A personal confession: I was, prior to retirement, a programmatic pastor.  In my defense I wanted to increase the percentage of church members who were active rather than passive.  And I was also motivated by the hope that more programs — and groups — meant more lay people exercising their ministry gifts in leadership roles.  However, this pandemic has been a startling reminder of how quickly many of our church “programs” have become, under our current circumstances, untenable and perhaps even non-essential.

Author and pastor Thom Rainer — whom I know I have quoted in previous columns — addressed this issue in July.  And given the fall COVID surge most states are currently experiencing, Rainer’s comments are still timely.  Rainer writes, “It is time (for congregations) to revisit the need to simplify…to do only a few things well and eliminate the rest.  Many of our churches have become so busy that we have hurt our best families.  Many of our churches have become so cluttered with activities that we don’t give margin for our members to have a gospel presence in the community.  The pandemic, for the most part, provides us a blank slate.  It’s time to rethink our busy schedules and become a minimal church.”

Rainer continues, “A minimal church is not a church of minimal impact.  It is a church that has decided … to unleash our members to have more time to disciple their families, to become a gospel presence in the community, and to develop relationships in their neighborhoods.”

An additional congregational challenge looms large during this pandemic; a challenge that is currently of far greater importance than most of our “programs.”  This particular challenge has to do with the mental and emotional health crisis millions of Americans are enduring as a result of COVID 19.  New York Times columnist Jennifer Senior, this last August, wrote about this crisis in American life: “Let’s start with the numbers.  According to the National Center for Health Statistics, roughly one in 12 American adults reported symptoms of an anxiety disorder at this time last year; now it’s more than one in three.  Last week, the Kaiser Family Foundation released a tracking poll showing that for the first time, a majority of American adults — 53 percent — believes that the pandemic is taking a toll on their mental health.”

Psychologist and author Daphne de Marneffe defines trauma, in the context of COVID, this way: “What trauma is really about is helplessness, about being on the receiving end of forces you can’t control.  Which is what we have now.  It’s like we’re in an endless car ride with a drunk at the wheel.  No one knows when the pain will stop.”

So, what about your congregational members?  How are they holding up?  Do you have a clear picture of whether many of them — especially those who are living alone — are being overwhelmed by a sense of helplessness?  How is your congregation doing, during COVID, when it comes to member care?  This is probably a simpler task for small congregations than it is for mid-sized and larger churches.  But the truth is this: Even in “normal” times most congregations have members who are “falling through the cracks” when it comes to pastoral care.  But these times are anything but normal; they are extraordinary in the bleakest sense of that word.  And the larger the congregation the more likely member care needs to be an urgent, organized effort.  This is not about another program.  This is about one of the most crucial and central tasks within the Body of Christ.  The Apostle Paul sums it up this way:

Pastor Don Brandt

by Cathy Ammlung, Secretary of the board of Lutheran CORE

The view from the front of the chapel in the Desert Retreat Center, where the training event was held, looks out on the beauty of Arizona’s Sonoran desert.

In early April we had a training event in Arizona for the Congregations in Transition ministry initiative.  We now have eight (mostly retired) Lutheran pastors who are ready to serve as coaches for congregations that are between pastors.  Another option is for the coach to begin working with a congregation even before the pastor has retired or resigned to take another call.  If you would like to know more about how one of these coaches could be of help to your congregation, please contact Don Brandt at pastordonbrandt@gmail.com or Dennis Nelson at dennisdnelsonaz@yahoo.com. 

Fear of Pastoral Vacancies

For most of my 29 years as an ordained pastor, I have served small congregations and/or congregations that had a pastoral vacancy. Even in healthy parishes with little conflict, they consistently had two major concerns. One was the fear that there might be a protracted (and possibly unsuccessful) search for a new pastor. The second was that, rather like a tire with a slow leak, the life of the congregation was going to “go flat.” Energy, commitment, contributions, and attendance would diminish. Especially in small, isolated parishes that could not obtain a full (or significantly part-time) interim pastor, maintaining the worship life, fellowship, pastoral care, and outreach of the congregation seemed like a nearly insurmountable task for the lay leadership.

Team Your Congregation with a Coach

The Congregations in Transition initiative, developed by Pastor Don Brandt and Lutheran CORE, addresses these concerns by teaming an experienced, usually retired pastoral “coach” with such a congregation. The coach helps the laity (through a Leadership Team) to confidently and competently navigate the challenges of a pastoral vacancy, to maintain the critical tasks of ministry and mission, and to thereby pave the way for a call committee to focus on its unique tasks with less distraction and stress.

Tap into God-given Gifts

The workshop I attended as a “coach in training” was challenging, packed with useful insights and information, and very helpful. I like the way it calls for coaches to develop personal relationships with a small “Leadership Team” in order to tap into their God-given gifts for leadership, decision making, spiritual growth, and Christian care for their congregation and its members. Rather than feeling helplessly adrift, the laity are empowered to be the Church, the Body of Christ, beloved of Christ and lavishly endowed by the Holy Spirit with every good gift needed to care for one another and to weather what often seems like a “time in the wilderness.”

One Small Discipleship Step

One thing I’ve learned over the years is that congregations can sometimes feel so desperate to call a pastor, any pastor, that they rush through the call process and sometimes make a bad decision. And if the process drags out, they become so discouraged that they simply drift – and some members just leave, often permanently. An experienced coach helps them understand that they really can see – and take – one small, necessary “discipleship step” after another; and each small step can strengthen their faith, prayer life, discipleship, fellowship, stewardship, and outreach. They can discern what they need to do to care for one another, proclaim the Word of God, and reach out with Jesus’ love to their neighbor. And they can redeem that in-between, interim time, to prayerfully consider what gifts a new pastor would best have to continue their growth in faith toward God, fervent love toward one another, and loving witness and outreach to their neighbors.

I hope that many Lutheran congregations will benefit from such coaching relationships and experience interims as precious seasons of growth in faithfulness, trust, and obedience to their Savior and Good Shepherd!

Editor’s Note. This article first appeared in our January 2019 newsletter; the author is Pastor Dennis D. Nelson.

As Lutheran CORE seeks to be a VOICE FOR BIBLICAL TRUTH and a NETWORK FOR CONFESSING LUTHERANS, we look back upon 2018 with thanksgiving and forward to 2019 with eager anticipation. We thank God for His many blessings, and we thank our friends for their faithful and generous prayer and financial support.

2018

• As a VOICE FOR BIBLICAL TRUTH during 2018 we challenged the ELCA to live within the boundaries of what was actually approved by the 2009 Churchwide Assembly and to live up to the commitments that were made at that gathering to give a place of honor and respect also to those who hold traditional views on human sexuality.

• We wrote to the presiding bishop of the ELCA as well as to all sixty-five synodical bishops to confront them with the fact that lifestyles that were never approved were promoted at the summer youth gathering and the traditional view was called a lie. (See article in the September #5 issue of CORE Voice.)

• We alerted faithful members of the ELCA to the amount of power and influence that have been given to the LGBTQIA+ community as we reported on the way in which that group was able to force the firing of a seminary president simply because she held traditional views twenty years ago. (See articles in the Lent #2 issue of CORE Voice and the June Letter from the Director.) We also alerted people to the kind of strange, even heretical, and radical leftwing agenda teachings that are being given to future pastors who are attending ELCA seminaries. (See articles in the August Letter from the Director and the November # 6 issue of CORE Voice.)

• As a NETWORK FOR CONFESSING LUTHERANS we worked with call committees of ELCA congregations to help them find an orthodox, Bible-believing, and outreach-oriented pastor to be their next pastor.

• We held our annual Latino ministries Encuentro (Encounter) at an ELCA church in northwest Chicago. This was a day of information, fellowship, encouragement, and renewal for pastors and congregations who are already involved in, as well as for those who are considering becoming involved in, Spanish language and bilingual (English-Spanish) ministry and outreach.

• We offered resources on our website such as daily devotions, prayers of the church, and hymn suggestions for each Sunday of the year.

2019

• We will be a VOICE FOR BIBLICAL TRUTH in 2019 as we continue to expose the ways in which the Women and Justice social statement, which will be voted on at the 2019 ELCA Churchwide Assembly, rejects the authority, reliability, and truthfulness of the Bible as it promotes its radical feminist agenda. (See article in this issue, as well as in the July # 4 issue of CORE Voice.)

• We will alert faithful members of the ELCA to the ways in which the leaders of that church body are refusing to stand up to movements within the church that are in direct violation of what the ELCA claims to believe. (See article in this issue of CORE Voice about the recent meeting of the ELCA Church Council.)

• As a NETWORK FOR CONFESSING LUTHERANS during 2019 we will hold an event for pastors on May 1 in northeast Virginia that will be a day of inspiration, encouragement, and renewal as we ask God to rekindle our first love for Christ, for the church as the body of Christ, and for mission and ministry as the work of Christ in the world. (See flier in this issue.)

• We will partner with NALC pastor Don Brandt to offer an at-cost coaching and consulting ministry called Congregations in Transition (CiT). In early April we will hold an event in the Phoenix area for (mostly retired) Lutheran pastors to train them to become coaches who will walk with congregations through the transition process between pastors. (See article in this issue of CORE Voice.)

• We will work to provide a network of encouragement and prayer support for students with traditional views at ELCA seminaries as well as for recent graduates with traditional views.

• As we begin a new year we will continue to ask God to direct, guide, bless, and use our efforts for His Kingdom as we thank our friends for their faithful and generous prayer and financial support.

Three
Scenarios

Perhaps one of these three scenarios applies to you or your congregation.

1. You are a Boomer pastor approaching retirement.  Like literally hundreds—if not thousands—of
Lutheran pastors, retirement is looking pretty enticing. You’ve faithfully
served as a pastor for thirty or forty years, and it’s time. And when you begin
to waver about this your spouse confirms what you know, in your heart, to be
true, and says, “Honey it is time.” But you’re concerned about what the
future might hold for your congregation. Even in normal times a transition like
this can present significant challenges for churches; especially when their
solo pastor departs. But these are not normal times. There is a developing
clergy shortage among Protestant denominations, and this shortage might soon
become a true crisis. Boomers (like you) are retiring in increasing numbers,
and seminary enrollment is rapidly declining. It’s beginning to look like the
“perfect storm.” So you’re worried about how long it would take for your
congregation to find the “right” pastor.

2. Second scenario: You are a lay leader in a
congregation where your solo pastor has already left. Maybe you are on
the church council, or the recently organized call committee. You are just
beginning to see how difficult this search process will be.  Perhaps you’ve discovered that the minimum
financial package needed for a new pastor could be 25 to 40% more than what
your previous pastor received. (You keep hearing that college student debt has
become a common issue.) Or maybe you sense that available pastors are unlikely
to be interested in living in your local small-town or rural community.  They are more interested in suburban
congregations. In some cases there is the issue of the pastor’s spouse needing
to live where she/he can pursue his/her chosen career.

3. Or the third scenario: You are on a call committee
that has already been meeting and working for many months. You and your
committee are beginning to get discouraged, if not pessimistic. And making
matters worse is an increasing sense of urgency. This prolonged interim is
beginning to impact worship attendance and congregational giving. Some of your
once active members are drifting into inactivity. Perhaps your congregation was
not able to secure the services of an interim pastor; at least not a full-time
one. And this has had a profoundly negative effect on your congregation’s
ministries and morale.

Lutheran
CORE Can Help

Do any of these scenarios apply to your situation?  If so, Lutheran CORE can help, and help in
meaningful, practical ways. We are training a group of recently-retired,
confessional Lutheran pastors to consult with congregations like yours. And
these pastors, by the way, are volunteering their time, so the only cost
to your congregation is the actual travel expenses for one initial visit to
your community, and a nominal sign-up fee ($150) to cover CORE’s administrative
costs. But know this: That initial on-site visit to your community will only be
the beginning of a six to nine-month (or longer) phone and online relationship
with key congregational leaders chosen by your church council. The primary
purpose of all this? To help you address the immediate ministry challenges of
your transition.

Loss
of Momentum

Here is the tragic irony for many congregations in transition: Their
search process can be so prolonged that they lose essential ministry momentum.
This lost momentum then, in turn, jeopardizes their financial ability to find
and call a competent pastor. Just one hypothetical example: After a twelve to
eighteen month search process a congregation’s financial giving suffers and
they find they can no longer afford a full-time pastor’s salary and benefits
package.

This new CORE ministry is called Congregations in Transition (CiT),
and we’d like to help you navigate a transition process often characterized by
challenges that could put your church’s health and future stability at risk.
However, it is not just about minimizing risks, it’s about capitalizing on
ministry opportunities. That’s right, opportunities. Opportunities to
mobilize your lay leaders, renew your church’s spiritual life, and embrace the
full potential of what God has in mind for your congregation and its mission.

Contact
Us

So if any of the above scenarios resonate with what your faith community
is facing, contact Pastor Don Brandt, or CORE Executive Director, Pastor Dennis
Nelson. Coach training is scheduled in early April, but CORE is already signing
up a limited number of congregations. Any and all of our thirty-two written CiT
resources are available to you; at no cost and with no obligation. (Or if
that’s too many, we can email you some samples.) Also, Dennis and Don are
available to answer any questions.

We hope to hear from you. Never underestimate what God can accomplish in
and through your congregation; even in this time of transition.

Please contact either Don Brandt at
pastordonbrandt@gmail.com or Dennis Nelson at dennisdnelsonaz@yahoo.com.

Rev. Dr. Don Brandt

Congregations in Transition (CiT) is a coaching ministry created to address an emerging crisis among LCMC, NALC, and confessional ELCA churches: A shortage of available pastors for call.

This clergy shortage is due to an increasing number of older pastors reaching retirement age, and far fewer students graduating from seminaries than in years past.  Compounding this crisis is the fact that some pastors are retiring earlier than they had planned due to pandemic-related congregational conflict and decreasing worship attendance.

As of February of 2022, just two years and six months since our ministry was launched, CiT has provided various levels of assistance to twenty congregations in transition.

For more detailed information regarding the kind of coaching assistance CiT provides, read the answers below to Frequently Asked Questions.

FAQ #1: So what kind of practical assistance can CiT provide for congregations in transition?  That will depend on your circumstances.  For example:

a. If your pastor has recently announced his or her upcoming retirement, your CiT coach will work with your pastor and congregational leaders to prepare for this time of transition.  And if you decide that either a part-time or full-time interim minister will be needed, your coach will assist in finding and hiring that person.

b. If your congregation already has a vacancy and has organized a call committee, your coach will assist you in your search for your next long-term, “permanent” pastor.  This can include finding qualified applicants, and advising you as you interview and ultimately discern which candidate is the right person to serve your congregation.  The goal will be to walk alongside your call committee until your new pastor is “called and installed”.

FAQ #2: What is the financial cost to our congregation in return for the assistance provided by a CiT coach?  Your congregation’s one-time fee for long-term coaching assistance is only $175.  Why so little?  Our coaches are retired pastors who are volunteering their time.  Your $175 will be paid to Lutheran CORE to cover our administrative costs for this ministry.

FAQ #3:  Are references available from congregations who have already benefited from the assistance Cit provides?  Absolutely.  Upon request we can provide references from churches who have successfully completed their transition and call process with the on-going assistance of their CiT coach. Two references are posted below.

FAQ 4:  Is a formal contract involved with CiT?  No.  Your congregation can discontinue your working relationship with CiT at any time.

FAQ #5:  Can our congregational leaders see any written CiT resources before deciding whether to utilize the assistance of a coach?  Yes.  You have only to ask.

FAQ #6:  Is CiT coaching assistance strictly online and “at a distance”?  Yes, our coaching is primarily online; e.g., via online video meetings, conference phone calls, emails, etc.  Since almost all our coaches are retired clergy, online assistance allows us to work with multiple churches while still engaging in this ministry part-time.  However, if your coach is willing, you may request a visit to your church; provided you cover all travel-related expenses.

FAQ #7:  What happens if, even with the assistance of our coach, we are unable to identify and call a viable pastoral candidate?  In that situation your coach can assist you in considering such options as finding a full-time or part-time interim pastor, and/or identifying one or more key lay leaders in your church willing to pursue online training so they might eventually provide pastoral support for your congregation.

FAQ #8:  Who leads the Congregations in Transition ministry?  Rev. Dr. Don Brandt is CiT Director and the author of the CiT written resources.  He created this ministry out of the firm conviction that the current clergy supply crisis is putting the health and stability of hundreds of Lutheran congregations at risk.  Pastor Brandt is a retired Lutheran pastor who has extensive consulting and coaching experience and has, over the years, coached pastors and lay leaders from over five hundred Lutheran congregations.  For samples of his articles on congregational life and ministry simply  do an online search using “Pastor Don Brandt”.  You will easily find multiple articles he has written over the last two years for the Lutheran CORE newsletter.

FAQ #9:  How do we sign up and/or get our additional questions answered?  Simply contact Pastor Brandt directly.  He lives in Salem, Oregon.  His email is pastordonbrandt@gmail.com, and his phone # is 503-559-2034.

Recommendations for CiT from Call Committee Chairs

In my previous two articles, I talked about the dilemma facing De-churched Lutherans.  Some cannot find an orthodox Lutheran parish in their area.  Some have been made to feel unwelcome in their former congregation.  Others belong to a congregation that cannot find a pastor.

I have suggested that there is help for De-churched Lutherans.  There is no reason that a group of Lutherans who have no congregation or who cannot find a pastor should give up.  Lutheran lay people can gather together for prayer and Bible study.  As I have mentioned before, there are services found within Lutheran hymnals that may be led by lay people.  These include the prayer offices of Morning Prayer, Evening Prayer and Compline, along with the Service of the Word.  (Check the Table of Contents in the Lutheran Book of Worship or the Lutheran Service Book.)

This month, however, I want to discuss resources that are available for you from Lutheran CORE. First of all, there are Daily Devotions available for personal use.  Dr. Jeffrey Greene writes Daily Devotions for Lutheran CORE.  Dr. Douglas Schoelles hosts a podcast called The Daily Plunge Bible Study. 

For adult education, Lutheran CORE has a Video Ministry that includes Book Reviews and series of videos in theological topics called “CORE Convictions”.  In addition, Pastor Dennis Nelson, records a Weekly Bible Study on the Lectionary Readings each week. 

For those who would like to hold a weekly worship service, Lutheran CORE has a Worship Page.  Pastor Cathy Ammlung has developed Hymn Suggestions and Prayers of the Church for each Sunday of the Church Year.  In addition, she offers Hymns and Liturgy Paraphrases for congregational use which she will be updating after Easter.

Finally, for congregations that are either too small or who have failed to find a pastor, there is hope.  Small congregations and worshipping communities can raise up leaders from within. The Congregational Lay-Led Initiative (CLI) offers training and mentoring for lay leaders.  The intent is not to replace pastors or seminary education but equip lay people for ministry in their own congregations and communities.  If the lay leaders in your congregation need help, or if you would like to form a small worshipping community, Don Brandt would love to talk with you. 

Of course, Lutheran CORE is not the only place you can go for help.  Our ministry partners also have many resources that you can use. In particular, I recommend that you look at two independent Lutheran publishers, SOLA Publishing and ALPB Publicity Bureau.  SOLA Publishing offers weekly worship resources, Sunday School, Confirmation, and adult education curricula in print and on video, and much more.  ALPB publishes books that would be very helpful for adult education worship planning.  Of most interest, however, is the four volume series on daily prayer called For All the Saints.  A congregation that wanted to gather weekly for Morning or Evening Prayer would have all they need to make that happen, excluding hymns and musical settings for the services. 

There is hope for De-churched Lutherans.  Let us know how we can help.

As Americans we are living in a time of increasing emotional despair.  And this crisis presents the Body of Christ with tremendous challenges as local churches consider how they might respond.

In the past, when I heard people complain about the state of American society and the level of social upheaval, I would respond, “But it’s not as bad as it was back in the late 1960’s and early 1970’s.  Well I no longer say that.  I think the state of American society, in 2023, is now worse.  I have never, in my lifetime, seen as many studies and statistics pointing to widespread depression and despair as I have read about in just the last two years.  Some examples:

1. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has been conducting major surveys of high school students every other year since 2011.  The most recent survey—conducted in 2021 with the findings released in 2022—discovered an “overwhelming wave of violence and trauma and never-before-seen levels of hopelessness and suicidal thoughts among high schools students in the United States.”  This trend has been particularly alarming among high school girls.  “Almost 60% of female students experienced persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness during the past year, and nearly 25% made a suicide plan.”  This represents a 60% increase when compared to the survey results back in 2011.
2. Nicholas Kristoff, a writer with the New York Times, recently wrote, “Americans die from deaths of despair—drugs, alcohol and suicide—at a rate of more than 250,000 people per year, and the number of walking wounded is far greater.”
3. Suicide-related visits to pediatric emergency rooms in the United States—between 2011 and 2020—increased 500% (five-fold) among children, teens and young adults. (New York Times, 5-1-2023)

Back in 1920 the poet William Butler Yeats wrote his poem, The Second Coming.  His appraisal of the world of his day, no doubt shared by many of his peers shortly after the conclusion of the First World War, was incredibly stark.  “Things fall apart; the center cannot hold, the best lack all conviction, while the worst are full of passionate intensity.”  Call me an alarmist, but I believe these words capture how a great many Americans—on both sides of the (political) aisle—view the current state of American society.    

There are undoubtedly many factors contributing to these startling statistics.  Perhaps the most frequent cause cited is the increased use of social media; especially among young people in general, and young women and girls in particular.  There is also the on-going decline in the number of two-parent households; increased rates of addiction; and the increasing numbers of Americans living alone.  And I would add the increasing secularization of our society and culture.

So what can the local church do to respond to all this despair?  In my opinion congregations can potentially make a significant and positive difference.  How?  By reaching out to some of the “walking wounded” in their local communities and introducing them to the blessings of being part of a caring Christian fellowship.  And, this introduction will typically happen one caring relationship at a time.  

However, there are at least two challenges faced by a great many local churches which need to be addressed.  One challenge is that too many congregations are just as polarized and conflicted as our surrounding culture.  We must not allow our churches to be characterized by discord and disunity.  It is incredibly difficult to witness to the love of Christ if this love is not evident within our congregations due to internal conflict.

A second challenge is that too many of our congregations have become immobilized by and fixated on their institutional decline.  This might be apparent due to decreasing worship attendance, or reduced financial giving, or perhaps their inability to find a new pastor during a prolonged vacancy.

Granted, our society is becoming increasingly secular, and the percentage of Americans identifying as “religious” has been decreasing.  However, more and more Americans—in their despair—are  recognizing their need to be a part of a loving and supportive community.  And they understand that this “community” needs to be in-person, not online.

Jessica Grose, a columnist for the New York Times, recently wrote an article entitled, “What Churches Offer That ‘Nones’ Still Long For”.  This article just appeared in the paper’s 6-28-2023 issue.  Keep in mind that Ms. Grose is a “none” of a non-observant Jewish background.  This was her final article in a five-article series on the increasing number of Americans leaving organized religion.  She wrote, “The one aspect of religion in America that I unquestionably see as an overall positive for society is the ready-made supportive community that churchgoers can access.”  One of the de-churched “nones” whom Jessica interviewed for her articles said the following: “I was raised Pentecostal and went to church three or more times a week, so I desperately miss the community.  It was where my friendships came from.  I have very few friends now.”  I would dare to say that hundreds of thousands of dechurched Lutherans probably have similar stories.  At the end of this article Ms. Grose wrote, “Almost everyone needs community to flourish.”  On a personal note, my wife and I, as we returned to more regular in-person worship attendance after the pandemic, realized how profoundly we had missed the worship and fellowship of our home congregation.

Writer Kirsten Sanders, in the recent March/2023 issue of Christianity Today, did an excellent job of describing the kind of Christian community which could reach the “walking wounded” of 2023.  “What makes the church (unique) is its knowledge of itself as called by God to be his representative on the earth, to be marked by unwieldy and inconvenient practices like forgiveness, hospitality, humility, and repentance.  It is marked in such a way by its common gathering, in baptism and Communion, remembering the Lord’s death and proclaiming it until he comes…When the church becomes preoccupied with defending itself to the world, it eventually becomes incoherent.  The only way to be a church is to speak the peculiar language of peace, of forgiveness, of repentance and resurrection.”

One of my favorite New Testament passages that I believe presents a vision of God’s love and Christian community is Ephesians 3:16-19.  Paul writes, “I pray that out of (the Father’s) glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.  And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have the power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.”

Don Brandt

Congregations in Transition /Congregational Lay-leadership Initiative

pastordonbrandt@gmail.com

Perhaps my perspective is somewhat distorted by being one among so many retired or retiring Boomer pastors.  After all, the Boomer generation has been accused—often justifiably—of having an inflated view of its own importance.

However, age does sometimes bring a degree of historical perspective.  So allow me to share, from my own professional life, how dramatically the Lutheran church has changed, in at least one way, since I graduated from seminary back in 1981.  My seminary class was comprised of just over sixty graduates; virtually all of us seeking our first call and ordination.  However, at that time there were far more Lutheran seminary graduates in the U.S. than there were available calls.  As a result, on graduation day at my seminary there were only three of us who knew where our first call would be.  The rest of the class would simply have to wait; in some cases for over a year.

For some additional perspective regarding today’s clergy shortage, consider the dramatic differences when it comes to the current seminary experience and what graduates—and call committees—can expect in 2023:

1. The number of Lutheran seminary graduates today who have an M.Div degree is probably less than 25% of the number of graduates back in 1981.  And the number of vacant congregations without a pastor has increased dramatically.
2. Unlike in 1981, when the great majority of seminary students were studying full-time and living either on campus or within commuting distance, the majority of seminary students in 2023 are studying almost entirely online.  And consider just one implication of this new norm: Online seminary students—logistically—often will not and cannot be adequately vetted by seminary faculty.  This means that call committees in 2023 are often looking at applicants that have not, in any meaningful way, been “screened” as to whether they are suitable candidates for call and ordination.
3. Call committees in 2023 are, in some cases, unfortunately “settling” for candidates who might not be suitable for their call.  Why? Because of an incredible shortage of qualified applicants for their position.
4. The shortage of viable seminary graduates and currently serving pastors available for call has not yet plateaued.  Instead, this shortage is only growing more severe.  And this growing crisis will last at least until the last serving Boomer pastors retire.  As of this year Boomers are between the ages of 59 and 77. In other words, it is only in 2029 that the youngest Boomers will reach the age of 65.
5. The pandemic has accelerated the rate at which pastors are leaving full-time ministry.  This is due in part to a significant number of pastors who had to deal with pandemic-related congregational conflict.

Also contributing to these resignations is the stress experienced by pastors who have seen a pandemic-related, demoralizing decrease in in-person worship attendance compared to early 2020.

Enough in regard to the challenges the church is facing now and over at least the next six years.  What can we do as lay leaders and pastors to address this crisis?  To begin with, we need to acknowledge that no single ministry program or strategy will suffice.  Why?  Because this crisis is too systemic and formidable for a single, simple “fix”.  However, there are at least two church-wide strengths that, if capitalized on, could make a real difference. 

One is the fact that a great many competent and faithful Boomer pastors have retired over the last decade.  I am convinced that many of them would be willing to step forward to mentor and coach a single congregation that is dealing with an unfilled vacancy.  In some cases this could mean serving in a compensated part-time interim role if the pastor is living within a reasonable distance from the church.  In other cases, a retired pastor could volunteer to serve as a mentor and coach—at a distance—to congregational leaders.  This would involve coaching online and by phone.  In this scenario the pastor would be volunteering his/her time, and would not be relocating or driving long distances to serve in person.  In this post-Covid era there is a new culture-wide acceptance and recognition of the potential for online coaching to make a real difference; both for individuals and organizations.  It’s no secret: Many pastors, once they retire, welcome an opportunity to serve in some ministry capacity. 

Second, many if not most of the congregations dealing with long, extended vacancies already have talented and faithful lay leaders who have a vested interest in wanting their congregations to not only survive but thrive.  I am convinced that many of these lay leaders should be recruited, commissioned and trained as part-time lay ministers for their congregations.  And some of these lay ministers need to be encouraged to consider an online seminary education while they serve. 

This is where I see real hope and promise in the years ahead: Helping part-time, commissioned lay ministers and retired pastors connect in a meaningful way to serve Christ’s church; a church that is definitely in crisis.

Lutheran CORE is offering a new ministry to address this crisis: the Congregational Lay-leadership Initiative, or CLI.  This is by no means the only way to address this clergy shortage, but it is one way.

To learn more about CLI we now have complete information available on the Lutheran CORE website.  Or, email me personally at pastordonbrandt@gmail.com.

A New Ministry from Lutheran CORE: The Congregational Lay-leadership Initiative (CLI)

Are you a member of a smaller congregation that is frustrated and demoralized because you have been unable to find and call a new pastor?

Has your search for a pastor gone on for more than eighteen months without success?

And is your congregation’s current, post-Covid weekly attendance averaging fewer than 50 worshipers?

If the answer to these questions is “yes”, and your congregation is part of either the LCMC or NALC, I would like to hear from you, and soon!

Why the urgency?  Because your church might have an urgent need to begin exploring the possibility of transitioning to a long-term, lay-led congregational ministry model; a ministry that will NOT depend on you finding and calling an ordained pastor.

Lutheran CORE is now offering a new, second ministry to assist congregations that are in transition; i.e., that are without a pastor.  Our first coaching ministry—Congregations in Transition (CiT)—is still available.  However, CiT involves working primarily with call committees that are still actively searching for a new pastor.  Yet many smaller churches, due to a severe and worsening clergy shortage, are now facing the very real prospect of not being able to fill their pastoral vacancy.  Not with a full-time pastor, or even a part-time pastor.  For those congregations (like yours?) it’s time for “Plan B”.

Lutheran CORE’s Congregational Lay-leadership Initiative (CLI) might be just what your church needs.  Because without a plan such as CLI provides, your congregation might be facing a crisis of existential proportions.

An overstatement?  Consider the following:
1. The current clergy supply crisis is totally unprecedented in our lifetimes.
2. This shortage of pastors available for call—based on the anticipated number of retirements over the next decade, AND the limited number of students currently enrolled in seminary—will only become more severe.

So what exactly is the new Congregational Lay-leadership Initiative, and how can it be of benefit to your church?

CLI is designed to assist smaller congregations who might eventually consider “closing their doors” for no other reason than their inability to find an ordained pastor to lead them.  “Assist” in what way?  If your church has one, two or three members who are capable and willing—on a very part-time basis—to serve as lay ministers, we believe your congregation can not only survive, but thrive.  Not surprisingly, your Church Council would need to take the lead in identifying and recruiting these lay ministers. We will advise you, but these lay ministers need to be people who your congregational leaders agree—by consensus—are the right people to serve in a pastoral role.  Then we will provide ministry resources to help these lay ministers serve effectively.

One more very important form of assistance from CLI is helping you take advantage of a particular growing ministry resource: The increasing number of active, retired and experienced pastors willing to volunteer as mentors.  We will help you find and connect with a retired pastor who will come alongside your lay ministers; meeting with them online each month to provide ongoing counsel and support.

Additional Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ’s)…
1. What if we have a call committee still actively engaged in a search for a new pastor?
Not a problem.  We can still help you organize a lay-led INTERIM ministry.  Then if your 18-month-or-longer vacancy continues long-term, your part-time lay ministers simply continue to serve the needs of your congregation.  But NOTE: Smaller churches like yours will be dealing, over time, with a worsening shortage of potential ordained applicants.
2. Does utilizing CLI mean resigning ourselves to never having a pastor in the future? Not necessarily.  For example, sometimes a small church’s geographical location will lead to an interested applicant.  However, churches worshiping fewer than fifty people on a typical Sunday are at a definite disadvantage given the current shortage of available pastors.  So one long-term strategy we recommend is to consider whether one of your members would be open to the possibility of pursuing a seminary education.  As you probably know, most seminary students now study online.  This means not having to relocate to attend seminary, and also means being able to study, over time, on a very part-time basis.  Perhaps one of your part-time lay ministers would be open to this possibility.
3. What would CLI cost our congregation?  Very little!  Your one-time fee would be only $100, payable to Lutheran CORE.  This contribution would be to help cover the ministry resources we provide for your lay ministers.  And why no additional cost?  Because I, and your mentoring pastor are volunteering our time. However, long before your church treasurer would be writing this check you will want to contact me directly.  I want to learn a little about your church to be assured that CLI would be of benefit to your congregation’s ministry.  Then, if you and I decide to move forward, we will schedule an online meeting—via Zoom—so I can meet your Church Council and answer any questions they might have.

So email or phone me anytime.  (Keeping in mind I live in the Pacific Time Zone.) I hope to hear from you! 

Click one of the buttons below for more information.

Grace and peace,
Dr. Don Brandt
503-559-2034
pastordonbrandt@gmail.com

Note:  “This is a ministry resource article for churches that might be interested in the new upcoming CORE ministry called the Congregational Lay-leadership Initiative (CLI). The article below offers a preview of this new ministry.”  

The current shortage of available pastors in the LCMC and NALC presents a difficult challenge for a great many call committees.  This is especially true for smaller churches when their search process has extended beyond 18 to 24 months without success.  In fact, such a scenario can result in nothing less than an existential crisis for their congregations.  In these situations we are looking not only at burned out and disheartened call committees; we are talking about congregations where their members are beginning to lose hope for their future as a faith community.

Thirty years ago call committees of smaller churches could reasonably take comfort in the conviction that it would “only be a matter of time” before they would be able to “call and install” their next pastor.  However, in 2023 this is not a reasonable expectation.  Why?  Because with retiring Boomer pastors—and far fewer seminary graduates—our clergy supply crisis is only growing more dire.

Here is the stark, unvarnished truth: A great many of our smaller vacant churches will never, until the last Boomer pastor retires in 2029 (or shortly thereafter), have much hope of finding a pastor.  For these churches there needs to be a “reality check”: As long as they assume their only hope to survive as a congregation is to find that new pastor, it’s only a matter of time before they will have given up on their search process.   At that point discussions will probably begin regarding the possibility of having to close their doors and disband as a faith community.

However, there is an alternative to this scenario; a way to continue ministering to their members and their surrounding community without a resident, full-time pastor to lead them.  This alternative is to intentionally transition to a long-term lay-led ministry.  And this transition would not just be a temporary “stop-gap” plan until they find a pastor to call, but a ministry strategy to continue, as long  as necessary, as a vibrant and thriving lay-led congregation.

There is now outside assistance available for smaller churches willing to transition from a clergy-dependent ministry model to one built on a foundation of lay leadership.  But first, a disclaimer: If your congregation’s in-person worship attendance averages less than 25, and/or you no longer have  members who are active retired or younger, this assistance might be “too little too late”.  Why?  Because this ministry model depends on one, two or three members willing and able to step forward and serve your congregation as part-time lay ministers.

However, if you still have congregational leaders who are active retirees or younger, I encourage you to consider the Congregational Lay-leadership Initiative as a way of preparing for an immediate future where your congregation will not only survive, but thrive.

Below are the steps involved if you decide to transition to a lay-led congregational ministry model.  And keep in mind that your “outside” assistance in this process would be a retired Lutheran pastor mentoring and encouraging your part-time lay ministers—at a distance—as they serve your congregation.

1. Identifying the right member (or members) to ask to become a part-time lay minister.

The conversation regarding the “right” person will most often begin within your church council.  (And note: The right person might already be serving on your council.)  The ideal candidate for this new ministry role should already be recognized, by your members, as a congregational leader; and as a person characterized by both a strong faith and personal integrity.  He or she should be someone who comes to mind in the context of your council’s prayers for guidance, and also when considering biblical texts such as Romans 12:1-8.  And this needs to be someone whom the Council ultimately chooses  unanimously, not just based on a majority vote.

2. Enlisting your lay minister (or lay ministers).  This step needs to be done with great care, and while Council members are praying for this person to accept this ministry opportunity.  Also, recruitment needs to happen face to face, not over the phone.  Ideally, two Council members should present “the ask”, rather than just one.  In addition, this individual should be asked to pray about this opportunity over the next few days rather than give an immediate “yes” or “no”.  (Of course if you receive an immediate and enthusiastic “Yes!”, don’t argue!)  Do not, at this point, get into such details as the average number of hours expected per week, or compensation, or the specific start date.  Instead, make clear that if she/he agrees to say yes to this ministry, the Council will simply “make it work” for your new lay minister.  In other words, the details of this position will be negotiated based on what is workable for this person.  This includes the details of the final “job description”; which will be based on this person’s gifts, abilities and preferences.  The overall theme in this enlistment conversation is: “Why we consider you to be uniquely qualified for this important ministry role in the life of our congregation.” 

3. Hiring your part-time lay minister(s).  To impress upon your lay minister the importance of this position I suggest a formal job contract.  This contract will be worked out with your new employee’s input.  Some suggestions for your contract: Either this person or the Council can end this agreement with a 30-day notice; and the “average” number of hours per week would be flexible and again determined with your lay minister’s input.  (I suggest somewhere between 10 and 20 hours per week.)  Make clear that this person will be supervised by and answer to the Council.  Your written job description, then, will be written in collaboration with your new employee.  When determining the overall structure of this job contract you can find resources online; resources that you will obviously adapt to your specific situation.  

4. Commissioning/Installing your lay minister(s).  It is extremely important your members participate—during a worship service—in this commissioning.  Make a “big deal” out of this occasion. Celebrate this event as a congregation.  Have a potluck immediately following the service.  And have a laying on of hands as part of the commissioning.

5. Training your lay minister(s).  The good news here is that your lay minister probably already has the gifts to perform most of the responsibilities you negotiated in determining the job description. However, there will undoubtedly be some ministry responsibilities he/she might not feel entirely comfortable with.  For example, what if one of the responsibilities is preaching?  There are resources available to become more confident in this aspect of ministry.  (For example, an online 6-week preaching course.)  Contact me or an LCMC staff person for information regarding such resources.

Any costs involved in such resources should be covered by your congregation.

6. Mentoring for your lay minister(s).  The Congregational Lay-leadership Initiative is designed with the goal of every congregation having a retired Lutheran pastor to mentor its lay minister(s).  This mentor would be volunteering for this role and would provide encouragement and counsel for your lay minister(s) by means of a monthly online meeting and/or by phone.  In rare cases this mentor might be within driving distance of your church; in which case the monthly meeting could be in-person.  If needed, I can assist you in recruiting a mentor who is on the LCMC or NALC rosters.

7.  The matter of pulpit supply.  This is of course a huge issue in the worship life of your congregation.  Because of this fact it would be ideal if one or more of your lay ministers was comfortable in a preaching (or teaching) role.  This is especially important if you do not have local (most likely retired) pastors available for pulpit supply.  Here is my rule of thumb: You want to avoid, when possible, having lay ministers and other members reading someone else’s sermons.  This might be okay on an occasional basis, but should not be a regular, most-Sundays practice.  Why?  It’s not easy to be invested and engaged emotionally while reading something that you did not write.  Again, I suggest one of your lay leaders take an online seminary preaching course as one way to address this matter.

8. Maintaining your eucharistic ministry.  If you will not typically have an ordained visiting pastor participating in your worship service, be aware that the LCMC allows for designated congregational lay members to preside over the celebration of communion. 

Finally, I believe two or three lay ministers, if available, would be preferable to just one; for four reasons:

First, a team of lay ministers means each person is able to offer encouragement and support to the others on the team.

Second, there is the Biblical concept of “different people, different gifts”.  In other words, with more than one you are more likely to have a lay minister with the appropriate gift for each major ministry responsibility.

Third, I think mentoring sessions can be even more helpful when the mentor is having online sessions (e.g., via Zoom) with a group of two or three lay ministers as opposed to an extended phone conversation with just one.

Fourth, a team of lay ministers provides a level of accountability that comes with fellow co-workers. 

If you have any questions, you may contact me directly.  My email is…                    pastordonbrandt@gmail.com