant churches that experienced a pastoral transition during the eight-year period (2001 to 2008) also declined in size. Mainline Protestant churches that lost their 2001 pastor lost an average (median) of about 16 people in worship between 2001 and 2008. On the other hand, those mainline Protestant churches that retained their pastor reported almost no change in worship attendance. About seven out of ten churches with new pastors in 2008 reported a decline in worship attendance. In contrast, about half of churches with the same pastor reported worship attendance declines.

The relationship between clergy turnover and growth or decline is less clear in conservative Protestant churches. However, conservative Protestant churches that lost their 2001 pastor actually increased their worship attendance by an average of almost 18 attendees. Those conservative Protestant congregations that retained their pastor declined slightly in size. Their average worship attendance declined by about five attendees. Nevertheless, two-thirds of conservative Protestant churches with the same pastor declined in worship attendance between 2001 and 2008. In contrast, only four in ten conservative Protestant churches headed by a different pastor in 2008 also reported worship attendance declines.

Pastoral turnover is unrelated to growth or decline in Catholic parishes. In Catholic parishes, a change in the leadership was not related to any change in worship attendance. About 86% of Catholic parishes were smaller in 2008 compared to 2001 regardless of whether there was a change in the head priest.

Do pastoral turnovers create numerical decline? Well, it’s complicated. Many factors play a role in decreasing or increasing worship attendance and diminishing or growing church vitality. Research indicates that longer tenures give pastors more time to build relationships, lead through a period of change, and resolve long-standing conflict. The time between the departure of one pastor and the arrival of the next can be a “down-time” when mission and programs grind to a halt. It can take a new pastor several years to reinvigorate members’ energy and investment in congregational life after such a period. Sometimes the numerical decline precedes the pastor’s departure. Clergy often leave congregations when conflict, resistance to change, and diminished ministry opportunities discourage them. Finally, the picture above does not capture the quality of pastoral leadership. The consequences for the congregation are quite different when an effective leader departs versus when an ineffective pastor leaves for a new call.

 

Congregational Conflict: Increasing or Decreasing?

By Deborah Bruce

A recent post noted that congregational conflict is relatively common. Has that always been true? We asked a similar sample of pastors about congregational conflict in 2001. Let’s see what was going on back then.

Conflict is somewhat more common today. In 2001, three in ten pastors saw no conflict in their congregation. By the fall of 2008 and the spring of 2009, the proportion decreased to two in ten. The good news is that most pastors who see conflict describe it as minor.

More conflict about the congregation’s finances. In only one area did reports of conflict increase substantially—congregational finances. That’s not surprising given that the second survey took place at the beginning of the recent recession. With the worsening economy, many congregations have faced financial difficulties, and those struggles can often lead to disagreements.

Less conflict about worship. Fewer pastors now recount conflict related to changes in worship or music styles. Have congregations ceased exploring variety or new elements in worship? That’s unlikely. In fact, in the 2008/2009 survey, two in ten congregations reported starting a new worship service in the previous five years, and almost as many changed the style of a worship service. Yet financial issues lead to more conflict these days.

Leadership remains a common topic of conflict. The pastor’s leadership style topped the list of conflict sources in 2001, as it does today. Nonetheless, large majorities of pastors (89%) and worshipers (85%) agree that the pastor is a good match for the congregation.

New Religious Census Released—Time to Meet Your Neighbors

By Deborah Bruce

Just released, the 2010 Religious Congregations and Membership Study (RCMS) is the closest thing to a religious census in the United States. Data collected by the Association of Statisticians of American Religious Bodies (ASARB) include statistics for 236 religious groups.  In 2000, only 149 groups took part, which makes the 2010 statistics the most comprehensive to date. The RCMS provides information on the number of congregations and adherents of each of these religious groups within every state and county in the United States.

Religious membership is available by zipcode, city, state, county, or metro area. Reports also show the numbers who are “unclaimed”—that is they are not members of any of the 236 religious groups that participated.

The religious landscape differs greatly across the United States. Here, for instance, is the picture for Birmingham, Alabama:

You can see that evangelical Protestants (sometimes called conservative Protestants) make up the biggest group. Also, notice that the number of evangelical Protestants exceeds those who are “unclaimed”—there’s a reason they call it the Bible Belt!

Contrast that to the picture in Salt Lake City, Utah:

Here you can see that “others” outnumber all other groups. In the home of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (the Mormon Church), that group predominates.

Take a minute to explore the religious landscape in your area.  

Other resources about location:

• Places of Promise: Finding Strength in Your Congregation’s Location—book based on U.S. Congregational Life Survey results related to location
• Finding Strength in Your Congregation’s Location—myths about context
• Study guide for exploring your congregation’s connection to its God-given location
• Community Profile Builder—helps church leaders access free online information about their community

 

Who Are Pastors Today?

By Deborah Bruce

Are pastors today pretty much the same as pastors in days gone by? Or are the changes we’ve seen recently in society and in congregations reflected by those serving as pastoral leaders?

Comparing pastors serving in a random sample of congregations in 2001 to those serving in another random sample in 2008/2009 helps us answer these questions.[i]

How are pastors different today?

Three key demographic differences stand out when we compare pastors in 2001 to pastors in 2008.

More women in ministry—but only in mainline Protestant churches. Today almost three in ten senior/solo pastors in mainline Protestant churches are women—up from two in ten in 2001. Almost no women serve as pastors in the other faith groups.

Pastors are older. Between 2001 and 2008 the median age of pastors increased in all three faith groups. This change mirrors that for worshipers.

Many pastors are ordained later in life. Among pastors who have entered ministry recently (in the past 10 years) the median age at ordination is 43. Compare this to the median age among those who’ve been in ministry for more than 30 years: 26 years. Similar differences are seen in all three faith groups. This change reflects the increasing numbers of pastors who are entering ministry after another career. Second career pastors also contribute to the increasing median age of pastors.

In future posts, we’ll look at other ways pastors have changed—and stayed the same—in recent years. Stay tuned!

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[i] The U.S. Congregational Life Survey included a survey of one key leader in a national random sample of congregations. In 2001, the leader survey was conducted by Jackson Carroll, who summarized findings in the book, God’s Potters: Pastoral Leadership and the Shaping of Congregations (Eerdmans, 2006). We managed the leader survey in 2008 and will publish results in the upcoming book: Leadership that Fits Your Congregation: What Kind of Pastor for What Kind of Congregation (Chalice Press, 2012).