Lutheran CORE’s Congregational Lay-leadership Initiative (CLI) has been designed and launched to help congregations “raise-up” from among their active members one or more lay ministers willing to accept a public ministry role in the life of their congregation.
Why is this kind of ministry initiative so important? For two reasons:
1. First, because Protestant denominations in general—including Lutheran church bodies—face a severe and growing shortage of ordained pastors available and willing to relocate for a new call.
2. And second, because many LCMC, NALC and ELCA call committees are growing frustrated and demoralized in their prolonged and often unsuccessful search to identify, call and install a new pastor willing to relocate to serve their congregations.
While I have addressed this ministry challenge in previous CORE newsletter articles, the occasion for this article is that I have written a workbook to assist congregational leaders who are now, or in the near future will be, facing a pastoral vacancy. This workbook, which is to be published by Sola Publishing, will be available within the next few months. In this workbook I will offer step-by-step practical strategies for addressing church leadership transition challenges. Furthermore, these recommended strategies are based on a truly biblical understanding of Christian leadership. More on the content of the upcoming workbook toward the end of this article.
My impression is that many Lutherans, despite our historical roots as advocates for the centrality of Scripture, have forgotten the Apostle Paul’s understanding of Christian leadership. For Paul, leadership in the first century church was based primarily on lay leadership. Granted, his epistles were written to local faith communities before there were any “ordained clergy.” However, churches today will need to take a closer look at Paul’s emphasis on lay ministers, a resource which is becoming just as relevant today as it was in the first century. Why is that? Because we are now living in an era when many congregations with a pastoral vacancy can no longer assume they will be able to find an ordained member of the clergy to serve their church.
Paul’s understanding of Christian leadership within local faith communities was based, to a large degree on his conviction that leaders should have one or more ministry gifts of the Holy Spirit. And these ministry gifts—needless to say—did not depend on such leaders holding a particular clerical office or earning an academic degree. (For a quick refresher course on Paul’s views we need only read Ephesians chapter four, First Corinthians chapters twelve to fourteen, and Romans chapter twelve.)
It’s definitely time—given the growing shortage of pastors available for call—for more congregational councils, transitions teams, and/or call committees to begin considering this question:
Does their congregation have one, two or three active members who might be willing to seriously consider part-time vocational ministry. And if so, would they be willing to serve their own congregation as lay ministers? Also, would perhaps one of these recruited lay ministers, at some point in the near future, be willing to consider taking online seminary courses? (Paid for by the congregation, of course.) In other words, become a “pastor-in-training.”
While I have not been able to find even one published book that deals in depth with the focus of my upcoming Sola workbook, there are recognized Protestant church leaders who are beginning to warn of the full implications of the current and growing shortage of pastors. For example, published author and church consultant Carey Nieuwhof recently said the following on a podcast: “If you are one of the hundreds of thousands of churches that will be looking for a new pastor in the next decade, the time to start planning for succession is now. Mostly, that will involve enlisting leaders from within your congregation, and hiring them to fill pastoral vacancies.” Perhaps “hundreds of thousands” of Protestant churches sounds like hyperbole to some readers. Nevertheless, I am convinced that far too many Lutheran churches have simply not given this ministry challenge the attention it deserves.
My upcoming workbook will be describing the following steps for congregational leaders to seriously consider and then pursue:
1. The congregational council, transition team, and/or call committee meets to begin discussing not just the short-term, but long-term leadership (whether ordained or lay) needs of their church. This discussion is especially important for churches already dealing with a pastoral vacancy. However, it is also a necessary topic of conversation for churches where their resident pastor is approaching retirement age. In other words, when it’s “only a matter of time” before they will have a pastoral vacancy. (And keep in mind that the median age of serving Protestant pastors in the U.S. is now, as of 2026, estimated to be sixty!)
2. A second, but essential part of this discussion is that it be undergirded by prayer. Not just group prayers, but individual, daily prayers by each person who is a part of this group of leaders. Without this constancy and discipline of prayer there will rarely be the assurance that their discussions and decisions have been inspired and guided by the Holy Spirit.
3. Before looking at the more practical tasks before them, church leaders will take time for Bible studies focusing on Paul’s understanding of Christian leadership in his epistles. They will also look at Martin Luther’s understanding of the “priesthood” as a ministry that includes the laity.
4. The next step is for these leaders to engage in a process to reach a consensus regarding which one, two or three active members should be approached and asked whether they would consider serving—in a part-time vocational role—as a lay minister. And the criterion for which members to approach? It should primarily be based on the ministry gifts this person has already displayed, as a volunteer and leader, in the life and ministry of the congregation.
So what are you asking these potential “ministers” to seriously consider? This is primarily about their taking a more public role as lay ministers serving your church. Doing what exactly? That depends on their ministry gifts/skills/talents, and on what they can offer to address the ministry needs of your congregation. It will also depend on their time availability; which might be only ten hours a week or less. In other words, their ministry would most likely be bi-vocational and part-time. Ideally, this should not only be a very public ministry role, but one where they are compensated for their time. “On staff”, as it were. This will, in my opinion, increase the odds that one of your lay ministers might seriously consider, in the future, taking some seminary courses online. Also, being a salaried lay minister increases the likelihood that your members understand the importance of the role this person is taking in your congregation’s life and ministry.
This article cannot even begin to give you a complete summary of my upcoming workbook. However, allow me to add a few more details regarding the workbook’s content. This workbook is ideally written for a discussion-oriented group of between four and ten congregational leaders. And since group discussions are so crucial to this process, each chapter in the book will include discussion questions that help guide and focus these conversations. The workbook will also address some practical “nuts and bolts” in this process; including writing job contracts for lay ministers, securing necessary congregational approval, securing any financial support that might be needed, and celebrating the beginning of your lay minister’s ministry with a laying on of hands commissioning during Sunday worship.
Finally, if your congregation is already dealing with a vacancy, and you have specific and urgent challenges you would like assistance with, you might want to consider CORE’s Congregational Lay-leadership Initiative. Details regarding this coaching assistance can be found on the CORE website.
Or if you have specific questions you can email me directly at pastordonbrandt@gmail.com.
